Image credit to Ben Wootten
, copyright Paizo Publishing
, copyright Paizo PublishingRarity has feelings for a certain dragon, and she isn't sure how to feel about that. Word from the family grapevine is that her old Grandpa Merc might have something to say on the issue, so she seeks him out.
It turns out he has a story to tell her. A love story of sorts. A very old one.
A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic, which can be found here.
The sequel, Unbalanced Scales, is available here.
The Crystal and the Mirage provides examples of these tropes:
- Affectionate Nickname: Merc refers to Rarity as "Little Sapphire".
- Batman Gambit: Crystal Belle's ultimate ploy is to trick Mirage into becoming her perfect mate by making him believe that he's the one tricking her.
- Battle of Wits: Crystal and Mirage engage in these every time they meet, each trying to trick and outsmart the other and often not certain on whether they did or did not come out ahead until the battle is over.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: Crystal Belle repeatedly gets the better of Mirage by using his own tricks on him.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: Grandpa Merc describes Mirage as "a handsome and intelligent blue dragon".
- Dragon Ancestry: Rarity is part-dragon via Grandpa Merc's bloodline.
- Framing Device: The fic consists of Rarity showing up at her Grandpa Merc's place with a romantic problem and his telling her a story he thinks might help, which takes up the majority of the fic proper.
- Interspecies Romance: Crystal and Mirage, a unicorn and a dragon, and (heavily implied) Rarity and Spike.
- Narrator All Along: What initially looked like Grandpa Merc telling an allegorical fairy tale is actually his being a Nostalgic Narrator.And that, my Little Sapphire, my darling Rarity, is how your great-great-great-grandmother and I fell in love.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: "Merc" is short for "Mercury" (which is itself an assumed name).
- Really 700 Years Old: "Grandpa" Merc is actually Rarity's great-great-great-grandfather — but he's in fact far older than even that would suggest, as his true form is a blue dragon with a tremendously long lifespan.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Grandpa Merc avoids going into the details of Mirage and Crystal's lovemaking.
- Shapeshifting Seducer: Mirage uses his shapeshifting powers to pose as Crystal Belle's ideal stallion.
- Spirited Competitor: Mirage lives for the joy of besting others in games of wit and trickery.
- The Trickster: This is apparently a racial trait of blue dragons, and Mirage is no exception.
- Worthy Opponent: Mirage sees Crystal as this, as she's the only non-dragon he's ever met who can genuinely match him in intelligence and actually outsmart him.
Unbalanced Scales provides examples of these tropes:
- Eat Dirt, Cheap: Dragons are known to be gem-eaters, but it turns out that Rarity has inherited some geophagous tendencies as well, and is able to consume and enjoy gemstones like Spike does.
- Electric Love: Both figuratively and literally, due to Rarity's draconic heritage.
- Fantastic Slurs: Mirage calls Spike a "metalhead", a slur on his presumed gold/silver heritage.
- If You Ever Do Anything To Hurt Him: Despite her long friendship with Rarity, Twilight threatens her with dire consequences should she turn out to be insincere in her pursuit of Spike.
- I Was Just Joking:Spike: If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were part dragon.
Rarity: Actually, yes. It seems I really was the last to know, after all.
Spike: Wha— Bu— I was joking! - Living Distant Ancestor: "Grandpa" Merc is Rarity's great-great-great-grandfather.
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: Spike in the intro, but thankfully he has a backup order of operations for such situations.
- Shock and Awe: Both Grandpa Merc and Rarity demonstrate the ability to produce lightning.
- That Came Out Wrong:Spike: Would it really be "interspecies" if you already had a little dragon in you?
- Uneven Hybrid: Rarity (and, by extension, most of her family) is a pony with just a drop of blue dragon blood.
