Illusionary Romance

by Kikio3000

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Trixie, Random, Discord, Slice of Life
Length: 4500

Trixie is down on her luck. Discord is supposed to do something nice for any sad pony he comes across. A surprise romance insures.

Trixie meets Discord the Draconequus, and he offers some help for her situation. Somehow, romance came out of it.

This is pre-Season 4, set in between Magical Mystery Cure and Equestria Girls, and Twilight just literally became an alicorn. :) The cover art is from the episode Celestial Advice, haha. *This story FINALLY HAS been posted on the date of (9/22/22) to make it close to what I would have written had I been able to write it in time for the contest I wrote it for.* :D Happy reading! Update: THANKS FOR THE 500+ VIEWS! YAY! :)

The fic is for: this contest.
The contest folder is here.

Published 2022-03-18 00:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-09-23 03:30:40 UTC

Illusionists at work

Trixie slumped her shoulders. Another sad performance. Nopony trusted Trixie after what she did to Ponyville last time she appeared to do a show. As a species, ponies may be forgiving; but manipulating, controlling, and enslaving Ponyville's entire population in the time span of less than a day was pretty illegal and hard to forget, leaving heavy physical and mental bruises. She trotted back to where her wagon home, hoping to find some solace in at least getting her rest for the day after another day of actual honest work and not much money from the shows. It was hard for her to pick herself back up after everything that she had done. Trixie was apparently not as good as a magician as she had thought - and now she had lost ponies’ trust in her. At least before Trixie had shown her face in Ponyville, she had not had anyone that hated, nor loved her. Now they hated her, and she could not get her reputation back up to even being neutral.

Every time Trixie even showed even her horn in town, wads of tomatoes would be hurled at her - even if she tried buying things at the market from afar, her money and produce would be intercepted by other unicorns' magic or pegasai that would do a fly-by wing slap on her items; rendering her produce splattered or some of her money stolen. Trixie had to start levitating more money across to the vendors so she had enough money by the time it got there. Sadly, the unicorn vendors did not help with their own magic, even if they were impartial to Trixie.

“Trixie can't believe that she cannot even enjoy a meal without somepony ruining her meals every day!”

She's mostly outlawed in decent towns and other places treated her with the barest respect since word travels quickly from Ponyville – especially bad news or extreme events that change the course of either the town or its residents. These towns, since the ‘bad Trixie’ events only happened in Ponyville, and Trixie had been decent in other places. The “outlaw” part came in because when it concerned Trixie specifically, everypony had the right to refuse their service to her, and could chase her out of town if anyone felt threatened or felt like the unicorn was insulting them. (She DID do that action a bit too frequently for most ponies’ taste, thought she had improved on her kinder conversations overall.) Ponyville, though…disliked Trixie with a vengeance, and only let her get food from town because they knew that Trixie had had to earn her money fairly to buy things and the shop owners understood the basic need to eat.

However, Trixie was running out of bits, and was technically homeless. She needed help.
The unicorn slumped down near her wagon, which had nearly been destroyed by angry ponies, and started sulking. The vehicle had been placed at the edge of a forest near Ponyville, yet the ponies STILL found where Trixie had hidden it.

“Ugh,” Trixie sighed, Even a dark secluded place like this wasn’t spared from being destroyed. My reputation is ruined, all because I focused my time way too much on that Twilight Sparkle. She sneered…then slumped again. Trixie knows what she did was wrong…Trixie gets it! Now, can she please just return back to her normal life?”

Trixie lay down on the forest grass and started to sob quietly (though not quite teary yet,) something she had not done for a long time. A shadow passed overhead that she did not notice, her eyes closed and focused on her misfortune.

…

Trixie was in tears when Discord found her. Having heard of the petty, amateur magician from older versions of Fluttershy’s letters, she sounded like an awful pony – especially to his Fluttershy. Nevertheless, he could hear sobbing and fast breathing from the blue unicorn, sneaking up behind her to get a closer look. Even thought there was nopony else to see, Discord thought, as a sort of a trickster, slight con-artist, and manipulator, she was faking her tears. He took a closer look and channeled his sense for feeling ponies’ emotions. She wasn’t faking. The tears were real.

What on earth could she possibly be crying about? Discord asked, and tapped on Trixie’s shoulder with a talon.

“W-wah?!” Trixie gasped, looking behind her. A huge, weird looking, mismatched creature stood before her, filling her mind with panic. Her flight instinct almost took over, before she realized that Discord could just follow her anywhere anyway.

“You think I’m weird-looking?” Discord asked, reading Trixie’s mind. “How rude.”

“D-Discord!” Trixie gasped, backing away slightly, then, knowing that Discord could explode in anger, she tried to be polite. “H-hello! W-why are YOU here, pray tell? It’s n-nice to see you! Heh-heh.”

“Well, that is nicer!” Discord exclaimed. That’s my name, don’t wear it out, now! He made a serious face, his eye close to Trixie’s. And I can tell that you are.

“Ulp!” Trixie gulped, terrified at the thought that she had done just that. Recently, she had thought about the Draconequus in her mind, insulting him for what HE had done to Equestria and thinking that she did not deserve the punishment she received, unlike him. She had thought of him as being as being a despicable being who did not deserve any friends or anypony’s trust, especially since his first reign had been so widespread, and she had merely taken over a whole town that was mostly filled with boring earth ponies that needed some excitement like her show in their lives. She was merely entertaining them, Discord only entertained himself.

“I see your thoughts, my dear,” Discord said, “And they are not fair. You toyed with others yourself, and that is not nice. Luckily for you, I am reformed because of Fluttershy, so I’m gonna show you the world and its beauty, and maybe you will understand.”

“Uhhh…Ok, I guess…” Trixie did not dare protest – for the first time in a long time, she felt smaller than somecreature.

…
Discord then decides to show Trixie some beautiful parts of the world, hoping that it would lift her spirits. After spending so much time with Fluttershy, Discord could finally see the true beauty of the world.

To cheer her up, Discord showed Trixie some exotic animals like Quetzals and other animals that she had never seen before. They went to places she had never dreamed of, and they barreling down Neighagra falls, accidentally cause animals/pets to go on the loose from a pet shop by teleporting them out of their cages and not remembering that the door was still open when they did all this, getting an earful from the owner. Discord showed Trixie how to write letter and they spent a magical day until the starts started coming out. Finally, Discord fixed Trixie’s beloved home. They had had a lot of fun!

…

Under the stars, Discord felt the temperature on his muzzle rising. It was probably turning red or pink...um…blushing was it? That was what Fluttershy said it was. How embarrassing. He was falling for this strange magic mare. After some thought, he did think that they could be an amazing power couple with Trixie’s shows. If spiced things up a bit, and added tricks that were not possible with “play magic”, he could turn the shows into actual hits. True magic shows that captivate the mind, widen the imagination, and startle earthly thinking. Why, a few exotic animals popping out here and there, a teleporting hat bunny whizzing around, and lopping portals for Discord to hop around in could make Trixie become a sensation! And showing her some more magic trick magic for unicorns would be easy because he already knew how to do these things innately. He did not want to see her fail. OH, GOSH, was he already caring for another pony already?!

“You are not so different you and me,” Discord asked, “Are we?”

“I guess not,” Trixie said, “And we both have this strange need to both entertain outsselves, and impress ponies at the same time. I guess that is where a lot of our trouble comes from. It’s finding that balance between doing something to list others’ spirits, and doing something that only makes us laugh or feel big. …Now I see that I really DID make a huge mess like everypony said. Humiliation is NOT fun.”

Discord nodded, smiling.

Now it was Trixie’s turn to blush. “Thanks for making me realize that, Discord. You know, you’re not so bad after all. And, I guess, I have to thank Twilight for dealing with that Ursa Minor and getting that Amulet off me. It was clever, and it helped me finally fit my head through the door. You really are a cool looking creature.”

Discord blushed again. “T-thank you, my dear.”

“So…” Discord said, are we going to be like me – are we going to turn down that seething hate for Twilight Sparkle, are we not?”

“Yes,” Trixie stated in a forgiving tone. “Yes, I am. No more trying to boast excessively or showing ponies up. That causes too much trouble. If Twilight ever accepts me as a friend, that’ll be a true mercy. I am ready to start over and gain everyone’s trust from the beginning.”

Discord happily wagged his snake tail. “There you go, I think making up with Princess Twilight and her friends will make up for lost time. Finally, you are beginning to understand friendship! Fluttershy will be proud.”

Discord smiled, then lifted Trixie’s head up towards his and bent his neck down, kissing Trixie passionately. After a moment of feeling uncomfortable at kissing a non-pony creature with a giant fang, Trixie gave in to it and stated warmly:

“You know…I wouldn’t mind actually dating you…you seem like a really interesting creature and your lips are actually quite nice. And your long tooth does not actually get in the way.”

Author's Note

*This story FINALLY HAS been posted on the date of (9/22/22) to make it close to what I would have written had I been able to write it in time for the contest I wrote it for.* :D Happy reading!

(Chapter Revision and Filling) The full story as I envisioned it :)

Trixie slumped her shoulders. Another sad performance.

Nopony trusted Trixie after what she did to Ponyville last time she appeared to do a show. The pony species may be forgiving: but manipulating, controlling, and enslaving Ponyville's entire population in the time span of less than a day was pretty illegal and hard to forget, leaving heavy physical and mental bruises. She trotted back to where her wagon home was, hoping to find some solace in at least getting her rest for the day after another day of actual honest work and not much money from the shows. It was hard for her to pick herself back up after everything that she had done. Trixie was apparently not as good as a magician as she had thought - and now she had lost ponies’ trust in her. At least before Trixie had shown her face in Ponyville, she had not had anyone that hated, nor loved her. Now they hated her, and she could not get her reputation back up to even being neutral.

Every time Trixie even showed even her horn in town, mob-like projectiles such as wads of tomatoes would be hurled at her - even if she tried buying things at the market from afar, her money and produce would be intercepted by other unicorns' magic or pegasi that would do a fly-by wing slap on her items; rendering her produce splattered or some of her money stolen. Trixie had to start levitating more money across to the vendors so she had enough money by the time it got there. Sadly, the unicorn vendors did not help with their own magic, even if they were impartial to Trixie.

“Trixie can't even enjoy a meager meal without somepony ruining her meals every day!”

She's been mostly outlawed in decent towns and other places treated her with the barest respect since word travels quickly from Ponyville – especially bad news or extreme events that change the course of either the town or its residents. These towns, since the ‘bad Trixie’ events only happened in Ponyville, and Trixie had been decent in other places. The “outlaw” part came in because when it concerned Trixie specifically, everypony had the right to refuse their service to her, and could chase her out of town if anyone felt threatened or felt like the unicorn was insulting them. (She DID do that action a bit too frequently for most ponies’ taste, though she had improved on her kinder conversations overall.) Ponyville, though…disliked Trixie with a vengeance, and only let her get food from town because they knew that Trixie had had to earn her money fairly to buy things and the shop owners understood the basic need to eat.

However, Trixie was running out of bits and was technically homeless. She needed help.

The unicorn slumped down near her wagon, which had nearly been destroyed by angry ponies, and started sulking. The vehicle had been placed at the edge of a forest near Ponyville, yet the ponies STILL found where Trixie had hidden it.

“Ugh,” Trixie huffed, "Even a dark secluded place like this wasn’t spared from being destroyed. My reputation is ruined, all because I focused my time way too much on that Twilight Sparkle." She sneered…then slumped again. "Trixie knows what she did was wrong…Trixie gets it! Now, can she please just return back to her normal life?”

Trixie lay down on the forest grass, starting to sob quietly (though not quite teary yet,) something she had not done for a long time. A shadow passed overhead that she did not notice, her eyes closed and focused on her misfortune.

…

Trixie was in tears when Discord found her. Having heard of the petty, amateur magician from older versions of Fluttershy’s letters, she sounded like an awful pony – especially to his Fluttershy. Nevertheless, he could hear sobbing and fast breathing from the blue unicorn, sneaking up behind her to get a closer look. Even though there was nopony else to see, Discord thought, as a sort of a trickster, slight con artist, and manipulator, that she was faking her tears. He took a closer look and channeled his sense for feeling ponies’ emotions. She wasn’t faking. The tears were real, sorrowful.

"What in Equestria could she possibly be crying about?" Discord asked inwardly, and tapped on Trixie’s shoulder with a talon.

“W-wah?!” Trixie gasped, looking both behind and above her. A huge, weird-looking, mismatched creature stood before her, filling her mind with panic. Her flight instinct almost took over, before she realized that from the stories of Discord's reign of terror, he could just follow her anywhere anyway.

“You think I’m weird-looking?” Discord asked, reading Trixie’s mind. “How rude.”

“D-Discord!” Trixie gasped, backing away slightly, trying to mask her fear by taking up a defensive, ready-for-anything, reared-up stance. Then, knowing that Discord could explode in anger due to her apparent rudeness, she tried to be polite. “H-hello! W-why are YOU here, pray tell? It’s n-nice to see you! Heh-heh.”

“Well, that is nicer!” Discord exclaimed. "That’s my name, don’t wear it out, now!" He made a serious face, his eye close to Trixie’s. "And I can tell that you are."

“Ulp!” Trixie gulped, terrified at the thought that she had done just that. Recently, she had thought about the Draconequus in her mind, insulting him for what HE had done to Equestria and thinking that she did not deserve the punishment she received, unlike him. She had thought of him as being a despicable being who did not deserve any friends or anypony’s trust, especially since his first reign had been so widespread, and she had merely taken over a whole town that was mostly filled with boring earth ponies that needed some excitement like her show in their lives. She was merely entertaining them, and when she had enslaved them, her cruelty had been enhanced and she got everyone to learn how to follow orders to the "t," that's all! Discord only entertained himself.

“I know your thoughts, my dear,” Discord said, “And they are not fair. You toyed with others yourself, and that is not nice. Luckily for you, I am reformed because of Fluttershy, so I’m gonna show you the world and its beauty, and maybe you will understand.”

“Uhhh…Ok…” Trixie did not dare protest – for the first time in a long time, she felt smaller than somecreature.
…
Discord then decided to show Trixie some beautiful parts of the world, hoping that it would lift her spirits.

"Well, let me show you the true beauty of this world, and what you almost missed as well as almost prevented other ponies from seeing due to your ego and callousness. And maybe the beauty can cheer you up, who knows."

"Um, Ok, the-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" Trixie was abruptly scooped up from her shoulders by the Spirit of Chaos' front limbs, shooting off into the sky like a falling meteor or star.

"We are now departing the station, miss," Discord explained in a goofy airplane captain's voice, "Watch out-this could be a bumpy and speedy ride! Keep all luggage close to your pony-son and hold onto your hats! Weeeeeee!"

To cheer her up, Discord showed Trixie some exotic animals like Quetzals and other animals that she had never seen before. They went to places she had never dreamed of, and they barreling down Neighagra falls, accidentally cause animals/pets to go on the loose from a pet shop by teleporting them out of their cages and not remembering that the door was still open when they did all this, getting an earful from the owner; (as well as a few-50 bits-lighter in Trixie's personal savings since her stage magic flared up from lack of recent use and the excitement she felt from the seeing the amazing animals and having a spur-of-the-moment thought of owning all of them, then Discord chimed in with his power, inadvertently wanting to fulfill her wishes.) Discord showed Trixie how to write letters and they spent a magical day until the stars started coming out. Finally, Discord conjured up bits for Trixie to get back on her hooves, while pledging help to her whenever she needed it. All-in-all, they had had a lot of fun - a truly unique and beautiful adventure!

During the animal adventure, Trixie had learned that it was actually nice to not be feared or hated - being able to stroke the wild animals and pet, seeing the bear poke its head out of the enclosure - not to hurt her - but to nuzzle her softly (obtaining the awe of Discord.) She knew that the pet store owners and zookeepers would not yell at her for trying to pet or admire the animals that she was allowed to pet. She pondered this over and over again. Suddenly - she got it - she has everyone's TRUST! She could introduce herself to others, eat, sleep, put on shows, and be entertained in *peace*...being able to make new friends and have new experiences, all because of trust. The ponies trusted her to be a decent member of society, they trusted that she would not use tricks to steal their bits, they trusted her to not dine-and-dash after her well-missed proper square meal; and they trusted her to be nice to the animals and leave them alone. They trusted her to be...GOOD.

She knew she had a lot of work to do to restore Ponyville's trust in her and the town's allies/neighbors. She had to restore her livelihood, her reputation, her home, everypony's trust in her, her show, her word; and the fact that she would need to stick to doing and performing the things she know she can do, and admit the truth when she could not perform impossible stunts and feats. Sometimes, certain things just could not be done by the Great and Powerful Trixie. She would learn to behave herself - it was nice to not be run out of town. She would just have to apologize to Twilight and the Mayor - knowing full well that forgiveness would not fix everything. She would have to change herself to make it all better. Trust was easy to give, but not so easy to get...and she had broken that sacred bond with Ponyville, and she would have to rebuild burned bridges again - she liked the place; it was her new home! The whole day was a grand adventure of epic proportions, with Trixie and Discord both gaining feelings for one another when they realized that not only were they actually good-looking in their own ways, but the thought of a relationship between them was becoming more and more appealing and plausible in their heads! Aw!

After spending so much time with Fluttershy, Discord could finally see and show the showmare the true beauty of the world, the landscapes and animal habitats flying by at a pace that allowed them to see the sights and sounds down low and up high, past the land of Ponyville.

…

The day ended with the Spirit looking at the sky with his soon-to-be-new fillyfriend.

Under the stars, Discord felt the temperature on his muzzle rising. It was probably turning red or pink...um…blushing was it? That was what Fluttershy said it was. How embarrassing. He was falling for this strange magic mare. After some thought, he did think that they could be an amazing power couple with Trixie’s shows. If he spiced things up a bit and added tricks that were not possible with “play magic”, he could turn the shows into actual hits. True magic shows that captivate the mind, widen the imagination, and startle earthly thinking. Why, a few exotic animals popping out here and there, a teleporting hat bunny whizzing around, and lopping portals for Discord to hop around in could make Trixie become a sensation! Discord could hear the yelling, and stomp-applauding crowd now - a stunning sensation! And showing her some more magic trick magic for unicorns would be easy because he already knew how to do these things innately. He did not want to see her fail. OH, GOSH, was he already deeply caring for another pony already?!

“You are not so different you and me,” Discord asked, tail wagging from the emotions of having a new crush. “Are we?”

“I guess not,” Trixie said, “And we both have this strange need to both entertain ourselves, and impress ponies at the same time. I guess that is where a lot of our trouble comes from. It’s finding that balance between doing something to list others’ spirits and doing something that only makes us laugh or feel big. …Now I see that I really DID make a huge mess as everypony said. Humiliation is NOT fun.”

Discord nodded, smiling.

Now it was Trixie’s turn to blush. “Thanks for making me realize that, Discord. You know, you’re not so bad after all. And, I guess, I have to thank Twilight for dealing with that Ursa Minor and getting that Amulet off me. It was clever, and it helped me finally fit my head through the door. You really are a cool-looking creature.”

Discord blushed again. “T-thank you, my dear.”

“So…” Discord said, are we going to be like me – are we going to turn down that seething hate for Twilight Sparkle, are we not?”

“Yes,” Trixie stated in a forgiving tone. “Yes, I am. No more trying to boast excessively or showing ponies up. That causes too much trouble. If Twilight ever accepts me as a friend, that’ll be a true mercy. I am ready to start over and gain everyone’s trust from the beginning.”

Discord happily wagged his snake tail, this time voluntarily. “There you go, I think making up with Princess Twilight and her friends will make up for lost time. Finally, you are beginning to understand friendship! Fluttershy will be proud.”

"Hee-hee. I'm glad you taught me the lesson it took you so long to learn," Trixie stated, combing her hair with her hooves nervously. "You helped me not make the same mistake and suffer the same fate - albeit a shorter punishment since I am not immortal. We seem to have the same flaws and similar personalities, and being good creatures really helps our magnificent reputations to blossom in the easiest and most enjoyable way possible! Also, I like your magic and I am glad you changed, otherwise, we would not have met in this way - as comrades, and...possible filly and coltfriends! Uh-dracone-friend!"

On the grassy hill on the edge of Ponyville, in which they were lying, a flash of light and a POOF occurred. A surprised Trixie shot her head back and smiled when she saw what had occurred. Discord had fixed her wagon completely, and Trixie had also found out that he had magically sprinkled in the framework to make it bigger on the inside.

"Thank you, darling - we are pretty great - and you will make a wonderful date! You are very welcome for the help!"

"Haha, yes, we are MAGNIFICENT!" Trixie yelled dramatically with the two-legged pose she always did. She then reigned in her excitement and relapse of pride, sheepishly returning to a standing stance. "Ahem, and thanks for fixing my home."

"It's no problem, Sweetie."

Trixie slid her back across the grass and snuggled up to Discord's serpentine body. She then started to wrap her forelegs around him and snuggle him closely, burying her face in his fluffy chest and smiling contentedly. Discord smiled, then lifted Trixie’s head up towards his and bent his giraffe's neck down, and hesitantly connected their lips; kissing Trixie slowly-then passionately.

"Mwah!"

After a moment of feeling uncomfortable at kissing a non-pony creature with a giant fang, Trixie gave in to it and stated warmly:

“You know…I wouldn’t mind actually dating you…you seem like a really interesting creature and your lips are actually quite nice. And your long tooth does not actually get in the way. I might like the thought of this friendship and dating after all.”

Author's Note

The part where Trixie's home is destroyed, and the part where Trixie realized she destroyed everyone's trust is from the Fimfic fics "One Bowl of Soup" by The Incognito Brony and "Trust" by Bad Horse. Thanks for reading!

Yay, it's FINALLY done as promised! Wow, a whole 1,000 words more than the original story! Sorry this took so long; I kept being busy then I kept forgetting about this story at the last minute! Update: THANKS FOR THE 500 VIEWS! YAY! :) Love you guys! :heart: