Tell me, dear friends, who is it that controls the horizontal? And who is it that controls the vertical? That would be me, Mysterio! Of course, to help pay the bills, I use the face of the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon, world-famous showmare and charming magician. But, at night, the domed head of Mysterio strikes fear into the hearts and minds of all the criminal scum in Manehattan! Although I at first worked alone, I now work alongside five good friends, albeit one of them is a bit unusual if and when she speaks, as part of the Superior Six! But, how we all came together is a tale for another time. This is the tale of how Mysterio, Master of Illusion, came to be...
~
At a large Victorian manor located in a secluded forest, two teenage foals were running towards their home. One was a colt while the other was a filly.
“We’re gonna be late Smoke! Hurry!” The filly shouted. The colt just laughed a little though as he picked up the pace.
“We’ll be fine Mirror I promise!” Smoke shouted. They soon arrived at the manor with minutes to spare.
"Just in time, kids!" said a unicorn mare with a light blue coat and a white mane and tail. This was the "Great and Powerful," Trixie Lulamoon, a master of illusion and home cook…. at least that’s what she attempted at times. the food on the table was her recent…. experiments.
As she, the kids, and a unicorn stallion with a deep purple coat, and a red mane and tail named Tricky Lulamoon sat down at the table, Trixie asked the foals how school went.
“It was great, mom! All the kids there were really nice…. well except this one filly. She had a orange coat and purple mane. Big meanie.” Mirror said with a pouty face on her that Trixie just found adorable.
“I don’t know what she’s talking about. Scoots isn’t all that bad.” Smoke said as he ate some of the food Trixie cooked. He nearly gagged when he felt the spinach touch his tongue.
“Oh come now boy. Your mom’s cooking isn’t that bad.” Tricky said as he bit down on his own spinach only to gag just like his son. "What in the name of Trembley is wrong with-" said Tricky, only to find that the spinach had turned into what looked like an attempt at a casserole of some kind.
Trixie looked nervous. "Well, the casserole didn't quite turn out as planned, so I thought I'd at least try to make it look edible," she said.
"I stand corrected; your mom's cooking is really bad," said Tricky, causing the foals to laugh.
Trixie looked at the clock. "Uh-oh! I gotta get to the theatre!" said Trixie.
"Aw!" said the kids, obviously sad
"Don't worry, I'll be back tonight," said Trixie.
"But, we'll be in bed!" complained Mirror.
Trixie smiled. "Tricky make sure they don’t stay up too late please?” Tricky just smiled at this and nodded. With that Trixie headed to the garage and off to her gig. Tonight was going to be…. perfect.
~
In a dark office, a tall hooded pony, female judging by the look of her build, approached two huge black leather chairs which were turned away from her.
"You wanted to see me, Big Mares?" asked the figure.
The voice from the chair on the right, a sliky smooth one that made it seem as though the night itself was speaking, said, "Yes. We have a new target for you. The file on the desk."
The hooded figure picked up the file on the desk and looked through it. "A showmare? That's quite a step down from somepony like Dr.Shimmer, isn't it?"
"She may not be in the salary range Dr.Octopus was once in, but like Dr. Shimmer, she shows potential for our plans. Remember, we need super heroes to fight the super villains we create. Speaking of, have you mastered the spell I taught you?" asked the voice from the chair on the left, which made one think of sunlight and gentleness, rather than an enigmatic crime boss.
"Yes," said the hooded figure.
"And?" said the voice from the left chair.
"I have chosen Hayward Seed. Fifteen years ago, he adopted the masked persona of the Scarecrow. He was a murderer who either impaled his victims with a pitchfork or had them torn to shreds with specially trained crows. He was ultimately captured and put to death. If the spell works, he should rise from the grave?" said the hooded figure.
"Yes... and he should develop a few supernatural powers," said the voice from the chair on the left.
"Go now, my beloved daughter. Find a way to push our little showmare into becoming a costumed crime fighter," said the voice from the chair on the left.
"Yes, Mother," said the hooded figure as she bowed and turned to leave.
"One other thing, my dear."
Turning back, the hooded figure said, "Yes?"
"I love you," said the voice from the chair on the right.
"I love you, too, Mom," said the hooded figure before she left.
Once the figure was gone, the voice from the left said, "You do realize that every superhero whose creations we orchestrate increases the odds that the super villains will be traced back to us?"
"Sister, do you not recall who we look like? And, by definition, who we are? Trust me, Gravedigger, nopony will dare to mess with us. And if they do... well, there are two ways we can deal with it," said the voice on the right, who held her dark blue hand out to the side.
"I hope you're right, Tombstone," said the voice on the left. A snow white hand clasped the dark blue one.
As the two crime boss sisters held hands, they looked out on the city of Manehattan... their city.
~
Meanwhile, in a completely packed theater, a giant hydra was on the stage. The only thing standing between it and total carnage, was a unicorn with a light blue coat, a white mane and tail, and wearing a purple witch's hat that matched her cape which had stars and some constellations on it. In addition, she had a dark blue dress with matching heels.
“BACK! BACK FOUL DEMON! RETURN TO THE PITS OF TARTARUS I SAY!” The unicorn howled as she blasted the hydra back with spell blasts from her hands. The creature recoiled from them before she raised both hands and aimed them at the beast. She then spoke one simple word. “EXCELSIOR!” and a blast of pink energy zoomed at the beast and hit it right in it’s heart.
With that. the Hydra let out an ear-splitting roar before it poofed away in a flash of purple smoke and a bamf sound.
The crowd went wild, screaming, "TRIXIE! TRIXIE! TRIXIE!"
Trixie went backstage to her dressing room. "Another successful day at the office for the Great and Powerful Trixie," she said as she looked in the mirror.
Trixie began to get dressed into a blue hoodie, a purple skirt with the image of a cresent moon and a star-tipped magic wand, dark blue boots, and a white shirt. Once again in her normal persona, Trixie Hexia Lulamoon, she walked outside the theater, got swarmed by fans and paparazzi, and eventually made it to her car, a light blue sports car.
As she hit the freeway, Trixie activated the car's Bluetooth feature.
"Hello, you've reached Trixie, Tricky, and the twins, Smoke and Mirror. We're unable to talk to you right now, so leave a message and we'll get back to you," her own voice answered.
"Hi, honey, it's me, Trixie, just calling to let you know that I'll be a little late getting home. I love you, bye," said Trixie.
As she continued her journey home, Trixie smiled to herself. She had a good life going for her. Married to the stallion of her dreams, two beautiful twins, and apparently luck was on her side. Trixie had never truly forgotten her encounter with the anti-heroine Doctor Octopus. She was a reminder that no matter what's happened to us, we can choose to let it shape us into a better pony than ever.
Simply put, Trixie Lulamoon was rocking on top of the world.
And when you're rocking on top of the world, there's nowhere left to go but down.
~
About a half-hour later, Trixie pulled up to her old Victorian manor, hidden deep inside a forest.
Home sweet home, thought Trixie as she pulled into the garage.
Entering the house, Trixie called out, "Honey, I'm-" she stopped short when she saw something she never hoped she'd see. Her home was trashed and items were scattered everywhere as though someone had been searching for something. “No… no not again.” She said to herself as she raced upstairs to check on her children. She opened the door to their room only to find that they were missing. She then heard a cough coming from her bedroom and went to see who it was…. though she already knew in her heart. She opened the door and held a hand to her mouth as she saw the bleeding form of her husband on the ground. He was barely alive as he tried crawling to her.
“TRICKY! NO! NO TRICKY!” Trixie yelled as she ran over to him and hugged his dying form.
“T-Trixie…. I…. I love…. love….” Was all he managed to get out before his eyes became vacant. Trixie just hugged him as tight as she could. Tears streamed down from her face she kissed her late husband’s forehead.
"Good-bye, my love... good-bye," Trixie whimpered.
~
For several days after the funeral, Trixie simply sat in the sitting room of her home, nursing an ever-growing hatred for every last piece of scum that ever called Manehattan home. Doc Ock had been doing some good, but the crime rate was still as strong as ever.
Not even an octopus can make this Tartarus-hole a safe place to live on her own... besides, I think I owe it to Tricky to make sure this never happens to another family... like it did to me, thought Trixie.
With a new purpose in her ever-aching heart, Trixie got to work.
~
The first thing Trixie did was figure out a color scheme for her suit. She looked through and saw several really outlandish color schemes. Really? Who mixes Red and Blue together and the web design looks plain ridiculous! The blue mare thought to herself as she moved on from it. She then came across a unique color palette: green and purple. For some reason the colors seemed to fit together perfectly in her eyes.
The next thing she did was contact several chemical companies. Of course, most of them thought she was crazy, but one, Eclipse Labs, was very eager to help her. They provided her with dry ice and all the other chemicals she needed to both conceal herself and create a grand entrance.
~
Finally, after two weeks, before Trixie stood a green bodysuit with yellow gauntlets, gold boots, a purple cape with two diamond-shaped clasps with eyes in the middle, and a fishbowl-like helmet made out of one-way glass, so she could see out but no one could see in.
I'll need to think of a name for myself... something... mysterious, thought Trixie, before speaking aloud.
"Hello... Mysterio."
That night, as she prowled the rooftops, Mysterio used the springs in her boots to help her get from one rooftop to the next.
Well, the new filly certainly could use some action tonight. And who knows? Maybe I'll get a lead on where my beloved Smoke and Mirror have been taken to, thought Mysterio.
Almost as if on cue, several sirens were heard ringing in the darkness. Mysterio turned her head towards their direction and noticed that they were heading in the direction of the bank.
Well, I suppose I better check that out, thought Mysterio as she used her magic to change direction and head towards the bank. A few leaps later and Mysterio appeared outside the bank and surveyed through a busted open window. The ponies inside all had automatic rifles and shotguns as they held the ponies up.
"I'm not going to tell you again, put the bits in the bag!" yelled the leader
As Mysterio peered inside the bank, she saw that the thugs had several ponies opening bit registers with terrified looks on their faces.
All right... It's showtime! thought Mysterio, her horn glowing under her helmet.
A loud crack rang through the vast lobby and a bizarrely dressed pony with a purple cape appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"BEHOLD EVERYPONY! I AM MYSTERIO!" the cloaked pony yelled, her voice somewhat distorted as a stream of smoke appeared at her hooves.
"What kind of get up is that?" one of the robbers asked Mysterio.
Mysterio frowned, her expression hidden behind the one-way glass of her helmet. "A very expensive one. Now, do I have to ask you if you want to do this the easy way or the fun way?” She asked the thugs.
The leader of the thugs laughed. "That's your idea? Well, here's mine; you get over there with the other hostages, or me and my boys will fill you full of lead," he said. With that the thugs all fired at her. Mysterio dodged some of the gunfire but some bullets managed to make contact on her. SWEET FAUST ABOVE THESE THINGS HURT! THEATER DOES NOT PREPARE YOU FOR THIS! Mysterio thought to herself. The thugs still were firing when Mysterio let loose another smoke screen and disappeared.
"All right, fun way it is," said Mysterio through gritted teeth.
Although it was blurred by the helmet and the second smokescreen, Mysterio lit up her horn. Another large cloud of smoke appeared, shaping and gathering into what quickly became a giant cobra.
"Still want to do this the fun way?" said Mysterio.
The thugs jaws dropped in amazement at the very sight of the snake. The lead thug was the first to recover as he got over the shock of the sight before him. “Nice party trick freak!” He shouted as he blasted the snake with a shotgun only for the bullets to go through it. "Wha-what?" said the thug.
Mysterio smirked, but then out of the corner of her eye she saw bulltetholes very close to a young mare and her colt.
I need to be more careful! I don’t think I could live with myself if something happened to those two! Mysterio thought to herself as the snake moved and coiled around the thugs. Mysterio just grimaced in pain as her wounds continued to bleed.
"Okay! Okay! We give up! Just please don't let this thing eat us!" yelled the leader.
"Very good. Now, toss your guns away and let these officers take you away," said Mysterio.
The thugs took one good look at the towering snake and did as they were told.
The hostages slowly got up, still somewhat terrified by the pony who had saved them.
"I can see that you are all afraid of me and what I can do. Don't be. Mysterio never harms innocents. But, obviously I'm still learning how to be a hero. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to see a doctor, preferably one with the normal amount of limbs, about my injuries," said Mysterio, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
~
Later that night, as she lay in her hospital bed, Trixie Lulamoon looked out the window at the city. She had told the doctors that she had been mugged. But, she knew that she was lucky that it was just a few bullet wounds and not something worse.
After seeing what Doc Ock fights, I'm just glad it was a robbery by normal thugs... she thought to herself. Trixie then closed her eyes and fell asleep, unaware that something truly terrifying was headed her way...
~
Meanwhile, the black hooded figure, who is merely called the Rose, prowled the Manehattan Graveyard, searching for a particular headstone. She carried a costume that looked like that of the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz movie.
"Where are you? Where are you? Ah-ha! There you are," said Rose. She had found the headstone of Hayword Seed.
Setting the costume down, the Rose raised her hands, her concealed horn glowing with purplish energy as she began the incantation. “Exite de praeteritis creatura. Surge, et novus dominus tuos.” A moment later the ground was glowing the same purplish energy before it started to crackle with black lightning. Suddenly a corpse erupted from the ground and started to convulse violently. The convulsions stopped a moment later as the corpse landed on the ground with both hooves. Its face a rotting mess as it took a deep breath.
"I live…. again.”