//------------------------------//
// CMC Monster Summoners!/No Such Thing 
// Story: Bloody Marey 
// by A Wise Pony 
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The orchards of Sweet Apple Acres were usually peaceful, except for Applebuck and Cider Seasons. The wind would rustle through the leaves as the apples blossomed, fruited, and ripened. However, an aged, little clubhouse in one corner of the farm was rarely quiet: Here lay the headquarters of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Today, however, no sound came from the small treehouse. It was for once, a tranquil afternoon—or so it appeared. 

"Look out below!" a voice cried from above.

A pink parachute careened downward, the cords twisting together and collapsing most of the fabric. Attached to it, three helmeted fillies—a pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony—clung together in fright. At least, the unicorn and the earth pony did; the pegasus was straining at the steering cords.

"Come on you guys, help me out here!" Scootaloo's wings flapped like a hummingbird’s, but they did little good to support the weight of all three fillies.

"We're gonna crash in the trees!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

"No we ain't," Apple Bloom said. "Look!" A sharp wind gusted through the leaves of the orchard below, and the chute suddenly flared open, despite the tangle of the cords. All three breathed a sigh of relief, but then a cross breeze caught them. The fabric folded again, and they plummeted down, down, down, until…CRASH! Amidst the sound of splintering wood, the three ponies smashed through the roof of the clubhouse and bounced off their old sofa. The parachute floated down through the gap as well, and it settled over the three ponies with comical daintiness. 

"Anything?" Scootaloo asked. “Did we get out Cutie Marks?”

"I can't see with this dumb parachute on my head!" Sweetie Belle complained.

The three wrestled with the fabric, trying to fling it off, but eventually settled for unsnapping their harnesses and crawled out from under the snarled parachute. All three glanced expectantly at their flanks, but they saw nothing but their normal coats. The Cutie Mark Crusaders heaved a collective sigh of disappointment.

"At least we can check that off," Scootaloo said. She picked up a pencil from a shelf and crossed out Parachuting from a list entitled 'How to get our Cutie Marks.'

"At least there wasn't any tree sap this time," Sweetie Belle said. "But the roof is demolished."

“I'm on it!" Apple Bloom called down from the roof. "Good thing I was keepin' a hammer and some spare wood and nails up here!" She set to work on the wreck; within minutes, the clubhouse looked like new again. "So," Apple Bloom said as she climbed down the ladder. "What's next on the list?"

"Bungee jumping!" Scootaloo said gleefully. "And, the best part is we already have the cords! I left them in the balloon before we parachuted down. We just need to get back to where we tethered it and-"

"Wait, we were supposed to tie it down?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo groaned. "Do you think it's gone by now?" A glance out the window showed a light purple hot air balloon cheerfully sailing off into the wild blue yonder.

"It is." Apple Bloom sat back on her haunches with a sigh. "What're we supposed to tell Twilight when she comes lookin' for it?"

"Uh…sorry?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Maybe we should have asked to borrow it first," Scootaloo said.

"Ya know Scootaloo, I don't think we're gonna get our Cutie Marks doin' extreme sports," Apple Bloom said. "I mean, pony cannonballs, zip-lining, parachuting, mountain climbing: None of those worked."

"And regular sports didn't work either," Sweetie Belle piped in. "Bowling, scuba diving, roller derby-"

"Okay, I get it!" Scootaloo said. "There are more sports I still think we should try, but you're right; those haven't been working."

"I've been thinking," Apple Bloom said. "Remember how we found that cocka…cockat…what was it again?"

"Cockatrice," Sweetie Belle supplied.

"That chicken/snake thing? Sure," Scootaloo said, "but what's that got to do with getting our cutie marks?"

"Well, remember how it followed us, almost like Winona follows Applejack?"

"I don't think Winona wants to turn your sister into stone," Sweetie Belle said.
"No, that's not the point! It came when we called it!" Apple Bloom looked expectantly at her friends. "Don't you get it?"

The other two shrugged.

"Don't you see? We can call monsters! Maybe that's our talent!"

"Wait a minute," Scootaloo said, puzzled. "Didn't we try that at Fluttershy's?"

"That was Cutie Mark Crusader Creature Catchers," Sweetie Belle recalled. "Not Cutie Mark Crusader Monster Callers!"

"That sounds like we jus’ walk up to their doors to say 'hi'," Apple Bloom pointed out. "It needs to be clear that we're the ones doin’ the calling."

"Maybe…orderers?"

"Or conjurers?"   

"How about...summoners?"

"Summoners! That's it!"

The three fillies raised their voices in unison: "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MONSTER SUMMONERS, YEAH!"

They held a pose for a few seconds and blinked. "Um…what do we do now?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We find some monsters to summon, obviously," Scootaloo said.

"And how are we going to do that?" The purple-haired filly shuddered suddenly. "We're not going back into the Forest, are we?"

The other two shivered as well. "Not after what happened last time," Apple Bloom said. She suddenly remembered something. "Wait a minute, did we ever give that book back to Twilight?"

"You mean the one about ghosts and ghouls?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I might've returned that last week."

"Aw, shucks! There's no way we can ask her to borrow it now! Not after the balloon!" Apple Bloom sighed. "Guess we'll have to try somethin' else."

"Well…maybe we can just wait for her to go and find it, and then we can go into the library," Sweetie Belle suggested. "I mean, somepony on the weather squad's sure to notice a purple balloon flying around without anypony in it. So when she leaves, we just go in and ask Spike for the book."

"I'm liking this idea!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Alright, then girls. To the library!" The three Crusaders clamored down the ramp from the clubhouse and headed into town.

***

"Didn't you just return this book?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, but we need it for another project. D'you mind if we just read it here?" Apple Bloom pleaded, wishing the librarian's assistant would hurry. It had been almost dusk by the time a pegasus had come to the library to get Twilight, and then the Crusaders had waited another ten minutes before entering the library. While that ensured the Twilight was gone, it also meant she'd be back sooner.

"Well, alright. But I don't think Twilight'll let you check it out again without paying the late fees." The baby dragon climbed up a ladder and retrieved a teal book with brass bindings. "What do you need it for, anyways?"

"Crusading stuff," Scootaloo said. "Something awesome this time!"

"Well, did you try zip lining?" Spike asked.

"Um, yes. It was…interesting…" Sweetie Belle said. "But we really need to get busy on this one."

"Alright, but if you need any more ideas, let me know. I've got a whole list of things, from archery to yo-yos." Spike set about tidying the shelves.

The Crusaders set the book down and let it fall open to a random page. "How about Orcs?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Orcs," Sweetie Belle read. "Scaly, savage creatures that live underground, eat small animals-" She gulped. "Let's not." She flipped through a few pages. "What about a Yar-a-ma-ya-hoo?"

"A yarma-what-now?" Apple Bloom asked. "Let's make sure it's somethin' we all can say."

"How about a gremlin?" Scootaloo said, settling on another entry. "These small creatures are said to attach to pegasi mid-flight and try to force them to land by pulling…out…their…feathers…" She cringed as she imagined having individual feathers plucked from her wings. "Okay, not them."

"Does it have to be a monster?" Sweetie Belle asked, flipping through the book some more.

"Well, maybe not." Apple Bloom thought about this for a minute. "I think that as long as it's something supernatural-like, it should work just fine. Why, what'd you find?"

"Bloody Marey," Sweetie Belle read. "A mystical mare who is said to be the ghost of a mother who lost her foal and died of grief. It says that she is still searching for her lost child, and will appear when her name is called three times in front of a darkened mirror."

"That's perfect!" Apple Bloom said. "Why, they even tell you how to call her! We can try it, and if it works, we'll get our Cutie Marks for sure!

"Hey, Spike," Scootaloo called. "Do you have a mirror anywhere in the library?"

"Yeah. Twilight has one in her room." Spike was walking down the stairs with a precariously balanced stack of books.

"Can we use it? Please?" Sweetie Belle begged. "It'll just be for a minute."

"Uh…okay, I guess."

"Thanks Spike!" The three Crusaders raced up the stairs, spinning Spike around. He teetered dangerously for a moment before steadying himself.

"Whew, that was close," he breathed in relief.

The front door of the library slammed open. Spike jumped, lost his balance, and fell off the stairs, the books landing on top of him.

"Oh my goodness! Spike, I'm so sorry!" Twilight hurriedly lifted the books and her assistant back up. "It's just that I'm looking for the Crusaders, and I saw their wagon outside. Are they here?"

"Yeah," Spike answered, rubbing his head. "They're upstairs. They needed a mirror for something."

"Well, I need to have a talk with them about asking before borrowing things, and returning the things they borrow." Twilight stormed up the stairs, a lecture forming in her head.

***

"She's back you guys! We've gotta hurry!" Scootaloo said. She turned the lights out in Twilight's room while Sweetie Belle drew the curtains and Apple Bloom closed the door.

"Okay." Apple Bloom stared into the mirror and took a deep breath. "Bloody Marey!" she shouted.

"Bloody Marey!" Scootaloo repeated. She and Apple Bloom looked expectantly at their friend.

"I don't know…" Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, what if it doesn't work? What if it does work?"

"Twilight's here," Apple Bloom said. "Nothin' can happen that she can't handle. Now hurry up and say-"

The door opened. "Girls?" Twilight said. She looked very annoyed. Spike peered into the room from around her.

"Oh, hi, Twilight,” Apple Bloom greeted. She and the other fillies looked down at the floor. “Sorry 'bout the balloon. We were gonna bring it back, honest."

"And how were you going to do that, with it blown halfway across town? You really need to ask before-" Twilight was distracted by the curtains and lights as she and Spike entered the room. "What are you three doing?"

"We're being Cutie Mark Crusader Monster Summoners!" Scootaloo said. "Or at least, we would be if one of us wasn't chicken."

"I'm not chicken!" Sweetie Belle protested. "I just don't think the story's true!"

"What story?" Twilight noticed the open book. "You mean this one?" She levitated it over and read the section. "Mystical mare…searching…called three times…" She gave a small laugh. "Oh, girls, there's no such thing as Bloody Marey."

A crack of thunder boomed. The darkness of the room deepened as the door slammed shut. The mirror billowed with deep red smoke, that crept down to the floor. There, the cloud coalesced into a deep crimson mare, her eyes weeping tears of what seemed to be blood. The broken horn atop her head pulsed with an unnaturally dim glow. Everypony in the room stared at the apparition in terror.

***