The Cutie Mark Master
"Well that went smoothly," the white unicorn filly said with biting sarcasm. She attempted to shake loose the small twigs and leaves that had become tangled in the pink and violet curls of her mane.
"It was worth a try, Sweetie Belle," said her yellow friend, whose red mane managed to remain untouched in the fall.
"Somepony help me," a third voice called out. It belonged to Scootaloo, an orange pegasus filly with a wavy purple mane. She was currently hidden within the nearby thistle bush she had landed in.
"At least yer wings helped to slow down yer fall." The yellow filly spoke to the bush in a distinct Southern accent. "I won't be able to sit fer a week."
"It was your idea, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle said, exasperated. Her eyes were closed with the effort of removing a particularly embedded twig from her mane.
"I don't suppose any of ya'll got yer cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked as she helped drag Scootaloo out of the bush by her tail.
"Ouch, cut it out!" the pegasus yelped as she struggled to pull free from her yellow friend's teeth.
The three friends glanced down at their flanks, which remained mockingly barren of any marks other than a clinging leaf or two.
"Darn it, we're never gonna get our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom pouted, her face set in a stubborn frown.
"Where have I heard that before?" Scootaloo remarked as she rolled her purple eyes.
"I still think our talent might be arguing," Sweetie Belle guessed after finally removing the offending twig from her curls.
The three young fillies looked up at the tree they had fallen out of. A clear path of destruction from the branch they had been balancing on to the ground below marked where the girls had plunged to the dirt. There were more loose branches now than there had been when they started.
"Let's just face it," Scootaloo intoned. "Pruning trees is definitely not one of the skills of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
The girls were heading back through the woods to their clubhouse headquarters. Apple Bloom's big sister, Applejack, had passed it on to her about a year ago. It had been badly in need of repair, but the little yellow filly had managed to spruce the place up in admirable fashion and it served as a great place to plan new adventures on their quest to obtain cutie marks.
"I just don't get it, we've tried just about everything!" Apple Bloom complained. "We've done archery, bowlin', climbin', darts, embroidery, fire-eatin', goat-herdin', hockey, ice-sculptin', jewelry-makin', karate, loiterin', mail-delivery, numerology, origami, prunin', quiltin', roller-skatin', scuba-divin', treasure-huntin', unicyclin', vegetable-gardenin', weather prediction, xylophone-playin', yodellin', and zoo keeping. We've done covered the entire alphabet!"
"Don't remind me of that silly zoo," Scootaloo frowned, "Fluttershy wouldn't let us have a sleepover for a whole month after that disaster."
"It's not my fault the animals kept gettin' loose," Apple Bloom retorted with a huff.
"Mmmhmmhmmhmm," came a mumbling chuckle from behind the girls.
"Yikes!" The three friends jumped simultaneously.
They turned around to find a large frog sitting upon a rock off to the side of the path. It regarded them with interest.
Sweetie Belle trotted over to the green amphibian. "Um, did you just laugh at us?" Her voice gave a puzzled squeak.
"Sweetie Belle! Frogs don't talk." Apple Bloom gave her friend an exasperated look.
"Then a frog, I am not," the frog simply uttered.
"Ha, shows what you know! Maybe my talent is animal knowledge," Sweetie Belle said, craning her neck to see if a mark had appeared.
"Whoa, awesome! Can you sing, too?" Scootaloo asked the frog as she trotted over to stand beside it.
"B...but frogs can't talk," Apple Bloom said meekly.
"And acquire cutie marks, you can not!" the frog mocked.
"What the hay?" the yellow filly shouted, annoyed. "And I suppose you can?"
"Obtain a cutie mark, I can not," the frog intoned.
"Hmph!" Apple Bloom raised her head up triumphantly.
"But help others obtain them, I can."
The three girls gasped and looked at one another. Could it be possible, had their luck finally changed?
Sweetie Belle moved her face down to be level with the frog's. "Can you really?" she pleaded.
"Indeed I can. Doga, it is Doga you seek."
"Doga?" the friends exchanged confused looks.
"Who's Doga?" Sweetie Belle asked.
The frog replied, "Doga is the great Cutie Mark Master. Shown many how to obtain their cutie marks, has he."
"A Cutie Mark...Master?" the unicorn filly's voice rose with interest.
"Yes, powerful is he in the ways of the cutie mark," the frog spoke reverently.
"I still want to know if you can sing!" Scootaloo said excitedly.
"Shush you," Apple Bloom said. "How do we find this...Doga?"
The frog pointed into the woods, "In this very forest, Master Doga does live. Follow, and take you to him, I will."
With that said, the frog suddenly hopped off the rock and disappeared into the forest. The three fillies looked at one another for only a moment, then galloped to catch up to their new green friend.
The friends had only travelled a short distance when they came upon a small clearing in which the frog was sitting on an old hollow log. Scootaloo, who was in the lead, skidded to a halt, causing her two friends to crash into her and send the three of them rolling to the ground.
"Oh for the sake of Celestia," Sweetie Belle muttered, pulling leaves and small twigs from her curls once again.
"Could ya at least try to warn us next time, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom grumbled.
"Sorry! You girls didn't have to be right on my tail, you know," the pegasus said sheepishly.
The frog stared at them from his perch on the log.
"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said as she got back on her hooves and glanced to the frog, "hello again."
When all three companions were standing, the frog spoke, "Found what you seek, you have."
The fillies looked all around. The frog was the only living thing besides themselves that they could see.
"Oh, I get it," Scootaloo said with pride, "Master Doga is the log!"
"Don't be a silly filly," Apple Bloom scolded, "How's a log supposed to teach us how to get our cutie marks?"
"It probably has a better chance of knowing than we do," Sweetie Belle muttered.
"Are you Master Doga?" Scootaloo asked, nudging the log with a hoof.
"Get away from the log you feather-brain!" Apple Bloom blustered.
"Dont. Even. Go. There," Scootaloo said as she spun around and glared.
"Are you really sure arguing isn't our talent?" Sweetie Belle asked, again trying to see if a mark had appeared on her flank.
The frog patiently watched as the fillies bickered amongst themselves. It tried to stifle a yawn that came out as a croak.
The three girls stopped what they were doing and looked down at the frog. Apple Bloom blushed and slowly released the headlock she had placed on Scootaloo while Sweetie Belle let go of Apple Bloom's tail with her mouth, her own cheeks turning red.
The unicorn filly made small circles in the dirt with a hoof before saying, "Sorry, Mister Frog."
"Sorry," the other two fillies echoed.
"Can ya please show us to this Master Doga fella'?" Apple Bloom asked the frog. "He doesn't seem to be here."
"Before your very eyes, Master Doga is," the frog responded.
"I told you it was the log!" Scootaloo beamed.
"It's not the log!" the other two fillies shouted.
"Well if it's not the log, then who is it? Is Master Doga... invisible?" Scootaloo asked with wonder.
The three fillies stopped to consider. It was certainly possible that Master Doga was a powerful unicorn if he could help young ponies acquire their cutie marks. Invisibility wasn't out of the question.
"Invisible, Master Doga is not," the frog stated.
"Aw, I was hoping he was invisible," Scootaloo said, dejected.
"I don't get it," Sweetie Belle said, confused.
"Wait a minute... " Apple Bloom said, thinking, "could it be, are you Master Doga?" she asked the frog.
"Correct, you are," the frog stated.
"No way!" Scootaloo said excitedly, "You're a talking frog and a Cutie Mark Master? You're almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!"
"Couldn't ya have just told us back there?" Apple Bloom blurted.
"Quiet, Apple Bloom. Don't make the Master angry or you'll ruin it for us!" Scootaloo said with a look of uncertainty.
"Well it coulda' saved us some trouble," the yellow filly muttered.
"Offended, I am not. Teach you, I will," Master Doga said.
The girls gathered excitedly around the tiny green teacher, their hooves stamping in anxiety. This was it, they were finally going to learn how to get their cutie marks!
"So, uh, what do we do?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"Follow, you will. Begin training, you shall," Doga said and, with a leap, disappeared into the woods once more.
"Again, really?" Apple Bloom muttered as she ran to catch up.
"Shh, he'll hear you!" Scootaloo whispered frantically.
Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her face, then followed her friends as they headed toward their first lesson.
The frog led them through the forest, around trees and rocks, over streams, and through bushes. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had to set a quick pace to keep up. They soon began to run out of breath.
"How much... longer do we... need to run?" Apple Bloom yelled ahead between gasps of air.
"Only with time, will you gain what you seek!" Master Doga's voice answered from the path ahead.
"But we've... been running for... ages!" Sweetie Belle whined.
"Stop!" Scootaloo, who was again in the lead, yelled as she skidded to a halt.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle crashed into their orange friend for the second time and they all went tumbling.
"I tried to warn you this time, it's not my fault!" the pegasus said. She was lying upside down against a tree.
"We weren't that close to ya this time, either," Apple Bloom said, dusting her coat off with her tail.
"Oh, this is ridiculous! Dumb twigs!" Sweetie Belle stamped her hooves as she noticed her mane was once again covered in foliage.
"Oh quit yer whinin', ya sound like Rarity," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle glared, but the yellow filly was already cantering over to Master Doga, who waited patiently on another rock. The friends all gathered around and waited for their teacher to speak.
After a few minutes of silence, Scootaloo asked, "Well, what are we waiting for?"
"Quiet, Scootaloo! I think he's trying to send us thoughts with his mind!" Sweetie Belle said, concentrating.
"I've got a thought for ya... " Apple Bloom began.
"Hey, be nice," the unicorn filly said, hurt, "I just don't want to miss a lesson,"
Apple Bloom hung her head, "I'm sorry, I just wanna know what we're suppose to do."
"It's okay, I want to find out, too!" Sweetie Belle said and gave her friend a quick hug.
"If you girls are done making up, maybe we can get on with it," Scootaloo said impatiently.
"Alright, let's be quiet." Apple Bloom said.
The three girls looked at Master Doga, who had listened to their exchanges impassively. They each put a big grin on their faces, waiting for some kind of response.
"Patience, you must learn," the frog finally said.
"Patience? But we've been waiting our whole lives to get cutie marks!" Apple Bloom pleaded. The others nodded their agreement.
"Patience!" Doga repeated. "Upon this rock, what is it you see?"
"A frog," Apple Bloom said.
"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo frowned, "Sorry about her, I see Master Doga on the rock,"
"Well, he is a frog," the yellow filly muttered under her breath.
"Very good, your answer is." Doga gestured to Scootaloo, who shot a smug look at Apple Bloom. "How came I to speak, hmmm?"
"Is that a trick question?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You opened your mouth and words came out," Apple Bloom said.
"No!" Master Doga stamped a webbed foot on the rock. "Only with time, did I learn to speak."
The girls jumped slightly at the force with which the frog had said 'no'. They looked at each other questioningly. What was the frog getting at?
A sound like a strangled sigh emerged from the frog's mouth.
"Say again?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Nothing at all, said I," Doga stated. The frog took a deep breath and pointed to a nearby tree, "How came so tall, this tree to be?"
The three girls stared at the tree for a few moments. Suddenly Apple Bloom's eyes lit up.
"Applejack says that trees need lots of water and sunlight to help them grow. That's it! We just need to drink lots of water and go play in the sun, then our talents will come naturally!" She beamed.
"Wow, Apple Bloom, I think you're right!" Scootaloo said, jumping up and down with excitement.
"Gee, Apple Bloom, you're really smart!" Sweetie Belle patted her friend on the shoulder.
"Wait, what?" Doga began.
Apple Bloom planted a kiss on the frog's forehead. "Oh thank you, Master Doga. It took a while, but we understand completely now. We'd have never guessed what to do without you! Come on girls, let's go get some water and play!" The fillies ran off giggling out of the clearing and towards their clubhouse.
"No, wait that wasn't it!" Master Doga cried to the empty trees. "Wait, come back and... oh forget it!" A soft purple glow flashed around the frog. It croaked once, then hopped out of the clearing as fast as it could.
Twilight Sparkle and Applejack emerged from some nearby bushes. "Oh darn it, that wasn't supposed to happen! Couldn't ya have kept yourself under control, Twilight? What was with that strangled sigh, anyway?"
"I'm sorry, Applejack, but you had me casting three spells at once! A control spell, ventriloquism, and a camouflage spell to hide my magic aura from around the frog! Do you know how difficult it is to do all that?"
"Well maybe if ya didn't give it that funny accent, ya coulda held onto it better!" Applejack said. "Now the silly fillies are gonna go around drinkin' a bunch of water and gettin' cramps when they run around."
"You're one to talk," Twilight muttered.
"What'd you say?" Applejack peered at her purple friend suspiciously.
"Uh, nothing! I said 'Let's take a walk'. Come on, let's go make sure those three stay out of trouble!" Twilight said as she started down the path the fillies had taken.
"Dang it. I was so certain they were finally going to understand." The orange mare sighed and followed.
As the two friends walked away, the frog sat watching from a safe distance. Those ponies are trouble. The whole lot of them were crazy, it thought. It let off an indignant croak, then hopped back to the safety of the nearby lake.
