//------------------------------// // The Hardest Challenge // Story: My Little Caboose: Blue is Magic! // by DarkWing //------------------------------// "You better have thought up more than just one competition." Sarge muttered as he opened the door. "Alright, what else did you say you were good at? Herding or whatever? We'll do that after if you want Sarge." "What about something that I'm good at?" Sarge muttered. "Well the only thing you're good at is trying to kill me." Grif replied. He turned to Applejack and raised his brow. "And I don't think she seems like one to kill someone for no reason." "Lucky you." Sarge grunted. "Let's get started shall we?" "Ah'll start." Applejack said as she grabbed a tray from beside the oven. "Are you as excited as I am Sarge?" Grif asked. "What the hell do you think?" Sarge muttered. "It's all going according to plan then." Grif smiled. After a few hours Applejack pulled the tray filled with pastries out of the oven and placed it on the table. Grif stared at them briefly before shrugging and popping one in his mouth. "These are good." Grif said thoughtfully as he threw another in his mouth. "What are these?" "Bite sized apple tarts. They're mah own special recipe." Applejack beamed. "Well, you're up next Sarge." Grif said as he funneled the tray of tarts into his mouth. Sarge did not budge, instead he continued to glare at Grif who was giving him a smug look. "What are you waiting for?" Grif asked. "This is a lose-lose situation for me. Either I cook well enough for you to give me the damn point, or I give up and Applejack gets the point." "Well if you don't think you're up to it..." Grif coughed. "There is no challenge that I won't do." "Chop chop then Sarge, I am growing impatient." Grif said with glee. "You two, leave." Sarge grunted as he pushed Applejack and Grif towards the door. "But I wanted to watch you cook." Grif said sarcastically. Sarge slammed the door and Applejack looked at Grif. "Ya shouldn't egg him on like that." Applejack said. "If you were me you would take any chance you could to get him back." "Do ya think he has a chance?" Applejack asked after a brief moment of silence. "None at all, that's what is making this so perfect." "D'ya always treat each other like this? Ya'd think that you would have a decent level of respect for one 'nother after all ya've been through togeth-." "I'm just going to stop you right there." Grif said, shaking his head slightly. "We haven't gone through anything together. It's always been me thrown in front and used as a meat shield to let them run." "Whadya mean by that?" Applejack asked. "I'll just let Sarge tell you later, I'm sure he would love to tell you about his oh so fond memories." Roughly an hour later, Sarge emerged from the kitchen and put an extremely burnt... something... in front of Grif. Grif took a fork and broke off a piece of it and bit it. "It's not bad, actually." Grif said. "Are you joking?" Sarge asked. "Yes, it's fucking awful." Grif chuckled. "Applejack wins, we're done here." "That was only one competition." Sarge yelled. "Yeah... payback is a bitch, isn't it Sarge?" "Yeah, now I'm about to get mine." Sarge muttered, getting up "Sarge, what'd he mean by payback?" Applejack asked. Sarge stopped dead in his tracks before he hit Grif, turning back to Applejack with a blank expression. "Well seeing as he probably won't tell you I will. Ever since I got drafted Sarge has made my life a living hell. He's shot me, hit me, yelled at me and almost all of his plans involve me dying or, in the very least, crippling me. "Sarge, is that true?" Applejack asked. "Yeah but look at him, he needs to have sense knocked into him." Sarge protested. "And get this, Sarge made Fluttershy cry and he apologized instantly without a moment’s hesitation." Grif said. "That's because I have standards for who I beat, like you and the blues." Sarge said seriously. "Girls are fragile and weak and have to be treated like so." Applejack's eyes flared and she bucked Sarge in the jaw. "Son of a bitch." Sarge grunted. "What was that for?" "Fragile and weak?" Applejack asked with a certain fire in her eyes. "Er, that is, I meant-" "Oh this is just perfect." Grif through bouts of laughter. "Shut it." Sarge and Applejack said together, sobering Grif immediately. "Now Sarge, this is what has t' happen." Applejack muttered. "Ah want you to apologize to me and more importantly, ah wantcha t' apologize t' Grif." "What?" Sarge yelled. "I'll say sorry to you, but there is no way I'm apologizing to that sack of shit." "Well Sarge, it seems to me that there is one challenge that you won't do." Grif said. Sarge glared at Grif for a hard ten seconds, he slowly turned to talk to Applejack when she lifted her hoof and pointed it at Grif. "C'mon Sarge, after all ya put him through he at least deserves t' hear it once." Applejack said. "And if ya want t' keep on bein' respected by me n' mah family's eyes ya gotta do it." "You have no idea what you're talking abou-" Applejack pointed her hoof at Grif once again, but this time accompanying it with a hard look. Sarge lowered his head and looked at the ground with a sneer. He turned to Grif and slowly started to walk up to him. Grif sat on the ground, hooves over his mouth in an attempt to hide the biggest grin of his life. Oh my god he is actually going to go through with it. Grif thought to himself. "Grif." Sarge said hesitantly in an extremely forced tone. "I think there is something I-" "Yes Sarge, what is it you want to tell me?" Grif cooed. "I wanted to tell you-" "Yes?" Grif interrupted innocently. "Sorry." Sarge grumbled quietly. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you." "I... said... sorry." Sarge sputtered, pausing to gag after every word. "One more time." "You're pushing what little luck you have left..." Sarge said in a strained voice. "Sarge." Applejack called out. "God dammit." Sarge muttered. He looked up at Grif and cleared his throat. "I am sorry Grif." Grif fell on his back with laughter, eyes starting to water because of his laughing. "See what you did?" Sarge asked Applejack. "Now I'll never hear the end of this." "This is... the greatest day... of my life... ever... of all time." Grif said breathlessly through his laughter. Over at the Carousel Boutique Simmons shuddered violently and he looked around. "What is it Simmons, are you alright?" Rarity asked. "I think so." Simmons said. He walked up to the window and looked outside. "For some reason I feel like hell froze just froze over."