The Cowpony and the Librarian

Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were having lunch at Sweet Apple Acres together. They had been getting together for lunch each Sunday for the past 3 months. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were good friends, they had the kind of friendship where they could talk back to each other and none of them would mind. Most of the time.

Naturally, Twilight was close to both of them equally, same with the rest of her friends.

Twilight sipped her tea, trying her best to mimic the way Rarity had showed her weeks ago when she met up with her and Fluttershy to have a critter-picnic.

Each Sunday at their weekly lunch, each of them would meet up at Sweet Apple Acres and bring their own lunches.
It was for the best, it would be a nightmare to decide on a food that all of them liked that could be home-cooked.

Rainbow Dash brought her signature rainbow-sandwiches, but Applejack always saw it as the Pegasus being too lazy to cook herself, and Twilight was pretty sure the spectra inside the two slices of bread was just spread on at the last minute.

Applejack brought cider and apple fritters for each of them to share, she barely ever got a chance to eat anything herself because each week Rainbow Dash had drunken the cider within 10 minutes, and Twilight would eat all of the fritters before she even knew she was doing it.

Spike generously baked Twilight a small batch of his famous butterscotch cookies each week, and she brought along a book to read whenever Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing about who was the most athletic.

This was one of those times.

"Yeah, whatever, Applesmack!" The blue Pegasus growled, then pointed a hoof at Applejack's cutie mark, "You're the one with apples for your cutie mark, and I have athleticism for my cutie mark! Where's your athleticism cutie mark, huh?"

"There ain't nothin' wrong with having two hobby's, Rainbow Dash!" The earth pony shouted back, pushing Rainbow Dash lightly.

"Lame earth pony!"

"Dumb Pegasus!"

The bickering had became loud enough to distract Twilight from her book she was reading,
"Keep it down, you guys! We come to these picnics each week for socializing and talking, not to argue!"

The pair ignored Twilight, and continued shouting insults at each other.

"Feather-brain!"

"Mud pony!"

"Ignorant!"

"Stubborn!"

Applejack's cheeks were burning hot red, she was just about to shout another insult at the Pegasus, but Twilight put a hoof to her mouth before the words could escape her lips.

"Stop it, you two!" Twilight shouted, "You are both great athletes, you just express it in different ways." She took her hoof away from Applejack's muzzle.

Rainbow Dash's expression turned to confusion, "What do you mean?" She asked,

"Well," Twilight began, "Applejack's hobby is apple-bucking, and that gives her the advantage of being stronger in the hind-legs. But for Rainbow Dash, she's stronger in the forelegs.

"Applejack's physical strength is higher than Rainbow's, but, she has the ability to fly to make up for that lack of physical strength that earth ponies posses."

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash wore a blank expression on their muzzles.

Twilight sighed deeply, then said, "Applejack can buck, Rainbow can punch, Applejack can pick up heavy things, Rainbow can fly."

"Oh, that makes much more sense." The Pegasus said, wrapping a wing around Applejack.

Applejack smiled briefly, then it faded into an evil smirk, "Betcha couldn't spend a day workin' in the farm,"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, then she grew a smirk that matched Applejack's,
"Is that a challenge?"

Applejack shook her head, "I bet ya a whole barrel of hard cider that ya couldn't last two days livin' the farm life."

"And I bet you couldn't last a day living the Pegasus life,

"You win and I'll spend a whole month doing choirs for you, I win and you owe me five barrels of cider."

With that, the orange and the blue pony's spit on their hooves, and were about to hoof-bump, until the unicorn that had been watching the two, said, "How's Applejack going to live 'the Pegasus life' if she can't fly?"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash's hooves were stuck in mid air, inches apart.

"Twi has a point," Applejack said, placing her foreleg back to the wood floor.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, then grinned, "That's why you and Twi should do it!"

Applejack and Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash with a curious look on their muzzles, "Huh?" They both said,

"If Twilight wins, I get 8 barrels of cider. If AJ wins, I have to work on the farm for 3 days."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her Pegasus friend, "So you want me to live in Applejack's horseshoes for a whole 2 days, so you can get free cider?"

Rainbow Dash's grin turned into a sheepish smile, "..Yes?"

Applejack lightly hit Rainbow Dash on the side of her head, "Rainbow, if yer gonna make Twi do this so you can have cider, then ya gonna let her have somethin' outta it too!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Fine. If Twi wins, then she gets a whole tray of apple fritters, and I get 23 barrels of cider."

"..Why do I have the feelin' that every time she brings up how many barrels 'o cider she gets it doubles by 2 times.."

Twilight shook her head in agreement, "Sure. A little friendly competition never hurt a pony."

Rainbow Dash snickered, "Yeah, as long as you don't end up covered in tree sap and end up getting beaten by a purple unicorn who knows close to nothing about racing."

Twilight curled her lower lip, then opened her mouth to protest, but Applejack interrupted her before she could.

"Twi, how we gonna do this?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Well, the easiest way would be to basically do what you and Rarity did a few weeks ago. Simple switch of wardrobe and I'll act like a southern cowpony, and Applejack will act like a smart librarian." Twilight glanced over at Rainbow Dash, "All because Rainbow Dash wants 16-"

"28," Rainbow corrected,

"-Barrels of cider." Twilight finished, then glanced back over at Applejack.

Applejack nodded, "Eeyup."

Rainbow Dash pulled her two friends into a hug, then said confidently, "Let's do this!"