//------------------------------//
// Two Fools In The Rain (Panic!) 
// Story: Bucket of Apples (Speedwriting Anthology) 
// by applejackofalltrades 
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"I bet you can't catch me!" 

Rainbow Dash soared through the sky, letting the rain pelt against her already soaked fur. It had been a while since the last planned rainstorm, and she had convinced her marefriend to take the time to mess around in the rain. Sure, Rainbow was a grown mare, but that didn't mean she couldn't at least act a little foalish at times, right? 

"Well, 'course I can't catch ya! Ya fly too darn fast," Applejack called from behind her. She wasn't wearing her trademark hat, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t blame her - it would have just gotten wet anyway. 

Rainbow Dash snickered and slowed to a halt. The cloud covered sky offered little sunlight, but even in the gray-filtered setting, Applejack somehow managed to look as good as ever. Rainbow couldn't just leave that behind, so she stayed hovering in place as Applejack cantered up to her. "So what you're saying is that I'm faster than you?" 

Applejack did not mirror Rainbow's cocky grin. Instead, she countered it with an annoyed lift of her eyebrow and an otherwise neutral expression. Rainbow Dash could see through it though, she could tell Applejack was amused. "If we're talkin' about flyin' then sure. I mean, I ain't even got any wings, but if I did, I know I'd beat ya in a race." 

Now, that was definitely a joke. There's no way Applejack could really mean that. She was talking to the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, after all. "You're just lucky you aren't a pegasus," Rainbow Dash boasted. "I'd kick your flank ten times over before you could even get to the finish line!" 

As if to add insult to injury, if there was even any injury that came from Rainbow Dash just telling Applejack straight facts, the pegasus let the rain water collect on the fur of her hooves and then whipped it toward Applejack, who still managed to fake being upset at the useless assault. She was a bad liar, though, and Rainbow Dash could tell by the way her lower lip pouted out and the slightly intensified look in her marefriend's eyes that she was trying to hold back a laugh. 

"Dash, I'm already wet. Ya can't make me more wet!" 

Biting back an inappropriate joke, Rainbow Dash compensated by wiggling her eyebrows. Applejack usually didn’t catch on to her jokes, but she was getting better at it, if better meant that Rainbow Dash was successfully corrupting her mind. And as expected, Applejack simply rolled her eyes and pursed her lips into a tight line. If it wasn't for the lighting and the rain making Applejack's fur wet, Rainbow Dash could have sworn that the dampened orange mare was blushing. She definitely caught the meaning to that one.

If there was anything that the two enjoyed doing, it definitely had to be the friendly arguments they often had. They were no longer moving and instead stood—and flew in place in an intense staredown. If it wasn't for the water pouring down from the clouds above and occasionally dripping into their eyes, there would have been no blinking. 

Either way, they could never really stay that serious with each other. After a moment of squinted eyes and fake scowls, Rainbow Dash shut both her eyes for a moment and stuck out her tongue at the orange mare. Applejack's nose wrinkled a bit as she tried to hold back a laugh again, but even the strongest ponies had a sense of humour, a breaking point. Rainbow Dash enjoyed reaching Applejack’s, and eventually, Applejack broke. Her stern expression softened and curved into a smile, and then the laugh erupted from her throat.  

And it was that laugh. That damn laugh that Rainbow Dash fell in love with. From the moment Rainbow Dash first heard it, it became a part of her. It was deep and hearty. Straight from Applejack's chest and right into Rainbow Dash's heart, where it planted itself, took root, and grew. 

Strong and sturdy, like an apple tree. Or more appropriately, like Applejack. 

In a way, she was Rainbow Dash's apple tree. Forever steady and deep rooted. She could count on her to be there, especially when she needed her most. Or at least, that was the way she explained her feelings to Applejack all that time ago. It probably made no sense, though. Rainbow Dash was never good with plants. She did seem to recall Applejack smiling at her attempt at using tree metaphors, though. 

Rainbow Dash found herself smiling goofily as she finished laughing with her marefriend, who, even drenched with rain in not so flattering lighting, somehow looked like that. 

All at once, Rainbow Dash felt like the luckiest mare to be alive. Sure, getting into the Wonderbolts was cool, and getting placed into the starting team almost topped that. But this? This went above and beyond to new heights that Rainbow Dash didn't even know existed. 

She wasn't about to get all sappy, though. It was pouring outside, and they were supposed to be having fun. This wasn't a scene from that silly romantic book that Rarity always talked about. The cyan mare shook her head swiftly and began to fly backwards slowly. Applejack followed her, and neither of them took their eyes off of each other. 

There might have been a conversation happening, but it was all just casual background noise to Rainbow Dash, whose entire world focused in on those emerald green eyes and the mare who donned them. It was nothing but the soundtrack to what at that point qualified as the best moment of her life. It seemed that every moment she spent with Applejack was in the running to be the best.

The water showering them did not for a moment let up, yet Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel warm in Applejack’s apple-scented presence. The rain was cold, fresh from the lake, but just being near Applejack made Rainbow Dash warm. Maybe it was okay to be cheesy once in a while. 

Rainbow Dash fell in place next to Applejack, still not daring to look away. With their manes plastered to their bodies, the two mares continued to make their way down the path. The park was empty; nopony in their right mind would go out in the rain. 

But love makes you foolish, and fortunately, Rainbow Dash was a fool.