It's Natural. It just has to be.

Rainbow Dash was finding herself in a rather exhausted, yet content, mood as she left her friend's large, crystal castle. Twilight was smart, smarter than the Athlete herself was, at least. Rainbow Dash had been hoping that her friend could help with a problem, but apparently the Princess of friendship was taking a hiatus from her time as an actual princess. Whatever. It's all cool.

Touching down in the middle of a lush, green field, the cyan mare took in the sight, the sound, and the sensation. Although a month ago she might not have taken the time for such things, lately she'd learned from her mare friend that being calm could be nice. Taking a a brief look around, Rainbow Dash spotted her favorite pony closer to the edge of the clearing, with a beaming smile spilled across her face, happiness and warmth almost literally dripping out of her very expression. That would always be a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey, Shy", greeted Rainbow Dash, with a gentle yet firm nuzzle. She really was always happy to see Fluttershy. Their relationship had grown, exponentially, in size over recent time. And they both loved every moment of it. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, Rainbow Dash,it went very well. It took quite some time, but I think, with a few more days of work, it could be made into something really special!"

"Huh, well that's awesome", commented the daredevil, as they both settled comfortably against a set of trees. Having had quite a bit of practice up to this point, the couple settled into their regular positions together, in a somewhat lazy snuggle. They lay mostly side-by-side, Fluttershy burying her face in her Dashie's neck, with a blue forehoove hung around her torso. "But... I guess that also means you're going to be taking breaks every now and then, right?", Rainbow asked knowingly.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of missing out on naps together". They lay in such a position in silence, wishing they could do nothing aside from hold each other tight for all eternity, for what felt like a small eternity. Eventually though, it was the demure Pegasus who broke the quiet.

"Oh. And uhm... Dashie?"

"Yeah, Flutters?"

"You said you were going to stop by Twilight's castle?", she asked with a resurgence of curiosity.

"Yep, sure did. Did you need something?", she inquired with detectable concern. Rainbow Dash was hoping she hadn't forgotten something. It wouldn't be the first time.

"N-no, nothing like that. I was actually just wondering, was Twilight home?". Rainbow Dash loved to be reminded of how adorable Fluttershy was, not that she could ever forget. The shy pony's reserved attitude brought an inadvertent smile to the cyan mare's face, as she summoned her words.

"Well... it looks like Twilight is gonna be out a few days, Shy. She said she was going to that other world for a bit. She would have gotten us together to tell us, but I'm pretty sure she was in a hurry just now. I walked in just as she was about to start singing."

"Singing? Oh my. I hope it's nothing too serious."

"Nah, she'll be good, I'm sure. If it was something huge, she definitely would have told us first."

"I certainly hope so", Fluttershy commented, as she let her head fall back down onto her lover's chest. Rainbow Dash responded by bringing her forehooves to cradle the head of glorious pink hair.

They lay like that, for yet another several minutes, before the quiet Pegasus broke the silence once again, with obvious sleepiness in her voice. To Rainbow Dash, it sounded as if she were drowsing off even as she spoke.

"Rainbow?"

"Hmm?", she replied, with her own submission to the realm of dreams imminent.

"Do you ever think about the other me, and the other you?", asked one sleepy mare.

"The other us?". The daredevil found it funny that her marefriend would ask of such a thing. On several occasions, the rainbow pegasus had found herself thinking of their other-worldly counterparts. From what Twilight had told them, the Rainbow Dash counterpart sounded pretty awesome. Not quite as awesome as everypony's truly, but still pretty awesome.

"Mhmm".

"Maybe once or twice. Why? Something on your mind, pretty filly?" Although it sometimes wrought cringe upon Rainbow Dash's soul to use sappy pet phrases, she was making progress.

"Just... thinking", she mumbled. This was such a peaceful afternoon. It almost felt too good to be real. "How do you think we are on the other side, Dashie? What do you think we're really like? Do you think we're together in the other world?". By this point, Flutttershy had simply resigned to allowing her eyes to stay closed. Any moment, sleep would probably claim her mind. When it did, it would most likely be several hours before it was reclaimed. In the embrace of her lover, however, she was OK with that.

Rainbow Dash took only a brief moment to ponder, and to recollect her own thoughts. This was also not the first time she's thought about their "human" counterparts. "I sure hope so, Shy. Otherwise, the other me is probably being pretty dense. She'd be missing out on one of the most awesome things ever!"

"The cuddling?"

"No, I mean you. The fact that we cuddle like this is just a huge bonus."

This response compelled Fluttershy to reward her love with a sweet, passionate kiss. Like so many of the affectionate osculations the two had shared, it was indeed passionate, conforming to Daredevil's need for force and speed, yet simultaneously gentle, and calculated, reserved, to account for the Caretaker's affinity for calm, and peace. They held the touch for several seconds, resigning before the need for air could force them apart.

Fluttershy could feel nothing at the moment apart from pure bliss. For the moment, there was absolutely nothing wrong, and nothing to stress. For the moment, it was only her with her Rainbow. The feelings of peace and happiness within were so very prominent, so very intense, that she felt they could almost bring her back from the brink of dreamland.But sleepy cuddles were one of the best types of cuddles. She gazed into infinite pools of cerise, while Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be lost in an endless expanse of cyan.Their relationship was to the point- having been subtly fostered over the years of enduring struggles and common history- that they could simply look into one another's eyes, and be happy.

After several more moments, Rainbow Dash brought her marefriend's head back down to rest, and they remained still. Such is how they spent the next 5 minutes, before they were together inducted and moved, through the realm of dreams. For several consecutive hours, they dreamed of being happy with the pony for whom they wanted only Care and Love, Always.

"So, shopping it is, then?", clarified the Farm Girl, and the Athlete, simultaneously. Although neither one was big on shopping in the slightest, the Fashionista did have a point. The blouse and skirt were not going to cut it for the winter for their extra-dimensional friend. . This was going to be a major pain for some of them.

Rarity, however, looked genuinely confused. "Why, of course, dears. Was there really ever any question? One shan't think that holiday traditions should be so nebulous.".

" Ah 'spose not, whatever that means. Guess I really should have expected it would happen like this. Alright then, come on ya'll, let's get this over with.", pleaded Applejack. She would rather not drag this out anymore than she had to. She had enough trouble Christmas shopping for gifts. Clothes? Definitely not her cup of tea.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, simply hung her arm around Fluttershy's shoulder. In the recent couple of weeks, their friends had found that, as opposed to before, it was now extraordinarily difficult to find one without the other. It was as if it were almost impossible to separate them. Apparently, it worked as it was. Fluttershy attended Rainbow's games and practices, which was nothing out of the ordinary, and Rainbow found some time to spare at the animal shelter, which was a bit more of a radical change.

"Sure, fine. Let's get going. This should be a nice 5 hours of hell", the Athlete half-seriously complained. With that, the 7 of them began to depart.

It was at this moment that Fluttershy remembered she needed to speak up. "Oh, I'm sorry girls, I'm afraid I won't be able to go with you to the mall today", the Caretaker spoke in her typical, soft voice. This caught Rainbow Dash by surprise.

"You won't, Flutters?", she asked with a small modicum of concern. Fluttershy responded by nuzzling Rainbow's neck momentarily, and shaking her head sadly.

The girls all turned their attention to the shy one of the group.

"Is there a problem, Fluttershy? I'm sure the shopping could wait, if you'd like some help.", offered the Princess of Friendship. This wasn't her world. She was the guest. Therefore, she found it appropriate to stand back, and let her friends attempt to throw together a schedule, even if their-as in they, minus Sunset- relative lack of organizational compulsion was killing her on the inside.

"N-no, it's fine, really. I just forgot that there was something I need to finish at the shelter today."

"GIRLS! Would you all be so generous as to WALK FASTER, PLEASE!", exclaimed the Fashionista. In her excitement, she had accelerated far ahead of the rest of the group.

"Yeah, uh, Ah think Ms. Prissy is wantin' to call for us", commented Applejack. However, she only stood in place.

"Hey why don't you guys go ahead and go with her royal highness to the mall. I'll catch up with you.". Rainbow Dash figured she could just catch up to them after having a moment with the girl she'd spent a vast majority of the past 2 weeks with.

The other girls were hesitant. On one hand, there was Fluttershy. On the other was Rarity.

"It's alright girls. If I finish early, maybe we could...uhm... meet up again. I-if that wouldn't be too much trouble."

"You're absolutely certain?", asked Twilight in confirmation.

"Yes, Certainly."

"Well, alright then. Hopefully we'll catch up with you soon. Later, until then, Fluttershy", Twilight fared as she rushed to catch up to the Fashionista. The others wisely decided to follow her example.

Once they were alone, Fluttershy felt a momentary nerve in her chest. They stood in silence for a short time. Was Rainbow Dash upset with her over her not being able to go to the mall? The Caretaker wouldn't think that Rainbow was so... stringent. She knew her well enough to know otherwise, but the nerve was coming from somewhere. "I'm sorry, Dashie", she said quietly, and remorsefully. "I'm sorry we can't walk to the mall together, with our friends.".

Hey, it's alright shy. I mean- it sucks, but sometimes this is just the way it's gonna be, I guess. After all, we've pretty much always been together for the past couple of weeks. Just don't worry about it, OK?". Although Rainbow Dash was somewhat disappointed, she didn't want to make her girlfriend feel pressured to submit. "Oh, hey! We're still spending Christmas together, right?"

"Of course! There's nothing that I would want more!". Rarity may have been a small bit of a busy body, but she was right about the season. Having a love around this time of year would truly make it magical.

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Love you, Fluttershy."

"I love you too, Rainbow Dash."

With that confirmation, the two girls bid good bye with a lingering kiss, and went their separate ways for what seemed like the first time in forever.

Continuing to put distance between them, the Athlete thought it was as if she could literally feel the separation. Despite this misfortune though, she was still the Element of Loyalty. However small the trespass may seem, Rainbow Dash therefore felt she had a responsibility to catch up with her other friends. They may not think much of it if there were only 5 of them at the mall, but the Element of Loyalty took her title seriously.

As she exited Canterlot High School, and the shy caretaker continued to occupy her thoughts, the Rainbow haired extrovert felt the rest of her mind go blank. The mall was the destination. But other than that, there just wasn't much to think. Not urgently, at least. She was just walking. Then something hit her, hard. Suddenly, and without warning, there was a violent sensation in the encephalon. It felt as if there was a vibration inside of her head. Simultaneously, her vision began to go grey. These symptoms persisted for less than half a minute, and receded almost as suddenly as they'd emerged. It was a couple of seconds before words could be formulated. "Ugh. Darn, what the hell was that?", she groaned. Trying to shrug off the absurd physical discomfort she had just experienced, Rainbow Dash continued walking.

As time went on, however, and the symptoms went away completely, a feeling of calm returned, and eventually, self- reflections of radicalness. Sure, it sucked that Fluttershy couldn't be there with her, but it wasn't about to get the prismatic menace down, not for long.

With some mental pep talk, she was feeling better, much to her own surprise. She had no idea exactly what was going on right now with her mind, but it didn't matter. In Rainbow Dash's head, metals started playing, and the world started moving faster. She, however, was outside of it. She could watch and act as she wished, with this new, out-of-nowhere felling of rejuvenation.

In this bout of calm and motion, a rhythm began to assemble itself within Loyalty's domain, and manifested in the form of song. All the thoughts and recent reflections manifested as words and expressions, and composed a song that the Element of Loyalty sung aloud freely, proudly proclaiming the strings of her relationship. If someone heard her, then whatever. Didn't really matter.

"Despite the limits that you’re breaking,
My love is yours for the taking.
My love is
Just waiting,
To turn your tears to roses.

Despite the limits that you’re breaking,
My love is yours for the taking.
My love is
Just waiting,
To turn your tears to roses.

I will be the one that’s gonna hold you,
I will be the one that you run to.
My love is
A covering, and endless rainbow.

No, you’ll never be alone,
When darkness comes I’ll light the
sky with color,
See the rainbow in the Dark.
No, you’ll never be alone,
When darkness comes you know
I’m never far
See the Rainbow in the dark!

You felt so shy and lonely,
You stood there nervous and coyly.
My love is
Just waiting,
To clothe you in rainbow roses.

I will be the one that’s gonna find you,
I will be the one that will protect you.
My love is
A covering, and endless rainbow."

With the mall in view by the time she finished, Rainbow Dash reminded herself. "Man, I am awesome!".

Author's Note

I'm going to be honest with you guys. I kind of feel like I just absolutely bombed the end of this chapter.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=omuYo49_SOQ
In case you're curious what I based those lyrics off of