I awoke so suddenly that I nearly fell out of bed! With an anxious yelp, I quickly righted myself. Once I had gotten over my shock, I sat up, stretched, and yawned. "Well, that was somethin'," I remarked, thoroughly bemused.

Judging by the faint light beneath the window shades, it was some late time in the wee hours of the morning - indeed, when I checked my alarm clock, it read 4:45. I lay back down and tried to fall back to sleep; but a whole half hour passed, and still my eyes could not close. All the while, my mind spun, mulling over Luna's advice: don't let the best things in life pass you by.

I sat up once more, and squinted through the weak darkness, trying to make out Tali. To my surprise and joy, he lay nearer to my bed than he had before - he must have got up and moved during the night! I clicked my tongue softly - right away, his sensitive ears perked up, and he looked up at me. "Hey, buddy," I whispered. "I'm really, really sorry I snapped at you - you still love me?"

As if in reply, Tali gave his tail a few gentle thumps on the floor - I smiled from ear to ear. "Thanks, Tal."

Another half hour passed, but I remained restless. At long last, I decided to start the day early, and took Tali outside to do his business. Back in the apartment, I set out some kibble for him, then brewed a pot of coffee and popped some bread in the toaster. About six minutes later, I sat at the breakfast table, enjoying toast and marmalade, and planning my day. "First things first, Tali," I said determinedly. "I'll go right to Fluttershy's house and apologize for yesterday's incident." (Fluttershy had invited me to her rural cottage on the outskirts of town once or twice before, just to hang out, have some tea, or play with her animal friends.)

Tali gave me a soft nudge with his muzzle, as if he expected me to say more. "Oh, so you're wise to my real feelings," I smirked after a brief pause and realization. "I swear, you dogs have more empathy than most ponies!" Tali wagged his tail happily.

"But, how do I fess up to her?" I wondered aloud. "It'd be pretty awkward to just knock on her door and say, 'Fluttershy, I love you', wouldn't it?! And how do I know whether she'll return the feeling?"

At that point, Tali put his paw around my arm, almost as if he were hugging me. Once again, I was momentarily stunned, but put two and two together after a few seconds. "You're right: there's real warmth in her hugs," I said fondly, giving my furry friend a scratch behind the ear. "There may be proof in the pudding, as they say."

Tali reached up and licked my chin affectionately. "Thanks, old pal!" I chuckled.

My plan to set things right was set in motion sooner than I expected. A few hours later, Tali and I were just about to leave the apartment, when we heard a few rapid knocks at the door - you can only imagine my surprise when I answered, and found a very sad-looking Rainbow Dash hovering outside! "Uh...hey...," she said slowly, breaking the awkward silence that followed.

"Hey," I replied, a bit uneasy but mostly still stunned.

"So, about yesterday," went on Rainbow. "It just didn't feel right, you know, leaving things the way we left them..."

"Look," I sighed, starting to get defensive again, "if this is about me turning your friends against you, then..."

"Cool your jets, poodlehead!" Dash snapped - then, to my further astonishment, she winced, groaned, and slapped a hoof to her forehead. "No, no!" she muttered. "I shouldn't have said that. I just wanted to...well, what I mean is..." Her voice trailed away, as she let out an exhausted sigh.

"...Wanna go for a walk?"

Outside a few minutes later, Tali and I ambled along the street, while Rainbow Dash hovered a few inches above us so we could talk face to face. "Look, Endless," she began, "I know I've been...well, a real lout lately; but, the thing is, I just don't know how to..."

"Admit your mistake?”

"Yeah! I mean, don't expect me to make speeches to you or anything - it's hard enough I've got competition with some gawky, scatterbrained Manehattaner..."

"Well, technically, I come from Clyde Park..."

"Do I look like I care?!" Rainbow Dash barked irritably - she grimaced in self-reproach milliseconds later. "Sorry!" she groaned.

"It's fine," I replied. "See? That wasn't so hard!"

"What wasn't so hard?"

"...Apologizing?"

Rainbow exhaled quietly. "I guess not," she admitted.

"And I'm sorry I said you were afraid of your own feelings. I know I've harped a bit about not resorting to insults, but..."

"No," interrupted Rainbow. "It's fine - I needed to hear that."

"But what about that jab I made about hot air clogging your ears? That was a step too far!"

“Maybe," conceded Rainbow. "But up to that specific point, your words sort of opened my eyes a bit - after awhile, at least. I hate to admit it; but, as awesome as I usually am, I can be kind of a sourpuss to my own friends. And sometimes, I do take my issues out on them - like the time I was practicing for the Best Young Flyer Competition."

"How so?"

"Ya see, Fluttershy was the only one of my friends who could come to Cloudsdale and support me - at least until Twilight found this cool spell to prevent her and the others from falling through the clouds. Anyway, I drilled Fluttershy through what it took to be a good cheerleader, and she seemed to learn fast enough; but when she tried to cheer for real, it was super quiet! Just this whispery little 'Yaaaay!'"

"Well, that's Fluttershy for ya," I chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. I yelled at her to crank up the volume, and I even gave her an earful in front of everypony else about how feeble her performance was; but, truth be told, I did it partly because I felt lousy for not living up to my own performance standards. No matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn't pull off a single sonic rainboom! That's my signature move, for Pete's sake!"

"Whoa!" I remarked. "I've heard only a select few pegasi have been able to do that!"

"Yup! Pretty awesome, right?"

"Heck yeah! And you're so fast to begin with - no wonder you made it into the Wonderbolts!"

"Finally catchin' on, are ya?" Rainbow teased, and we both laughed. "But you get my point, right?" she continued. "I was frustrated that my efforts weren't paying off, so I got a bit snippier with Fluttershy than I should've. Guess I made that same mistake again, huh?" she added sadly, looking me right in the eye.

"...You mean...?"

"Yeah - I was a jerk to you out of insecurity. I just felt like you were taking away all the popularity I'd earned here in Ponyville, and it kinda made me snap."

"Well," I said modestly, "I wouldn't take it that far. I'm not really much of a social butterfly."

"But you're so nice and cheerful all the time, and you've gained a reputation for that!" Rainbow persisted. "You don't strut your stuff all that much - don’t get me wrong, your singing voice really is out of this world - but everypony loves you to death just for being you! And you don't even bust your flank for that popularity - it just comes to you like a fish to water!"

It was true I'd made several positive connections since my big move - I'd acknowledged this myself three nights earlier. But even these best-case scenarios had been a bit overwhelming. "Funny," I murmured, reflecting on what Rainbow had just said. "I'm usually so worried about whether ponies like me or not, that I usually don't notice how much they already do! I mean, I've always been kind of awkward, and first impressions can stress the Tartarus outta me - but, for all my dad's criticizing, he has repeatedly told me that most ponies like me the way I am."

"Well," Dash remarked, "Fluttershy sure speaks highly of you. She's a lot like you, y'know," she went on thoughtfully, "always pleasant like that. I mean, sure she can be shy and sensitive, and even a scaredy pony at times; but all in all, she generates a ton of positivity - and she never uses her insecurity to hurt anypony. I don't know how she does it, but she does!"

"She's got a way about her," I agreed, smiling fondly.

I must have started to space out, because Rainbow clapped her front hooves together to get my attention. "Hello?! Thinkin' hard or hardly thinkin'?"

"Sorry," I grinned self-consciously.

Rainbow chuckled reassuringly. "Don't sweat it. Jeez, your mind really is an endless wire!"

"Finally caught on, eh?" I quipped, repeating her previous joke.

"Hey, that's gonna cost ya!" Rainbow admonished playfully. "Then again," she continued ruefully, "I do owe you to begin with - I really am sorry."

"It's okay," I replied. "You know, Fluttershy was right: you really aren't so bad after all."

"And you're not so lame yourself. Maybe I should give this ol' common decency shtick a go more often. Don't count on me to change overnight; but hey, I gotta earn back my reputation somehow!"

"Rainbow...," I said, raising a wary eyebrow.

"Not like that!" she laughed. "I just meant I've gotta patch things up with Twi and the others - wasn't just you I was rotten to, remember?"

"I remember," I mumbled, frowning a little as my mind returned to my previous goal.

"You okay?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about Fluttershy," I explained. "I wanted to go over to her place and patch things up with her."

"And fess up to your everlasting and unreserved love for her?"

I stared, astonished. "How did you...?"

"Well, you kinda get this twinkle in your eye whenever you talk to her - I'd know it anywhere. Even now, you got it just talking about her!"

"Well, how do I know if she'll even love me back?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised!" Rainbow smirked. "Fluttershy could talk nonstop about you, if you let her! She doesn't exactly swoon for you; but the twinkle in her eyes is more or less as bright as yours."

"So..."

"Yeah. I meant that bit about your 'little girlfriend'," Rainbow verified with a blush. "Sorry about that..."

"No worries - all water under the bridge."

"So," Dash went on determinedly, "what are we waiting here for? Next stop: Fluttershy's cottage!" Before I could raise any objections, she had gotten behind both Tali and me, and was rocketing us through the sky!

In less than two minutes, we had arrived at the little path leading up to Fluttershy's house and the meadow adjacent to it. Once Rainbow Dash had set us back on the ground, Tali pranced about excitedly, as if begging her to do it again. I, on the other hand, staggered about dizzily. "Please...don't do that again...for the next millennium!" I panted.

"You're welcome," Dash replied nonchalantly. "Now go on and spill the beans - nopony's stoppin' ya!"

I stared nervously up the path, took a deep breath, and took a few steps forward. I wasn't even halfway there before we heard a familiar, soft voice drifting around from the backyard. Dash, Tali, and I quickly went to investigate - as we drew nearer, we heard the voice sing:

"Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been.
Lives in a dream;
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door.
Who is it for?

All the lonely ponies;
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely ponies;
Where do they all belong?"

Sure enough, the voice belonged to Fluttershy. We saw her halfheartedly scattering birdseed on the ground, her mane and tail just as frazzled and lifeless as they had been the day before - her coat even seemed to have lost some of its usual sheen. Angel, her bear friend Harry, and a few birds were with her, each with the same sorrowful, sympathetic look in their eyes.

"Guess that's our cue," I murmured, clearing my throat a bit. "Hey, Fluttershy?"

As if cautiously biding her time, Fluttershy slowly turned around. "Endless? Rainbow?" she breathed, wide-eyed. "You're...you're not..."

"At each other's throats?" Rainbow Dash cut in.

Fluttershy shuddered. "Not the words I would've used; but, yes."

Following an awkward pause, I cleared my throat a second time. "I never thought that feud would nearly end your friendship - Fluttershy, I'm so sorry I put you through all this grief..."

"What are you talking about?" interrupted Rainbow. "I was the one acting like a big baby!"

"Still, Fluttershy went to the trouble of standing up for me - I at least owe her for that..."

"Endless, if anypony owes her, it's me. If I hadn't been so rude to you, this never would've happened!"

"Well, I did kinda make a scene in front of her..."

"Well, so did I..."

Our dispute was suddenly cut off by a quiet giggle. "At this rate, you two'll never learn!" Fluttershy teased.

Rainbow and I exchanged glances. One look was enough to tell each other that we'd both put two and two together - we were still at odds as to whose fault it was! Nevertheless, we couldn't help laughing too. "You're right, Fluttershy," Rainbow chuckled. "Sorry we left ya hangin'. And I'm even sorrier for everything I said and did," she continued, her voice growing remorseful. "I was petty and cynical and mean-spirited, and I hurt you as well as Endless. But if you give me another chance, I promise I'll never get that carried away with my pride again. And," she added, acknowledging me with a warm smile, "I promise I'll try to work on my attitude."

Shedding overjoyed tears, Fluttershy flung her arms around her friend - the color seemed to flood back to her coat as she did so. "Apology accepted, Dashie," she whispered happily.

Rainbow melted into the hug, catching me off guard as she gave a few sobs of relief. Watching the two mares reconcile, I just had to beam inside and out - everything had resolved itself for the best after all.

After another few moments, Rainbow stood up. "Well, guess I'd better go tell the others. I'll just leave you two to your...private affairs," she finished slyly, and swooshed out of sight.

Fluttershy giggled fondly, wiping away her residual tears. "Well, that's our Rainbow Dash - living it up on the fast lane."

"She really is fun once you get to know her," I smiled, although deep down, I felt more unsettled than ever. Fluttershy was quick to notice my wavering grin. "What's the matter, Endless?" she asked gently. "Everything's all right again - aren't you happy about that?"

"Well, sure," I faltered. "It's just that...well, I wanted to...ugh, I wish I could just get it out already!"

"Get what out?"

I resolved myself with a deep breath: there was no avoiding the confession now. "Fluttershy," I said slowly, "I...I love you..."

Fluttershy swayed on the spot. "What did you say?" she breathed, as if in a sort of trance.

"I love you!" I repeated more emphatically. "I really, truly love you. Ever since that day we met on the train, I've just found myself repeatedly and naturally drawn to you - and at first I thought it was just puppy love, but now I know the feeling is real. And I could yak on and on about all the reasons why it's real; but, I guess the key reason is because I feel myself around you, and I feel happy around you. You unreservedly accept me as I am, more than anypony else I've known in my young life. You're honestly the kindest, most empathic, most beautiful mare I've ever met, and I can't imagine how my new life here in Ponyville would've been enhanced without you!"

For one heart-wrenching moment, Fluttershy stared at me, looking deeply stunned - I was certain I'd said too much. But the very next moment, her face broke into another overjoyed smile. "Oh, Endless," she gasped, "I can't tell you how long I've wished I could tell you that!"

"You kinda did two days ago!" I chuckled, feeling happier than I'd been in ages. "Remember? 'There's the Endless Wire I know and love'?"

"Oh - that," murmured Fluttershy, looking a bit embarrassed. "I wondered why you looked so shocked. I was just using a figure of speech; but I'm sorry if I got your hopes up too high..."

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy!" I cried as I comfortingly took her by the shoulders, being mindful of her healing bruise. "It's perfectly okay! You don't need to be sorry. I'm just glad the feeling turned out to be mutual."

Blushing, Fluttershy returned the hug. "Well, one thing's for sure," she smiled coyly. "If we are gonna be a couple, at least we'll keep each other reassured 24-7!"

I burst out laughing, and Fluttershy quickly joined in. Tali bounded over, tail wagging vigorously; Angel jumped for joy, Harry thumped his paws together in applause, and the birds gave a collective, twittery cheer - something in the way they celebrated told me Fluttershy had confided her crush to them, same as I'd admitted to Tali.

Once everything had calmed down a bit, Fluttershy and I gazed affectionately into each other's eyes. "I love you, Fluttershy," I whispered.

"I love you too, Endless," replied Fluttershy softly.

Then, before we knew it, our lips had touched - Fluttershy drew me just a bit closer, and I ran a hoof through her beautiful, silky mane. As we broke our kiss, the birds began to whistle a gentle tune. I gave a quiet chuckle, recognizing the song, and began to sing along:

"Cherish is the word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside.
You don't know how many times I've wished that I had told you;
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could hold you;
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could
Mold you into someone who could
Cherish me as much as I cherish you."

Fluttershy smiled sweetly and sang the next verse:

"Perish is the word that more than applies
To the hope in my heart each time I realize
That I am not gonna be the one to share your dreams;
That I am not gonna be the one to share your schemes;
That I am not gonna be the one to share what
Seems to be the life that you could
Cherish as much I do yours.

Oh, I'm beginning to think that ponykind has never found
The words that could make you want me.
That have the right amount of letters, just the right sound
That could make you hear, make you see
That you are driving me out of my mind."

"Oh, I could say I need you, but then you'd realize
That I want you, just like a thousand other guys,
Who'd say they loved you, with all the rest of their lies,
When all they wanted was to touch your face, your hooves,
And gaze into your eyes."

With tears of joy flowing from our eyes, we sang the final chorus together:

"Cherish is the word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside.
You don't know how many times I've wished that I had told you;
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could hold you;
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could
Mold you into someone who could
Cherish me as much as I cherish you.

And I do cherish you.
And I do cherish you.

Cherish is the word."

It was a miraculous day, full of wonderful new beginnings: the beginning of a fire-forged friendship with Rainbow Dash; the beginning of a loving relationship with Fluttershy; and third and most importantly, the beginning of a whole new chapter of my life. As long as could I live it with the mare I loved, I felt ready to face whatever it might throw my way; but that's another story...

Author's Note

There you have it folks - Endless and Fluttershy are officially a couple! Stay posted for what their budding romance may bring.

P.S., any Billy Joel fans notice a subtle reference I worked in?

P.P.S., Clyde Park is an obvious reference to my hometown of Hyde Park, New York.

I do not own the music or lyrics to "Eleanor Rigby" or "Cherish".