That evening, as promised, Fluttershy arrived at my apartment. I didn't hear her knock at first: I was too busy taking rapid, furious swings at my inflatable punching bag. It was only when she knocked again and called my name - and when Tali barked out a welcome - that I was snapped out of my brief rage. "Coming!" I cried anxiously, and rushed to the door, simultaneously trying to regain my composure.

"You...box?" quizzed Fluttershy, once she had caught sight of my punching bag.

"Not as a sport," I explained wearily. "I just use it to vent my bottled-up anger every now and then."

"I'm not surprised. Your landlady said you were screaming and shouting at the top of your lungs earlier - you even scared the neighbors!"

"Yeah. In all honesty, I'm surprised she didn't give me the boot."

"But, why?" Fluttershy persisted. "I mean, you're the last pony I'd expect to have fits of rage, even that one time last Saturday!"

"I know," I replied, shuddering painfully at the memory. "But you'd be surprised, Fluttershy - I'm not always as even-tempered as I seem."

Fluttershy winced, as if she too were recalling a painful memory. "Well, I know what that feels like," she said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you at Twilight's."

"The castle?!" I exclaimed.

"Of course," replied Fluttershy. "I think it's about time we all had a heart-to-heart talk about the way Rainbow Dash has been treating you."

"She won't be there; will she? Seeing her is the last thing I need."

"No; it'll be just you, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and me. Oh! And maybe Spike and/or Starlight."

"You...arranged all that...for me?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm...I'm touched!"

Fluttershy hugged me gently. "It's nothing," she said modestly. "We're supposed to spread friendship across Equestria - we might as well help our friends back home!"

I went silent in deep thought; then, as we headed off into the gathering evening, I began to sing softly:

"No one could ever know me.
No one could ever see me.
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me."

Fluttershy caught on and sang the next portion:

"Someone to face the day with,
Make it through all the rest with."

Here, I interjected:

"Someone I'll always laugh with."

"Even at my worst, I'm best with you...yeah."

We finished together, exchanged awkward glances, then laughed out loud. "This is the best I've felt all week!" I said, grinning uncontrollably; but my smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, as I wondered how I would get by in weeks to come...

Less than twenty minutes later, I was seated with the Elements of Harmony - minus one - in the throne room of the Castle of Friendship. Each of the young mares had her own throne with her cutie mark inscribed into it, while Spike had his own smaller chair parallel to Twilight's. Just for tonight, they had an extra chair set up specially for me - "Celestia knows what Rainbow'd say if she knew you'd used hers!" remarked Applejack.

"My sentiments exactly," I said grimly.

Now, as I settled in and glanced around the Round Table, my namesake mind was racing: where should I start? Rarity could see my apprehension, and was quick to reassure me. "Take all the time you need, dear - we're all ears!"

Pinkie giggled. "All ears! Wouldn't that be wacky?!"

"It's just an expression, Pinkie," Twilight explained dryly.

"It'd still be wacky!" said Pinkie in a singsong voice.

This brought a hearty chuckle out of me - Pinkie flashed Twilight an innocent smile, as if to say, "Toldja so!"

I took a deep breath. "Well," I began slowly, "as I'm sure you all know, Rainbow Dash and I haven't exactly gotten off on the right hoof. I wish we could be friends, believe me; but it's hard to make friends with somepony who's always bragging or talking down to you."

"She's always had a rather sharp tongue," admitted Rarity, "and a knack for bossiness and insensitivity; but she's usually not this bad."

"Great," I groaned. "Even on a good day, she's a carbon copy of my younger brother, only ten times worse!"

"Hang on a sec," Spike interjected. "How does your brother come into all this?"

"I just see a lot of him in Rainbow Dash," I explained. "Mandolin Wind has always seemed to exceed in things I struggle with: socializing, dating, and a way with words - something he all too often takes for granted. He put me through Tartarus when we were growing up, and he still has a bit of an edge to him even now; but more often than not, when I complain to my parents about how much he's pushing my buttons, they just tell me the usual: 'That's just Mandolin being Mandolin - he'll grow out of it!'

"Come to think of it," I went on, "my dad's always had a rather sarcastic, patronizing side too, not to mention a frightening temper."

Fluttershy let out a small whimper, and shrank back a little in her seat.

"I know," I replied with a twinge of shame. "It's safe to say I've inherited that temper - and it's something I've had to struggle with for years now. I find any anger very upsetting, even if it's my own, and especially if it's aggressive - that could be another reason why I feel so wary around Dash."

Fluttershy let out a sad sigh. "I've been there and beyond myself," she said, hesitating a bit. "You...you wouldn't believe it; but...I turned extremely nasty once."

Rarity cast her a solemn frown. "You mean that dreadful fiasco with Iron Will; don't you?"

"Mm-hmm!" squeaked Fluttershy, in a voice I could hardly hear.

"Who's Iron Will?"

With Rarity and Pinkie's encouragement, Fluttershy painstakingly told me of how she had grown tired of other ponies walking all over her, and attended a traveling minotaur's seminar on how to become more assertive. The only flaw in the solution was Iron Will's philosophy, which was basically tit for tat: if somepony gets in your way, literally push them aside. That being said, it didn't take long for things to go from bad to worse.

"...A-and then," Fluttershy faltered tearfully, as Rarity stood by her side and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, "I - I hurt my own friends! I told Rarity a-and Pinkie their lives were meaningless! I-I w-wish I hadn't, but I d-did! I DI-HI-HI-HI-HI-HIIIIIIIIIIIIID!!!!!!!!!!!" Unable to say any more, she burst into uncontrollable sobs. I could feel my heart break just watching her - what she'd said just couldn't be true!

After a few moments, Fluttershy managed to compose herself, dry her tears, and take a few deep breaths. "I'm so sorry you had to see me like that, Endless," she sniffled, "but I still regret what I did to this day - even after I righted my wrong and started asserting myself more appropriately, the guilt's never really gone away."

"Don't beat yourself up, Fluttershy," I replied gently, trotting over and hugging her. "You realized you went off the rails and you made up for it, and that's all that matters - unlike some," I finished darkly.

"You've got a point, Endless," admitted Twilight. "I don't think Rainbow Dash often realizes how hurtful her words can be."

"Kinda funny, isn't it?" mused Spike. "How she dishes it out one moment, then showboats herself the next?"

"Kinda sorta," I agreed bitterly. "Lording over everypony else while continuously building herself up. The question is: why am I suddenly her new punching bag?" (Here I privately remembered my own, literal punching bag - I think Fluttershy did too, because she gazed curiously at me.)

"Well," said Twilight thoughtfully, "if I know anything about Rainbow, it's that she tends to lash out more when she's under a lot of stress, or if she feels challenged."

"Tell me about it!" piped up Pinkie. "She blew a fuse at me just for saying the word 'hibernate'!"

I blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Long story short: Dashie's pet tortoise was gonna hibernate during winter; she didn't want him to," Pinkie replied quickly.

"That ain't a patch on how she acted when we had to save the Crystal Empire," Applejack continued. "Barkin' at the locals fer a way ta protect the city, scarin' 'em away from the fake Crystal Heart while Twilight 'n' Spike tracked down the real one..."

"Trying to guilt me into jousting with her," put in Fluttershy, rubbing her arm and shivering slightly.

"She guilted you?!" I repeated, stunned.

"Yes," Fluttershy replied unhappily. "She said if the Empire's fate mattered to me, I would go on jousting - and then she turned right around and said she had her reputation to think of."

"Oh, the irony," I deadpanned.

"And let's not forget how Dash reacted to the Mysterious Mare Do Well," frowned Rarity. "She'd been getting so much praise for her heroics lately, she couldn't bare to have some masked stranger take the stage in her place - that masked stranger really being the five of us in disguise, in a bid to deflate her ego. Granted, our tactics, one could argue, were rather underhooved..."

No sooner had Rarity said this than a lightbulb went off in my head. "So, in other words," I said slowly, putting two and two together, "she feels jealous when a newcomer gains a lot of popularity in a short period of time - like she's got competition for her imaginary status as awesomest pony around. Do you think that's why she's being such a pain in the flank?"

"Now that you mention it," Twilight ventured after a few moments' pause, "I wouldn't put it past her. She does have something of a jealous streak."

"Well," I smirked ruefully, "that's one thing I can empathize with her about. Remember how I said I sometimes have trouble with my social skills? Well, seeing anyone far more neurologically impaired than me get ahead in areas I haven't tends to burn me up. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's true. Maybe Rainbow feels the same way: that I shouldn't have become friends with you guys here in Ponyville so quickly, because I'm just some awkward freak!"

"Don't say that, Endless!" cried Fluttershy imploringly. "You're anything but a freak!"

"It's true, you are prone to sensory overload," Rarity added delicately. "I could see that from the day you first arrived."

"But you're a kind, honest feller through and through," finished Applejack. "And ain't that all that really matters at the end o' the day?"

"I'm not really sure anymore," I murmured sadly. "If being nice won't stop Rainbow Dash hating my guts, what will?"

"One way or another, we need to get to the bottom of it," said Twilight stoically. "I suggest we hold another meeting and get Rainbow's side of the story - we'll report back to Endless afterwards."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked anxiously. "There's no telling how she'll react. For all we know, she might get angry with you for holding this meeting without her knowledge, and even angrier with me for whining about her..."

"Whining?!" Rarity burst out incredulously. "Voicing upset over somepony treating you badly is not whining! Thiiiiiiiiiis is whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiinnng!!!!!!" she added in a grating, high-pitched voice.

I snickered, then launched into a massive laughing fit: who knew Rarity had such a taste in theatrics?! As Spike and the mares all joined in, I felt like the luckiest stallion in Equestria. Even though I'd been beginning to doubt it in light of recent incidents, I now felt positive once again, that as long as I had supportive friends on my side, Ponyville was the right place for me...

For a time I thought my faith it must be hidin'
Searchin' through the sky
Hoping to find a way, a way
To get me through the day
Wonder where I belong
Is this where I should stay?

You lift me up when I am fallin'
You're my friend when I was callin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world
Yeah, you always been believin'
Give my life a whole new meanin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world

It's a strength in me it seems I had forgotten
Now I realize today
I'm starting to dream again, again
Was a matter of when
I guess we all lose our way now and then

You lift me up when I am fallin'
You're my friend when I was callin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world
Yeah, you always been believin'
Give my life a whole new meanin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world

Always been believin'
Give my life a whole new meanin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world

Yeah
Top of the whole wide wide world
Yeah, you always been believin'
Give my life a whole new meanin'
Now I'm on top of the world
Top of the whole wide world!

Author's Note

Hope this chapter wasn't too much of a downer: learning about anyone's darker side can be a bit much for anyone. Don't worry - things'll get better soon!

I decided to base Mandolin Wind off my own brother's personality. His name comes not only from Rod Stewart's song of the same name, but also from my brother's talent for bluegrass music. Haven't come up with a pony name for my dad, though; but he can be pretty unpleasant at his worst.

I do not own the music or lyrics to "I'll Be There for You" or "Top of the World".