Rainbow Dash allowed her body a moment of rest as she landed at the doorstep of the public library.  Even though her flight had halted, and she stood before the door, her body refused to stand still.  The entirety of her wings fidgeted as if the temperature was below freezing, even though it was spring.  Her legs shook and wobbled, giving her a state of unbalance and making it hard for her to stand.  Her breaths were sharp and short; tears pooling in her tired eyes.

She stared at the oak door before her.  From then on, she had two choices: Satiate the pain, or trouble her friends with the heavy burden.  She couldn't do that to her friends.  Her personal issues are for her and her alone.  She can't drag her friends down with her for an age-old problem that resurfaced now.  They don't have anything to do with it, they shouldn't be bothered.

However, the more she represses the issue, the more strength the guilt relieves.  If she went on anymore blocking off her problems and trying to forget about them, they will only get worse and worse later on in life.  She has to deal with them now, or risk hurting others more so later.

It was at the fifth attempt when she finally made a sound whilst knocking on the oak door.  At that point, there was no turning back anymore.  She had decided that her secrets needed to be expelled somehow to somepony.  Constant pressure from repressed memories and assaulting guilt finally brought her to her knees.  It was so simple really, to just have a quiet talk with Twilight.  To just give in and open up to her like a book.  

If the mood wasn't so dark, Dash reckoned she would have laughed at that joke.  Open up like a book.  Twilight.

A minute passed by unnoticed, and Dash decided Twilight was asleep.  Of course, it was the middle of the night.  The only thing that brought her here was the agonizing pain of guilt eating her alive and causing lack of sleep.  There was no way Twilight was up at this time.  And if she was, she probably wouldn't be too happy to have been woken up by Dash.  

She'll have to endure the pain and talk to her in the morning.

Dash turned around due to a metallic clicking noise from behind.  The doorknob ever so slightly jingled and jangled until it twisted and allowed the large door to open, revealing a Twilight that was not so disheveled looking as Dash presumed.  There were no indications of her having just been awoken.  Her mane was relatively normal: straight and even.  Her eyes were not groggy or sleep ridden.  The only feature that was clear on her was the disgruntled glare she was radiating to Dash.

"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash.  Have you come to apologize for Friday's 'event'?"  She asked in a sharp, inquisitive tone.

Dash said nothing.  She knew it was a bad time to come to Twilight.  Not only was it the middle of the night, but it seemed that she was still upset over the other days mishap.

Twilight raised a brow.  "The silent treatment eh?  Well if you didn't come to apologize, then would you care to explain why you are at my door at midnight?!  Is this another prank?"

Maybe I should just leave. Dash thought.  No...I need to talk to somepony about this now. Dash fondled with the words in her throat before she vocalized them.  "I can't sleep."  She muttered.

It was then when Twilight finally noticed something was off about her friend.  Dash kept her head down, eye contact was non-existent, her tone sounded low and sorrowful and her entire body shook.  She reminded Twilight of a lost foal.  A small wave of guilt washed over her.  A friend of hers was vulnerable and in need of help, and she was giving her the cold shoulder.  Some friend she was.

Sighing and dropping her penetrating glare, Twilight stepped to the side.  "Come in, Dash."  Dash took a tentative step forward, almost as if the floor would crumble if she wasn't careful.  Twilight strode ahead of her, heading toward the kitchen.  When she passed her chromatic friend, she noticed many of her feathers were mangled or torn.  Twilight had to stifle a gasp.  Rainbow Dash was known to chew on her wings when she gets extremely stressed.  Whatever Dash is here for, it had to be serious.  "Would you like some tea?"  She asked, thinking of a quick way to relax her friend.  "I was in the middle of making some before you came."

Dash was never a tea pony.  She always saw it as a lame, prancy drink.  Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy, though, seem to be addicted to it.  They always claim it helps to 'soothe the mind and soul' as Rarity would put it.  In the state Dash was in at the time, she could use anything to calm herself down.  So she nodded to Twilight and curled up on a nearby couch.

She cast her gaze down the isle of books at Twilight's disposal.  The various colors of the different spines swirled together through the tear-filled vision Dash had.  She wiped her eyes clean only to have them be refilled a second later.  There was no use in trying to hide her sorrow.  It was clearly evident by her entire body language, and she was sure Twilight caught on as soon as she stepped inside.

The unicorn returned a short while later with a tea kettle and two cups and plates floating beside her.  She placed them on the small table in front of the couch.  With a gaze that never left Dash, Twilight poured two cups of tea and floated one to her shivering companion.  

Dash slowly took the cup from her magical grasp as if it was a phenomenon she had never witnessed.  Clattering from the cup and the small plate underneath rattled the silent library under Dash's shaking hoof.  She brought the cup to her lips and took a careful sip, scorching her tongue in the process.  Dash didn't care, though.  The physical pain from the slight burn was nothing to the pain she felt from within.

Twilight had been patiently waiting for a word from Dash as she finished sipping her tea.  A short silenced passed after she put the cup down, and Twilight opted for the first word.  She was about to speak before Dash beat her to it.

"I'm sorry."  She whispered.  Dash hoped that she was quiet enough so Twilight couldn't hear her, but the dead silence in the library made it easy to hear an ant crawling in the next room.

Twilight smiled and hugged her friend.  "It's no big deal, Dash.  It was only a little prank, right?  No harm done."  Dash remained stone still and quiet.  Twilight pulled back and lifted Dash's head up to make eye contact.  Scarlet lines scattered across her magenta eyes like webbing.  "Come on, Dash, talk to me.  What's wrong?"

Dash kept eye contact for a few seconds, then pulled away and glanced back to the floor.  Words in her mind scrambled to organize themselves to be transformed into speech.  Where should she begin?  There was so much to tell, so much pain and longing.  Her gaze fell upon the teacup again, and she took another sip.  Do we have all night? Dash mused.

"It's a long story.  It'll take a while."  Dash weakly admitted.

"No problem, Dash."  Twilight said.  "Though, I think we might need something stronger than tea to keep us awake."  She risked a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood.  

A phantom of a smile crossed Dash's features, though unnoticed by her friend.  "Ok."  She simply stated.  Where should I begin?, she thought.  I'll start with Friday, when it first started.  

With a final sip of tea, Dash began her tale.  "On Friday, I was flying outside of Ponyville."