Rekindling the Flames

by CoJoThom98

Ch. 10: Royal Guidance

Sunset stands in the middle of the CHS quad, facing the portal to Equestria. She’s been standing there staring at the portal for a few minutes, hesitant to walk through. On her way over, she was eager to meet Princess Twilight and finally get some guidance about her current conflict. Now that she stands right before the entrance to her old home, she is having second thoughts about this meeting.

What if I walk away with more questions than answers? Sunset thinks. Is she even the right person to talk to about this? How can I know if she’ll give me the advice I need? More and more questions and concerns run through her head. However, she shakes these thoughts away. I need to see her regardless of the outcome. I need an outsider's perspective.

With that thought in mind, Sunset takes in a deep breath and steps through the portal. Within a few seconds, she successfully crosses over to the other side and finds herself back in Equestria. She looks around and takes in her surroundings. She is in what was, the last time she was here, Princess Celestia’s office, still with a desk, several tall bookshelves, and a fireplace with a lounging area in front of it. There are picture frames on the desk, but as they are facing away from her she cannot tell if those have been changed yet. She looks around the room and notices that Princess Twilight is nowhere to be seen.

Sunset steps off the portal’s stand but wobbles as she walks. She falls forward and lands on her front hooves. Oh right, back to quadrupedal walking. She trots around the room to see if the princess is behind the bookshelves, but Princess Twilight is nowhere to be found.Sunset is perplexed by this. Aside from the time Starlight Glimmer met her, Princess Twilight was always by the portal to greet Sunset whenever she came over, especially when it came to matters of Equestrian magic. Well, she might be busy with other duties. She is the Princess of Equestria now. I guess I should wait in here until she returns.

Sunset trots over to one of the bookcases, deciding to do some casual reading to help pass the time. She casts a magical aura on one of the books that catches her eye and pulls it down in front of her. She reads the title on the cover, “Hm, ‘Everything You Wanted to Know About Sleepovers But Were Too Afraid to Ask,’ well this should be interesting.” She takes a seat on one of the chairs near to her and begins to read.

An hour goes by when Sunset’s impatience becomes too much to bear. She closes the book and sets it on the stand next to the chair. She gets off the chair and trots around the room in frustration. “Shouldn’t she be here by now?” she mutters. “What is taking her so long?” Her trotting finds herself in front of the office door. “You know what, screw it! I’m going to look for her.” She opens the door with her magic and walks into a hallway devoid of any kind of activity. This doesn’t strike her as odd since this part of the castle, as Sunset remembers, was always a bit more private and meant more for Celestia and her students.

She walks down the hall until she comes to an end, where it splits off into two directions. Sunset looks down both ends and doesn’t see very many ponies walking about, aside from a few guards standing at their posts. She takes a right and continues walking towards one end, where some guards are stationed. She considers asking them, but they are doing a fifty-yard stare and paying her absolutely no attention, so she decides to look around a bit more on her own. She keeps searching for Princess Twilight but her search is starting to become fruitless as every new hall or room shows no evidence of the Princess’s whereabouts. Ugh, she’s gotta be around here somewhere.

She makes another turn into a new hallway but she halts after taking a few steps when a voice from behind calls out to her. “Excuse ma’am, can I speak with you for a moment,” the voice calls. It sounds familiar to her. She turns around to face the source of the voice, her eyes widen when she sees who’s walking up to her. It’s a stallion pegasus with a yellow-orange coat, dark blue mane and tail, wearing maroon armor with gold trimmings and a blue shield chest piece with a lighting streak going down the middle. Sunset freezes in place, she stares at the pony counterpart of Flash Sentry.

Flash responds to her staring with a confused and concerned look. “Uh, are you alright ma’am?” he asks.

Sunset shakes her head, bringing herself back into reality. “Yes, yes,” she quickly responds. “Sorry, you just look an awful lot like someone I know.”

Flash chuckles. “Yeah I get that a lot,” he says.

Sunset blushes a little bit from embarrassment. “Well anyway, is there a problem, sir?” Sunset asks.

“There is no problem, ma’am,” Flash responds. “However, you do seem to be a bit lost. Are you looking for something or somepony?”

Sunset is hesitant to tell Flash her true intentions at first. After all, if she popped into the castle seemingly out of nowhere and tells him she’s looking for Princess Twilight, he might get a bit suspicious. On the other hand (or hoof) if he’s anything like his human counterpart, he won’t presume the worst and might be more than willing to help her.

“Um, yes,” says Sunset, “I’m actually looking for Princess Twilight. I’m supposed to be meeting her today.”

Flash adopts a curious look. “I see, what’s your name?”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

Flash raises his right hoof to his chin and looks off to the side, appearing as if he’s trying to remember something. “I don’t recall there being a ‘Sunset Shimmer’ in the Princess’s appointment book for today,” he thinks aloud. Sunset starts to feel a few drops of sweat forming on her forehead, a lump begins to grow in her throat, and a shiver of fear creeps up her spine. “But, then again, she does have a habit of inviting ponies over unannounced and off-schedule.” Sunset feels a wave of relief come over her; she lets out a heavy sigh, as though she’s been holding her breath.

“Well,” Sunset says, “do you know where I can find Princess Twilight? It’s kind of important that I see her.”

“Certainly, follow me,” Flash says as he walks pass Sunset and down the hall. Sunset doesn’t follow at first, she instead looks at him with confusion. Flash stops after taking a few steps when he notices he doesn’t hear her following him. He looks back at Sunset and asks, “Aren’t you coming along?”

“Aren’t you going to ask what this meeting is about?” Sunset asks. “You are part of the Royal Guard, isn’t it your job to screen for possible threats?”

Flash turns back around and walks up to her. “First off, I’m the Captain of the Guard,” he says, sounding a tinge insulted. “Second, whatever business you have with the Princess is something she will be aware of if true. Third, in the time we have been conversing, you have not displayed any signs that you are a threat to anyone, including the princess. I think it’s safe for me to presume that you mean the princess no harm. Now if we’re done here, shall we go see Princess Twilight?”

Sunset nods and allows Flash to lead the way. She trots alongside him. After walking for a minute or so, Sunset tries to strike up a casual conversation. “So, I don’t think I ever got your name,” Sunset says.

“It’s Flash,” he responds. “Captain Flash Sentry.”

“Well, nice to meet you Flash,” Sunset says. She tries to think of something else to say but nothing comes to mind. It becomes more difficult when an awkward silence fills the void.

“Forgive me for asking,” Flash says breaking the silence, “but what exactly is your relationship with Princess Twilight? You seem familiar but I don’t know from where. Are you an old friend of hers?”

“Kind of, but I’m really one of her students,” Sunset explains.

“A student? You seem a bit old to be part of the School of Magic, even for an upper class pony,” says Flash.

“Well it’s… it’s kind of hard to explain,” she says. “I’m a long distance student?” She’s at a loss as to how to properly explain her situation to Flash without confusing him or making him think she’s crazy.

Before she can explain any further, a look of realization comes across Flash’s face. “Oh wait, are you that one student who lives in a parallel universe?” Flash asks.

Sunset dons an expression of surprise. “Yes! How do you know?”

“Twilight talks about you every now and then,” Flash explains. “Plus, I think I remember you from an incident several moons ago that happened during my first assignment at the Crystal Empire.”

Sunset’s face blushes as she remembers the night she stole Twilight’s Element of Harmony. She finds a bit surprising that he remembers that night, but it’s not every day that an Element gets stolen and is brought to a parallel world. “Oh, right, that,” Sunset says sheepishly.

“Ah, don’t feel so insecure,” Flash says looking down at her with a grin. “I’m well aware of your reformation. Honestly, it’s impressive how far you’ve come, from the exiled student of Princess Celestia to the star student of Princess Twilight. You should feel proud; I certainly know your teacher is.”

“Thank you, and I am,” Sunset says. “Hey can I ask you something? It’s a little bit of a gnawing thought.”

“Certainly,” Flash answers.

“Before I came over to Equestria, Princess Twilight told me that the two of you were dating. Is that true?” Sunset asks.

Flash closes his eyes briefly and blushes before letting out a sheepish chuckle. “I honestly would be surprised if she didn’t tell you,” Flash says. “Yes it’s true, we’ve been dating for nearly a month now.”

“Wow,” Sunset says, astonished. She finds it amazing that she hadn't known about this yet. “So how did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not at all,” Flash says. “There’s hardly anything confidential about our relationship. Well, we started out as friends. We officially introduced ourselves to each other about a day or two after her coronation, when I was appointed as the new Captain by her brother, the former Captain. At first, things were professional, but after a while though, we decided to start to get to know each other better and about four weeks later we decided to go steady. So far, there’s been zero regrets.”

“Huh, you make it sound so easy,” Sunset says as she faces away from Flash and glances at the ground.

Flash glances over at Sunset, his curiosity beginning to grow a little. “Well, it became easier once I got over my cold hooves,” says Flash.

Sunset cocks her right brow in curiosity and looks back up at Flash. “What do you mean?” she asks.

“I was terrified to ask Twilight out, especially once I realized I was developing feelings for her,” he says, “I mean, she is technically my boss, and the Ruler of Equestria, but once I realized she was still a pony, and mustered the courage to actually talk to her about it, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there.”

Sunset gives him a doubting look. “It can’t be that easy can it?” she asks, her tone shifting from doubt to frustration. “I mean, aren't you afraid that you might screw it up? Or that you might end up hurting him—her?”

Flash is taken slightly aback by this sudden shift. This conversation certainly has taken a one-eighty. He realizes that these questions have been brought in with some extra baggage. “Are you asking me those questions, or yourself?” he asks. Sunset’s expression changes when she realizes her questions and the tone in which they were delivered. Her face turns a shade of red from embarrassment.

Before she can say anything else, they arrive at a set of large, wooden double doors. “It appears we are here,” Flash says as he opens the right door with his hoof and leads Sunset inside. The room is a large study area with numerous bookshelves, almost like a miniature library. Flash leads Sunset over to a desk, cornered off into a section of the room, where Princess Twilight is sitting while looking over several sheets of parchment.

“Princess Twilight,” Flash says, trying to grab her attention. When she doesn’t look away from the parchments he adds, “you have a visitor.”

Twilight looks up from her work and her eyes widen when she sees Sunset standing before her. “Sunset Shimmer!” she exclaims as she gets up from her seat and walks over to Sunset to give her a hug. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet you in my office,” Twilight says as she pulls away from her hug. “I had an impromptu meeting with some of the castle staff right after our conversation. I was going to meet you after the meeting, but they gave me a lot more reports to look over than I was expecting.” Twilight quickly looks over and notices Flash still standing at attention, waiting to be dismissed. “That’ll be all Flash.”

“Your Highness,” Flash says as he bows and proceeds to exit the study.

“I’ll see you for dinner tonight,” Twilight calls out to him.

“Certainly, Your Highness,” Flash calls back.

“‘Your Highness,’ do you have all your coltfriends call you that?” Sunset asks with a slightly teasing tone.

Twilight giggles and gives Sunset a small nudge. “No, Flash just prefers to act professional when he’s on duty,” Twilight responds. “I’ve tried telling him he doesn’t need to, but he insists on setting a good example for his guards.” Twilight walks back over to her seat while levitating an additional chair from another desk close by, setting it down on the opposite side of her desk. “Have a seat, I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about. I can order some tea if you like?”

“Some tea sounds nice,” Sunset remarks as she takes her seat at the desk. “I could use something more soothing than coffee after last night.”

As Twilight takes a seat, she pulls up a small, golden bell from seemingly out of nowhere and gives it a shake, causing soft jiggles to ring. A servant mare also appears seemingly out of nowhere, nearly giving Sunset a heart attack, and bows to Twilight, awaiting orders. “Would you be so kind as to fetch us some tea, please?” Twilight politely requests.

“Certainly Princess,” the servant replies in a congested-sounding voice. “How would you like your tea?”

“Earl Grey, hot,” says Twilight. The servants nods in response and walks off to fetch the tea. Twilight then focuses her attention on Sunset. “So, I’m guessing you’ll want to get straight to business?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to finish up all that business first?” Sunset asks, pointing at the array of parchments on the desk. “I can wait until your done.”

“Oh don’t worry,” Twilight responds, “I was practically done by the time you came in. Besides, as I said earlier, whatever is important to you is important to me. Now, what’s going on between you and Flash?”

Sunset looks away briefly, anxiously rubbing her front hooves. She takes a deep breath, looks at Twilight, and begins. “Well, I guess I better start from the beginning,” says Sunset. “It all started about a month or so ago. The girls, or rather Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, set up a meeting between me and Flash to finally put our past behind us and start over as friends. We met up at Sugar Cube Corner, and we both agreed we should do so and had a pleasant conversation afterwards.”

“Well, it’s nice to hear you’re continuing in your efforts to right your wrongs,” Twilight remarks with a swelling pride for her student. “So when did you start to feel conflicted about him?”

“I guess, it was the next day that essentially put me down this path,” Sunset says. “We’re in the same history class, and we decided to work on our paper for the class together. At some point during our study session, the topic of dating came up, and I basically freaked out and said some things I immediately regretted soon after. We made up the next day, of course, and we continued being friends.”

“So during this month, was there a point where you started to develop deeper feelings for him?” Twilight asks.

“I’m not sure. Even looking back, I can’t exactly point to a specific point of origin,” says Sunset. “It was just something that naturally began to develop. Though during that month, I was pretty much in denial that I was starting to like him. The girls kept insisting that I was, and I kept insisting that we were just becoming really close friends. It wasn’t until last night that I finally realized that these feelings for Flash are real.”

“What happened last night that made you realize this?” Twilight asks.

Sunset is hesitant at first to revisit the events of last night. “Well, Flash and I went out to this festival to celebrate the good grade I got on a project,” she says. “We had a nice dinner, a pleasant conversation, and a lovely evening walk through the park. Looking back, I should’ve known something was up, because it was during this walk that he revealed his deeper feelings for me. He poured his entire heart out, I became entranced by everything he said, and we nearly kissed. The strangest thing is that there was a big part of me that wanted this to happen, and it just took me over.”

“I sense there’s a ‘but’ coming,” Twilight says.

“A huge ‘but,’” says Sunset. “There was also another big part of me that said that this can’t happen. That part took control and caused me to stop us from kissing at the last second. I suddenly was afraid and guilty. I was shaking like I had seen a ghost and even started to cry. Then I just ran away as fast as I could. He tried to reach out to me but I pushed him away. I told him I didn’t want to hurt him again.” Sunset briefly looks down at the floor as feelings of shame begin to take over her. She looks back up at Twilight who’s composure hasn’t changed, even after what Sunset said.

“I’m guessing that is what prompted you to write to me?” Twilight asks.

Sunset nods. “Yeah, I normally would go to the girls about something like this, but they’re too adamant on seeing me and Flash become a thing,” she says. “I need a neutral and sound voice to give me some guidance.”

Before Twilight says anything else, the servant from earlier walks with a silver platter that has a teapot, two white tea cups with gold trimming, and a small sugar bowl. Twilight thanks the servant for the tea and pours her and Sunset a cup. Twilight stirs in a few teaspoons of sugar into her cup and takes a sip. “Well, before I can offer any advice, I need to know what are your feelings toward Flash,” she says. “How does he make you feel when you’re around him?”

Sunset takes a sip from her cup as she ponder Twilights question. “I guess I feel comfortable around him,” she says, blushing a little, “Like putting on your favorite sweater. We’ve hugged a few times, and he makes me feel secure when I’m in his arms, like nothing can harm or scare me. He makes me laugh and instills confidence in me when I need it. It's almost like he fills a part of me that has been left vacant for so long.”

“Hm,” Twilight muses, before she takes another sip of tea. “I think I’m getting a picture. Now, tell me what it is you like about him?”

“Many things,” Sunset remarks with another blush. “He’s funny, charming, kind, helpful, inspiring, and he’s great to talk to. There really isn’t anything I don’t like about him, or at least that’s how I feel right now.”

Twilight takes another sip of her tea. “Well, knowing how he makes you feel, what you admire about him, and how strong the friendship between the two of you is, it’s quite clear that you’re in love.” Her tone is straight forward, no teasing and no hidden implications. Sunset leans back in her chair, her face takes on a look of disappointment. “I’m guessing my answer displeases you?”

“No, it’s just,” Sunset pauses, trying to find the right words to say, “I pretty much figured that was the case. What I’m looking for is guidance; I know I have these feelings but I don’t know what to do with them.”

“Tell him,” Twilight says.

“What?” Sunset responds.

“You tell him how you feel about him,” says Twilight. “If you have these feelings for him then he needs to know. There’s no point in hiding it, especially since you already know how he feels about you. Once you do, then you can move on from there.”

“But I can’t date him,” Sunset says with increasing frustration.

“Why not?” Twilight asks.

“Because I don’t want to hurt him again,” says Sunset. “I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes again. I’ve already caused him enough pain in his life.”

“What makes you think that you’ll repeat the same mistakes?” Twilight asks. “Sunset, you do realize that you are a different person now than you were back then?”

“I know I’m different now,” says Sunset. “I was an awful person, and I’m glad I’m not like that anymore.”

“So then you have nothing to be afraid of,” Twilight answers. “The Sunset who hurt Flash is not the same Sunset who is sitting right in front of me. I know for a fact that you would never intentionally cause harm to anyone.”

“But what if I do end up harming him?” Sunset asks. “I don’t want to end up being a source of pain for him.” Sunset leans forward on the table and places her head in her hooves.

Twilight cocks her eyebrow in skepticism. “Setting aside that rejection almost certainly hurt him, answer me this question, Sunset,” says Twilight, Sunset looks up at her. “If you are so afraid about potentially hurting him, why are you even friends with him?”

Sunset contemplates before answering. “I don’t know,” she responds. “I guess because we share similar interests, we enjoy each other’s company, and we help each other when we need it.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” says Twilight. “If you are afraid of hurting him, why are you friends with him? If maintaining distance is supposed to keep you from hurting him, then why remain close at all?.” Sunset tries to think of an answer but isn’t able to come up with one. “I think you truly do want to have a romantic relationship with him; everything I’ve heard from you says so. You admire how helpful he is, you find his charm and humor appealing, and he makes you feel secure and whole. However, your fear is keeping you from pursuing a different relationship. So while you are more than willing to accept a friendship as a suitable substitute, there’s a big part of you that says that in this case, friendship isn’t enough, and that is the part of you that came out last night.”

Sunset looks off to the side, contemplating Twilight’s words. How could I’ve been so blind? Everything she said somehow makes sense. Perhaps I do want something deeper with Flash, and the only keeping me from having that is myself. But, that begs a rather important question. Sunset looks back at Twilight and asks, “So how do I keep my fears from becoming a reality?”

“You face it,” says a voice off to the side. Twilight and Sunset look over to see pony Flash walking up to them. Flash bows to Twilight and says, “Apologies for interrupting Your Highness, but the ambassador from Nova Griffonia wishes to speak with you.”

“Tell him I’ll see him in a short bit,” says Twilight. “Before you go Flash, could expand on what you said to my student?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” he says, “I just heard the last bit of your conversation and felt like I needed to say something. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“There's no need to apologize Flash,” Twilight says with a small giggle. “But I still would like you to elaborate on what you said.”

“Certainly, Your Highness,” Flash says as he rises and looks at Sunset. “When I was first assigned as Captain of the Guard here, I was terrified that I would mess up. Princess Twilight's brother left some pretty big shoes to fill, and I thought I would never be able to live up to him. But with every new day I faced that fear and I grew more confident in my position.”

“So are you no longer afraid that you might screw up?” Sunset asks.

“No, the fear is still there, it never truly goes away,” says Flash. “But as I continue to do my job, that fear loses power. It’s something you’ll always have to overcome, but it gets easier the more you do it.”

Sunset looks down at the table and thinks over what Flash said. “I guess I never really thought of it that way,” Sunset mutters, she looks up at Twilight and Flash. “I need to head back to my world. I think I have an idea of what I need to do.” A smile appears on Twilight’s face. Sunset gets off her chair and trots over to Twilight, who gets off her chair and meets Sunset halfway. The two embrace each other in a friendly hug. “Thank you for your help,” she says. They pull away from each other and Sunset looks at Flash. “And thank you as well.” Flash simply smiles and nods in response.

“Would you like if I get one of the guards to escort you back to my office?” Twilight asks Sunset.

“No thank you, I think I remember the way,” says Sunset. “I was Celestia’s student after all. Anyway, I better hurry back, thank you two again.” With that said, Sunset dashes off and head back to the portal.

“Good luck Sunset!” Twilight calls out as Sunset runs off.

When Sunset reaches the mirror, she hesitates for a moment to collect her thoughts. Alright, if I’m going to make things right between me and Flash, I need to get the girls involved. If they want to see me and Flash become a thing, then I need their help. Sunset steps up to the mirror and is about to walk through, Okay Sunset, time to face your fear. She walks through the mirror and travels back to her world.

Author's Note:

Sorry this one took a lot longer than usual to get out. College has been keeping me pretty busy. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out before Thanksgiving, which is Nov. 28 for those who don't live in the U.S. We're getting close to the end here folks, I've got roughly three more chapters planned. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think, and I'll see y'all next time. Tops to you!

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Well Sunset, now you've had your major problem identified and spelled out to you. Let's see if this will get you to start putting things right with Flash.

[twience]

Okay, things are looking up !

[silverMEGAlicorn]

Earl Grey. Twilight is Picard, no doubt 😂