Rekindling the Flames

by CoJoThom98

First published 18th of August, 2019

Wanting to put old wounds behind them, Sunset and Flash agree to start over as friends. But this rekindling of friendship may have accidently ignited other feelings as well.

The flame between Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry has long been snuffed out. What was once began as a blossoming romance eventually turned into an asset to prop Sunset above the rest at CHS, including Flash. It wasn't long before Flash finally broken off.

Ever since then, the two have intentionally avoided each other, hoping to keep old wounds closed. Even after Sunset's reformation, the two never fully mended their relationship, resulting in awkward exchanges and run ins. However, after the events of Camp Everfree, they agree to start over again as friends, finally putting their past behind them.

As their friendship grows, old feelings and attractions begin to reemerge. Flash recognizes these feelings and wants to try developing a relationship again. Sunset, however, refuses to face these desires, instead she believes in her fear that another relationship would only result in bring harm to Flash again.

---

This is the first book of a grand Flashset story that I've been wanting to do for a while.

Cover art by PaulySentry
Edited by Donnnnn, Scholarly-Cimmerian, and Needling Haystacks

I also want to thank Alphamon_Ouryuken, admin of the Flashimmer group, for helping me find this cover art.

Finally, I want to thank all you who are or about to begin reading. I hope you enjoy the story.

Ch. 1: Well, This Is Awkward

It's a beautiful, Friday afternoon in Canterlot city. The sun shines high in the sky with a few clouds dotting the blue background, giving occasional shade. The temperature outside sits within the 60 degree range, creating a feeling similar to be hugged by a grandmother. The birds fly across the sky and from tree to tree, singing their songs. A few spring flowers are still on the trees, dotting the green spheres with spots of white, purple, pink, and bright red. Squirrels run across the lawn, chasing each other and searching for food. The entire world outside is a picture of paradise.

A paradise just out of Sunset's grasp while she's sits in AP European Literature. She sits in the back corner of the classroom with her two friends Twilight Sparkle, who sits in front of her, and Fluttershy, who sits to Sunset's left. The three of them listen to Mr. Doodle drone on about the themes and lessons of Hamlet. While the three girls usually enjoy this class, this subject is one of their least favorites. Twilight has never liked Hamlet, she calls the main character a "boneless, indecisive child who can't even figure out what socks he should wear." Fluttershy never much cared for Shakespeare, she always found the language to be confusing and the themes too hard to understand. As for Sunset, well she always summed up Shakespeare as "too much talking and not enough action," though she does find Macbeth interesting.

As they listen, or try to listen, to Mr. Doodle, they each occasionally look outside and then back up at the clock hanging in the front of the room above the white board. Each time they do, the clock always seems to be moving slower. Sunset leans forward to whisper something to Twilight, "Is it possible for time to move slower than normal in this world," she asks in a hushed tone.

"Not really," Twilight whispers back, "but that's still a topic up for debate."

"How long do you think he's going keep talking about this skull monologue?"

"I'm not sure, wanna make a wager about it," Twilight suggests.

"Are we wagering about something," Fluttershy interjects with a quiet tone.

"Yeah," Sunset responds, "whoever guesses correctly, or is the closest, to how long Mr. Doodle is going to talk about this skull, gets...," the girls think about a proper award.

Twilight thinks of something, "a free drink and treat of their choice at Sugar Cube Corner, losers have to pay."

"That sounds fair," says Sunset.

"I like it," whispers Fluttershy.

"Let's fist bump on it," says Sunset. Twilight and Sunset hold out their left fists and Fluttershy holds out her right. The three girls make a three way fist bump and nod in agreement. "Alright, I'm going to put my money on...two minutes before the final bell rings," Sunset bets.

"An interesting guesstimation," Twilight responded, "judging by how long he takes with every line and how detailed he's making this monologue deconstruction, I'm going to say he'll end right as the bell rings."

"You may be smart Twilight but this is your first class with Mr. Doodle," said Fluttershy with a small smug smile, "I've had him before freshman year in AP English 9 and sophomore year in AP American Literature. The bell will ring, he'll say 'the bell doesn't dismiss you, I do,' and then he'll take roughly 30 seconds, to deliver his final point, then he'll dismiss us."

"That's very specific Fluttershy, are you sure you wanna go with that," asks Sunset, Fluttershy nods in response, "well alright then, the bets have been made, let the games begin."

"What are you three whispering about back there," shouts Mr. Doodle.

The three girls shoot up into an upright position, "nothing sir," they shout back in unison.

"Well then quit your yapping," says Mr. Doodle, "I don't want to give my three best students detention for disrupting class."
Suddenly, the final bell for the day rings. As the students begin to pack up their things, Mr. Doodle declares, "hold on everyone, the bell doesn't dismiss you, I do."

Sunset and Twilight look at each other in disbelief. No way, there's no way she could be right, Sunset thinks. Don't tell me her prediction is correct, Twilight thinks. They both look over at Fluttershy, who's face is growing a small smile. Sure enough, Mr. Doodle takes 29 seconds to deliver his final point about the skull of Yorick.

Twilight leans her head back in defeat, clinching her eyes. "Darn it," she groans.

Sunset gives her desk a swift and light pound with her fist. "Damn it," she mutters.

Fluttershy closes her eyes, smiles, and gently claps her hands. "Yippee," she quietly cheers.

The girls gather up their belongings and proceed to exit the classroom with the rest of their classmates, after Mr. Doodle dismisses them. They walk out the classroom and stop in the hall to chat for a bit before they start heading towards the exit.

"Well, Fluttershy," Twilight says reaching out her hand inviting Fluttershy to shake, "you've won again, fair and square." Fluttershy generously accepts the handshake.

"That's like the fifth time I've bet against you Fluttershy," says Sunset, "I'm taking you with me to Vegas some day."

"It's all about knowing your teachers," says Fluttershy, "Shall we go meet up with everyone else?"

"You girls go ahead," say Sunset, "I have to get somethings from my locker." The girls wave to each other as they split off.

Sunset's locker is just up the hall from the literature class. She gets to the locker, unlocks and opens the door, and searches through looking for a few items. Come on, where did I put them. Ah, there they are. She pulls out two paper back books and a sheet of paper. The paper is a list of criteria for a paper she's working on in her AP World History course. She sets the items on the floor as she closes and locks the door. She picks them back up, tucking the books in her left arm and holding the paper in her right hand. As she walks, she reviews the paper to make sure she has everything she needs to begin the assignment this weekend. Let's see, "two printed primary sources" I've got those, "two digital primary sources and one secondary source" got those saved on my computer at home, what else do I need? Sunset's eyes are fixed on the list, not paying attention to what's in front of her. All of a sudden, WHAM, she walks straight into someone, dropping her books.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Sunset apologizes as she picks up one of her books.

"No no, it's ok, I wasn't paying attention," says the other person as he picks up the other book and hands it to her.

"Thank you for getting th--," Sunset stops mid-sentence when she looks at the person she just ran into, "oh, um...hey, Flash."

"oh uh hey, Sun-set," says Flash as he realizes it was his ex-girlfriend he ran into, "how's it going?" A strong tinge of awkwardness begins creeping in.

"It's uh...it's going good," Sunset says, awkwardly nodding, "How about you?"

"Same," he says, Flash puts his hands in his back pockets and leans back on his heels.

"I...see you got a new haircut," says Sunset, desperately trying to break the awkward pauses.

Flash combs his left hand through his hair, "yeah, I figured it was time tone down the size a bit."

"It looks good on you," she says with a half smile.

"Thanks," Flash responds. The two break eye contact, trying to avoid making the awkwardness any more unbearable. Flash rubs the back of his neck while Sunset rubs her left arm. "Well, I guess I'll...see you around?".

"Uh yeah, yeah, see ya later," says Sunset, just go, get out there, don't make it worse, don't make it worse, "alli-gator." DAMN IT!

"After a while," says Flash, wait, what I am doing? Don't say it me, don't you say it, don't you dare say, "croco-dile." That's it, I'm going to jump in front of car now!

They walk past each other, ending the cringe-fest. "Ugh, why the hell did I say that," Sunset mutters to herself as she pinches the bridge of her nose in embarrassment.

Sunset Shimmer walks through the front glass doors of the high school and out onto the courtyard. Her cheeks are still red from her embarrassing conversation with Flash. Actually, it really wasn't a conversation, rather it was a fumbling of words with awkward pauses in between that ended with a part of them each dying inside. Sunset walks down the path toward her friends who are all gathered around the pedestal.

"Hey, Sunset, how's it goi--," Rainbow Dash greets her friend but pauses when she notices the redness in Sunset's cheeks, "are you ok?"

"Did you accidentally walk into the boys bathroom again," Pinkie asks as she jumps up from behind Rainbow.

Twilight, who is sitting up against the pedestal reading a book, looks up from her book upon hearing what Pinkie said, "wait, again, what do you mean 'again'," she asks.

"It's a long story," Applejack, leaning against the pedestal, explains as she bites into an apple, "we'll tell you about it later."

"Applejack, manners," Rarity snaps, who is kneeling on the ground braiding Fluttershy's hair.

"So what happened," Rainbow insists.

Sunset reaches her right hand behind her neck, "Well, I kind of ran into someone on my way here."

"Really? Who," squeaks Pinkie.

"Flash Sentry," says Sunset.

Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and Twilight all let out a collective, "oooh." Their faces transform from intrigue to slight discomfort.

"Did you two...um...talk much," asks Rarity.

"Not...really, it was..." before Sunset could finish, the girls make guesses about the ending.

"Terrifying," says Fluttershy.

"Awkward," says Twilight.

"Uncomfortable," says Pinkie.

"Cringy," says Rainbow.

"Wanted to shoot yourself afterwards," says Applejack, the rest of girls minus Sunset look at Applejack, "what?"

Sunset lets out a heavy sigh, "all of the above."

"Well, hopefully you two gave each other a good farewell," asks Rarity, which prompted Sunset to rub her neck harder and cause her cheeks to blush brighter.

Rainbow, seeing her body language, knew what she did but hoped she really didn't, "oh no, Sunset please don't tell me you did the alligator thing?" The only response she got was a slow nod of pure embarrassment. Applejack lowered her hat, trying to hide her clenched face. Twilight lifted her book up to do the same. Pinkie didn't bother hiding it, her face clenched up as though she just saw someone get punched in the gut. Rainbow visibly showed her discomfort by covering her face with her right hand. Fluttershy and Rarity just hid behind their hair and both let out an "oof."

"Please tell us Flash didn't respond with the crocodile one," Rarity begs.

"He...did," said Sunset, who's discomfort was reaching critical levels.

Pinkie gives a sheepish grin and places her left hand her head, "I'm going to take the blame for teaching him that," she confesses, giving an awkward chuckle.

"Can we please stop before we all die of cringe," Twilight begs from behind her book.

"I'm going to second that motion," says Applejack as she puts her hat back on.

"I don't understand," says Rainbow as she put her hands on her hips, "I thought the two of you made up at Camp Everfree. Why are you guys acting like you broke up yesterday?"

"Well, I mean we did make up and we didn't," says Sunset.

"Elaborate," Twilight says as she closes her book and gets up to get closer to her friend.

"When I was trying to figure out what was going on with Timber and Gloriosa, Flash and I bumped into each other. We had a small conversation, he talked about how much different I was from when we used to date."

"Sounds like that conversation went a lot better than the last one," says Fluttershy.

"Yeah it did, he was being very sweet," Sunset said, her face warms up and her cheeks began to blush again, not from embarrassment but from amusement.

"No wonder Sweetie Bell ships you two," Rarity mutters, prompting Fluttershy to giggle.

"What was that," says Sunset.

"Nothing darling, keep telling your story," Rarity waves her hand to Sunset, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Anyways," Sunset continues, "he asked me if him and I could start over as friends and I accidentally...brushed him off."

"You WHAT," shouts Rarity as she unintentionally tugs on Fluttershy's hair causing to let out big eep, "oh my goodness, I'm so sorry my dear."

"Accidentally," Sunset emphasizes, "I saw Timber sneaking off into the woods and got distracted. We haven't really talked to each other every since."

Applejack walks over to Sunset's side and places her hand on her shoulder, "well have you thought about arranging a meeting at some time so the two of you can finally put y'all's past behind you?" Sunset looks down, contemplating that idea, not noticing Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turning their backs to look at something.

"I have but...it's complicated," Sunset sighs.

"I know what you mean darling," says Rarity as she and Fluttershy get up and walk over to Sunset, "trying to start over as friends with an old flame can be extremely difficult. But once you're able to get over that first hump, it's smooth sailing from there."

"But it's not just one hump, it's several," says Sunset, "Flash was the first person to actually make me feel at home in this world, and I just used him to propel my social standing. I'm not sure why even wants to be friends."

"But that was the old Sunset," says Applejack, "Flash doesn't want to be friends with her, he wants to start over with you. He was the one who asked you first if you wanted to start again as friends. Is that so hard to believe?"

Suddenly, Pinkie and Rainbow turn back around, "alright, it's been arranged," exclaims Pinkie.

"What has," asks Sunset.

"You and Flash are set to meet each other tomorrow at 1:00 at Sugar Cube Corner," Rainbow declares, holding up her phone.

"You what," Sunset rips the phone out of Rainbow Dash's hands and looks at the messages screen, concern wraps her face. Sure enough, Rainbow and Pinkie told Flash that Sunset wants to talk to him about something and that they should meet up at Sugar Cube Corner tomorrow at one. "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, are you two insane!? How do you even have his number?"

"Why would you arrange something like behind Sunset's back," Fluttershy asks.

"Well technically we didn't do it behind her back," Pinkie explains, "we were in front of her the whole time, we just had our backs turned."

"You know what she means Pinkie," scolds Twilight, "you can't just arrange something like without your friend's consent!"

"Look, the only way that those two will finally make up is if they meet with each other, face to face, and talk things out," Rainbow Dash explains, she turns attention to Sunset, "other wise you're going to have more run-ins like you the one you had today. Also, Flash and Soarin' hang out a lot, I have his number just incase Soarin' is running late for practice and isn't answering his phone."

"You can thank us later," Pinkie Pie says with a massive smile.

Sunset feels her blood begin to boil, "if you two weren't my friends--."

"Hold your horses girl," Applejack says, putting her hands on both of Sunset's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"As much as I disagree with their methods," says Twilight, pushing her glass up, "they do have a point. You can't keep avoiding this forever, you'll have to face it in order to move on."

"I agree with what Twilight says," says Rarity, "better to get it done now and let life proceed normally, relatively speaking. Besides, what's the worst that can happen tomorrow?"

"You'd be surprised how creative my imagination can get," says Sunset, "so you all agree I need to do this?" The girls all nod, "even you Fluttershy?" Sunset looks Fluttershy who is petting her new braid, trying to think of something to say.

"Well," she says meekly, "you and Twilight do owe me a vanilla chai latte, think of that as an excuse to go?"

Sunset thinks it over and lets out a heavy sigh, "fine, I'll do it, I'll see Flash tomorrow and let him know I want to start over." She hands the phone back to Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie cheers, "HOORAY, let's all go to Donut Joe's to celebrate."

"I can't," says Sunset, "I have to get home and get started on this paper for Mr. Turner."

"Well then will see you tomorrow at Sugar Cube," says Twilight.

With that, Sunset bids her friends farewell and makes her way to the student parking lot. She thinks about the meeting tomorrow as she walks. Perhaps her friends are right, she and Flash still do need to reconcile their past. It isn't going to be easy, some how facing musical sirens or magically corrupted humans seems far easier than what this is going to be. Well maybe it won't be so bad, maybe things will go off without a hitch, right? Right? "Tomorrow's going to worse than hell."

Author's Notes:

Thank you so much for reading. This is a story I've been wanting to do for a long time. If you haven't read the full description, this entire tale is the first part of a three part series about the relationship between Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry. From their rekindling relationship to their romance to their life beyond high school.

Feel free to deliver criticism, so long as it is constructive. Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and the first step in this grand romantic journey.

Update: Ok so I'm writing this like four hours I've already published this story, and I just saw that this is already under the popular stories tab of the home page! Holy cow I never expected to get such a huge response so fast!

Ch. 2: Would You Like to Try Again?

Sunset arrives outside of Sugar Cube Corner. Before heading inside, she pulls out her phone from her pocket to check the time. 12:47 PM. Sunset puts her phone away and turns to face the door. She hesitates going inside. On any normal day she wouldn't give it a second thought, but today isn't a normal day. Her stomach churns with anxiety and her mind runs at a million miles an hour, thinking of worst case scenarios. What if I accidentally insult him? What if he's just leading me on in order to make me look foolish? What if a UFO crashes right on top of us? Each scenario becomes more imaginative than the last. Sunset feels her heart picking up, her breathing hastening, and her eyelids opening wide. I don't think I can do this. I can't do this, I need to--I need--.

"Sunset," a voice calling out from behind brings her back into reality. Sunset turns around and sees Applejack and Twilight running towards her from the other side of the street. "Sunset, oh my goodness," Twilight says with a tone of concern, "Are you ok? What's going on?"

"I--I just--I," Sunset struggles to get a sentence out, she breaths quick breathes between each word.

"Hey, hey, Sunset. Look at me, look at me," Applejack says as she gently grips Sunset's arms, "breath, breath." The farmer demonstrates a deep breathing method with her hand.

Sunset takes in and lets out several deep breaths. She begins to feel a good part of her anxiety slip away. "Thanks Applejack," says Sunset as she takes in one more deep breath, "I have no idea what came over me there."

"Do you usually get panic attacks?" Twilight asks.

"No, I've never really had one before," says Sunset, shaking her head "that was a first for me."

"I guess you're more worried about talking to Flash than we thought," says Applejack.

"I guess I am," Sunset says as she rubs her left arm, "I knew this day was going to be hell."

"Well you know, Dante wouldn't have gotten through hell if he didn't have Virgil," Twilight says as she walks up to Sunset's right, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "You've got your friends by your side to help get you through this."

"She's right," Applejack says as she walks up to Sunset's left, "I’m not sure about that first part, but we're not going to let you go through this alone."

"Pluuus," Twilight reaches into her purse and pulls out a five-inch-thick stack of index cards, "I made you some ice-breakers and talking points, just in case you can't think of anything to say." Twilight smiles and gives a small squee as she hands the cards to Sunset.

Sunset looks at the cards. "Gee, I hope I have enough," she says dryly.

"Not to worry, I brought three more stacks just in case," says Twilight, oblivious to the sarcasm.

The three girls turn around and face the door. Well, abandon all hope ye who enter here, Sunset thinks. "Ok," she sighs, "let's do it." The three girls walk inside the shop and head over to their usual seats, where Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are already sitting. The three girls take their seats on the couch; Sunset places the cards on the coffee table as Mrs. Cake comes over to them.

"Hello girls, might I take your order," she says in a cheery voice.

"I'll take a small strawberry and banana smoothie," says Twilight.

"I'll have a medium coffee, two cream one sugar, and an apple fritter," says Applejack.

"I'll just have a small black coffee," says Sunset. Mrs. Cake jots down the orders, tells them it’ll be out in a few minutes, and walks off.

"So Sunset," says Rarity, "how are you feeling about today?"

"Like I could throw up," Sunset groans.

"Feeling nervous?" Fluttershy asks, prompting Sunset to nod.

"It'll be fine," says Rainbow Dash, "if there's one thing I've learned from playing sports the past three years, is that everything is far more worse in your head than it is in reality." Rainbow then looks down and sees the stack of notecards on the table. "So, uh, what's with the cue cards?"

"They're ice breakers," Sunset explains, "Twilight gave them to me just in case I can't think of anything when I'm talking to Flash."

Rainbow Dash leans forwards and picks up the top card and reads it out loud. "’What's your favorite kind of pasta?’" Rainbow says quizzically, "Seriously Twilight?"

"Hey that's a very important question," Pinkie interjects, "you don't want to be friends with someone who likes Rigatoni."

"Why is that Pinkie," Applejack asks, her curiosity piqued.

"Trust me, AJ," Pinkie's tone switches from cheerful to deadpan, "you don't want to know."

As they continue their chatter, Mrs. Cake comes over with Twilight's, Applejack's, and Sunset's orders. She places the drinks and the fritter on the tables and tells the girls to enjoy before heading over to the next table. Just as Sunset reaches for her coffee, she hears the front door bell chime. She looks up and sees Flash Sentry walking into shop with his hands in his jacket pockets, looking around the shop. She begins to feel her stomach churn again.

Rainbow Dash turns around to see Flash. "Well, look who's early," Rainbow says, "Hey Flash, we're over here!" Rainbow waves Flash over. He sees the rainbow-haired girl and begins walking over.

Sunset slides down in her seat a little, hoping she'll become invisible. Her worries subside when she feels Applejack's hand on her shoulder. She looks up and sees Applejack giving her a comforting smile that says "everything is going to be okay." Sunset sits back up and slowly takes a few deep breaths. Rainbow walks off and pulls over an empty chair and places it in between her and Rarity, so that he'll have a direct line of sight of Sunset. Flash sits down in the empty seat.

"How's your day been going Flash," Applejack asks, starting things off.

"It's been a pretty slow day so far," Flash responds, "you know, when I read that Sunset wanted to meet with me, I didn't realize it meant all of you girls. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Don't worry Flash, you're in the clear," says Rainbow, "for now."

"Excuse me?" Flash asks with concern.

"Relax dear, she's just teasing you," says Rarity, placing her hand gently on Flash's shoulder.

"We're just here to support Sunset," Fluttershy explains, "and to make sure that she’s comfortable."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Flash asks with growing concern.

Oh no, this is just making things worse, Sunset thinks, ugh, I don't want to but...if this is going to get done, then I need to be with him one-on-one, not one-on-seven. Sunset clears her throat. "Hey Flash, why don't we take this conversation to one of the outside tables. Just you and me...."

All six girls look at Sunset with a mix of confusion and surprise. Flash, also looking confused, slowly nods and says, "um… yeah, sure, that works."

"You go wait by the door," Sunset suggests, "I'll be over there in a bit." Flash nods, gets up from his seat, and walks over to the door.

The girls lean in towards Sunset. Twilight is the first to ask, "are you sure that's a good idea? What if you… you know?"

"Are you sure you don't need us by your side?” Fluttershy asks.

"Listen girls," Sunset explains, "I appreciate your support but if I'm going to do this then it needs to be between just me and Flash. He's the last person I need to make amends with; the last leg of my journey from what I used to be. I don't need you right by my side but I do you need backstage should anything bad happen. If things go south, or I start to panic again, then I trust you girls to handle it. You’ve never let me down before."

The girls look at each other for a minute until Rarity stretches out her hand and lays it on Sunset's hand. "We understand Sunset," Rarity says. "this is your final battle against the old you, now go and crush it."The other girls nod in agreement.

"We'll be right here if you need us," Rainbow says with assurance.

"Don't you worry about thing Sunset," Pinkie says as she reaches into her hair and pulls out a vanilla and a chocolate cupcake, both with white buttercream frosting, "I've got emergency cupcakes on standby!"

Sunset chuckles, "thanks girls, you're the best friends I could ever ask for." She looks over at Flash, breaths in and breaths out, "let's do this." Sunset stands up with confidence and walks over to Flash.

"You've got this, girl!" Applejack cheers.

"Oh, don't forget the notecards," says Twilight as she picks the cards off the table and holds them up to Sunset, who stops and looks at Twilight.

"I think I'll be ok without them," says Sunset, "but thanks anyway."

Twilight's jaw drops and her eyes widen in shock as she begins to mumble nonsense until she finally sputters, "a whole night's work...wasted!" Her top half from the waist flops forward with the cards landing on the table, somehow remaining neatly stacked.

Fluttershy leans across, picks up one of the cards and begins to read it aloud, "if you were stuck on a deserted island with only one book to read, what would it be and why?"

"Ooooh," Pinkie exclaims, "that sounds like a fun one."

“Well it’s obvious, ain’t it?” Applejack says, “A survival guide.”

Sunset walks over to Flash, who has been waiting patiently by the door for her. "You good?" Flash asks. Sunset nods and moves her hand towards the door handle. Flash steps in front of her and opens the door for her, "after you," he says.

Sunset chuckles, "still the gentleman I see." Flash responds with an abashed shrug. The two of them step outside and walk over to a table directly to their left. They take their seats across from each other, sitback in their chairs, and stay in awkward silence for a good minute. Flash is the one to break it.. “So um...how's it going?" he asks.

"It's going...good, it's going good," Sunset responds, oh god please don't turn out like it did yesterday. No I won't let it happen.

Sunset and Flash both close their eyes, take a deep breath, and, at the same time, they say, "look, I think we need to talk about us." The two of them are both taken aback by what just happened, "uh, you go first," they say together again. They both give off a nervous chuckle as their cheeks begin to blush.

Sunset clears her throat and begins, "I guess I'll go first. Flash, back up at Camp Everfree, those things you said to me, did you mean it?"

Flash raises an eyebrow, "we talked to each other a couple of times up there," he says, "you might need to clarify."

"You know what I'm talking about," says Sunset with some irritation, "you told me about how much I've changed and how you liked this new side of me, did you mean it?"

Flash looks down for a moment, raising his hand to his chin, trying to recall that conversation. "Yeah, I meant every word," he answers nodding, "you are a completely different person from when we used to date. It's actually kind of refreshing to see you be nice again."

"Did you also mean what you said before I ran off," Sunset asks, then adds, "which I do apologize for by the way."

"Hey, if you hadn't I'm sure we'd all still be stuck in Camp Everfree," Flash responds, "and yes, I really do want to start over as friends, that is if you're willing?"

"You're being 100 percent serious, no jokes?" Sunset asks in disbelief, "even after how I treated you when we dated?"

Flash leans forward and puts his hand on her hand, "Sunset, that was the old you," he tells her, "I don't want to be friends with her, I want to be friends with you, is that so hard to believe?" Sunset's eyes widen and she feels her heart flutter as she hears the words of her friends repeated.
Sunset's eyes look down and dart across the floor, trying to think of something to respond with. She then looks up at Flash, nods and says, “Okay, I would like to try again."

The front door of the shop suddenly opens and Mrs. Cake walks out with a large to-go cup of coffee. She walks over to their table and notices the two having a moment. "Excuse me," she says, Flash leans back into his normal seating position and looks up at the waitress, "sorry to interrupt this intimate moment but here's your large black coffee sir." She places the drink in front of Flash. He and Sunset both look at each other blushing at the comment Mrs. Cake made.

Not wanting to revert back to their awkward state, Sunset breaks the silence. "You take your coffee black as well," Sunset says, “Funny, I guess I never noticed.”

Flash chuckles. "Of course," he says with a grin, "it's the only way to properly drink coffee."

Sunset slams her hands on the table and spreadsboth of them in Flash's direction. "Thank you!" she says in a louder voice, "Finally someone who understands! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to convince my friends of the superiority of black coffee?"

"I'm going to bet just as long as I have with my friends," Flash says while laughing, "I mean it's healthier, it tastes better, and the energy comes from the caffeine and not the sugar."

"I can think of one friend who would definitely not like to hear that," she says, "although I think I'd be terrified to see her on caffeine instead of sugar." The two of them begin to laugh over this small connection. Any awkwardness that was originally between them disappeared over a simple similarity. "So why do you need so much?" she asks, "I can only drink the small, otherwise I get the jitters."

"I've got a paper for Mr. Turner," Flash explains, his voice conveying some stress, "and coffee really helps me concentrate."

"Wait, you're taking AP World too?" asks Sunset
.
"Yeah, I am," says Flash with a nod, "I didn't know you're taking that class."

"Huh, how did it take us this far into the semester to realize we're in the same class together?” says Sunset.

"Yeesh," Flash says, exhaling through his teeth, "I knew things between us were bad, but I didn't think it took us literally running into each other in order to figure it out."

"Well we're starting over," Sunset answers, "a lot should hopefully change from this point." An idea then pops into her head. "Hey, since we're in the same class, do you wanna meet up tomorrow, around 1:30 at the Pour Jons library and work on this paper together?"

Flash places his hand on his chin and thinks about that idea. He slowly begins to nod and says, "yeah, I like that idea."

"Oh I'm so glad," Sunset exclaims with relief, "because I really need some help on this paper."

"Of course, it's a date then," Flash's eyes suddenly open wide as the realization of what he just said sinks in, "Uh, what I mean is--what I meant to say is...um...it's not a date. It's a purely platonic meeting between two friends with the purpose of working on a mutual class assignment...yeah."

Sunset lets out a laugh, "Don't worry Flash, I know what you meant."

Flash nervously chuckles as he takes a look at his watch on his left wrist. "Hey, um, I've gotta go," he says, "I need to pick up my little sister from soccer practice." He grabs his coffee and gets up from his seat. Sunset gets up from her seat and walks by Flash's side to the door.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Sunset says, her arms folding around her torso and her feet point towards Flash's direction.

"Yeah, I'll see you later...alligator," Flash says with a smirk and a playful wink.

Sunset closes her eyes and shakes her head with a grin. "I am not responding with the crocodile one," she says.

Flash chuckles, "Alright, then I'll just say ‘see you tomorrow’." With that, Flash turns around and begins walking up the street towards his car.

Sunset waves to him then turns to face the door. Before she walks through, she turns back to see Flash. "Hey Flash," she shouts, he stops and turns back to face Sunset, "you don’t drink decaf, do you?"

"Nope, only caffeinated," he shouts back, "decaf is just water that's lying about being coffee."

"Right answer," she shouts with a big smile across her face. The two wave goodbye. Flash turns back around to walk towards his car and Sunset faces the door and walks back into the shop. She enters the shop and walks back over to her group of friends, who are all looking at Pinkie Pie as she rubs her hands against her temples.

"Come on Pinkie," Rainbow Dash says with a groan, "you've been thinking of an answer for the past ten minutes, just pick one already!"

"I can't," Pinkie shouts, "do you have any idea how hard it is for me to pick my favorite kind of cupcake!?"

"Why don't we just move on to another question?" Rarity suggests.

"NO!!" Pinkie snaps, "I will answer this question even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Uh, girls," Twilights says, pointing her finger at Sunset. The girls break their focus on Pinkie and turn their attention to Sunset.

"Oh hey Sunset," says Applejack, "did everything go okay?"

Sunset shimmies between her friends and sits back down her original seat. She lets in a deep breath and then lets it out. She looks at her friends and smiles. "It went really well,” she says.

Author's Notes:

So first off, I just want to say, WOW! I never expected such a huge response about this story. It hasn't even been 48 hours since it's publication and already is has 200 views, 24 likes, it's on 109 bookshelves, has 40 people tracking, and it's been added to the popular stories tab and has been featured! I've also gotten several comments from people providing constructive criticisms or just saying how much they love it. Just thank you all, so much. I'm hope you've enjoyed this chapter.

I plan on getting chapter 3 out before the week is over. After that, I'm going to take a break from this tale next week, so I can focus on working on my other story and to move myself back in to college. Thank you all so much for reading!

Ch. 3: A Poor Choice of Words

Flash Sentry stands in front of his bedroom mirror, examining his appearance. He leans in and bares his teeth, checking for anything stuck or if he needs to brush again. He closes his mouth and flares his nostrils, checking for runaway hairs. Finding one, Flash grabs the tweezers on his dresser, grabs the loose hair, and pulls it out hard and fast. His face clenches up as a single tear wells up in his eye. Why does it have to hurt THAT much? he thinks. Tossing the loose hair away in a small plastic trash bin, he puts the tweezers down on top of the dresser. To finish off his routine, Flash takes his comb and begins to groom his hair.

As he combs, a figure comes into the mirrors view. Said figure is a boy, roughly the same age as Flash. He has medium length navy blue hair that’s brushed back. He wears a black t-shirt underneath a blue, unbuttoned shirt with the collar popped. He watches Flash as he grooms himself. “So, just a study session huh?” he asks with a look of amusement.

Flash rolls his eyes. “Yes Soarin, we are just meeting up together to work on this paper for Mr. Turner,” Flash explains, “nothing more and nothing less; it’s purely platonic.”

Soarin chuckles and shakes his head, “If it was ‘purely platonic’ then I don’t think you need to clean yourself up like you’re about to see the Queen of England.”

“It’s common courtesy to clean oneself up before they go out with someone,” Flash argues.

“Your parents raised you up to be too much of a gentleman,” says Soarin.

“Well okay, Mister Author of the Chivalric Code,” Flash says as he puts down the comb and turns to face his friend. “What do you suggest?”

Soarin looks around the room and walks over to Flash’s closet. He opens the double doors and pulls out Flash’s old windbreaker with a red and white stripe wrapping around the chest, and a white t-shirt with a blue shield with a lightning bolt in the center. He tosses the two items across the room towards Flash, who catches them both. “Try going with something a bit more familiar and more ‘you’,” Soarin suggests.

Flash looks at the shirt and jacket. “What do you mean?” he asks.

“The two of you used to date, right?” Soarin asks. Flash nods in response. “Well even if you’re ‘starting over’,you don’t want to go completely new. You want to have a good mix of the old and new, and it all starts with what she sees. With your old outfit and the new hair, she’ll see that things will be different but not completely foreign.”

“Since when did you become a social expert?” Flash jokingly asks.

“Last night,” Soarin replies.

Flash rolls his eyes as he lays the clothes on the bed and begins to take off his sweater and white shirt. “While I appreciate, and question, your advice Soarin,” Flash says as he dresses, “this is just a study session. It’s not like I’m about to go on a date with Sunset.”

Suddenly there’s a knock on the bedroom door followed by a young, scratchy female voice shouting through. “Hey Flash, are you almost ready for your big date?” the voice asks with a bit of a teasing tone.

“It’s not a date, sis,” Flash shouts back with a groan.

“Can we come in and see you?” a different voice shouts with a squeak in her voice.

“We can’t have you leavin’ all sloppy like a pig,” a third voice shouts with a country accent.

“Hold on,” Flash shouts back, he puts on his jacket and straightens it while looking in the mirror. “Okay, now you girls can come in.”

The door opens and Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom rush in. The three of them sit on Flash’s bed and observe him as he straightens his jacket a second time. “Come on Flash,” Scootaloo begs, “let’s get a good look of you.”

Flash rolls his eyes and chuckles a little. He turns to face the girls and half-heartedly holds out his arms in a presenting manner. The three girls examine him from their seats. They look up and down his outfit, fingers pressed against mouths and eyebrows cocked. They keep at this for a few minutes. Flash and Soarin look at each other, each wondering how much longer they’re going to take.

Finally, Apple Bloom declares, “I like it!”

“Me too,” Scootaloo concurs, “your old outfit looks good with your new hairstyle.”

“Ooooh this is so exciting,” Sweetie Belle exclaims, placing her hands on her cheeks, “I can’t believe another one of our ships is getting ready to sail!”

“Okay, first off,” Flash holds up his index finger, “this is just a study session; we are not dating.”
“Yet,” Scootaloo mutters to her friends, causing them to giggle.

“Second, just because I’m part of one of your little fantasy ships doesn’t mean it’s going to happen,” says Flash.

Scootaloo, insulted by Flash’s comment, stands up and walks in front of her brother. She stands on her toes, trying to get to his eye level, even though he’s a foot taller than her. “‘Little fantasy ships!?’ I’ll have you know that we take our shipping very seriously. So much that our ships have a 90 percent success rate!”

“What’s the other ten percent?” Soarin asks.

Applebloom groans. “All our ships between the Main Seven.”

“It was a sad day when we found out that none of them swing that way,” Sweetie Belle says wistfully.

“Not sure how I feel about that,” Soarin’ says wryly.

Flash places his hands on Scootaloo’s shoulders and gently pushes her back on her feet. He takes in a deep breath, “Look Scoots, I know you’re excited about this, but don’t set your expectations so high. Sunset and I are starting over as friends, nothing more. Besides, I doubt she ever liked me in that way.”

Soarin begins to laugh as he walks up and places his hand on Flash’s shoulder. “Oh poor little Flash,” he says, “Please tell me you aren’t so oblivious to the obvious?”

“What are you talking about?” Flash asks.

“Rainbow Dash told me everything about what Sunset said about yesterday,” Soarin explains.

“So did Applejack,” Apple Bloom interjects.

“And Rarity,” Sweetie Belle adds.

“According to Rainbow Dash,” says Soarin, “Sunset giggled like a school girl when she talked about your little mistake, calling the study session a ‘date.’”

“AHA,” exclaims Scootaloo, “so it is a date!”

“No it’s not, shut up!” Flash snaps back.

“Applejack says that her face blushed brighter than a newly ripe apple when she talked about when you meant what you said at Camp Everfree,” says Apple Bloom as she jumps off the bed and joins the growing crowd around Flash.

“And when she talked about you reaching across, laying your hand on hers, and confessed how much you want to be friends with the new her,” Sweetie Bell says, her voice softer and smoother than usual, mimicking the way Rarity said it. “she, according to Rarity, ‘fell into a euphoric state faster than the blink of an eye.’”

Apple Bloom giggles a little at Sweetie Bell’s Rarity impression.

“Come on Flash, the evidence is abundantly clear,” says Scootaloo, “Sunset Shimmer likes you.”

“I do not like him,” Sunset Shimmer exclaims while she stands t-posed on one of Rarity’s stands, getting her measurements taken. “And why am I even up here? Prom isn’t for another month.”

Rarity scoffs. “Bold of you to assume I would wait this long to do our prom dresses,” she says, “I’ve had those done months ago. This is for this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? Rarity,” Sunset groans as she gets off the platform, “we’re just going to work on our papers for Mr. Turner together. This isn’t a date.”

“Oh for goodness sake, Sunset,” says Rarity, “everything about this screams ‘this is a date.’ Just think about the setting, a quiet library on the second floor of a coffee shop…”

“It’s a good place to keep focus,” Sunset counters.

“Candlelight providing a warm glow around the room,” Rarity’s tone grows increasingly more romantic.

“The… the warm lighting is… ideal for studying?” Sunset knew that point was bull, “Besides, they aren’t really candles.”

“Candle shaped lights,” Rarity counters, “Cool jazz playing over the speakers...” Rarity leans in towards Sunset, shaking her shoulders for effect.

“Um…” Sunset can feel her argument begin to falter. She fidgets in growing discomfort as Rarity emphasizes the romance behind each point.

“And to top it all off.” Rarity swings around and throws her arm over Sunset’s shoulders. “it will just be you and him, all...alone...together.” On her last three words, Rarity walks the fingers of her free hand up Sunset’s shoulders, tapping her on the nose at the end.

“Because none of our other friends are in the class with us!” Sunset says with rising panic as her final counter argument, quickly pulling away from Rarity. “Look Rarity, I really just want this to be friendly get together with Flash. I don’t see me and him ever getting back together. I don’t like like him.”

Rarity approaches Sunset and takes hold of her hands. “Sunset dear,” she starts calmly, “I love you, but you are terrible at bluffing. The way you talked about Flash yesterday, the euphoria you radiated, it was like he was the only person in the world you truly cared for. I know you two have a rough past, but that does not mean you cannot still love each other.Are you really going to deny these feelings inside your heart?”

Sunset thinks about Rarity’s words for a second. Her interaction with Flash yesterday did have several moments of intimacy. Flash holding the door, him holding her hand, his blunder of calling their study session a date, and their small moments of genuine connection. Not to mention how she acted when recanted their interaction to her friends afterwards. Her schoolgirl giggling, the hard blushing, and her euphoric state of mind. Is it possible that there was still some love between them?

No, there couldn’t be, how can there be after how their previous relationship ended?

Sunset slowly lets go of Rarity’s hands. “I’m sorry Rarity, but I can’t deny feelings that I’ve never had.” Sunsets leans over and looks at the clock on the wall of Rarity’s boutique. The clock face reads 1:09 PM. “Look, I have to go meet up with Flash. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Very well dear,” Rarity sighs, “you have a good productive time studying. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The two girls hug each other goodbye. Sunset grabs her backpack off one of the counters and walks out the door.

Sunset walks up a rickety staircase with a small cup of black drip coffee in her right hand. When she reaches the top, she looks around the room and sees Flash sitting at one of the tables in front of his computer, surrounded by several books. Flash has his head in his hands with his elbows on the table. Sunset walks over to him and sets her backpack down on the table, causing a thud as it lands. Flash lifts up his head in response, he turns his attention to Sunset. “Hard at work I see,” Sunset jokingly says.

Flash chuckles a little. “This paper is a lot harder than what I thought it was going to be,” he admits.

“How many pages do you have written?” Sunset asks as she pulls out her computer and materials.

“Two,” he responds.

“And how many are we supposed to write,” she asks.

“Eight,” he says with contempt, “eight stinking pages about the importance of the Sun-Sen-Sengo.”

“The Sengoku Jidai,” she says, helping him finish, “Or ‘Warring States Period’. I’m surprised about your attitude towards this paper. I remember you being an avid Samurai Jack fan when we were younger.” She sits down in a seat across from Flash and opens up her computer.

“I like the samurai and Japanese history. It’s just… my friend and my sister and her friends were driving me up the wall this morning,” Flash says, resting his head on his hand. He reaches over for his coffee without looking and takes a big gulp.

“I empathize; Rarity was being extremely persistent about her view of this study session.” Sunset rubs her finger tips against her forehead. “Hey, um, can I ask you something?”

Flash looks up from his computer. “What’s up?”

“Are we… is this… a date?” Sunset asks, struggling to bring the words forward.

Flash closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. Well might as well clear the air here and now. “No, we’re not on a date, this is just a, um…”

“A purely platonic meeting between two friends with the purpose of working on a mutual class assignment?” Sunset suggests with a small giggle.

Flash smiles, hearing his own words repeated back to him. “Yeah, that.” The two went back to writing their paper, occasionally glancing at each other while delivering sheepish smiles. It isn’t brough to a halt until Flash mutters, “I mean, if we wanted to we could.”

Sunset’s fingers stop typing. She looks up at Flash. “What did you say?” she asks.

Flash also stops typing; his face begins to turn red. “Ah crap, I did that out loud, did I?” Flash looks up at Sunset, who looks a little shocked. Flash lets out a sigh. “I guess there’s no point in lying or avoiding it. I said if we wanted to we could.”

“What? You mean date?” Is he really suggesting that? Sunset feels her heart rate begin to pick up, and her palms begin to sweat.

Flash gives a shrug and quick look to the side. “I mean, why not? It’s not such a terrible idea, is it?” He looks at Sunset with a soft grin.

Sunset’s mind races out of control. Why in the world would he even suggest such an idea? I thought he just wanted to start over as friends? I can’t date him, not after what I’ve done to him, I’d hurt him worse! Think, Sunset, think! You need to...push him away somehow. Sunset looks directly at Flash, and her eyebrows angle down. “Is that why you wanted to start over? So you can win me back?”

Flash’s face changes to a shocked state. Oh crap, I pushed it too far. “N-no, no, that’s not w-w-what I meant, I-I-I was just s-saying that…” Before he could finish, Sunset shoots up from her chair, stuffs all her belongings in her bag, and swings the bag over her shoulder.

“I can’t believe you,” she says, perhaps a bit louder than she should, “I thought we could be friends and not have to deal with this… this… middle school nonsense! You know what, you can just finish this paper on your own. I’m going home!” Sunset turns around and winces a little at the expression she saw on his face. Telling herself it was for the best, she storms towards the stairs.

“Sunset, wait,” Flash tries to stop her but fails. He considers going after her but figures it would be best to not confront her when she’s this angry. Flash sits back down and puts his head in his hands and groans. “Flash, what have you done?”

Sunset storms out of the coffee shop with all the indignation she can muster and marches her way back to her motorcycle. It isn’t until she reaches her bike that self-reflection hits her. Princess Twilight trusted her to spread the magic of friendship in the world, and she pushed away a potential friend. “Sunset, what have you done?” she moans, pulling her helmet down to cover her eyes.

Author's Notes:

Well...that escalated quickly. And it was going so well.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I got a lot help from my editors Donnnnn, Scholarly-Cimmerian, and Needling Haystacks. All three of them have been such a huge help in making this story what it's becoming. Best part is they all volunteered to help. They didn't have to do this, they could've let me float by myself down the river. But the fact that they chose to help speaks volumes to me. Thank you so much guys!

And thank you all for reading, I expect to have chapter 4 out by Friday evening or Saturday morning. Once chapter 4 is out, I will be going on a week long hiatus from this tale to focus on my other story, "Finding Her Path in Life," and to move myself back to college. Hope y'all have a wonderful day!

P.S. For those who are curious, Pour Jons is a very real place. It's the name of a coffee shop near my college. They've moved locations recently but their old location really did have a library of sorts on the second floor with books, board games, and vinyl records.