My Little Pony: The Portal

Chapter 36: Arrangements

"Thanks for taking me back, Twilight." Alex said as the two of them made their way back to his apartment. It was later in the day, and the sun was already going down.

"No problem, Alex. So, I hear that you and your friend Evan have joined the Pony Tones. That's exciting!" Twilight said, nudging him a bit. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm curious to see how that's gonna do. I'm gonna make a playlist of songs tonight that would work for a cappella, and then meet with them tomorrow to see what songs we'll end up doing." Alex explained.

"I look forward to hearing what you come up with." Twilight said.

"Thanks." Alex chuckled. The two of them arrived at the door to Alex's apartment at this point.

"Hey, Alex?" Twilight stopped them for the moment. Alex glanced over at her as he reached in his pocket to get his key.

"Yes?"

"I know we've said this before, of course, but I just wanted to tell you face to face...you know, just, thank you for everything that you did to help our friends out when they were here." Twilight reiterated.

"Yeah, of course." He nodded with a smile.

"I just, you don't understand how worried I was when it all happened. I was... I was worried that something bad would happen to them and it would be my fault... It's impossible to explain how meaningful it was." Twilight expressed.

"Yeah... Uh, I don't really know what else to say, heheh. You know, it was nothing really, you're welcome." Alex nodded.

Twilight smiled a bit and nodded in return before stepping in and giving Alex a hug. Alex returned the hug slowly, feeling sort of strange about it. They hugged warmly for a bit before Twilight tapped him on the shoulder, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Stunned, Alex leaned back, unsure how to react. He did his best to hide his surprise, and Twilight didn't seem to take notice of it; she simply smiled, not saying anything else. Alex turned back towards his door, fumbling to get his key out of his wallet.

Questions began to circle in his head; what was going on? Why did she do that? What were her intentions? He stuck the key into the door and turned it, but it was jammed, and he had to shake it and force it open.

The sweetness of moment quickly faded into awkwardness...

***

"Alex! Where've you been man? We've all been waiting on you." Evan asked as Alex stepped into Rarity's boutique, where all of the other Pony Tones members were waiting for him.

"Sorry, my ride was a little late." Alex explained, adjusting his mane a little bit as he closed the door behind him.

"It's quite alright, darling. Would you like some lemonade?" Rarity offered, gesturing to some drinks set up on a center table.

"That sounds great, thank you." Alex nodded, taking a glass for himself.

"Did you find new music?" Fluttershy asked. Alex nodded, and took a sip before continuing.

"I did! I went through my playlist and put together a list of potential songs that we could do, based on the ranges that you all have and making sure that you all get a chance to have a solo, you know?" Alex explained.

"That sounds perfect." Torch Song said.

"Thank you for being so considerate!" Rarity grinned.

"Sure. So, we can pick out just some random ones, because I have almost 50 songs for us to choose from." Alex revealed. The others' eyes all widened a bit.