MLP: The Portal 2

Chapter 4: Reunion

"I can't believe we're back here! Eeh, this is so exciting!" Pinkie squealed in excitement, bouncing ahead of the group.

"I'm sure Alex will be thrilled by this surprise!" Applejack said with a smile.

"Yeah…" Rainbow Dash agreed softly, her heart beating hard in her chest as they drew closer and closer.

"It's okay, darling. He'll be happy to see you," Rarity comforted her, placing a hand on her arm. "He'll be happy to see all of us." She said reassuringly.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Rainbow Dash agreed, still anxious to see her former boyfriend after all this time.

They all reached the door. Before Twilight could even knock on the door, they could already hear loud rock music playing from inside. Taking note of this, Twilight knocked on the door louder than normal. They heard the music quiet down.

All of them waited anxiously for the door to open, shuffling a bit as they waited. Seconds felt stretched out, as though it was taking minutes for Alex to answer the door.

Finally, the door opened up. Alex stood on the other side wearing a black sleeveless exercise shirt. Upon seeing who was at his door, his eyes widened. He froze for a bit, unsure how to react. He pulled out his phone, and paused his music.

"H-Hey… You're…"

"We're back!" Pinkie exclaimed, being the first to jump up and hug him tightly. Alex hugged back with one arm, still in shock.

"You are. Heheh, uh, come in." He stepped aside, letting them in.

The seven of them all piled in one by one. Rainbow Dash was the last to come in. As she passed by Alex, the two of them held eye contact for what felt like the longest time before she entered fully. Alex shut the door behind them, joining the girls, who'd all gotten comfortable already.

"I-I can't believe you're back. Is this for real?" He asked.

"It's real." Rainbow Dash nodded.

"But I thought… I thought that your princess or whatever said that you had to close the portal for good." Alex recalled. Twilight nodded.

"She did, but Starlight and I found another way, a safer way, to come here. So, technically, we're not breaking any rules." Twilight explained.

"No way… That's… That's great." Alex said with a half smile.

"How have you been, Alex?" Fluttershy asked.

"Um, I've been good. I've been good. You know, just-just working. I've been tryna work out more as you can see by workout equipment there. Nothing really all that new. How about you?" He asked them.

"We've been good." Applejack nodded.

"We have a lot to catch up on." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yes we do, and we will. Unfortunately, we can't all stay very long." Twilight admitted.

"That's okay, we'll have time, we'll have time. This was a little unexpected anyway." Alex said.

"I gotta get back to the farm. Now that we're back, I'll have to have ya as a guest sometime." Applejack offered.

"That sounds nice." Alex nodded.

"I have duties to attend to today, but I promise to bring you back to Ponyville soon, and we can go to more places." Twilight said, standing up as well.

"I look forward to that too." Alex said.

"I'd like to stay here if that's okay. I'd like to see Evan again." Fluttershy spoke up.

"I'll call him shortly."

"I'll stay too." Starlight said.

"Sure."

"I'll stay next time." Rarity smiled.

"Okay," Alex nodded, turning to Rainbow Dash. "What about you? Would you like to stay?"

"Um, I don't know… I can." She said softly.

"I mean, if you don't want to, you don't have to. It's just an offer." Alex backtracked.

"You should stay, Rainbow Dash! It'll be great!" Pinkie Pie said, hopping over to her.

"Um…"

"I said you should stay, Rainbow Dash." Pinkie Pie repeated in a much lower tone, holding onto her face as she spoke. Rainbow Dash stepped back.

"Okay! Okay." She nodded. She looked at Alex, who was eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. He looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't, and that was actually intimidating for her.

"Well, we'll get out of here before it gets awkward," Rarity said with an awkward chuckle. "We look forward to seeing you again, Alex." She said, hugging him warmly. Alex hugged back.

"Thanks. It's good to see you all again as well." He said to them, giving the ones leaving quick hugs on their way out and leaving him with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Starlight.

"Hey, Alex. Rainbow Dash wants to talk to you privately." Fluttershy said suddenly, nudging Rainbow Dash, who flinched.

"Do you really?" Alex asked doubtfully.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I do…" Rainbow Dash said, glaring at Fluttershy.

"Let's talk in my room then. After you." Alex said, gesturing for her to go first. He followed behind her, closing the bedroom door behind them once they entered.

"It's…um, been awhile." Rainbow Dash started slowly, turning around to face him.

"You know, if you didn't want to stay, you could've just gone. I can take a hint." Alex said, folding his arms.

"Alex, I'm sorry. Listen, I'm just really…really nervous." She admitted.

"Nervous about what?" Alex asked.

"This conversation. I-I don't know what to say. I don't know how you feel. I don't know what's changed." Rainbow Dash explained her thinking. Alex nodded in understanding.

"I gotcha. Listen, you can talk to me. I'm all ears. I wanna know what you have to say. I offered you to stay. That wasn't out of courtesy. I want you here." He said.

"You do?" She asked with some surprise.

"Of course I do. I've missed you." Alex said, stepping closer to her. Rainbow Dash stepped past her.

"You didn't seem to think about that when you blew me off when we said goodbye." Rainbow Dash said a bit bitterly.

"I didn't blow you off, Rainbow Dash. I just…held back."

"Why did you hold back? That was the last time we were gonna see each other. Pretty bad time to 'hold back' on me man." She continued.

"Yes, you're right, and I regret that. I just, I was hit really hard when I learned we were never gonna see each other again, and I just… It was gonna be the last time, and I had no hope, so I just…denied myself." Alex said, unable to fully explain his choice.

"You didn't just deny yourself, Alex. You denied me too, and that really hurt." Rainbow Dash lamented.

"You're right, that was stupid, and I'm sorry. I've been wishing I could take it back these past few months." Alex said, stepping towards her again. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"…it's okay. I forgive you. At least now we can talk again and-"

Rainbow Dash was interrupted by Alex suddenly stepping in and kissing her, placing a hand on her cheek. Rainbow Dash flinched in surprise, eyes wide open and she felt her lips pressed against his.

She mimicked him, closing her eyes and kissing him in return. Alex pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her firmly. Rainbow Dash hugged him tightly, her arms around his neck. He pulled away, and she sighed, still unsure what to do.

"Are we good?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah, we're good." She nodded, blushing deeply.

"Great. We have a lot of catching up to do." Alex said with a smile.