When he awoke, Rainbow was sitting next to him, looking down at him. He opened his yellow eyes and looked up at hers. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked worriedly, apparently since nopony was around she was able to drop the 'cool girl' facade. "Yeah," said Thunderbolt, "So… Are we done for today, coach?" "Please," Rainbow said in her signature accent, and then she dropped it altogether and said in much softer voice, "um… please call me 'Bow." "Sure, 'Bow," said Thunderbolt, "So, want to go home now?" "Good idea," said Rainbow.
The next day, everything was back to normal. Thunderbolt had several pulled muscles, but he shook it off (just like Rainbow would). He decided that he'd go to Sugarcube Corner and get a milkshake; also Rainbow had told him that Pinkie Pie (one of her friends) was there. So Thunderbolt flew to Ponyville proper and to Sugarcube Corner.
He arrived there and took a few moments to admire the gorgeous and well-designed architecture of the place. It looked like a gingerbread house! There were white icing-shaped strips down the sides and, as the name implied, the place was on a corner. He entered the building and walked up to the counter. There was nopony there. Suddenly a pink pony with a cotton candy colored, frizzy mane ran up to him. "May I help…" she said before erupting in a huge gasp with which her body defied most of the laws of physics, and then she exclaimed, "You're that new pony, aren't you?!" "Yes," said Thunderbolt, confused, "I got here two days ago…" "Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed the earth pony, "I'm so, so, so sorry! I totally didn't throw you a welcome party! I'll get right to it as soon as I'm done with work today!" "Um," said Thunderbolt, "It's quite all right. Mind telling me your name?" "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" exclaimed the pony exuberantly, "But you can call me Pinkie Pie for short. Or you can just use my first name and call me Pinkie! That's fine too! What's your name?!"
"Thunderbolt," he answered plainly, at least, compared with Pinkie's endless exuberant babble, "And it's okay. Chill. I just came for a milkshake." Pinkie immediately erupted in a giggle fit. "What?" asked Thunderbolt, confused. "You're telling me to chill, then you ask for a milkshake! Anyways, coming right up! I had it ready five minutes ago!" She ran to the back and pulled out a chocolate milkshake with no whipped cream and a bowl of cherries on the side. It was just how he'd order it. "You hadn't met me as of five minutes ago!" exclaimed Thunderbolt, even more confused. "Yeah, so?" said Pinkie as if nothing was wrong. She looked over at the clock and said, "Oh! My shift is over!" Then she pulled a vanilla milkshake with tons of whipped cream on it with a really bendy, goofy straw in it out of the back room. "Can I sit with you?" asked Pinkie. "Uh," said Thunderbolt, "Sure, I guess."
They walked over to a booth and sat across from each other. "So," said Pinkie as she sipped her milkshake, having licked the whipped cream off first, "I hear you're here 'cause of Dashie! Is that true?" "You mean B… I mean Rainbow? Yeah, I am," replied Thunderbolt, catching himself as not to break his promise. He thought about her, imagined her face as if she were hovering right beside the table. "Equestria to Thunderbolt…" said Pinkie as she waved a hoof in front of his face. "Oh, sorry Pinkie. I zoned out a bit," said Thunderbolt. "Do you like her?" asked Pinkie. "Like her? Of course I like her! Who doesn't, she's the coolest pony ever!" "No, no," said Pinkie, "I mean do you like-like her?" "Don't tell her this, promise?" asked Thunderbolt. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" said Pinkie, at the last part pulling an actual cupcake out of thin air and squishing it in her face. Then she licked it all up. "Okay," whispered Thunderbolt, "Yeah, I do." "I knew it!" whisper-shouted Pinkie. "How?" asked Thunderbolt. "Well, staring off into space and blushing right after I mentioned her is a good sign," said Pinkie, taking another sip of her milkshake.
"It's really that obvious?" asked Thunderbolt, frustration creeping into his voice. "Not really," said Pinkie. "Whew!" said Thunderbolt. "Unless somepony mentions her name!" exclaimed Pinkie, breaking out into a giggle fit again. Thunderbolt facehoofed. "Just kidding," said Pinkie, "I've had crushes before. It happens! Once I had a crush on this pony that continuously would poke and pop balloons with his horn. But, you know, crushes are crushes, and they fade sooner or later. Well, I'll be seeing ya!" Then she finished the last of her milkshake in one big gulp without so much as a brain freeze and bounced up the stairs.