After Pinkie Pie left, Thunderbolt was left with a half-empty milkshake and an emptier heart. Several minutes passed, and he sat there, thinking. Maybe the exuberant pony was right: maybe it was just a crush. Did that mean that whatever feelings he had for Rainbow would pass? That they weren't real? That's what it sounded like, anyways… Thunderbolt heaved a deep sigh as he took a final sip of his milkshake and pushed aside the slightly-less-than-half-empty glass away. He then collapsed onto the table. "You real upset for a reason, Thunder?" asked a familiar voice.
Thunderbolt looked up. He saw Rainbow Dash, hovering there next to the table, exactly like his half-hallucination earlier. "Oh, hi, Rainbow," Thunderbolt sighed, barely lifting his head up off the table and turning it vaguely in her direction before slumping down again. "May I… sit down?" asked Rainbow. "Sure," said Thunderbolt, his voice sounding halfway between irritation and tiredness. "Thanks," said Rainbow, honest thanks in her voice as if he was the only pony who'd come within twenty feet of her. She looked at him, slowly reaching over to point at his half-finished milkshake. "You…" started Rainbow, "Are you going to finish that?" Thunderbolt shook his head. Rainbow started to take a sip when she stopped and looked at Thunderbolt. He continued to stare at the table.
"May I have it?" asked Rainbow politely. Thunderbolt nodded. She took a long sip and said, "Ah, that hit the spot. I heard you were coming here and… I… um… I decided to join you after my workout. You look real depressed, though. You okay?" She had a worried look in her eyes. Thunderbolt looked up into those eyes and sighed again. "No, not really," he replied. "Why?" asked Rainbow. He didn't know if he could find the strength to tell her. He looked back down at the table again, unable to bear those eyes. He shrugged. "I'm not so happy either, to be honest," said Rainbow, the look in her eyes going from worried to outright sad, "But at least I have the strength to look somepony in the eye." Thunderbolt looked up. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Promise, pinkie pie promise you won't tell anypony?" asked Rainbow, worried like she hadn't been since they were caught in that rockslide. Thunderbolt nodded. "I can't manage a sonic rainboom," Rainbow whispered. "That's not a big deal," said Thunderbolt. "No, no, you don't get it," said Rainbow, sadder than ever, "The sonic rainboom is my trademark thing. It's what I did to win the Best Young Fliers competition. And now…" she lowered her voice to a whisper again, "And now I can't do it anymore."
Thunderbolt picked Rainbow's chin up and looked into her eyes as she stared into his. "You'll get it back, trust me," said Thunderbolt caringly, "I know you will." "What if I don't?" asked Rainbow, but before she could say any more Thunderbolt cut her off. "You will," he said. Rainbow smiled, still with worry in her eyes despite it, but she smiled. "Okay," she said, "I'll take a little break and when I come back, I'll do it." "You know best," said Thunderbolt, a smile finally managing to creep its way onto his face. "Let's go home, okay?" asked Rainbow. "Good idea," said Thunderbolt with a nod, walking out the door of Sugarcube Corner and taking off.
Once they got back to Rainbow's house, the sun was already starting to set. "We should think about bed," said Thunderbolt. "I already am," said Rainbow, yawning. "She's so cute when she yawns…" thought Thunderbolt, and then he shook the thought out of his head. He couldn't be thinking stuff like that. What if she noticed? She wouldn't want to coach him anymore, certainly. She might not even want to be friends with him anymore. So he looked in the opposite direction. "Hey, Thunder? The bedroom's this way…" said Rainbow, tapping him on the shoulder. He looked over at her and hit himself in the forehead. Then he nodded and followed her.
The two walked into Rainbow Dash's bedroom, it was colorfully adorned with Wonderbolts posters and merchandise. There was a sky blue blanket, the same color as her coat, with her cutie mark on it. The mattress was dark cyan, the pillows a slightly lighter blue. There were gold medals and tons of trophies all over the walls. There were a few motivational posters hanging on the ceiling over her bed. "So this is how winners are made," said Thunderbolt as he admired the room. "To any other pony, I'd say something like 'it fits, because I'm awesome'," said Rainbow, as she spoke Thunderbolt thought he saw a hint of red on her blue cheeks, "But to you I'll say the truth: that it's just some things to help me remember who I am. Sometimes you can forget that, you know?"
Rainbow's words were truer to Thunderbolt than she'd realized they'd be. He didn't exactly know who he was, or what he was doing there. "Well, I'll be leaving now," said Thunderbolt. "Oh," said Rainbow sadly, "O… okay…" She stared at the ground and kicked a hoof at the floor, and continued, "If you really want to go, I won't stop you. There's a spare bedroom down the hall, two doors over to your right." She sighed and climbed into bed. "If you want me to stay here, I'll stay," said Thunderbolt, painfully aware that he was blushing. "That would be nice," said Rainbow, "This bed always feels like an ice cube!" "I read somewhere that, if you and some other pony get real close to each other, you can conserve heat. Wanna test it?" asked Thunderbolt. "What have I got to lose, I'm going to be Icicle Dash any minute now anyways!" exclaimed Rainbow with a giggle. Thunderbolt trotted over and got in bed.
"You're right, this bed is a bucking ice cube!" exclaimed Thunderbolt with a shiver. "Then come over here!" Rainbow said. "Okay," said Thunderbolt, scooting over. And the two embraced each other (for the sake of not turning into icicles) as they watched the sunset through Rainbow's window and talked about random stuff. "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck wood chuck… oh, I messed up again!" exclaimed Rainbow. "It's okay," said Thunderbolt, "I'm not faring any better. Watch me fail epically: How much wood could a could-chuck wood if a woodchuck wood-chuck… See, I messed up again!" "Hey, 'Bow?" asked Thunderbolt, "On a side note, I have a question." "Go ahead," said Rainbow. "Who do you like?" asked Thunderbolt, "As in… you know…" "Who do I have a crush on?" asked Rainbow. Thunderbolt nodded. "Well," said Rainbow, "Nopony at the moment…"
Thunderbolt's heart just about gave out. "Okay," he said, pokerfaced, "But if you were to like somepony, what would they have to be like?" "Well," she replied, "Let's see. They'd have to be cool…" Every time Rainbow would say something, Thunderbolt would mentally judge if he fit the category. Rainbow continued, "And nice, and they'd have to be a pegasus, because I'd want to go flying with them. Oh, and they'd have to be real fast, 'cause I'd want to try something out with intertwining sonic rainboom trails and stuff like that. They'd have to be loyal, like me, that's my Element, remember? And also they'd have to be able to cheer me up when I feel bad. Hmm… now that I think about it… nah, I don't think he likes me."
"Who?" asked Thunderbolt. "Nothing," said Rainbow, "We should get some sleep. It's gonna be a nice Sunday tomorrow." Thunderbolt thought he saw a thin line of red forming on her cheeks as she snuggled under the blankets. "You should too," Rainbow hinted, gesturing with a hoof. "Coming," said Thunderbolt, climbing under the silky sheets. "Tomorrow's gonna be a good day," sighed Rainbow, "I just know it."