It's a cold world. By cold, I mean it's just colder weather today. It's raining, it's windy, and I'm actually kinda... I'm feeling a shiver down my spine. I have this odd feeling in the back of my mind. Almost like there's a set of eyes watching me... or multiple. I feel like the one schoolfilly on the stage by herself, hundreds of parents and other kids watching me as they wait for me to perform. I'm out of sight, I'm all alone in the room right now, but I feel like somehow, everybody is peering into my mind, they're seeing my skills and shrugging. They've seen better. I'm only fast, not talented.

But that is true, isn't it...? I'm fast. Speed means nothing if you don't have any skill. Without skill, speed is useless. It's like trying to ride a bicycle without the ability to turn. Sure, you can go fast but speed has no purpose if that's all you can do. I can do a loop, I can do twirls, I can do a barrel roll, I can spin clouds, I can swerve by pillars... but can't everypony? Can't everypony turn, and flip, and create a mini-twister, and spin a cloud? What is it I have that's different? I'm fast. I can do it faster, but it's no different from being able to brag about pedalling faster. Too fast, and my skill falls apart.

I can't even do a Sonic Rainboom. I've tried hundreds of times, maybe even thousands of times. Fluttershy has seen all the results and I know it myself. I create a cone, only to not meet the required speed and the air resistance...

It always hurts. The landing, I mean. Crashing in general, actually. I crash so often you'd think I'd get used to it... and I am. The pain shoots through me and is gone. Well, "shoots through me" is a huge exaggeration. It enters my body, is extremely intolerable, and then it goes away after five or so seconds. The tolerance I have ranges from very to... to... where I almost cry. Crashing onto Twilight's balcony when Applejack launched me into the air as I wasn't ready... that hurt. I was able to tell Twi the situation, but I promptly passed out. The pain in my torso was huge. Not couldn't breath huge but... I felt like my legs, my wings, my head... they were in incredible pain.

Crashing into that mountain which Pinkie tried to warn me about? That hurt my jaw... and my pride, but mostly my jaw. I felt horrible mentally; Pinkie tried to spare me but I thought she was just annoying. I'm sorry, Pinkie...

Crashing into my friends when that dragon hit me? That hurt me physically and mentally. I rushed in, hit some... body and I payed the consequence. I slammed into my friends, hurting my entire body as I rolled after into that rock and... I hurt my friends too. My brash thinking... ugh, can't I be a reasonable thinker? No, my thought process is faster than my flying. Just do it, don't plan it out. That hurt me and my friends.

Crashing into Rarity's room hurt, not as bad as recent crashed but I hit hard enough to bounce and ruin a mannequin Rarity had set up. It payed off as I got this awesome new dress – two in fact, but it still hurt.

Crashing into Twilight's Library, into that bookcase when I failed to do that Sonic Rainboom... it hurt so bad. The force knocked all the books out of the shelves that my friends helped to pick up and shelve.

I really am Rainbow Crash.

How many times will I crash now?

How much pain will I feel this time?

What will they think of me? My idols?

What about those guys?

What about my friends?

"Number 15, let's go." a voice said, a hoof poking me in the back.

There was the sound of a door opening, the room she went in...

"Rarity... is ready." Rarity said, wearing enough makeup to make her look like a little plastic toy.

"Look ladies, I don't know what to tell you. There's only time for one more performance. If you both want to compete, you'll just have to go out there together." the backstage handler said.

Rarity walked over. "Well Rainbow Dash, shall we?" Rarity said, brimming full of confidence.

I blurted out a few sounds; my attempt at speaking currently as I stood up and walked over to the curtains and quickly peaked out.

"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number 15!" the announcer said as I pushed them open, flying off into the skies.

Rainbow Crash and burn. That's all I am.

Author's Note: And now, a series of drabbles about whatever topic I have on my mind. Right now, I just felt like doing a POV look into Rainbow's mind before she went onsta... onsky during the episode, Sonic Rainboom. I will make more and don't worry, this isn't going to distract me from my Apple Spectrum story.

Be sure to check out the Apple Spectrum and the stories of my editor for the Apple Spectrum, Civille/Bellum_Civille, especially the Pinkie-verse and Old Friends.