The pink mare appeared on my doorstep before I could even have my breakfast. She stood there smiling while I was frozen, mouth halfway to my food, unsure what to do. I closed my mouth and stammered. "Uh...Hi Pinkie. What...what can I do for you?" Pinkie ran up to me. "I need your help with something." She looked around the room and leaned in close. "And it's a secret." Okay. Should I help? Why not? I don't have any plans for the day. I smiled. "Okay." Pinkie jumped for joy and raced out the front door. I stood up to follow her. I took one step forward and cringed. I felt pain shoot up my bad leg. It wasn't agonizing pain, but it was still enough to hurt when I set my hoof on the ground. I took a few more steps to find that the pain subsided. Twilight's magic was working like a charm.

I walked outside to find Pinkie waiting for me. She began to walk towards town and I followed. "So what is it we're doing exactly?" Pinkie rolled her eyes and giggled. "I told you, it's a secret." Well that sure cleared things up. I barely noticed that we were walking right up to Fluttershy's. I paused for a moment and looked at Pinkie. "Why are we here?" Without a relply, Pinkie walked up and opened the door. "Hi Fluttershy!" I looked around Pinkie to see Shy running around the room tending to several dozen different creatures. She looked rather stressed as she glanced up towards us. "Oh, hi Pinkie." She hadn't noticed me yet. Pinkie walked into the room. "Are you busy?" Really? Was Pinkie that oblivious? Fluttershy looked confused as she motioned around the room. "Um...yeah. I have a lot to get done today." Pinkie smiled. "Okay." And with that, she exited the cottage. Shy glanced at me and I shrugged. "See you later Shy." I turned and began to follow Pinkie. Another shot of pain made me pause. I shook my leg and kept walking.

We arrived at the boutique and Pinkie walked right in. She isn't one for knocking is she? I followed her in and saw Rarity working on her dresses as usual. Although I don't think I'd ever seen her so grouchy while making clothes. Pinkie stuck her head between Rarity and her current work. "Hi Rarity! You look like you could use some fun!" Rarity, forced to stop with Pinkie blocking her view, backed up. "Pinkie dear, not right now. I'm far too busy for any silly games right now." Pinkie shrugged and trotted over to me. "Two down. Three to go." What was that supposed to mean?

I found out quick enough as we spent the next hour going to find Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. All of them were too busy for whatever Pinkie was talking about. Of course they didn't even know what she was talking about. And she gave no hints either.

As we left Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie sighed. "They're all so busy." I patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay Pinkie. Maybe I can help." She smiled. "You're already helping silly." She rubbed my mane and bounced of back towards town. I shook my head and followed. I felt the sharpest pain yet in my leg. My knees buckled and I fell to the dirt. I pushed myself up and set all four legs on the ground again. My bad leg supported me, but just barely. I took a few steps forward. The pain continued. I walked forward as fast as I could, trying to catch up to Pinkie. The pain didn't fade. I did my best to ignore it.

We returned to town. To Sugercube Corner to be exact. Pinkie went straight upstairs. When she reached the top she looked back down at me and motioned for me to come up. I winced with each step, but I made it to the top. Pinkie opened the door to her room and motioned me in, looking around as if expecting somepony. I walked in and she followed, slamming the door behind her. "We have so much to do! And it's not even lunchtime yet!" I think I've given up on trying to understand this mare. My head tilted to one side. "So what do we have to do?" Pinkie shook her head. "You really don't get this whole secret thing do you?" I rolled my eyes. "Alright. Tell me what I can do to help." She smiled. "Okay. You can-" She stopped and looked around the room. She raced over to the window and shut it and then locked the door. She slowly walked back to me and looked around once more before whispering. "I need you to make sure nopony goes near the picnic spot." I was tempted to question this, but my head said not to argue.

I made it, albeit in pain, but I made it. I sat down on the soft grass and looked around. Not a pony in sight. I wiped the sweat from my brow. It had been a hard and long walk. I looked down at the black sleeve that covered my leg. Twilight had said that the magic would wear off a little bit every day. So why was my leg hurting all of a sudden? "You look like you're in a lot of pain." I froze where I was. The first thing I thought was; who was there? The second thing; Pinkie's going to kill me. I slowly turned my head. Behind me stood the last pony in Equestria I ever expected to see. She walked around to stand in front of me. I lowered my head. "Princess." Celestia sat down and I stared at her. She smiled. "I've heard a lot about you Speedy. Twilight's told me so much in her letters. Including your adventure with the dragon." I managed a smile. The princess looked down at my leg. "How long has it been like this?" I cringed as another shot of pain came on. "Since this morning. I don't think Twilight's spell worked." Celestia stared hard at my leg. Her horn began to glow. I wanted to ask what she was doing, but I held my tongue.

We sat there for several minutes. Finally the princess closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes again, I saw the faintest hint of a tear. "I know why you are troubled by this. But what I tell you may only make it worse." I felt my heart begin to beat faster. What had she seen? She leaned in close, locking eyes with me. "The dragon claw that did this was poisoned. And now that poison is in your leg." My heart was racing. I began to shake. Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder and I did my best to calm down. "If I was poisoned, why am I still alive?" She shrugged. "It appears to be a slow-moving poison. I would guess this dragon would use it to watch his prey suffer before eating them." A brief smile crossed her lips. "My student's spell was performed perfectly. Twilight stopped the feeling of pain and, without knowing, slowed the poison even more." The smile faded. "But now it's beginning to overpower the magic. If something is not done soon, the poison will spread to the rest of your body. And rather quickly since it's been delayed for so long." I shuddered.

Celestia looked over her shoulder and then back at me. "I'm sorry to give you such news. Especially with the picnic I planned." I looked up at her in confusion. "Picnic?" She smiled. "I told Pinkie that I wanted to have a picnic with all of you. But I didn't want it to become a royal event. To tell you the truth, I hate the attention." I chuckled. So that was the secret. I glanced back at my leg. "How long do I have?" Celestia's eyes grew sad. "There is a way to stop the poison where it is, but you wouldn't like it." I stared back at her. What did she mean? If the poison could be stopped, why wouldn't I like the method?

In the distance I heard Pinkie. "Come on girls!" Celestia stood and walked behind some bushes and winked. "You never saw me." She lowered herself until she was completely hidden. I slowly stood up and waited for the mares. I heard a popping sound behind me and turned to see a full-blown picnic. I eyed the bush and smiled. Talk about waiting until the last second.

The group came into view. I waved to them. Pinkie trotted up to me and looked over my shoulder. "Anypony come around?" I smiled and shook my head. "Nothing to report. Nice picnic by the way. You really outdid yourself. She giggled. I knew she was dying to say it wasn't her. The rest of the mares eyed the setup. Pinkie stood in front of them. "You all have been working so hard recently, I figured you could use a break!" Twilight stepped forward. "Wow. Thanks Pinkie. Speedy did you have something to do with this?" I shook my head. "She refused to tell me anything about it. I only just got here myself." I winked at Pinkie and she giggled. She bounced towards the bushes. "That's not the only reason I brought you all here." The bushes rustled and the surprise guest appeared.

The picnic was great. We sat, ate, laughed, and talked the entire afternoon. Celestia would glance at me every now and then and I would nod to her. Most of my attention though stayed on the mare leaning against my flank. I smiled at Shy and she smiled back. We hadn't moved thankfully. I didn't want any of the others to see me in pain.

We watched as Celestia began to lower the sun towards the horizon. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. Soon the sky began to darken. Celestia announced her exit and we all said goodbye. But instead of flying away, she began to walk off. She locked eyes with me and motioned for me to follow. I hesitated for a moment, but eventually forced myself to get up and follow her.

We didn't even go 20 feet, and yet I was sweating like I had just run ten miles. I tried to take in as much air as I could. The princess leaned over me as I sat down. "The poison's spreading, but there is still time." I looked up at her. "I know what your idea is. Magic obviously can't stop this. There's only one other way." She nodded. We both knew what had to be done. I either went with this plan or I would have to die. And I was not about to do that. I couldn't leave Fluttershy. Before I could respond though, another shot of pain hit me, worse than all the previous ones combined. I fell to the ground. I could hear the others running towards me. Shy called out my name. My vision grew dimmer. I looked up at Celestia. "Please..." The last image I saw was her nodding. Next Chapter: Perspectives Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes