Ponyville, Equestria, Castle of Friendship

Twilight Sparkle's bedroom

With a gasp and a barely stifled cry, Twilight Sparkle threw herself upwards from her bed, while charging her horn for a magical blast upon her assailant. Only, once her vision cleared, the build-up of purple energy ceased, and she sat back against her bed.

"Not again…" she sighed, wiping her brow of sweat. It had been only a week since the incident at the Ball, and quite frankly, she really wished Princess Luna could have helped her with the resulting nightmares.

But that was the thing, as who wouldn't get nightmares after nearly being assassinated on her birthday, to have her life flash before her eyes, and then…

Twilight groaned and slid out of bed to get a glass of water, making sure to use a muffle spell to silence her steps so as to not wake Spike. As she walked into the kitchen and retrieved a crystal goblet, she filled it up to the brim and drank the whole glass in one gulp.

Twilight then looked to the window, and planted her face in her hooves. What happened that night, a week before, was still fresh in her mind, and no matter how much she wanted to…

She couldn't stop herself from replaying the events once again in her mind.

====

One week prior, Canterlot, Grand Ballroom

"So, now that we're in private…" Princess Celestia said as she and Twilight stepped away from the birthday revelry in the ballroom to a quieter sub-room. "Happy birthday, Princess Twilight."

"Thank you, Celestia." Twilight said. "It's hard to believe you set all this up for me."

"You deserve it." the Alicorn of the Sun replied. "After Tirek, I think we all needed some time for relaxation and merriment."

Twilight had to agree. Tonight was a special night for her and her friends. After a smaller, private celebration in Ponyville with her friends and immediate family, it was off to Canterlot for the ball Celestia had scheduled and arranged herself. It was slightly less scaled than the Grand Galloping Gala, as invitations were sent by Twilight, not by the Princess.

As a result, it would be more attended by ponies who Twilight knew and were acquainted with, rather than nobles who she learned of by name and title. On that note, she was glad Prince Blueblood was marked off the arrival list, under the category of "Do not invite under any circumstances", along with his cadre of nobles who did not look upon Twilight with any gratitude or respect.

This minority, a vocal one at that, believed that Twilight's coronation was illegitimate, since every alicorn before her had some familial relation to Celestia. The cases of Princesses Luna and Cadance were set in stone, but seeing as these nobles, Blueblood included, saw Twilight as nothing more than a commoner and completely undeserving of her title…

Well, let's just say Celestia had to send very harshly written letters, warning those who received that if they showed up and made a scene...they'd be arrested by the Guards before they could even utter a word.

That was the exact phrasing she used, Celestia had told Twilight. And in the case of Prince Blueblood, she had to do things face to face with him to dissuade him from doing what he intended.

Thankfully, none of these ponies were to be seen, and the ball was going splendidly. In fact, Soarin' of the Wonderbolts has asked Rainbow Dash if she needed an escort beforehand, Applejack had met with several Canterlot suppliers who were eager to purchase her family's cider, Fluttershy and Rarity were speaking with Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, and Pinkie was telling an enraptured crowd a rather long comedy routine, and the roaring of laughter was indicative of how she got along with everypony.

"So, back to the subject at hand…" Celestia said after some quiet moments. "I believe this should prove helpful to you, Twilight. What's the birthday mare without a gift from her mentor?"

Twilight blushed and accepted the package offered, which contained a journal with a lavender cover. However, as there was only one page in the book, it was certainly not what Twilight had expected. She opened it with curiosity and to her surprise, when she flipped the first page over, a new page materialized out of thin air, identical to the first and positioned perfectly behind it."

"I enchanted the pages to appear as you need or turn them, with a very high limit of how many there can be." Celestia smiled as she explained. "The journal's pages aren't endless, but very close to that mark. In fact, it also cleans itself from any sort of stain, and will never age."

"Thank you so much." Twilight smiled. As Celestia nodded in pride, Twilight's ears perked at a loud series of cracking noises.

"What's that?" she asked as the noises grew closer. "Did you plan for fireworks?"

"No, I did not." Celestia frowned as she went for the door, Twilight following. As they returned to the ballroom, they realized the sounds were coming from outside, in the main entrance area. Twilight and Celestia approached the door, and soon, the cracks stopped…

Only to be replaced by a beeping noise, and then a large explosion that blew the oaken doors off their hinges. As Celestia cast a shield that stopped the blast, they caught a glimpse of what was going on.

At least eleven Solar Guards were on the ground in pain, a hole in each one's front left leg, that was bleeding profusely. Celestia prepared to advance on whatever it was that attacked her Guards, only for a crack to echo, and a small object struck her shield at a speed that rendered it invisible.

The projectile, to Celestia's surprise, struck hard against her barrier, making her groan. Several more projectiles impacted, then they stopped.

"Who dares attack my ponies?" She growled. "Show yourself!"

Then, steps could be heard as a bipedal figure approached. In the light, the two alicorns saw it was tall, with a slender frame. It wore a brown, black, and tan duster with armor, and a belt of small brass objects lay on its waist. It wore a helmet with a strange red visor and a circular mask, and a patch with a large number 6 lay on its neck brace.

As it approached, it raised a small, metal object towards the two alicorns.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked, charging her horn to aid Celestia. The creature simply shrugged, and spoke in perfect Equestrian.

"Call me Courier Six." it, or apparently a he, judging by the tone of voice, said simply, then it fired another projectile from the metal object it carried.

Only this time, it wasn't aimed at Celestia.

It was aimed right at Twilight's head. She threw up her own shield in a flash, but the projectile penetrated the barrier and grazed her cheek, causing her to stumble to the floor, a cut from the impact bleeding. Celestia growled furiously and charged to attack, but the being stood unfazed as it continued to fire at her.

Then, just as Celestia was about to reach the being and likely vaporize it with the power of the Sun, it stepped to the side and took out a small object, and clicked it twice. A small explosion went off that filled the room with white smoke, obscuring the vision of all present.

As it cleared, Celestia saw that the creature was gone, and it left something behind. A small red sash lay wrapped around a column, bearing the sign of a golden bull. Celestia tore the sash away and incinerated it, before ordering in the Royal Canterlot voice for the Guards to assemble and to bring medics.

In that moment, the last thing Twilight saw before passing out was her friends, brother, sister-in-law, and parents rushing to her side.

====

Twilight blinked her eyes open and turned to the side, realizing she had fallen asleep, and the day was about to come, as she remembered that Celestia raised the sun around this time during the summer.

As she was about to head back upstairs, she heard a voice speak behind her with an urgent air.

"Princess Twilight, it is I, Trixie."

She turned to see the pale blue show pony approach, out of breath. Twilight saw a bandage on her leg, and immediately asked if she was okay.

"Trixie is fine." she said. "But I have to tell you something. Something important."

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Trixie found the assassin, Courier Six." Trixie replied. "But…he didn't..."

"Didn't do what?"

"He didn't kill Trixie. In fact, he said he just wanted to talk and find out where he was." she replied. "Trixie shall start from the beginning. I was heading into the Everfree to find some spell ingredients…"

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. In fact, expect another updatae later today.

Next time - Trixie tells Twilight of her encounter with the Courier Six in the Everfree, and at the same time, the real Courier 6, Mark Rileigh, watches from afar...