Spitfire

It had been many long years after Discord had been sealed away by the Elements of Harmony. To a total outsider, Ponyville, and in fact all of Equestria, seemed to have gone back to normal. However, this was not so. The two attacks on Princess Celestia in the space of a single year had had a lasting effect on her. Though she pretended nothing was wrong, she was no longer the trusting and benevolent princess she had used to be. Instead, she had become paranoid and quick-tempered, constantly tightening security in Equestria in the fear of another attempt for the throne. Though Luna had never tried to challenge Princess Celestia's rule since the Nightmare Moon event, the ex-princess had been exiled to the moon once again after a guard found FOR THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC scrawled on the Town Hall. In fact, the Elements of Harmony were the only ponies she still trusted, along with the Wonderbolts, who had been regrouped into a special police force on her orders. Twilight and her friends were made her personal protecters and given high offices while Spitfire became the deputy and second-in-command. Guards became a much more common sight, appearing on every corner on constant watch for any sign of rebellious behavior.

Still, life went on without event. Some ponies quietly grumbled about Princess Celestia's iron-hoofed rule and fondly recalled the past when ponies were once free. Even Spitfire felt saddened when she saw the effects of her harsh regulations. She, like many ponies, would have spoken up against the tyrant Princess Celestia had become, but it was too dangerous for her to even speak her mind any more. It wasn't just because Spitfire wished to keep her title, although it was admittedly part of it. It was because along with the guards, their princess had ponies planted everywhere to listen in on conversations and make sure not a word was spoken that tarnished her image. Anypony guilty of 'verbal incitation to rebellion' was taken to Sugarcube Corner and never seen again.

One day when Spitfire was walking through Town Square, she saw a blue unicorn with a white mane pass a slip of paper to the mail-pony she recognized as Derpy Hooves. Spitfire saw the secretive way the paper passed from hoof to hoof and was able to put two and two together instantly. She took off, flying toward them to confirm her suspicions. A like-minded pegasus spy collided with her, but she held up a hoof and said, "I've got this." As the pegasus withdrew into the shadows, Spitfire turned to the startled pair of ponies. "Now, I need you to follow me to somewhere more private so that you can show me what that says with less of an audience," she told them. She didn't even need to see what the note said to understand what was going through their minds. Such was the danger of living in Equestria.