Equestria has been occupied. Changelings, creatures who can take on the shape and voice of anypony, anyone. Monsters who feed on love. They’d infiltrated Equestria seemingly overnight, sinking their roots into every settlement and city like a creeping plague, capturing important officials, leaders, heads of clans, and replacing them or holding them outright hostage. They did not reveal themselves until the fall of Canterlot, and by then, it was too late.

Their demands are simple in their cruelty: Obey the new changeling overlords without question. Do not try to reunite with missing loved ones; they had been taken, trapped in the cocoons that leeched their love to feed the hive. Know that anyone could be a changeling in disguise, and be assured that disobedience would be punished — there was always a need for more love, and having it forcibly drained from you was much worse than losing it unawares.

Featherhorn received warning before the coup was sprung. Not enough to get everyone out — some stayed to hold off the swarm that came once their infiltrators were unmasked, giving time for rest of the town to escape. Pitch Black led their meager forces, along with his father Sales Patter, Press’s husband Curler, Camera Shy, and other brave stallions and mares. Sales would have stayed, but Black and Sales Patter made him promise to get the rest of the town away.

Only a few managed to meet up with the townsponies later. Some of those were not who they said. But some were. Sales Patter gave the story — the majority had been captured and taken away. A few of their own had been changelings even before the attack. But their fight was not in vain.

The Featherhorn refugees were blessed to have a few zebras with them — one of them knew the recipe for the magical poultice that reveals a creature’s true nature. Their group was one of the larger rebellious parties starting out, because they had had warning; but this made them vulnerable, easier to find, and so they went deeper into the forests until they could find some way to defeat the monsters. Slowly, though, they began to pick up other stragglers, organize themselves, become a force that could not be easily found and would not be easily taken when they were.

They have not given up. Sales has not given up. Somewhere out there, Pitch Black, Curler, Cam, and the rest are still alive, still needing saving. And he hopes to not see their faces again until the changelings are overthrown, or he sees them rescued and wearing the zebra poultice with his own two eyes.

Because the changelings can wear anyone’s face. And they prefer to wear the faces of those you trust the most.