Having qualified for the Aerial Relay event, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Bulk Biceps and their friends travel to the Crystal Empire to participate in the Equestria Games alongside four other teams. Honour, glory and gold are at stake as the ponies prepare to take up their positions. But after Rainbow Dash accidentally bumps into an old acquaintance before the performance, strange things begin to happen.

What unseen trials will the trio of teammates face on the event grounds and skies? Which threatening series of events will occur involving the audience and Rainbow's friends? And what was that barely-discernible streak of brown high up in the clouds? Most importantly, what is the ultimate motive behind these seemingly unrelated incidents?

Originally written before the airing of "Equestria Games." Beautiful artwork by SynCallio.

Inspired by Flight of the Pegasi and Under Your Wings, both composed by Chris Wöhrer.

Pre-read by HiddenUnderACouch, MissingLink, AbstractThought, NightWolf289, and Ausbrony.
Edited by MissingLink and NightWolf289.

Featured on:
Equestria Daily!
Canterlot's Finest.

This story is 100% approved by Twilight's Library!
Approved by Nonpareil Fiction!

Twilight Sparkle has finally perfected a device allowing ponies to speak to each other over great distances. Unfortunately, the first call she receives is from Pinkie. Things go downhill from there.

Novel Tale is an author that's been living in Canterlot for about ten years now. That's a pretty good track record for a changeling. He's even included a changeling character in his latest book, and his fans have been loving his take on such an obscure mythological creature, especially his biggest fan, Twilight Sparkle. Things are looking up!

Then an army of changelings from another hive attacks Canterlot.

Now all of ponykind knows that changelings are real, and his readers are sure to realize that the changeling in his book was too similar to the real thing to have just been based on a myth...

earlier chapters have been revised as of 7/19/13 to be more inline quality wise with the later chapters.

Featured on EQD 10/5/13!

Let it be known that there will be extensive changeling world building in the chapters to come.

cover image courtesy of ackdari.

Much thanks to Nyerguds for proofreading and to all my fellow tropers on the TvTropes pony fanfiction thread for helping me develop this from a vague idea into an actual story.

Echo is a high ranking changeling officer. The Canterlot invasion was going perfectly, and her battalion had personally defeated the Elements of Harmony. Suddenly, she finds herself far flung from Canterlot, crashing into the Everfree forest. Now she is faced with a difficult reality - her hive, the only family she's ever known, no longer exists, and she must adapt to life as a pony. What she finds out about herself, though, will surprise her.

Rated Teen for occasional suggestiveness and language, tagged gore for brief violence, particularly in later chapters.

Dark because later chapters get pretty ... well, dark.

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Addendum 5/29/2018

This story is now, as of this addendum, five years old. It is getting more attention as I put out new chapters on the sequel.

I recognize that this story has problems, and that some of them by their nature carry over to the sequel; please remember that when I started writing this, I was not yet even old enough to legally drink in the US. A lot has happened and a lot has changed, and there are many things about this story I regret including, but which it is now too late to change. Some of those things I have simply done my best to ignore and make irrelevant, but some of them are errors from a 19 year old me that will haunt me until the sequel is finished.

In short, please be gentle.