The battles and incursions in Equestria and Skylands were over for now. But in the EQG Universe, on a distant island known as Equestria Shores, the elite squadron that was formed during the Traptanium Wars were taking a vacation which involved going to the beach, barbecues which ended in a battle with a plant-like foe, trying out the new Road Avenger scout car and the human Spike testing out his abilities as an Inner Council Trap Master. All the while, he found out that the girl from Crystal Prep was there as well and discovered his identity. But he noticed that she has a connection with a Traptanium Bracelet that he salvaged from the corpse of their foe during the barbecue battle after a crystal that she used to find him turned into a pair of headphones to replace the pair that was destroyed in the battle by the creature.
Spike and his Trap Master Spirit Companion, Drago determined that the spirit of Trap Master Gaia, has chosen Lemon Zest, just like how Drago chose Spike. But as the days went on, Ter became the champion for Beachside Boxing while defeating Donkey Kong who challenged him to a fight. Knight Light arrived to join in their vacation while dancing with Sonata in an 80’s disco style as the boys had their Monster Movie night.
On the next night, Legend and Ter hung out in the airship while hiding from RD and AJ because they were acting crazy early that day when they noticed two blips on the radar. There was nothing on the IFF, so they sent a message to all members to be at the briefing room at 10:30 tomorrow morning. And that’s where it brings us to today...
Wings of Freedom Briefing Room
10:30 AM
All of the members of Echo Squadron gathered in the briefing room, waiting for why they were called in. Even the girls were in the briefing room with increasing curiosity until Legend walked up to the nearby projector,
“So, I know you all are wondering why you are here?” There was no answer as he continued, “Well to start this off, I just have to say that this vacation is pretty much over now.”
Camo raised his hand, “That’s what your message said, I want to understand why.”
Ter shrugged, “You’ll know when he gets to it.”
Legend turned on the projector which showed the radar image from last night, “Last night at 1920 hrs, the airship’s early warning radar network picked up these signals entering the airspace. There was no IFF squawk on any of them and they looked too big for a regular airplane.”
Dro looked at the image, “It looks like a mid-sized aircraft, but it’s only a blip.”
Legend pulled up another image, a photo of what looks like four mid-sized aircraft. Two of them had weapons while the others had radar arrays on it. The photo was taken from a boat as noticed by the sight of the ocean, “Our contact on the island sent us this photo of the aircraft. You may not like this, but we're dealing with four aerial warships, this is going to be a tough fight.”
Ter noticed something as well as Dro as the brawler spoke, “Those four look like the beef of it. Where’s the boss?”
Dro spoke, “He’s right, those four look like support craft for something much bigger.”
Legend added, “We were also told about a weapon that the Disciples of Malefor possess. If we attack the support craft, then the boss will most likely show itself.”
Sonata asked, “Did the contact have additional information?”
Legend pulled up blueprints for both warships, “He gave us the documents that his agents acquired. The warships with the arrays are called ‘Kottos’ which are responsible for electronic warfare while the other two, the ‘Gyges’ are responsible for anti-air defense. These aircraft are most likely planning to surprise us at any given moment.” He eyed Pinkie Pie in the background, “And not in a good way.”
Spike asked, “So what's the plan?”
Legend put a map of the island, “Both Kottos and Gyges aircrafts would most likely be heading to the island, specifically for the mansion.” He pointed out the plan and time to launch, ambush them and drive them out to sea. He added that should the ‘boss’ ship show up, they have to get the Wings of Freedom airborne for support. Although they were skeptical at first since the airship only saw action during the Vanity Retrieval Mission, only to destroy AA guns. Now for it to be used in ship-to-ship aerial combat is a way to test its capabilities and give it a chance to fire its cannons. Legend pulled up a list of targets on both ships,
“The primary targets on Gyges would be the anti-air defenses and the engines. The targets on Kottos would be the ESM pods, we’ll be in a world of hurt if you let them go.”
Blaster-Tron spoke, “I will work on activating the ships Electronic Warfare system. It will work on giving you support in combat.”
Spitfire spoke, “I’ll work on getting the airship ready for takeoff.”
Rainbow Dash asked, “What about us?” This didn’t surprise the team since they’ve been in combat before. But it’s the two Crystal Prep girls that they’re worried about, since they’ve never seen combat before. Legend decided,
“While Blaster-Tron is working on the ESM, the airship’s guns need to be powered up.”
Twilight asked, “Is there a firing control for the ship?” Spitfire stated, “It’s mostly on the bridge and Blaster-Tron would’ve powered up the guns.”
The robot said, “Prolonged inactivity from airship duties has limited my functions. Main Guns must be activated and fired manually.”
Legend asked, “We all have our assignments?” Everyone nodded, “And to those who met us, this will be your crash-course into combat. Dismissed.” Everyone left the briefing room while the squadron left for the launch bay. Anyone else went for the bridge and firing control for the main cannons to prepare for battle.
In the launch bay, the team was busy getting settled in their fighters, Legend was going through the checks in the cockpit of his new XFA-24a Apalis to get a feel for flying a fighter instead of his B-66 bomber. He flew the Apalis once before during a test flight two days ago.
Dro was busy tinkering with his F/A-12 Lone Eagle to make sure it’s performance is good for combat.
Ter was dusting off his F6E White Shark and painted a shark’s mouth on the nose.
Camo was checking his YV-21 Raptor and running the pre-launch tests for his swing-wing aircraft.
Sonata was with her new X-02 Wyvern fighter which she grew interested in flying it since her first flight in the craft two days ago.
Spike was doing some inspections on his F/A-37 Talon, he checked the plane’s stealth functions and weaponry to be sure that his switchblade aircraft was in good shape.
Once the preparations were complete, the team climbed into their planes and waited for the go to launch. While waiting, Legend called out to the team,
“From the way I see it, both Kottos and Gyges are no pushovers.” He stated the plan of attack, “When we reach the airfleet, split into pairs of two and take down those ships. One pair would go after the Kottos since they have the least AA, the other two pairs will take down the Gyges.”
Spike guessed, “And if the first team is done with Kottos before the others, we will join together for an assault on the air support craft?”
Legend answered, “That’s correct, but don’t be the hero, survival is paramount.”
Soon enough, their radio’s heard Spitfire’s voice, “Okay guys, We got the catapults up and running. The others are working on getting our guns online, but Blaster-Tron and I are going to get you guys in the air.”
The six felt the familiar jolt of the planes getting hooked up to the catapults as the barriers raised behind them. The slowly increased the throttle as Legend announced,
“LET’S ROCK AND ROLL ECHO SQUADRON!”
The catapults kicked in as all six planes shot out of the launch bay and into the clear blue sky.
As the squadron formed up and went to the direction where the combat zone. During the approach, Spitfire contacted them,
“Wings of Freedom here. All Echo aircraft, report in!”
Legend began, “Echo 1 on standby.”
Dro spoke, “Echo 2 on standby.”
Ter spoke, “Echo 3 on standby.”
Camo spoke, “Echo 4 on standby.”
Sonata added, “Echo 5 on standby.”
Spike finished, “Echo 6 on standby.”
Spitfire acknowledged the report on the squadron as she said, “Preparations are complete. Ready for battle!”
There was a brief pause until she instructed, “Approach the enemy at current course. Initiate an attack immediately when you’ve made it into the combat zone.”
Legend acknowledged, “Echo Squadron, roger! Let’s go!”
As they approached the combat zone while maintaining altitude and airspeed. They still thought about the supposed ‘Command’ craft hiding somewhere in the combat zone. If any indication of a command craft is correct, it’s bigger than the four aerial warships that are now starting to come into view.
They saw those beasts in the briefing, but their seeing them in full view of the warships. It wasn’t until they heard an intercepted transmission from one of the Kottos craft,
“I’ve got an unknown on radar. Who could this be?” And then another intercepted transmission from a Gyges craft from a shocked radar operator,
“IT’S THEM! THEY’RE ONTO US!”
Soon enough, Spitfire gave the order, “ECHO SQUADRON, ENGAGE!”
Legend broke off with Dro as he said, “Echo 1 engaging!”
Dro followed as he said, “Echo 2 engaging!”
Ter and Camo broke off and went after one of the Gyges ships with Ter saying, “Echo 3 engaging!”
Camo added, “Echo 4 engaging!”
Sonata and Spike went to attack the Kottos ships as the siren said, “Echo 5 engaging!”
Spike finished, “Echo 6 engaging!”
The Gyges craft began to move with moderate mobility as Camo noticed, “We’ve got a runt on the move! Looks like it’s for air support.”
“There are enemy aircraft providing ESM, you’ll be in a world of hurt if you let them go.”
Sonata said, “Well, let’s make sure they don’t stay in the air for long.” She looked at Spike’s Talon, “Let’s go, Spike!”
Both aircraft veer towards the Kottos ships as Spike said, “I’ll take the first ship, you take the second one. But watch out for anti-aircraft fire.”
Sonata turned to her target, “I’m on it!”
The Talon and Wyvern attacked the two Kottos ships as they went for their first targets: The ESM Pods. Spike got a lock on the radar pod from the front of the craft and fired two missiles at it. Both struck the target and destroyed the first pod and began moving on to the second pod on the back and destroyed it as well. Spike soon moved to the engines and spun up his guns, opening fire on the plane’s engines. He contacted Sonata,
“I’m going after the engines!” Sonata replied, “I destroyed the arrays and I'm heading there next!”
While destroying the engines and the ESM planes, they heard a frantic voice from one of the ships, “Kottos is being attacked, Gyges 1 moving to assist!”
Spike looked and saw the form of one of the aerial battleships moving towards him as his warning alarms went off, indicating that the battleship had fired a missile. He soon felt time slow down and saw an image outline for an evasive maneuver which involved hitting the air brakes and barrel rolling out of the missile’s range. When that happened, he followed the instructions in his head and got out of the missile’s way as it slammed into Kottos’ last engine.
The Gyges that shot at him was soon attacked by Ter and Camo as they heard an intercepted transmission from the battleship as it pulled away,
“So they are fools enough to launch an attack on the Gyges! Shoot them down!”
A frantic transmission from Kottos spoke, “Gyges 1’s missile shot out our engines! That fighter used the missile against us!”
Spike pulled away and saw that his target was still in the air until he heard Spitfire's voice, “Aim for the cockpit! The bastard’s going down!”
Spike swung around to the front of the craft and saw the Kottos cockpit and fired a missile at it. The impact ended up destroying the ESM plane as Blaster-Tron came on the line,
“ESM Plane Kottos has been shot down! Friendly ESM is now active, launching drone.”
Soon enough, a blue area appeared on the radar and the ESM level on the Talon appeared to be on Level 1. Spike saw a small UAV with a radar array on its back, flying through the combat zone.
“Connecting ESM for Echo Squadron.” Spoke Spitfire as the drone transmitted the electronic wave.
Spike moved towards the second Kottos unit as Sonata had just knocked out the engines as Spike said,
“Finish it off, Sonata! Shoot the cockpit!”
The Wyvern accelerated to the front of the craft and shot a missile at the cockpit, causing the ship to go down. A frantic voice from Kottos spoke,
“Thrust is down! I’ve lost all control!”
Spitfire announced, “Number 2 Electronic Support System down! All right, that’s what I like to see!”
Spike announced, “Both ESM ships are down. We’re moving in to take down the battleships!”
Both Spike and Sonata went to where Ter and Camo were engaging the first aerial battleship and by the looks of it, they were already going after the engines as the AA defenses were trying to shoot them down, but because of their evasive maneuvers and tactics, they were able to get passed the defenses and hit some of the engines with missiles from Camo's Raptor and shotgun blasts from Ter’s White Shark.
Spike and Sonata fired their missiles at the last engines on the battleship as Ter spoke,
“I’m guessing that you decided to join in, too?”
Spike replied, “Just got done with the ESM planes.”
Sonata grinned, “Now we're helping out with the battleships.”
Camo spoke, “I’m moving towards a position to fire on the cockpit of this thing!”
Camo moved his plane towards the front of the craft and switched to his advanced weapons. As soon as he had a lock on the battleship’s cockpit, he held the trigger as the target reticle charged up. When it was fully charged, he released the trigger, launching four high-speed missiles from his plane and traveled to the enemy cockpit. All four hit the target as the warship went down in flames as an intercepted transmission from the doomed ship spoke,
“Aigaion, do you read me!?! This is…” The transmission cuts out as the battleship explodes.
Spitfire announced, “Aerial Battleship Number 1 down! It's going down!”
That transmission from the doomed ship made the the squadron learn the identity of the supposed ‘Command’ craft. So they have to keep their heads on a swivel because the ‘Aigaion’ is out there in the battle zone. But priorities are first: Take down the last Gyges craft, then find the Command craft.
Meanwhile at the last battleship, Legend was evading the anti-aircraft fire from the battleship as he took out it’s tail gun and missile launchers on its wings. Dro was focusing on the front weaponry on top of the craft. The Lone Eagle got a lock on the two AA guns and fired two remote controlled missiles that traveled to their targets as Dro kept his plane locked on to the guns until two explosions occurred on the targets. The AA guns were destroyed as the warship began to maneuver as an intercepted transmission from the enemy ship,
“Press the assault! The Gyges isn’t going to go down so easily!”
The two were moving in to attack the engines until 8 missiles struck the ship’s engines as Ter spoke over the radio,
“Don’t worry about the engines, we got them!”
Camo spoke, “Shoot at the cockpit, that should mess up their steering.”
Legend nodded as he moved his Apalis to the front of the ship as both he and Dro got a lock on the cockpit as they announced,
“Echo 1…” “Echo 2…”
They both shouted, “FOX 2!” They launched their missiles at the cockpit of the ship as explosions occurred all of the large craft as it dropped towards the sea. Spitfire announced,
“Critical hit to the Aerial Battleship! Enemy destroyed! Enemy destroyed!”
The squadron got back into formation as Legend announced, “Aerial warships shot down. Mission Complete!”
Spitfire replied, “Standby, we’re giving an assessment of the situation. We’ll give you the RTB order as soon as...”
Blaster Tron announced in a frantic voice, “Alert: Large presence detected at high altitude!”
Spitfire checked the radar and said to squadron, “He’s right! We got a large presence at high altitude! It could be the Command Craft.”
In the skies above the combat zone, a large aerial warship, larger than the mid-sized ships appeared as it transmitted,
“Aigaion to Bolt Team, we are prepared to launch.”
A team of four fast fighters began flying alongside the aerial fortress, “Bolt 1 to Aigaion, we’ll handle Echo Squadron as soon as you throw them in a frenzy.”
The command ship announced, “Attention all aircraft! We are ready for Nimbus launch! Begin the countdown!”
The silos on top of the craft opened as they announced, “Launch in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Launch Nimbus!” Multiple missiles launched from the command cruiser as the leader of the fighter squadron ordered,
“Wipe out the Echo Squadron once Nimbus throws them in disarray! FINISH THEM OFF!” All aircraft broke off to engage the Echo Squadron.
While the squadron was still in formation, multiple orange circles began to appear on their radar and their threat warning alarms went off as Legend yelled,
“Echo Squadron evade! Evade!”
The squadron evaded as missiles began striking the areas where the orange circles were shown as several explosions occurred. Dro asked, “Spitfire, are you seeing this?!”
Spitfire replied, “I saw the missiles strike the area, they’re striking multiple areas around the combat zone in an attempt to kill you! Evade like mad if you want out of this alive!”
Blaster-Tron spoke, “Launch point for cruise missiles confirmed! They are launched from the enemy Heavy Command Cruiser.”
Legend understood what their next target was, “Roger that, We’re heading for the Heavy Command Cruiser!”
All of a sudden, a transmission spoke directly to the squadron and it didn’t come from the Wings of Freedom as an unfamiliar voice spoke,
“Can’t let you do that, Echo Squadron.”
Another voice spoke, “We were told a lot about you six.”
A third voice spoke, “We are ordered to take you down.”
A fourth voice spoke, “Let's see if you dragon skulls live up to the legends.”
Leg. Spyro saw four fast fighters heading towards them as he yelled, “Echoes, we got a new group of fighters heading our way!”
The squadron dispersed as Dro contacted the airship, “Spitfire, we have four fighters on our tails and they're fast ones!”
Spitfire replied, “I’ve got the aircraft on our scanners. Shoot down the enemy, we’ll get a plane analysis and get it to you shortly!”
Leg. Spyro spoke as he shook off his pursuer, “In the meantime, I need you to get the ship airborne and attack the Heavy Command Cruiser.”
Soon enough, another voice came on the line, it was Lemon Zest, “Guys, I found something on this new squadron. I got a quick look at the emblems on one of the planes and the emblem was really familiar…” She paused for a second before revealing, “It's the Shadowbolts Emblem!”
Spike asked while avoiding a missile from one of the planes, “The Crystal Prep Shadowbolts? What are they doing with the Disciples?!”
Indigo Zap came on the line, “Crystal Prep has always been prideful on how unbeatable they are. These Disciples must've told our Headmistress about you and decided to fight your squadron!”
Camo shouted, “We’ve got to tell Cadance about this! She’s got to know!”
The Shadowbolt Leader heard the conversation, “We’ll make sure that the Dean never knows what happened to you. Let's see how you handle these!”
All Shadowbolt aircraft got in formation and launched dozens of missiles as Spitfire yelled,
“Missiles approaching at high speed! MULTIPLE MISSILES APPROACHING!”
Ter’s ears were assaulted by his threat warning alarms as he evaded through the barrage of missiles, “These guys are dead set on shooting us down!”
Sonata was evading the missiles as she noticed that she was in a perfect spot to open fire on the Shadowbolts. So she got a lock on one of the planes and used her guns to at least damage it. One Shadowbolt called out in shock, “This is Shadowbolt 3, I’m hit...my left engine is fried...I’m bailing!”
The plane's canopy blew as the pilot ejected as Sonata announced, “Echo 5 downed an enemy. Pilot ejected!”
Leg. Spyro cheered, “Way to go, Sonata. Three more to go.” He began to get concerned about the people on the island, “Spitfire, how are things on the ground?”
Spitfire replied, “Everyone has been evacuated to the safe zone.”
The squadron sighed, relieved to hear the good news including the news when Blaster-Tron announced, “The Wings of Freedom is airborne!”
Leg. Spyro asked, “How’s the ship?”
Spitfire gave an assessment, “The ship’s fully operational, the guns are operational as well, and the shields are at 100 percent. We’ll commence an attack on the Heavy Command Cruiser, you take down the fighters.”
Leg. Spyro stated, “The ship’s in your command, Spitfire. Keep her safe and show that cruiser her teeth.”
His XO smirked, “Yes sir!” She soon called to whole ship, “All hands! Battle stations!”
After hearing this and seeing the now airborne Wings of Freedom fly towards the Command Cruiser, the Shadowbolts got back into the fight as the leader spoke,
“So you were able to best one of us and get that airship in the air? I should expect nothing less from you!”
Leg. Spyro swerved his Apalis behind another Shadowbolt and said, “We’ll see about that!” He fired his guns at the plane, getting a bunch of holes and a blown out engine as the pilot yelled,
“I’m hit! Bailing out!” The canopy blew as the pilot ejected while the doomed plane blew up.
Shadowbolt 2 spoke, “Shadowbolt 4 is down! What’s happening!?”
Shadowbolt leader sighed, “I guess you six are more skilled than I thought.” She ordered her second, “You go after their number six, I’ll go after their lead plane!”
Echo Squadron got into formation as Leg. Spyro sighed, “Looks like they’re challenging me and Spike to a 2-on-2 air duel.” He told his team, “Dro, Ter, Camo, and Sonata, I need you to assist the airship in attacking the Command Cruiser. Spike and I will handle the Shadowbolts.”
Dro was about to protest about this, but he knew that it won’t work, “Echo 2...roger, Echo Squadron on me!”
The four planes broke away from the Apalis and the Talon as Spike sighed, “Going into an air duel with just two of us.”
Leg. Spyro sighed, “It's what an ace pilot would do.”
As the two prepared to duel against the Shadowbolts, a transmission from Blaster-Tron came up, “Analysis complete. Aircraft identified as CFA-44 Nosferatu, a fast strike aircraft with medium stealth capabilities. It uses two weapons bays on the upper midsection and one in the ventral section between the intakes. The weapons that were used were the All Direction Multi-Purpose Missile Pods, they can lock onto both air and ground targets. Their weakness is the lack of defensive plating on the aircraft.”
Leg. Spyro asked, “So that’s why we were able to take down the first two?”
Blaster-Tron replied, “Affirmative.”
Spitfire knew what to say, “Go take down those Shadowbolts. Aces of the Traptanium War, I pray for your success.”
The Talon and Apalis soon engaged the two CFA-44s as they passed each other at high speed. Leg. Spyro went to attack the lead while the second got onto Spike’s tail with guns blazing. Spike managed to evade the rounds that the Shadowbolt was firing until time froze again and another image appeared. It was instructions on how to pull off a cobra maneuver as he pulled back on the stick, decreased his thrust and watched as the CFA-44 passed by him as the Shadowbolt was shocked,
“How’d he do that!?”
Time returned to normal as he reapplied thrust to his aircraft and set his sights on the Nosferatu and opened fire as his tracer rounds hit the wing of the aircraft as it banked away from his rounds. But at least he did damage to the craft with the guns, but this air duel isn’t over yet.
The Wings of Freedom was heading straight for the Command Cruiser as they got a good look at the thing. The cruiser was larger than the Kottos and Gyges crafts, there was a gaping mouth in the center of the cruiser which Dro hypothesized it to be a hanger for launching fighters which explains the Shadowbolts, the cruiser had four large engine units, two for each wing. It’s also equipped with air-to-air guns and missiles as for its heavy artillery - the cruise missiles that nearly wiped the squadron out.
Camo was shocked, “Holy - That thing is huge!”
Dro stated, “It has to be in order to launch fighters and cruise missiles like that.”
Ter understood this as he said, “Guess we’re in for a fight.”
Sonata asked, “How are we going to take it down with the Zep?”
Spitfire came on the line, “I already have a plan with that. Fighters, fall back and stay in formation behind us and approach the enemy at that course. Initiate an attack immediately after our go!”
Dro asked, “Something tells me that your plan is crazy.” Spitfire teased, “I thought you liked crazy plans?”
With only a chuckle, Dro took the squadron and fell back behind the airship as a transmission on a frequency known to the squadron spoke as she relayed orders to Blaster-Tron and the crew of the zeppelin. Spitfire said,
“All guns turn to starboard. Blaster-Tron turn hard to port!”
The guns on top of the ship turned to the right while the mounted guns on the right side powered up as the airship turned to the left as the cruiser was just doing nothing since the zep was out of air-to-air missile range. Spitfire was anticipating a cruise missile attack as she ordered, “Drop Port Gravity Anchor!”
The airship powered up and dropped the gravity anchor, an experimental energy tether project that Dro was working on and testing in order to anchor the ship in mid-air. She had a plan with the anchor system. It wasn’t until they intercepted a transmission from the cruiser,
“That airship is out of missile range. But not to the range of the Nimbus!”
An orange circle appears over the zep’s signal on radar as it was clearly obvious that the cruiser is going to uses the cruise missiles. Sonata warned, “Look out, they’re going to use the cruise missiles!”
Spitfire replied, “We’re already inside the impact zone. But don’t worry, we’re going to give them a surprise.”
The airship kept moving to the port side, still staying inside the missile impact zone until a transmission from the cruiser spoke,
“LAUNCH NIMBUS!”
The cruiser launched its cruise missiles towards the airship as the squadron looked in both fright and confusion to why Spitfire deployed the gravity anchor and her decision to stay in the impact zone. Blaster-Tron announced,
“Cruise Missiles approaching the Wings of Freedom!” Spitfire smiled, “Just in time. All hands, get ready for a bump!”
When she said that, the gravity anchor snagged the sea floor below as it yanked the ship back as the engines shut down. The Wings of Freedom drifted out of the impact zone as the missiles hit and drifted around the cruiser to its port side as the squadron heard a transmission from Twilight, who was manning one of the guns to her friends,
“I’ve read that the guns are tuned to our elemental abilities when fired manually. Skylanders, use your elements and open fire when told to.”
Dro looked at the ship as it got into position alongside the cruiser. Ter noticed, “Looks like they’re ready to drop some lead on that cruiser.”
Spitfire yelled, “All cannons, FIRE!” The airship erupted with guns blazing as the airship cannons fired in an array of elemental powers, hitting the command cruiser and doing damage to it. The shots from the guns were either Tech shells, Earth shells, Air shells, Life shells, Light shells and Magic shells.
Sonata was amazed, “This is the first time we’ve seen the cannons fire like that. I can’t believe it!”
Dro looked at the damage to the cruiser and saw a stray shot from the airship strike the one of the missile launch ports. But a cruise missile launched before the port was destroyed, heading for the airship as Dro yelled,
“LOOK OUT! CRUISE MISSILE!” The missile hit the area and explosions occurred all over the area where the airship is in. But luckily, the Wings of Freedom’s shield took the brunt of the attack. Dro asked,
“Are you alright?”
Blaster-Tron spoke, “Shields at 80%.”
Spitfire stated, “They’re not going to shoot down this airship. A few more shots and then you guys can finish it off.”
While the rest were busy attacking the cruiser, Spike and Leg. Spyro were busy fighting off the remaining Shadowbolts. Leg. Spyro’s Apalis was pursuing the lead Shadowbolt as he had his sights on the lead craft. He fired his guns at the craft and struck it in the fuselage. The Nosferatu was trailing smoke, but still in the air, so he broke off pursuing the craft and contacted Spike,
“Spike, form up on me. I’ve got an idea.” Spike’s Talon formed up on him as the Shadowbolts formed up across from them - flying straight towards them head on. It was certain that it was an air joust attack as the Shadowbolts shot at them first. But the Apalis and the Talon weaved through the shells and shot back, hitting the front air intakes of both fighters. As their rivals lost control of their aircraft, the number 2 shouted,
“This can’t be happening!” While the leader shouted, “Don’t think you’ve won this! We’re not through with you!”
Both aircraft of both sides passed each other at a knife's edge before the CFA-44s blew up. Leg. Spyro called out to the airship, “We got them! Hostile fighters down!”
Spike noticed two parachutes, “They all bailed out. I can imagine they’re not done with us.”
Spitfire’s voice came on the line, “Nice work in taking them down. Now it’s the squadron’s turn to commence an all out attack on the Heavy Command Cruiser!”
Spike and Leg. Spyro flew to the cruiser to rejoin their wingmen.
The Wings of Freedom had did an amount of damage to the Command Cruiser as fire was seen from one of the missile launch ports. The airship pulled away from the cruiser as Spitfire described the cruiser’s defenses,
“The Command Cruiser is equipped with Air-to-Air guns and missiles. There’s also those cruise missiles that can’t hit targets at close range.”
As Echo Squadron were joined by their lead and six, Spitfire continued, “Time for you to finish what we started. Focus your attacks on the guns and the rear engine. Begin your attack on the cruiser now!”
Hearing the order, Leg. Spyro asked his squadron, “All planes, ready to hunt that whale?”
Camo spoke, “Roger that, Captain Ahab!” Dro asked, “Wait, didn’t he go down with Moby Dick in the end?”
Camo chuckled, “So, you’ve read it too.”
Blaster-Tron spoke, “Heavy Command Cruiser is identified as ‘Aigaion-class’ It is the main command craft for any air fleet.”
Spike guessed, “And responsible for any cruise missile related duties.”
Sonata replied, “Including those fighters for a CAP system, but we’ve already dealt with them.”
Leg. Spyro soon said, “All planes, commence attack!”
All six planes flew towards the titanic cruiser as they dispersed to attack the AA defenses that the airship’s salvo had missed. And without the support from the Shadowbolts or its support craft, it’s vulnerable but it’s tough. An intercepted transmission from the cruiser spoke in a frantic voice,
“There were four planes, but now there's six? Where's Shadowbolt Team?!” There was a pause for a moment until the transmission resumed, “The Shadowbolt Team was wiped out?! This can't be true!”
Spike chuckled, “It is true. And you're next!”
Even though they couldn't hear him, he figured a panicked reaction would suffice. Spike locked and destroyed the guns on the cruiser’s center port fuselage, wing and tip. Sonata destroyed the AA defenses on the starboard side of the ship, it wasn’t until she noticed,
“Did I hit it?” She saw the destroyed guns on her side, “Yeah! Damage on the Command Craft!”
Spitfire yelled, “Echo Squadron, Keep attacking!”
They heard a transmission from the Aigaion, “Shoot down all enemy planes that get in close! Open all gun ports!” The gun ports and AA missile ports on the cruiser opened up, “Gun ports are open.”
Leg. Spyro noticed, “Watch out for defensive fire around the cruiser. Evade the AA Guns and missile fire!”
Dro evaded the cruiser’s defenses and got a lock on one of the Aigaion’s engine units as he and Ter shot their SP Missiles at the engine unit and destroyed the first unit as Dro said,
“I hit it right in the engine! That’s the first time in history.”
An intercepted transmission from the Aigaion crewman said, “The Engine Block has suffered a hit. Power Control, fire up Engine 3!”
Spike and Camo flew towards the second engine and fired their guns at each area of the engine, destroying it completely. Apparently the crew noticed,
“Engine 2’s been hit. Engine thrust down. Pull back on the stick.” Another crewman spoke, “Not a problem. She can still fly.”
Leg. Spyro and Sonata flew towards the third engine as the squadron leader said, “Not for long.” They got a lock on the third engine, but only Sonata fired on the engine. She looked at his plane and asked, “Why didn’t you fire?”
Leg. Spyro grinned, “Just trying out a new toy.” His face turned serious as he announced, “Echo 1, Commencing Full Rocket Fire!”
Just as he announced it, several launchers that were placed on his plane’s weapon racks started firing rockets at the engine, these rockets were like fireworks when they launched. But they did considerable damage to the third engine. As soon as the rocket fire came to an end, Sonata was shocked at the spectacle. She asked,
“Did Dro build those launchers?”
Leg. Spyro replied, “He did and he had me test them.” Sonata shook off her shock and saw, “We’ll save it for after the mission, but the cruiser only has one engine left.”
Spitfire spoke, “Echo Squadron, keep the pressure on. Just a little further now!”
All fighters began to attack the last engine, starting it off was the Apalis and Lone Eagle, then came the White Shark and the Raptor, last attack came from the Wyvern and the Talon as Camo announced,
“All engine units destroyed!”
Spitfire spoke, “The Heavy Command Cruiser has taken a major blow! Echo Squadron, you’ve almost got her!”
Leg. Spyro told everyone, “We have only one target left to destroy.”
Spitfire replied, “Aim for the forward cockpit from the front.”
Leg. Spyro split off from the others and went to the front of the Aigaion and locked on to the behemoth’s forward cockpit. He said, “Echo 1, Fox 3!”
He fired his missiles at the cockpit and destroyed it as he flew over the command cruiser. He announced, “Cockpit has been destroyed! Mission-”
“The Aigaion will not be defeated! Launch Nimbus! Continue attacking!” He was interrupted by the Aigaion crewman as several of those missiles launched from the cruiser. Leg. Spyro was shocked, “I don’t believe this! That thing is still up in the air!?”
Blaster-Tron transmitted, “Aigaion Power Core confirmed. Location of Power Core confirmed to be inside the cruiser’s hanger.”
Ter spoke, “We won’t be able to get in there with those missiles on our butts!”
It wasn’t until they spotted Spike’s Talon moving to dive down into the hanger, “Leave this to me, I’ll finish it off.”
Leg. Spyro protested, “Spike, it’s too dangerous!” Spike sighed, “I know it’s dangerous. But it’s what an ace pilot does!”
As Spike weaved through the explosions from the missiles, he looks at his plane’s armament and sees a weapon that could be capable of destroying the core, one that was attached to his aircraft since the Vanity Retrieval Operation. He heard Drago say,
“You have to be at the precise moment before you drop it.”
Spike nodded, “Even if I drop it at the precise spot, I still have to escape before impact.” Drago stated, “You can do it, kid.”
Spike nodded as he said, “Echo 6, arming Fuel Air Explosive Bomb.”
The weapons bay opened up to reveal the bomb as the bombing reticle appeared on his HUD as he flew into the ship. As he flew into the launch bay of the cruiser, he spotted the power core on the ceiling of the hanger bay, he knew that it would’ve been easy to hit it from the front, but he had to make a quick decision. He fired his guns at the core which damaged it a few times. As soon as the bombing reticle reached the drop point, Spike announced,
“Echo 6 deploying FAE Bomb!” He dropped the bomb as he immediately hit the throttle to get out of the ship as the plane’s switchblade wings closed. By the time he made it out, the bomb hit the impact zone as a large explosion covered the front of the Aigaion, Spike was caught in it as well. Everyone was panicking over the radio, hoping to see if Spike would respond, they kept calling out his name and callsign.
“Spike! Come in!” “Echo 6, are you there?!”
As the explosion subsided, the Aigaion’s front was damaged and the destroyed power core meant that Spike did it. Leg. Spyro yelled, concerned for his friend,
“Echo 6? Echo 6! Respond!” Ter looked all over the area and on the radar, “Spike is off the scope!”
Leg. Spyro shouted, “All planes, search all over the area! Spike is alive! He’s gotta be alive!”
Sonata looked again, both on radar and visual and noticed something trailing smoke and rolling downwards towards the ocean, “Wait, I’m seeing something!” She flew towards the object and saw a familiar F/A-37 Talon, but damaged. She contacted the plane, hoping Spike would respond, “Echo 6, Echo 6! Come in, Spike! Do you read?”
As he struggled to regain control of his Talon, Spike was bombarded by strange images of a camp, a lake, a cabin, and a young boy standing next to a woman, possibly the boy’s mother with their back turned. As he finally regained control, those images stopped as he heard Sonata’s voice asking him to respond. As he pulled up, he said,
“Power Core destroyed...finally.” He heard everyone call his name in relief as he heard Spitfire announce, “The Heavy Command Cruiser has been destroyed! Great job, everyone!” She spoke to Spike, “As for you Spike, that stunt was dangerous, but you did it anyway.”
Spike replied, “I know, I didn’t have time to attack from the front. So I had to make a quick decision.”
Leg. Spyro’s Apalis flew near him and noticed, “I’m seeing damage to your plane.”
Spike understood, “It looks like I got fragged from that explosion.” He checked the damage assessment to his plane, “Port wing is stable, starboard wing has moderate damage to it. The armor on the top is damaged but the major functions to the plane are okay.”
Dro spoke, “We’ll get working on it once we land.”
Sonata looked out her canopy, “Check it out.”
As the squadron formed up, they saw the destroyed Aigaion crash into the sea as Ter said, “Back to the sea you go.”
Dro stated, “May you rest...in quiet slumber.”
Soon enough, everyone on the island were cheering for the squadron as they flew by the island. Soon enough, Blaster-Tron contacted them,
“Incoming Transmission from Cadance!”
Leg. Spyro replied, “Patch her through.” Soon enough, the Dean’s image appeared on the screen as she said,
“Boys, I’ve heard about Equestria Shores and the attack. I’m glad you’re safe.”
Leg. Spyro asked, “Did you know that some of the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts are working for the Disciples?”
Cadance sighed, “I did, I tried to warn you about it, but Cinch has been even more suspicious with me. She knows that you exist, but she’s unaware of my involvement with you.”
Spike gave her an idea, “Try to find out why the Shadowbolts are working for them. If it involves Cinch, she must know something.”
Cadance understood and decided to ask, “I know it might be too soon to ask since your fight is over, but I need you to fly out to Camp Everfree.”
Ter asked, “Expecting more trouble?”
The Dean stated, “There has been unusual activity there and it might be something for you to look into.”
Camo sighed, “Well, I guess it’s back to no rest for the best.” The Dean chuckled at his remark as she heard Spike ask,
“Camp Everfree?” As if he remembers a place like that before. Cadance knew that something was going on with Spike. But she put those thoughts aside as she asked,
“I’m also aware that two Crystal Prep students are onboard the Wings of Freedom?”
Camo asked, “You want us to patch you through to them?” Cadance replied, “That would be nice.”
Soon enough Lemon and Indigo were now on the line with Cadance as the Dean asked, “I suppose you two have discovered my secret?”
Indigo spoke, “I never knew that you were involved with them.”
Lemon added, “I was surprised when we discovered Spike’s secret as well.”
Cadance understood as she said, “Keep in mind, I had a hand in bringing them up, they are very important to me.”
Indigo asked in curiosity, “Now that we know, what's going to happen?”
Lemon asked, “You're not mad at us?” Cadance chuckled, “Of course not, but I urge you both to remain with the squadron. Lemon, Indigo, what you two have witnessed go beyond our universe.”
Indigo stated, “They told us about another universe and Skylanders.”
Cadance nodded, “That they did.” She spoke to Lemon, “I’ve heard that Spike recovered a traptanium artifact from a downed foe several days ago and it reacted to you when you touched it?”
She replied, “It created a new headset after the previous pair was destroyed.” Cadance stated, “My advice would be to keep the artifact close because it will save your life in the future.”
Lemon was curious about the meaning of those words, but she shook that thought aside and said, “I will.”
Soon enough, Cadance ended communications with the squadron as Spitfire spoke, “Alright guys, hurry up and land so we could head to the camp.”
Leg. Spyro nodded, “Okay guys, let’s begin landing checks. Spike, you land first.”
The team soon began landing on the airship’s docking bay as each plane landed and hit the arrester cable, starting with the Talon and ending with the Apalis. As soon as everyone landed, Leg. Spyro contacted the bridge,
“We’re aboard!”
Spitfire acknowledged as she said, “Docking Bay and Launch Bay Shields are active. The ship is secure and ready for Rift Jump!”
Leg. Spyro gave the order as he and the team left the docking bay, “Punch it!”
Blaster-Tron announced, “Initiating Rift Drive.” Soon enough, an energy spike emitted from the tip of the zeppelin as a rift portal opened up and the Wings of Freedom sped into the portal as it closed.
After ending transmission with the squadron, Dean Cadance started to think about Spike when he questioned Camp Everfree. The confusing tone in his voice made her speculate that Spike heard of it before even though he never went there until now. It was clear evidence that Spike was remembering something, something that Cadance, Luna and Celestia kept hidden until the time was right.
Cadance began to call her contacts at the camp, not before looking at a picture of Celestia, Luna and the boys with Spike and Sonata among them. It was the few photos that they sent her after the Traptanium War ended. She looked at Spike standing between Celestia and Luna as the other five were on the sides. As she stared at the photo, tears started to form in her eyes as she said,
“If he's starting to see vivid images of places he has never been to before, it's another reason why I sent them to Everfree. Celestia has suffered loss long enough.”
Soon enough, her communicator beeped as she got online with her contacts, two camp counselors from Camp Everfree, “This transmission is for you two. Equestria Shores was attacked by the Disciples of Malefor, but thankfully it was repelled by the Echo Squadron. I'm sending them your way to help out with the bizarre activities in the camp.”
The male counselor said, “Thanks for sending them to the camp.”
The female counselor asked, “I heard that the squadron’s number six is a Trap Master. Is it true?”
Cadance sighed, “He’s more than a Trap Master. I’ve told you about him for many years now. He's also the reason I called.”
The male asked in shock, “Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?”
Cadance nodded, “He's beginning his journey for the truth, I need you to guide him to the first of the seven fragments.”
The female spoke, “We’ll do it.” Cadance stated, “Whatever you do, you must not let the others know about this.” She sighed, “There are somethings that we kept from him, the girls and from the squadron.”
The male counselor nodded, “I understand. It's a big risk with everything going on here at the camp.”
Cadance confidently stated, “If anyone can solve this problem, it's them.” The female reminded, “Remember what happened years ago?”
Cadance paused as she remembered that fateful night, but she didn't delve into it too deeply as she sadly said,
“I remember.” She ended the transmission.