The train pulled to a stop several miles outside of the Crystal Empire; a temporary track put in place so that Celestia’s army could build in secret as well as keep an eye on Sombra. DJ and his family stepped off the train, and were met hundreds of royal guards and recruited ponies. DJ paid them no mind, however, as the Princess and himself trekked to the planning tent near the center of the camp. As they walked, DJ took in the sight of the army. The camp was quite large, about half the size of Ponyville, and was obviously cloaked with a special shielding spell. No doubt that it was Shining Armor’s work.

Tents were everywhere and temporary barracks were put in place to surround the armories and other necessary buildings. DJ saw technicians and blacksmiths, working tirelessly as they continued to supply the army. Celestia noticed DJ’s intrigue at the quickly created army and addressed him and the others as they continued to walk.

“Yes, it was quite easy to amass such an army on short notice,” she said as she answered the unasked question. “Most of them are Crystal ponies wishing to take back their home once more, while others are royal guards that volunteered to help free the empire.”

“Quite the force,” remarked the human. “But will it be enough?” They reached the strategists’

tent as he spoke, but another had a different idea.

“You know it!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash who flew over to DJ. “Sombra’s goin’ down!”

“Don’t underestimate your opponent, Rainbow,” DJ replied. “That leads to overconfidence and mistakes. We can’t take any chances when it comes to Sombra. We don’t know what he’s been up to, if the recent reports are to be understood correctly.” DJ began to flip through some of the papers that were on the tables, skimming through them and taking in ideas and forming plans in his mind. “For all we know, he has been able to replicate the lightsabers’ abilities. As impossible as that sounds, I wouldn’t put it past him to try and use it.”

That thought sent shivers down a few of his friends’ spines. Even Celestia looked a little uncomfortable with that idea. “Erhem, y-yes,” she said to calm herself and the others. “DJ, you are right. Sombra had always been cunning and crafty, so we cannot take him lightly in the slightest. That would doom us all.”

“Well, then,” started Rarity, “do you have any ideas, DJ?”

“Working on one. It’s not complete nor do I know if it will work, nor is it one of my smarter plans,” he said with a grimace-turned-smirk.

“Do go on, then,” said Luna who had suddenly appeared through teleportation. “What is this plan of yours?”

“Basically, it’s a head-on assault with me leading the soldiers into battle,” he said nonchalantly. The girls and soldiers gave him a deadpan look. “What? This is short notice! Not like I was thinking of plans on how to take down Sombra while on Earth! Had a few other issues to worry about at the time, thank you very much!”

Luna giggled a little at his retort, and he gave her a look of mock annoyance. If cheering him up was her plan, it unfortunately worked. DJ definitely felt more at ease, as such his mind was beginning to think even clearer. Now a much better plan was coming to him and it made his infamous smirk shine brightly amongst his brothers and sisters in arms.

“You have a better plan now, I take it?” Luna asked with a sly smile.

DJ just looked at her, keeping his smirk. “Oh, yeah. Gather around everypony! We got work to do.” As he began to explain his ideas to the gathered troops, a single thought popped into his head, one that would drive him to make this work. Sombra is going down!