Several months have passed since the wedding of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince DJ Sparkle. There was fairly big political problem due to a newly crowned princess marrying a commoner. Thankfully, very few knew that DJ was formerly a human, so that wasn’t a factor in any of it. Celestia and Luna put an end to the bickering, though. Princesses were not required to marry nobles or anypony of the like, so there was nothing wrong with Twilight being in love with a stallion like him. Being an alicorn, didn’t hurt DJ, either.

DJ did have to take special lessons, though, since he was now a prince. He needed to know the proper mannerisms around other royalty and on how to address the public. He mostly tuned it all out. DJ was never a big fan of politics and had a small dream of wanting to punch a politician in the face, if he deserved it anyway. Malice was all for it, but DJ held himself back, not wanting to cause a riot. That only took a month, though, and soon they were back home in Ponyville. Twilight, DJ, Spike, and Nyx; one big, happy family.

Very little happened within this time frame. There were a few holidays, some school projects, and a few royal duties. The only two things that were worth mentioning was Berry’s first birthday in Equestria. There was cake, streamers, loud music, and plenty of gifts. Her best gifts had to be her own personal party canon, from Pinkie of course, and her very own forever drink from Discord, which was constantly filled with Pepsi. Pixel Berry was certainly on a sugar high that night! A few days later was Nightmare Night and Luna had brought Berry along as well. She was dressed as Pinkie Pie, using her pixel magic to create the mane. DJ had relied on the omnitrix for the perfect costume and found a certain form that he fell in love with. Basically, there was a loveable, little electric mouse speeding around Ponyville that night.

Now, it was nearing Hearth’s Warming again and the first snowfall was happening. The Sparkle family were enjoying a quiet night in front of the fire, the two adults reading their own respective books. Twilight was re-reading Harry Potter, again, and DJ was on his fourth Daring Do novel. Nyx was curled up between them. Spike was sleeping in the fire, keeping as warm as possible. DJ felt a prickling on his neck and he craned it to look at the disturbance. It was Speedy, his pet lizard. Spike was first a little apprehensive about DJ’s choice, but Speedy was just too adorable. DJ had initially named him Roy, but after the lizard proved to be both fast and agile, he figured Speedy was just as good. That lizard pretty much kept to himself, but was always easy to find. DJ used his magic to place Speedy on his head and continued reading.

DJ finished his magic and flying lessons over a month ago and was pretty much used to his new body now. Much to Malice’s ire. Malice was still apprehensive about the form, but with the omnitrix available at a moment’s notice, he stopped complaining about it. He never claimed to accept it, but recognition was fine for now. Spike was getting out of the fire and prepared to go to his bed. He may be sixteen now, but that was still very young for dragons. Didn’t stop DJ from giving him the proper respect. Spike was nearing the steps when his stomach churned and he burped out a flame which formed into a scroll.

“Ugh! A letter? Now?” Spike complained.

“Just read it little buddy,” DJ called over.

“It’s from Princess Celestia…She wants all of us and our friends to come to Canterlot. Now! She says that it’s urgent.” Twilight and DJ looked at each other, wondering what was going on. “And DJ? She says to bring your swords.” Now they knew it was serious. Those things were deadly weapons and Celestia didn’t like DJ bringing them to the castle. If she was saying he needs to bring them, then something was going on.

An hour later, the Sparkles and the Elements were on the first train to Canterlot. They arrived early the next morning and headed straight for the castle. The guards directed them right to the throne room. Celestia, Luna, and Pixel Berry were there waiting for them. “Greetings my little ponies,” Celestia began. “I wish that you were here on better terms. But something awful has happened; the Crystal Empire has been attacked.”

The girls gasped in shock, while DJ kept a stoic face. Inside, he was surprised as well, but he needed to be strong for his family. I will never be weak again! Never!

“We don’t know who has attacked, but all of you are being sent to assist in their efforts to drive back the attacking force. I wish you all the best of luck, and DJ? I am expecting you to protect them all. I sense much power within you; I know you will keep them safe.” She gave him a knowing smile, while he offered a solemn nod.

“I will use everything in my power to protect my family. You have my word.” They all strode off and out of the castle and were back on the train not too long after. The snow began to increase as they continually headed north. The Crystal Empire came into view hours later and it was not how DJ had wanted to see it for the first time. There was smoke rising from the grand city and several of the buildings were destroyed on the outskirts. Thankfully, the train station was still intact. The guards were waiting for them when they arrived and escorted them directly to the castle.

Along the way, they could really see the damage from the attacks. Buildings and homes were burned, broken, and destroyed in various areas. The guards assured them the all of the ponies were evacuated before the armies had marched forward. Once they were at the castle, they were taken straight to Shining and Cadence.

“It so good to see you all,” greeted Cadence. “I really wish that we could all get together like this when things weren’t terrible. I am really hoping that with all of you here, we can put an end to all this fighting.”

“Cadence, what happened here?” Twilight asked. “How did…whoever get past the shield of the Crystal Heart?”

“I don’t know Twilight. Everything was peaceful and calm, then the next thing we know there is an army of darkness striking down the shield. We were barely able to hold them off the first time and thankfully nopony was heavily injured. But we won’t be able to hold them off if they attack now. Our guard just isn’t large enough to take on an army.” She turned to face them all. “Will you help us?”

Applejack and Rainbow talked simultaneously. “Of course we’ll help.” The others agreed as well.

“Thank you very much, all of you. The guards will take you to the barracks to prepare.”

“I don’t think we have time for that,” said DJ. “Look!” He pointed out the window and the girls gasped at what was there. It was a massive army marching towards the empire. Suddenly, a dark voice erupted all around the empire, nearing deafening levels.

“Hello, again, Crystal Ponies. You thought that you had rid yourselves of me, but now your true king has returned!” From behind the army a large cloud of black smoke arose, scarlet eyes piercing from the smoke down onto the city. Even DJ was able to recognize the creature before them, King Sombra had returned.

***********

“How is this even possible?” asked Cadence rhetorically. “The Crystal Heart should have destroyed him before! He is supposed to be dead!”

“But not all of him was destroyed, Cadence,” said DJ. The others turned to look at him with questioning looks. “What? I saw it happen back on Earth. You guys destroyed his body, but I saw his horn survive the blast and was sent flying. Maybe he was able to preserve himself inside it? It makes sense.”

Shining face-hoofed. “How could we be so blind? Of course he would find some way to survive! We should have known he would come someday. But, going over theories is not gonna stop that army down there. We need something that can take down those soldiers. Anypony got any ideas?” The Mane Six all turn their heads to DJ. He smiles in return.

“I may have something that could work, but I don’t want to use it, yet. I want to know about those soldiers. If they are innocent ponies, then I can’t use the weapon. I won’t take lives needlessly. So for now, I need to conduct some battle assessments.” DJ used his magic to lift one his lightsabers to his mouth and he grabbed it. “And the only way to do that, is to get my hooves dirty!” DJ rushed to the window and jumped, taking flight as he did so. He was heading right for the front lines. The girls were too stunned at his rash actions to even call after him.

DJ was flying high above the warring ponies. He saw that the crystal guards were holding the army at bay, but that would last for long. He noticed one portion was taking a terrible beating and dive bombed it. The alicorn activated his lightsaber (on low-power) and attacked the opposing force. Ever since his fight with Shining Armor, DJ had been practicing non-stop to improve his swordsmanship. Now, he could prove it.

He landed his forelegs on one of the soldiers, taking him to the ground. He then spun around, bucking all of the soldiers that surrounded him, knocking them all out. Then their allies focused their attention on the new arrival. If he could, DJ would have smirked. Though we wasn’t as good as in is his human form, DJ was still able to swing his lightsaber with his mouth well enough to take them all down. DJ was surrounded by bodies as he finished up. He closely examined one of them to find that these beings were completely artificial. They had no heart beat or pulse and didn’t even breathe. These soldiers were simple constructs. DJ smirked, knowing that he didn’t have to hold back, but his joy was smashed as a dark voice called out to him.

“And who is this?” asked Sombra, whose smoke form approached him. “A new alicorn in Equestria? How fitting that he will be the first Equestrian to fall. Surrender, or perish!”

“How cliché!” retorted DJ. “So you’re King Sombra?” The smoke began to take shape, transforming into a dark black unicorn with a curved horn. “You’re even uglier that I thought. Sorry, but I can’t let you take over the world. I happen to enjoy my freedom, thank you very much!” DJ charged at Sombra, who smirked and flipped him over, DJ landing on his muzzle. “Ow,” he said flatly.

“You fool! As if you could take on a king!”

DJ gathered himself up. “Well, considering you were brought down by a baby dragon riding the Princess of Love…Yeah, I thought you’d go down pretty easily,” he quipped. Sombra snarled at him in return. “So, then, looks like I can’t hold back on you. Let’s see how you fare when I return to my original form! Human up!” The watch on his neck glowed green and so did DJ as the keyword activated. After a bright flash of light, a human DJ was standing in front of the deposed king. Sombra was speechless at what he had witnessed. “You like?” DJ lit his lightsaber. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

The human lunged at Sombra and started to swing, Sombra lit his horn and teleported away in a puff of smoke. “Coward!” DJ called out. Then his back was blasted with pain. “AAAHHH!”  DJ was on his knees, his back smoking from the magic blast. He turned to see Sombra powering his horn again and fired at him. DJ instinctively swung his lightsaber out to defend. The blade caught the bolt of magic and the blast was shattered. This caused DJ and Sombra to go wide eyed. The lightsabers were magic resistant! “Oh ho ho! You are so done!”

DJ was once again on his feet, going straight for Sombra, this time holding his ground. The king pulled a sword from his side with his magic, meeting DJ’s lightsaber. Unfortunately, the lightsaber was still on low power, so the two blades simply clashed with a *crack*. DJ didn’t have time to adjust the power setting as Sombra began his offensive with his own sword. The king had much more experience than that of either DJ or Shining Armor, giving him the advantage. Or so he thought. DJ met each strike blow for blow. He may not have years of experience or magic in his human form, but he had the sheer force of will. Humans in battle were the greatest predators and warriors to ever exist and those abilities were what kept DJ alive.

Sombra was getting annoyed with this human. DJ was smirking the whole time they fought, as if he was having the time of his life. The king thought that he believed Sombra was a joke! He snarled as he swung his sword again, but this time also blasted DJ with magic as the blades met. DJ was caught entirely off guard and was sent flying, losing his grip on his weapon as well. As hit the ground, DJ tried to stand as fast as he could. When he did, he did not like what he saw. Sombra was holding DJ’s lightsaber in his magical grip, deactivated. “We will meet again, creature. But your weapon will make an excellent trophy. Farewell,” Sombra began to teleport.

“NO!!” DJ rushed the king, but only hit smoke as he jumped and his face became more acquainted with the ground. When he stood again, Sombra and his army was gone. But things were about to get much worse, DJ knew. Sombra now possessed a weapon of unknown power and would no doubt learn to use it.

When DJ returned to the castle, once again an alicorn, he rushed to throne room where his family and friends were waiting. Twilight and he kissed when he arrived. When they parted, his face was grim. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“Twilight, Sombra took one of my swords.” Twilight’s face was full of shock and fear. The others were just confused.

“So? You have another one. What’s so bad about Sombra taking the other?” asked Rainbow, voicing the question on all of their minds. DJ sighed.

“I think it’s about time I told all of you what these swords really do.”