Last Ditch Effort

King Morning Star stood on the ramparts of his castle and gazed out at the gruesome scene before him.  A battle raged as far as he could see.  Swords clashed as arrows flew over the heads of the few of his alicorn warriors who had survived the previous onslaught.  Unending hordes of ice warriors slowly battered away at the defenders, who would soon be overrun.

"Do you see what happens when you stab somepony in the back, brother?" A darker colored alicorn revealed himself behind the king.

"You had no right to do what you did to your sister."  Morning Star's gaze didn't leave the battle while conversing.

"She had no right to do that to our family name!  My father would have done exactly what I did in such a situation!"  The darker alicorn took a step towards the king.

"That's your problem, Nocturne."  The king shook his head.  "You think of what your tyrant father would do and assume that is how you lead a kingdom."

"Assume!? I know he was a better leader than you ever will be! Just because I wasn't of age you took his place instead of me! You ruined everything he had worked for!"  Nocturne took two more steps.

"Your father's work nearly killed everypony. He deserved the fate he received. Your sister saw the error of his ways, why can't you?"  The defenders were retreating, they were outnumbered by hundreds.

"There were no errors! My sister was the one who ruined it! Your Queen and her devil-spawn you call children! A disgrace to our family name, to mix our bloodline with some commoner!"  Nocturne's anger was rising, and frost crept from his hooves out in all directions.

"You would call your nieces such things? And you claim I am the low one."  King Morning Star turned to face his dark counterpart.

"Don't worry, your children will be taken care of when your gone.  I already have a small group of soldiers on their way there now." A dark, smug look crossed Nocturne's face.

The king's sword flew from it's sheath. Harmony's edge hovered in Morning Star's magic grip. Nocturne drew his own, and engaged the king in combat on the rampart.

"I am much stronger now than I was when you booted me off the throne, brother-in-law!" Nocturne scoffed.

"You are still a pitiful child who needs mindless killing machines to fight his battles."  The king retorted.

Harmony's edge locked blades with the other sword again as Nocturne charged Morning Star in an attempt to break his concentration.  The king sidestepped and brought Harmony to bear on Nocturne.  He slashed down in a attempt to cripple him, but Nocturne dodged as well.

Now Morning Star charged, and swung Harmony's edge out in front of him. Nocturne blocked, but couldn't react fast enough to block the swift hind-kick that followed.

As Nocturne recovered from the blow, Morning Star jumped from the rampart and flew away from the mountain the royal fortress rested on.  He sped over the countryside.  Over the blood and ice that was consuming his country, while he had only one thought.

What would happen to his country and family if he were to fail.

Suddenly something blocked light from the sun.  As Morning Star looked, Nocturne's fore-hooves slammed into his back.  Morning Star fell out of the air and crashed to the ground.

Nocturne floated above the crashed king and spoke, "My father's last gift to me makes me stronger every second.  Why do you even attempt to win?  You are doomed!  You and your kingdom are over."

Morning Star let loose a bolt of light at the gloating Alicorn's eyes.  The bolt hit head-on, blinding the dark prince.

"My kingdom may die, but my family will live on."  And as Nocturne stumbled around unable to see, the king lifted off again and flew towards the mountains in the distance.

___   ____   ___

King Morning Star landed at the base of a mountain and uncovered a small cave.  He moved inside and whispered, "Luna, where is your sister?"

A small little alicorn appeared from the darkness in the cave and responded, "She's deeper in the cave dad, why are you here?" She sounded worried.

"We need to leave, go get your sister."

"Ok."

"That one looks like her mother, her death will be slower."

        The king turned, only to have the hilt of Nocturne's sword bash him to the ground.

        "Save yourself the effort and just die already.". Luna and Celestia rounded the corner, and immediately ran to their father's side.

        Nocturne laughed, "There is no escape. Surrender!"

        Morning Star's horn began to shine. Crystals formed out of the walls; encasing himself, Nocturne, and his daughters.

        As the crystals encased them, Morning Star said, "If there is no escape for my family, there isn't one for you."

        Before the crystals imprisoned him, nocturne launched his sword through the air. The sword flew at Luna...

        Morning Star put himself in the way of the blade. Both daughters screamed as the blade plunged into their father. The cave grew silent ans the crystal cut off the children from the outside world. As that cave would stay for ages, until pony-kind would come again to the land of Equestria.