//------------------------------//
// Chapter 81: Exodus 
// Story: The Life of Penumbra Heartbreak 
// by Unwhole Hole 
//------------------------------//

With the threat of Daybreaker gone, the spinning of the Crystal Heart began to slow. At its former edge, a pair of alicorns limped to the border. Nightmare Moon leaned on her sister, who herself had reached the very limits of her energy. And yet they still stood, victorious in the ruins of a once beautiful Empire. But while the Empire at large had been lost, its crowning center still stood: the Capital District, and at its very center the Crystal Citadel, now transmitting hope and love throughout the kingdom and outward to all of Equestria. 
And as they approached, the shield vanished entirely- -but Celestia and Nightmare moon stopped.
Their path had been blocked by a towering figure in pure white robes, her cloths drifting in an unseen breeze. A being whose name had long since been forgotten. 
“Sis...ter,” moaned Nightmare Moon, and Celestia held her closer. 
“Please,” said Celestia, looking up at the enormous mare. “Please, let us pass.”
The Nameless One said nothing. Instead, she spread her enormous reptilian wings. Three points of light glowed beneath her hood, and the entire Empire shook.
Celestia tried to advance, but was stopped in her path by a new shield. One whose power dwarfed even Daybreaker’s- -a shield cast from a light that would never warm, drawn from spells that were old when the first unicorns were still yet to be synthesized. 
The force of the Nameless One’s magic surrounded the entire Capital District, lifting it free of the ground and into the air. She said nothing as she did this, because nothing needed to be said. The situation remained undecided. No new ruler had been selected. Which meant, for the good of the kingdom, there was only one option. 
Though no ruler was accepted, one might arise. Still lifting the entirety of the kingdom, the Nameless One appeared beside Penumbra. The crystal ponies had surrounded her, not sure what to do. When they saw the Nameless One, they remained unsure, but did not flee in fear. The Nameless One had existed since before the Exmoori had brought the first slaves to their kingdom; her presence was inherent and clear. So none of them stopped her as she took the princess in her magic.
She brought Penumbra to the edge of the levitating city- -and dropped her over the side. 

From the ground, Facet Flare watched as her city was pulled into the air, forever beyond her reach- -and as she did, she wept, knowing that she never again would return to her home, or to her people. She was the last of her kind free and on the outside, the only crystal pony of the world, doomed to wander it all alone. Such was Luciferian’s curse, that she would meet a fate far worse than demise.
Yet even as she cried, Burnt put her hoof on her friend’s shoulder. Facet looked up at her. 
“It...it’s going to be okay. Isn’t it?”
Facet smiled and hugged the unicorn. Even if she could never again return to her home, to her family, she at least would not need to be alone. 
Over Burnt’s shoulder, though, she for a moment saw something that chilled her to the bone. For the briefest second, she saw Sombra’s dark mane and red eyes- -and was prepared to defend Burnt at any cost.
Then she saw that this pony was not clad in Crystal Empire adornments, but the armor of a Moon Knight- -and that instead of a horn, his back was adorned by strong wings. 
The pony bore two swords. One was a gleaming, curved blade of lunar quicksilver- -and the other was forged of red-mottled Questlord steel. Upon his face he wore an expression of deepest sadness. 
The knight looked up at the city, and at the two mares. Burnt, feeling something was amiss, turned around and, upon seeing the knight, squeaked with surprise. 
“A terrible fate you have both been dealt,” he said, bowing to them. “The loss of a people is something few can understand. But know that new friends await you, both in the Nightmare Horde and the Lunar Imperium. Please accept my apologies.” He looked up, tears in his eyes, although possibly not for them. “We did not wish for it to turn out this way.”