Talk:Crystal Empire/@comment-187.161.127.103-20130101004229/@comment-26973802-20131009060257

Celestia and Luna ruled together after defeating Discord. Whether they were ever in power before Discord is unknown, or how long ago Discord was. It could have been 2,000 years, even if Celestia and Luna didn't use the Elements on Sombra (they're shown using their own magic instead. ...or are they? We never did see what it looks like when Celestia and Luna use the Elements, were they those necklaces and crown back then and if so how did Celestia and Luna equip them? How did the become those balls of stone and how did the Element of Magic disappear? And Celestia and Luna are shadowed in the scene so it's impossible to tell if they had any necklaces on them)

Anyway, wherever Discord was placed, what we do know is: Celestia and Luna banish Sombra. Luna becomes Nightmare Moon. Celestia banishes Nightmare Moon to the moon, and from there, is the only ruler of Equestria, until Luna is released a thousand years later.

What I think happened, is: Sombra and Nightmare Moon were spaced months, maybe even weeks, apart, but happened in the same year. Nightmare Moon wasn't released on the same day a thousand years later, but on the longest day of the thousandth year. Still... at least a year has to have gone by between Friendship is Magic and The Crystal Empire, I think Fall Weather Friends was shown in flashback in The Return of Harmony Part 2 so it couldn't be set after TCE