After the defeat of Discord, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took control of the lands and created a nation purely for ponies known as Equestria. Princess Celestia took charge of raising the sun for every pony, bringing warmth and light to the lands allowing the plants to grow and the animals to see. Princess Luna was charged with raising the moon, signifying night casting darkness across the land for it to rest leaving only the light of the moon to light up the land. But Princess Luna realized that none of their subjects were realizing the beauty of her nights, sleeping or, as Luna saw it, ignoring its beauty and wonders. She became distraught, believing that nopony loved her like they loved her sister. She started to lose her state of mind, falling deeper into a pit of sadness that soon engulfed her. She cast aside her princess title and took on a new persona, Nightmare Moon. But her sister, Celestia, would not let Nightmare Moon control her subjects like Discord did. She fought her sister and, with the power of the Elements of Harmony, banished Nightmare Moon to the moon for, what her subjects believe, eternity. Soon the story of Nightmare Moon became nothing more than a legend to entertain and give the children a good scare. A thousand years later, we know the events. Nightmare Moon returns and is defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends using the Elements of Harmony, returning to her normal self, Princess Luna. But what of the years she spent in exile?
The first century, Nightmare Moon spent her time storming over the surface of the moon; angry her sister would not be more sympathetic to her situation. She wanted nothing more than for the ponies to appreciate her nights. She vowed revenge upon her sister as she exhausted most of her magical power to return to the world below. She became weak, stumbling across the landscape before resting in a crater for nearly a decade. The second century of her banishment, she rested to gather back her strength and magical energy. During this time, she contemplated on the spell used to banish her to the moon and realized that the spell weakens as time passes. She also discovered that she could use the stars as stepping-stones to aid her escape from the moon and return to the lands below but the time when the stars would align in such a way was not for a very long time. Her rest made her realize her surroundings, and found herself longing to live in the castle that she lived in with her older sister, Celestia. The third century, she spent her time creating her very own castle, crafting its walls and roofs out of the lunar dust and stone. Finding various colored gems within the moon itself, she created colors infusing them with the banners and glass windows, creating a plethora of designs that looked familiar to her. As she finished, she looked over her work and saw what she had built was a replica of the castle she once lived in with her sister. Everything was the same from the rooms, the banners, the window arts, and ultimately, the two thrones. Once more, sadness and rage started to fill her heart. She lived in her empty castle for another century, hearing her hooves echo throughout her domain and she realized she was lonely. She wanted to talk to somepony, anypony. She wanted some sort of interaction to distract her. She started to sculpt statues of Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi of all sizes. She placed them throughout the castle and found it more tolerable than before but it was not enough to ease the pain of loneliness in her heart.
From the fifth century to nearly the time of her return, she studied her magic, trying various methods of spells to achieve her greatest desire, interaction with another pony. Time and time again, she tried to make ponies come to life, she tried portals, alchemy, and finally magic. All of Nightmare Moon’s attempts were in vain until finally, she tried automation during the last fifteen years of her imprisonment. She turned to her statues and tried to bring them to life and found small successes in bringing them to life but her magic was too great for the statues to bare. They crumbled soon after they came to life, disappearing into dust. Finally, she came to a statue of a pure white male earth colt. One of the first statues she had ever made. She cast a revised version of her spell upon it and watched as the statue slowly came to life, breath filling its body as it slowly laid down upon the ground. Nightmare watched as the body stabilized before lowering her head near it. Slowly, the colt opened his eyes, gazing upon Nightmare Moon and smiled.
“Mo…ther…”
The following years, Nightmare Moon filled her castle with more ponies that she created. They lived and grew like normal ponies, which was a surprise to Nightmare Moon as she knew they were crafted from nothing but stone before bringing them to life. They had a coat of fur, flowing manes, and even were able to feel. Nightmare Moon finally felt like she was at home until one day, she looked to the night sky and saw the stars were starting to align once more. She started to recall her sister’s punishment and her own banishment and grew angry once again. She and her children spent the remaining years, merely a decade, preparing for Nightmare Moon’s return back to the world below. When the time came, Nightmare Moon cast her spell and disappeared in a brilliant light, leaving her children behind to fulfill her need of revenge.