History Characters / FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Their subjects are happy with Celestia and Cadance’s rule, were pleased with Luna’s return, and were delighted to welcome Twilight and Flurry Heart as new princesses.

** When she comes to Ponyville with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart in "Best Gift Ever" to spend Hearth's Warming with Twilight and her friends, they end up getting attacked by [[ItMakesSenseInContext magical pudding and a giant Winterzilla]] due to a series of events from the Mane Six. She and Shining get to demonstrate themselves as a BattleCouple during this (and get some flirting in), and afterwards while Applejack calls the whole event a "disaster", Cadance just says that "Ponyville always seems to have ''way'' more exciting holidays than the Crystal Empire".

** When she comes to Ponyville with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart in "Best Gift Ever" to spend Hearth's Warming with Twilight and her friends, they end up getting attacked by [[ItMakesSenseInContext magical pudding and a giant Winterzilla]] due to a series of events from the Mane 6. She and Shining get to demonstrate themselves as a BattleCouple during this (and get some flirting in), and afterwards while Applejack calls the whole event a "disaster", Cadance just says that "Ponyville always seems to have ''way'' more exciting holidays than the Crystal Empire".

* ChildProdigy: Despite being a newborn foal, she's already more powerful than some ''adult'' ponies; she can teleport at will, is a fast enough flyer that she can zip around at near-Rainbow Dash speed levels, is strong enough to carry Pinkie Pie, she [[SneezeOfDoom launches bolts of magic]] [[KamehameHadoken powerful enough to blast through multiple floors of her parents' castle when she sneezes]]... in the end, she's so powerful that her parents consent to magically restraining her powers until she grows up enough to be able to try and control them.

** When she come to Ponyville with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart in "Best Gift Ever" to spend Hearth's Warming with Twilight and her friends, they end up getting attacked by [[ItMakesSenseInCOntext magical pudding and a giant Winterzilla]] due to a series of events from the Mane 6. She and Shining get to demonstrate themselves as a BattleCouple during this (and get some flirting in), and afterwards while Applejack calls the whole event a "disaster", Cadance just says that "Ponyville always seems to have ''way'' more exciting holidays than the Crystal Empire".

* {{Teleportation}}: Apparently got her aunt's teleportation skills.

** In "Three's a Crowd", [[spoiler:she shows a huge land wurm that her offensive spellcasting ability is something to be wary of.]]

* AbsenteeActor: She is completely absent in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E4SparklesSeven Sparkle's Seven]]", which is notably the first time her husband, Shining Armor, has appeared in an episode without her.

* AdultFear: One of her fears, pointed out in "This Day Aria", was losing the colt she loves so much to somepony who only wanted to use him for her own evil deeds. Another is letting her kingdom or her friends and family be in danger.
** [[spoiler:This is all the more clear in the Season 9 premiere when she learns of Sombra having returned and trying to reclaim the Crystal Empire, then realizes that Flurry Heart is not with either her or Shining Armor, leading to them entering the nursery to find Sombra holding her hostage.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Flurry Heart:''' ''(grunts)'' Mama!]]

* PrincessesPreferPink: She's one [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal positively pink pony princess]]. Her toys are just as pink as Pinklestia, if not more so.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Princess Cadance, is a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal pretty pearl pink princess pony]] and adopted niece of Princess Celestia. She is well acquainted with Twilight Sparkle, whom she used to foal-sit years ago. They ended up becoming sisters-in-law after Cadance married Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. Her main talent is bringing love to others, making her the perfect fit to govern the Crystal Empire, a regal city that spreads her love across Equestria.

* RiddleForTheAges: The show has yet to explain how or why she was born an alicorn, when the usual process of becoming an alicorn involves an ordinary pony doing "some great princess-worthy deed".

* MulticoloredHair: They all have this. Celestia, Cadance, and Flurry Heart are the most obvious, but even Twilight has two different colored streaks and the ends of Luna’s hair is a different shade than the rest.

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Her eyes match part of her MulticoloredHair (the main part, judging by the color of its outline).

* MulticoloredHair: It seems to be an alicorn thing to have a mane that includes many colors.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: She's basically a baby version of Cadance, including the wings, though with her father's eyes, plus she has seemingly inherited her aunt's [[BrainyBaby intellect]]. Her MultiColoredHair, however, comes from both parents, both of them have at least two colors and she gets one from each.

* [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]]
* [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]
* [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Princess Twilight Sparkle]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Britt [=McKillip=]

* RealityEnsues: She has shown to be a BrainyBaby and PintSizedPowerhouse, but she has the same limits as a baby who hasn't developed yet. She has trouble physically standing up and winking, both requiring coordination difficult for someone of her age. She doesn't understand that her actions have consequences, like trying to end the Cake twins' fight or playing when her aunt is busy. She also doesn't understand that her Aunt Twilight can be mad at her but still love her.

!![[center: [- [[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Main Index]] -]]][[center: [- '''[[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast The Main Cast:]]''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheCutieMarkCrusaders the Cutie Mark Crusaders]]-]]] [[center: [- '''Supporting Cast: The Princesses''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSchoolOfFriendship the School of Friendship]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastPonyville Supporting Cast, Ponyville]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Supporting Cast, Other Locations]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Antagonists:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains Major Villains]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicQueenChrysalis Queen Chrysalis]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicCozyGlow Cozy Glow]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures Dangerous Creatures]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]])-]]] [[center: [- '''World of Equestria:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces Races]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures Historical Figures]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The 2017 Movie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicToylineExclusive Toyline Exclusive]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMiscellaneous Miscellaneous]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Minor Characters:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOneShots One-Shots]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers Other Characters]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPonies Background Ponies]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesCommonPonies Common Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesSpecialPonies Special Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesOthers Other Background Ponies]])-]]] [[center: [- '''Equestria Girls''' [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHeroines Equestria Girls: Heroines]] ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]]), [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains Villains]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] -] ]]

[[folder:Princess Celestia]]
See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Princess Luna]]
See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Princess Twilight Sparkle]]
See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]]
[[/folder]]

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: The youngest member of the Equestrian royal family.

[[center: [- [[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Main Index]] -]]]
[[center: [- '''[[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast The Mane Cast]]''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheCutieMarkCrusaders The Cutie Mark Crusaders]]) | '''Supporting Cast''' (The Princesses, [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSchoolOfFriendship School of Friendship]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastPonyville Supporting Cast, Ponyville]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Supporting Cast, Other Locations]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]]) | '''Antagonists''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains Major Villains]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicQueenChrysalis Queen Chrysalis]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicCozyGlow Cozy Glow]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures Dangerous Creatures]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]]) | '''World of Equestria''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces Races]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures Historical Figures]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The 2017 Movie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicToylineExclusive Toyline Exclusive]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMiscellaneous Miscellaneous]]) | '''Minor Characters''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOneShots One-Shots]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers Other Characters]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPonies Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesCommonPonies Common Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesSpecialPonies Special Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesOthers Other Background Ponies]]) | '''Equestria Girls''' ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHeroines Equestria Girls: Heroines]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains Villains]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]) -] ]]

[[center: [- '''[[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast The Mane Six]]''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheCutieMarkCrusaders The Cutie Mark Crusaders]]) | '''Supporting Cast''' (The Princesses, [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSchoolOfFriendship School of Friendship]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastPonyville Supporting Cast, Ponyville]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Supporting Cast, Other Locations]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]]) | '''Antagonists''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains Major Villains]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures Dangerous Creatures]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]]) | '''World of Equestria''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces Races]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures Historical Figures]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The 2017 Movie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicToylineExclusive Toyline Exclusive]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMiscellaneous Miscellaneous]]) | '''Minor Characters''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOneShots One-Shots]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers Other Characters]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPonies Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesCommonPonies Common Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesSpecialPonies Special Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesOthers Other Background Ponies]]) | '''Equestria Girls''' ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHeroines Equestria Girls: Heroines]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains Villains]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]) -] ]]

See her page [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia here]]

See her page [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna here]]

See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle.

* DoesNotKnowHerOwnStrength: Because she is a baby she can't completely control her own alicorn magic yet. She accidentally destroys the Crystal Heart by crying and almost hurt several foals and hospital staff while looking for her Whammy.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_luna.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:The original [[EnsembleDarkhorse darkhorse]], [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]]!]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[[labelnote:Click here to see her alternate design from Season 1.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_luna_season_1.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->''"You no longer have reason to fear us. Screams of delight is what your princess desires... not screams of terror."''\\\
'''Debut:''' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony "Friendship is Magic, part 2" ("Elements of Harmony")]] (separate from Nightmare Moon)

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TabithaStGermain\\
'''Singing by:''' Creator/KazumiEvans ("Twilight's Kingdom"), Aloma Steele (Seasons 6-9)

Princess Celestia's younger sister. She co-rules Equestria alongside her older sister. According to the CreationMyth, she used to govern nighttime, but grew jealous of her sister and wound up [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away for a thousand years]] as the Mare in the Moon. After being defeated by the reformed Elements of Harmony, she {{Heel Face Turn}}s and becomes Princess Luna again, resuming her nighttime duties.

For her "corrupted" form, Nightmare Moon, see [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains the Main Villains page]]. Also has a [[SelfDemonstrating/PrincessLuna self-demonstrating article]].

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Princess Luna's bitterness turned her into Nightmare Moon because she ''thought'' that absolutely nobody liked her. Ironically, her actions as Nightmare Moon made sure that [[SelfFulfillingProphecy nobody liked her for real]]. The meteor shower scene in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well and Ends Well]]" is a testament that ponies ''do'' enjoy her night and thus her fears were groundless. Interestingly, she ''agrees'' her Nightmare Moon self should be feared and hated. WordOfGod states that Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon was because of evil magic and may not have been entirely her fault or choice. It doesn't help that she has a bit of a temper. Confirmed in the second arc of the official comic book, with Luna's Nightmare Moon form being created by the Nightmare Forces, [[spoiler:who proceed to do to Rarity what they did to Luna.]] Quite a few ponies are still scared of her in the present day due to a thousand years of rumors that built up around Nightmare Moon's [[YouMeanXmas "Nightmare Night"]], especially because of the fact she initially resurfaced as Nightmare Moon to begin with. She's working off her reputation. By "Sleepless in Ponyville", she'd succeeded as Scootaloo isn't scared of her and is instead happy to see her. [[invoked]]
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Princess Luna initially feared that she had a ZeroPercentApprovalRating, causing her to turn into Nightmare Moon and attempt to invoke TheNightThatNeverEnds before she was stopped. After changing back, she seems to have gotten back in everypony's good graces rather easily, [[FriendToAllChildren especially with kids]]. [[DreamWalker Protecting them from having nightmares]] may have something to do with that.
* AdaptationNameChange: The single-volume [[{{Novelization}} storybook adaptation]] of the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon pilot]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony episodes]] refers to her as Selena; WordOfGod [[http://comments.deviantart.com/5/35510074/1714597033 says]] "[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Her name was Selena for a short time, but there were legal problems with it. Guess the book writer didn't get the info]]." [[invoked]]
* AllThereInTheManual: For those who follow the IDW comic series, (and take them as canon) Nightmare Moon's origins are expanded upon. [[spoiler:We learn that her corruption wasn't entirely her fault, and that a dark entity known as the Nightmare Forces preyed on her contempt and loneliness, expanding it and turning her against her sister and citizens in order for her to become their Queen.]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: She felt inadequate to her sister's greatness, and it tore her apart.
* AndIMustScream: Stuck in her SuperpoweredEvilSide for '''a thousand years'''. There was nothing she could do to change back when she was banished to the moon.
* TheAtoner: She tries to make amends for her stint as Nightmare Moon so her pony subjects won't be so frightened of her.
** Her first attempt was on [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve Nightmare Night]] which is probably ''not'' the best night to prove you're not scary, but still she's trying.
** She decides to help Sweetie Belle through her relationship problems with Rarity, stating up front that she knows what it's like to feel outshone by her sister like Sweetie Belle does.
** So great is her need to atone for her past, she created the Tantabus to torment her own dreams as a punishment for her time as Nightmare Moon.
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:In the Season 4 premiere, she ends up being captured by Discord's plunder vines off-camera with her big sister, only to be saved by Twilight at the end of the two-parter. It happens again in the Season 4 finale, when she is imprisoned by Lord Tirek with Celestia and Cadance. Then in the Season 6 finale, she is kidnapped along with Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six. However, she does manage to send out an S.O.S. to Starlight Glimmer before being restrained. In TheMovie, she is turned to stone by Tempest Shadow, and in "The Ending of the End", she and Celestia are captured by the villain trio after Cozy Glow uses Grogar's bell to drain them of their magic.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Pip's kindness towards her is the main reason she reinstates Nightmare Night after cancelling it.
* BigDamnHeroes: Nowadays, when a main character has a terrible nightmare, you can count on Princess Luna to step in and stop it just when help is needed most.
* BigEntrance:
** How she enters in "Luna Eclipsed". Descending from the high sky in a chariot drawn by drago-pegasi then leaping to the ground as her BlackCloak disperses into a flock of bats. It also qualifies as a NotWhatItLooksLike moment for her because it made everyone think Nightmare Moon was back.
** Also makes one in "Sleepless in Ponyville", though this one is ''much'' more heroic; appear in a flash of light and zap a monster.
* BigGood: Downplayed. She is technically equal in rank and power potential but has [[FaceHeelTurn learned from]] [[HeelFaceTurn personal experience]] to defer to her older sibling's superior wisdom.
* BigSisterWorship: Some of her entries in ''Literature/TheJournalOfTheTwoSisters'' have the same kind of "My big sister is awesome!" gushing that would come from the [=CMC=]. No wonder she gets along so well with them. Of course, there was that period of time where she was in open conflict against Celestia but once the Mane Six cleared her head and Celestia forgave her, she ran for a hug.
* BreakoutCharacter: She wasn't supposed to appear after she was defeated in the series premiere, which is why she isn't seen for the rest of season one. However, she became so popular that she was promoted to a major supporting character.
* BrokenPedestal: Helped save Equestria from Discord and then maintain Harmony all over the land, only to later turn into a villain herself. After her HeelFaceTurn, she's trying to become a RebuiltPedestal after being this trope for a long time.[[note]]Intially the falling out of the royal sisters would be a big deal but after a few hundred years everypony thinks she's a myth.[[/note]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** Her brief initial appearance isn't much to go on, but definitely was not the LargeHam she showed up as later in "Luna Eclipsed".
** Her appearance in "A Canterlot Wedding – Parts 1 & 2" shows that she's gotten much more used to speaking in what passes for a "normal" tone of voice among modern ponies, and she uses more modern lexicon as well.
** Her speech in "Sleepless in Ponyville" is even better. Notably, it has become much like Celestia's, carrying all the weight and refinement you'd expect from a Princess, but no longer an intimidating shout-down to listen to. It's the best indicator that she's learning how to fit in, as when she first tried to speak in a "normal" voice, the result sounded frightened and unsure.
** "Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep?" reveals that she still has a ''crippling'' [[GuiltComplex guilt complex]] over almost destroying Equestria as Nightmare Moon, and she specifically created the Tantabus to haunt her dreams and give her a recurring nightmare of NOT being defeated as Nightmare Moon to eternally punish herself for said actions. In addition to this, her guilt leads to her inability to accept help from others regarding problems of her own making as she doesn't want any ponies to suffer for her sins like they did in the past. [[spoiler: She finally comes to terms with the fact that who she is now is far removed from who she was when she became Nightmare Moon, and in doing so relieves herself of her guilt and absorbs the Tantabus into herself as a way of accepting who she was and is, and her end dream shows her peacefully sleeping away.]]
* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: There have been a few episodes where she helped a pony who had been having nightmares due to a psychological issue. It turns out that she had been going through the exact same kind of problem herself for a very long time. Though this is more a case of being unwilling to allow herself happy dreams than unable.
* ColorCodedWizardry: Her magic aura is blue.
* CommonalityConnection:
** In "For Whome the Sweetie Belle Toils", Luna relates to Sweetie Belle's frustrations with Rarity, knowing full well what it's like to stand in the shadow of an older sister.
** She identifies with Starlight Glimmer, as they have both succumbed to the dark side of their natures in the past, and struggled through redemption. When she visits Starlight's dream in "To Where and Back Again - Part One", she admits that she sees a lot of herself in Starlight.
* CoolBigSis: If Celestia could be considered the mother of all Equestrian ponies, Luna is developing to be their Big Sister as we saw at the end of "Luna Eclipsed", helping Scootaloo in "Sleepless in Ponyville" and a similar role to Sweetie Belle in "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils".
* CompressedHair: Somehow manages to hide her long horn inside a simple hood in "Luna Eclipsed".
* CreepyGood: She's not above showing even young fillies {{Nightmare Sequence}}s in their dreams if it means [[ScareEmStraight teaching them a valuable lesson]].
* CulturedBadass: Luna has shown to have quite an artistic and worldly personality every now and then, leaning more towards books similarly to twilight in addition to enjoying attending plays and musical!
** As shown in "Between Dark and Dawn" in Season 9, during the song, "A Lot of Little Things," She takes Celestia to go see the Equestrian version of the musical, ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
** Then later on when it was still her (Luna's) turn, the two went offscreen to go see a performance of the opera, "''Ponygliacci''," an Equestrian parallel and reference to the opera ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}''
* DarkIsEvil: Out-of-universe, this trope is a key reason why she didn't show up again in Season 1. Strangely, Luna is even darker (color-wise) when she returns, so they apparently got over it.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite riding a spiked chariot pulled by bat-winged guards into town, Luna just wishes for the acceptance of her subjects once again.
%% Deadpan Snarker does not apply to Luna, as she is non-sarcastic easily more often than she is sarcastic. If you disagree, take it to the following thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1331473451059167100&page=7#173
* DependingOnTheArtist:
** As shown above, Luna has two designs; the dark blue coat with ethereal mane is her main design used now, but her light purple design with a normal blue mane was used for her first appearance in the series premiere, before she debuted the other design in Season 2 and kept it. Creator/LaurenFaust said Luna's smaller form upon her initial restoration was due to her low power levels, and she later recovered and took on her larger form as the show now depicted, but admits she made up the explanation on the spot and (at the time) didn't know how the current showrunners would explain it. They didn't, and while the show now ignores the original design (even flashbacks use the current design), other materials including the comics, toyline, and the mobile game, use either design interchangably, making it unlikely that a real explanation exists beyond "they use the design they feel like using."
** There's conflicting ideas on if the black spot on her flank is part of her cutie mark or her coat. In "Twilight's Kingdom" when the Princesses lose their cutie marks, the black spot remains while the moon is gone, but then in "A Royal Problem" when Celestia and Luna switch cutie marks, the black spot switches too ([[RuleOfPerception note that the moon would blend into Celestia's white coat otherwise]]).
* DependingOnTheWriter: Despite the CharacterizationMarchesOn above her speech and some personalty traits change based on what writers feel is best suited. In the cartoon she has become a regal and wise pony like her sister (at least in important meetings and with young foals) and has become much better socially adjusted, while in the comics she's a GenkiGirl with a short temper who's eager for adventure and still slips into YeOldeButcheredEnglish as a sort of VerbalTic. The comics also go more in-depth on her jealousy of Celestia and her continuing to be haunted by her time as Nightmare Moon while the show ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep while not void of such moments]]) more often depicts her using this to empathize with other ponies who feel overshadowed (especially by their older sisters).
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After the Mane Six defeat her with ThePowerOfFriendship, she's accepted back into Equestrian royalty by both her sister and subjects, but her subjects take longer.
* DesperatelyCravesAffection: Since she spent a thousand years as Equestria's Boogey Mare she works hard to earn her subjects' love and admiration once again, with little initial success.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: During her argument with Celestia in "Between Dark and Dawn", Luna takes a moment to remove the pickles from her sandwich.
* DramaticThunder: A signature feature of hers. The weather reflects her mood, or more precisely, her anger and excitement.
* DreamWalker: One of Luna's duties as the Princess of the Night is to check on her subjects' dreams and guard them from nightmares, as well as help them overcome them.
* DreamWeaver: Luna can manipulate dreams on a whim, up to merging the memories of other ponies into the dream, and projecting possible futures to make a point. She is powerful enough to create a shared dream for all citizens of Ponyville at once, though it takes a lot out of her.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: All thoughts of Luna being a mere Woobie are shattered when she makes her big entrance in "Luna Eclipsed" as '''''[[LargeHam PRINCESS OF THE NIIIIIGHT!!!]]''''' Immediately following that grand entrance, Luna is [[NoSocialSkills utterly perplexed]] by everypony's frightened reactions and storms off in a huff.
* EyeColorChange: Luna has normal pony eyes, but when she's in her Nightmare Moon persona (or possessed, it's never entirely clear), she has reptile eyes with slit pupils.
* FaceHeelTurn: Princess Luna turning into Nightmare Moon in the CreationMyth.
* FallenHeroine: Helped save Equestria from Discord before becoming so bitter (and corrupted by ''something'') that she turned into [[MadGod Nightmare Moon]] and took over the villain role herself. Thankfully, she's back on the good side now.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Part of the reason Luna is received so poorly on Nightmare Night; while it seems to everypony else that she's still acting evil, in reality she's presenting herself with outdated royal etiquette. This involves using NoIndoorVoice, RoyalWe and AntiquatedLinguistics. Given [[HalloweenEpisode the occasion]], it's not altogether clear how much of that behavior is the "real" Luna and how much just her hamming it up on purpose in order to fit in; either way, it helps drive home the point just ''how'' long she's been trapped in the moon.
* FloweryElizabethanEnglish: As seen in "Luna Eclipsed", underscoring her FishOutOfTemporalWater status. All her other appearances both before (in the series pilot) and since have her speaking modern English.
* FriendToAllChildren: She seems to like kids a lot and wants to make sure they have a fun Nightmare Night, but she has trouble doing so initially.
** She immediately saves Pip when he falls in the water tank.
** She also helps Scootaloo with her nightmares (by ''vaporizing'' the monster in it, no less), and telling the filly the real reason she was having them.
** This makes sense when you realize her duties as Princess of the Night implies she guards the dreams of her subjects: who would need the most protection from nightmares?
** The best example of her fondness for children comes in "A Royal Problem", where the only issue she cares about is the schoolkids' trip she mistakenly ruined. Her guilt over the matter, and irritation she can't fix it right away, suggest she deems the kids' field trip of more importance than political matters.
* FriendlyAddressPrivileges: She would much prefer if her subjects simply drop the formalities, and address her as just "Luna".
* FullNameBasis: She always calls Twilight Sparkle by her full name. In the case of single-named, full-grown ponies, Luna goes around that limitation by calling them "Fair Applejack" and "Dear Fluttershy." She doesn't do it with Scootaloo, so maybe she's broken the habit by the third season.
* GaleForceSound: Her magically-enhanced yelling (or even just talking) causes this.
* GenkiGirl: In the IDW comics issues 9 and 10, while completing in the games for the Summer Warp-Up she is ''very'' energetic and spirited as she looks forward to the events. Is this in her Micro Series comic as well.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Brings these out occasionally when she's being theatrical or feeling frustrated.
* GodJob: Making the moon rise long before she was banished into it.
* GodIsGood: To a certain extent, mainly due to her being involved in the CreationMyth, making the moon rise, and being able to come into ponies' dreams.
* GoodCounterpart: Her normal form is remarkably similar to a non-evil version of Nightmare Moon; LargeHam, DramaticThunder, and all.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: As Nightmare Moon, her wings were somewhat solid and batlike. As Luna, her wings have a softer feathery outline like Celestia's.
* {{Goth}}: Her chariot, the look of her guards, and cloak that disappears in the form of bats certainly indicate a dark aesthetic sense.
* GothGirlsKnowMagic: She has a dark fashion sense and is an alicorn princess with powerful magical abilities.
* HairTriggerTemper: As shown in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]]", it doesn't take much to bring on the thunder and lightning. This is also mentioned by WordOfGod. [[invoked]]
* HeavySleeper: Apparently slept straight through [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis' and the changelings']] attempted takeover of Canterlot, explosions and all. How she managed ''that'', we have no idea. On the other hand, she passed through the force field when relieving Celestia's watch duty so it's possible that she doesn't reside within Canterlot. This would explain how she doesn't know anything about modern customs in "Luna Eclipsed".
* HeelFaceTurn: Once the Mane Six defeat Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony she turns back into Luna.
* HeroWithAnFInGood: Luna ''really'' wants to be liked and redeem her image in the eyes of the common-folk, but she comes off as incredibly intimidating without trying. One thousand years of scary stories about her being a MadGod who tried to TakeOverTheWorld to bring about TheNightThatNeverEnds, which ''then'' gave way to folk portrayals of her sbeing a cannibal predator that must be fooled with disguises and placated with tribute, is hard to live down. She's gotten better by "Sleepless in Ponyville" because Scootaloo is happy to see her.
* HiddenDepths: "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E10ARoyalProblem A Royal Problem]]" implies that Luna has some knowledge of aromatherapy, as she makes an effort to line the hallway of the castle with lavender, in hopes that the scent will help the castle's inhabitants sleep well.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In true events, she was turned into Nightmare Moon (possibly) due in part to some outside influence preying on her resentment and simply wanted to bring everlasting night (and usurp/kill her sister). In legends, she turned evil purely out of resentment and ate ponies.
* HomeFieldAdvantage: Her powers are at their greatest when she's inside the dreamscape. According to ''Friends Forever #20'', even Discord is at a disadvantage against her in his dreams (though he can still block her from actually accessing his in the first place). The only being that has been able to overpower her in the dreamscape is the Tantabus [[spoiler:which was her own creation to begin with.]]
* HotGoddess: Though probably not as much as her older sister, she still counts as this, [[EnsembleDarkhorse especially for a great deal of the fandom]]. [[invoked]]
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: She really wants to be accepted and to see ponies having fun in her night, but she comes off as intimidating.
* IncomingHam: Her introduction in "Luna Eclipsed" was to ride into town on a black chariot while wearing a BlackCloak, then jump to the ground and dismiss her cloak (it ''turns into bats'') to unfurl her wings, all while accompanied by DramaticWind and DramaticThunder. And that was before [[NoIndoorVoice she]] [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish started]] [[RoyalWe talking]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Her temper and hubris exacerbated by her insecurities over how much her people respect her were an enormous catalyst to her fall from grace into Nightmare Moon. Even to this day after being reformed, her dignified and occasionally hammy disposition only hide her fears of upsetting or letting down her kingdom.
* IronicFear: "Castle Mane-ia" reveals that when she was younger, Luna was frightened by Celestia's [[DarkerAndEdgier choice of decor]].
* JabbaTableManners: While not a villain, an IDW comic shows that Luna is quite the messy eater. Even her waiter thinks she eats like a pig.
* JekyllAndHyde: Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon.
* LargeHam: During "Luna Eclipsed" this can be attributed as part of the royal Canterlot tradition of speaking. She spent the episode learning to take the ham down a notch so she didn't scare people. This is taken further by the fact that she's ''far'' more assertive and liberal in her use of Royal-Winged-Unicorn-godpower than her sister. Thunder and lightning punctuate her sentences and she flies into the air when making her dramatic proclamations.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqC_V7zyxPQ Nightmare Moon's theme]] accompanies Luna's return in "Luna Eclipsed". A brief variation of it also plays when she relieves Celestia in "A Canterlot Wedding – Part 1". She eventually gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L8PFzjfTL0 a softer, more beautiful one in "Sleepless in Ponyville"]].
* LethalChef: Her attempt to make Celestia pancakes at the end of "A Royal Problem" leaves a lot to be desired. Celestia tries to stomach them anyway, but Luna, seeing right through Celestia's [[StepfordSmiler forced smile]] as she eats them, tells her that she doesn't have to be perfect for her as she does for the rest of Equestria, prompting Celestia to just toss them away and admit that they're terrible.
* {{Lunacy}}: Goddess of the moon.
* ModestRoyalty: Much like her sister, she would rather have ponies just call her Luna and view her as just another pony.
* MyGreatestFailure: Whereas Celestia feels this way about being forced to banish her to the moon, Luna feels this way about becoming Nightmare Moon in the first place.
* NiceGirl: Deep inside, she is very nice, but she comes off as intimidating at first.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Luna tries to be friendly; unfortunately, she has somewhat macabre tastes, is gothic and sinister in presence, and perpetually speaks in a booming echo of a voice. Nearly every pony is reduced to a trembling wreck before her. She's gotten better by "Sleepless in Ponyville", but still has some scary traits. Ironically, her job is to ''help'' ponies with their nightmares.
* NoIndoorVoice: PRINCESS LUNA '''TALKS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME''', because her (outdated) royal protocol says so. It takes her a while to realize she's scaring everypony to death before settling for a [--(much) softer, mellow voice--], but she quickly REVERTS TO TALKING LIKE THIS WHEN SHE GETS UPSET, EXCITED, OR VERY HAPPY.
* NoSocialSkills: Luna's obsession with (outdated) royal protocol and ''brutal'' lack of tact are extreme. This is mostly PlayedForLaughs, as she doesn't even know the meaning of the word "fun". Justified by the fact that [[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fun the word "fun" is only about 300 years old in real life]], meaning that the word could literally have not existed before she was banished. She seems to have improved during the Royal Canterlot Wedding two-parter and then got much better by Season 3. Although there's still the occasionally lapse into hamminess when speaking as the '''PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!'''
* NotAMorningPerson: As shown in "A Royal Problem", Luna is barely functional in the morning. However, this isn't from having barely woken up -- she sleeps during the day since she spends her whole nights looking over the dreams of the inhabitants of Equestria and fending off their nightmares. Comes the new eve, she's dead tired. One morning, she takes a bite out of a whole pineapple (rind and all); the next, she peels a banana, then eats the peel and drops the fruit.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Everything she does in "Luna Eclipsed". She appears to be touting her old hammy evil routine, but she's really just out of touch with modern etiquette. Her BigEntrance is of particular note.
* OneWingedAngel: Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon.
* OutOfFocus: Season 8 has her reduced to a voiceless background role until the season finale, where she gets only two lines.
* PerkyGoth: Luna is now devoid of malice, but her personal tastes still look like something escaped from a horror movie, starting with her macabre [[http://www.hasbro.com/common/assets/Flash/Creative/dad2af6e1c4311ddbd0b0800200c9a66/0f6b55af5056900b1013cd724a8d4018/assets/props/MLP_PropH_Carriage.swf royal chariot]], her demonic-looking [[http://www.hasbro.com/common/assets/Flash/Creative/dad2af6e1c4311ddbd0b0800200c9a66/0f6b55af5056900b1013cd724a8d4018/assets/characters/MLP_CharH_Pegasus.swf royal guards]], and the idea that animating a group of giant, hairy spiders would be "fun" for everyone else. Ironically, it was realizing people ''liked'' being scared on Nightmare Night that let her win over her subjects.
* PhysicalGoddess: Like her sister. "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep" reveals Princess Luna has enough power to [[spoiler:draw ''all'' of Ponyville into a gigantic shared dream]] ''by herself'' and still had enough power left over to do a few attacks on the Tantabus ''on top'' of maintaining that massive spell for an extended period.
* PowerEchoes: Whenever she's using her [[NoIndoorVoice loud]] voice.
* PowerIncontinence: She exhibits a touch of this when she gets worked up, given the DramaticThunder and gathering stormclouds that kick in every [[LargeHam so]] [[HairTriggerTemper often]].
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: In her "grown" form from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]]", she has a significantly longer mane and tail than immediately after she was rescued from being Nightmare Moon. Power also makes your hair ethereal, it seems. Lauren Faust has suggested after the events of "Elements of Harmony", Luna's magical powers were completely exhausted. It was only after she was able to rest and recuperate that her magical mane returned.
* PowerMakesYourVoiceDeep: French dub only. When she uses the [[NoIndoorVoice Royal Canterlot Voice]], her voice drops in pitch by a few octaves, making her sound virtually identical to [[AltoVillainess Nightmare Moon]].
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: As of Season 4, she's standing beside Celestia when she receives the picture of Twilight and her friends.
* RoyalWe: Her manner of speech, because it's dictated by protocol. See NoIndoorVoice. She seems to have overcome it by "Canterlot Wedding" and "Sleepless in Ponyville" and she still sounds quite regal.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: In the penultimate episode of Season 4, when a frozen cloud threatens dozens of her and Celestia's citizens, she joins Celestia and the Pegasus ponies in trying to save them.
** [[spoiler: In the Season 6 premiere, she and Celestia find themselves trying to protect the Crystal Empire from an eternal winter, putting their own lives in danger to buy time for the others to find a more permanent solution. Afterward, they assist with the Crystal Heart's restoration, saving their lives along with the Empire.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''School Raze'', even when their magic was being drained away over several days, upon being warned of who was responsible by Chancellor Neighsay, she and her sister risked going in powerless to confront the BigBad, with the support of an equally-powerless Neighsay and a whole battalion of Royal Guards behind them. Once Cozy's spell is broken and their magic is returned, Celestia and Luna quickly take flight once more with the Pegasus Royal Guards to reach Ponyville faster, arriving just in time to stop Cozy from escaping and punish her for her crimes, with Luna personally seeing to Cozy's incarceration in Tartarus.]]
** In "The Beginning of The End", she and Celestia help Star Swirl deal with the out of control Everfree Forest. "Between Dark and Dawn" shows that this inspired them to take a more active role in helping their subjects (albeit in mundane matters such as fixing a broken bridge, or helping Granny Smith cross the street).
* TheSacredDarkness: While Nightmare Moon is an example of the "corrupted" type of darkness, Luna is the "pure" type because she co-ruled alongside her sister. The CreationMyth shows the two of them in a yin-yang design.
* {{Seers}}: Possibly [[DreamingOfThingsToCome connected to her dream abilities]], but Luna had once shown Sweetie Belle what the future would hold for Sweetie Belle if she had gone through with pulling a mean-spirited revenge plot on Rarity and in the season 5 finale she informs Celestia that she had also dreamed of Tirek's return; this implies that Luna has some form of precognitive abilities.
* ShadowArchetype: A literal one for Princess Celestia, who is beloved and adored by everyone, Princess Luna desires the same admiration yet has no idea how to obtain it which led to her inadvertently intimidating everyone initially.
* ShockAndAwe: De-corrupted, her magical beams take the form of lightning.
* SpockSpeak: Although she doesn't speak in FloweryElizabethanEnglish anymore, her speech is usually very formal and she almost never uses contractions.
* StealthPun: "Luna" in Latin means "the moon", and she is colored a dark blue. She's a blue moon.[[note]]A "blue moon" is the name for the second full moon that occurs in a single calendar month, since full moons usually only happen once per month.[[/note]]
* TheStoic: After being depicted as TheWoobie in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Friendship Is Magic – Part 2]]" and a LargeHam in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]]", she now tends to be portrayed in the cartoon as being very serious-minded, especially when protecting other ponies from nightmares. [[invoked]]
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Nightmare Moon, of course.
* {{Teleportation}}: Not explicitely shown, but heavily implied. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?]]", Spike sends a letter to her. She arrives literally ''seconds'' later. (You can actually hear the teleport sound effect just before she pushes the door.)
* TookALevelInBadass:
** When she's not fresh off the Rainbow of Light and traumatized after a thousand years of exile, she's a capable leader of mares. She makes her entrance in "Sleepless in Ponyville" by vaporizing the monster in Scootaloo's nightmare.
** In ''Friends Forever #20'', it seems she's gotten powerful enough to where she can even knock Discord unconscious, when she was originally helpless against him without the Elements in the past.
* TrueBlueFemininity: Everything about her appearance (mane, eyes, coat, hooves) are different shades of blue.
* {{Tsundere}}: Her emotions and personality paint her as such when only the audience (and then Twilight) get to see how hurt she really feels.
* TheUnfavorite: How she thought the kingdom viewed her compared to her sister.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: She was very nice until she was transformed into Nightmare Moon.
* VagueAge: Even though she's an immortal moon goddess and only slightly younger than her adult sister, her true form's biological age is ambiguous. It's made even more confusing as of "Luna Eclipsed", where Luna's colors are slightly different and her mane flows like Celestia's, though WordOfGod has given an (on-the-spot) explanation as to how it could have happened. WordOfGod [[http://comments.deviantart.com/4/1603670/1919104364 says]] that "Luna is not yet full grown." [[invoked]]
* VillainDecay: InUniverse. Nightmare Moon is a MadGod who tried twice to plunge the world into [[TheNightThatNeverEnds eternal night]] and presumably almost succeeded both times. "Luna Eclipsed" showed that the public perception of Nightmare Moon is that she's a [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal]] who young ponies can placate with their candy. Justified by the fact the Nightmare Night is a tradition going back centuries before Luna's return.
* VocalEvolution: Tabitha St Germain's accent for Luna fluctuates inconsistently between sounding rather regal and {{Fake Brit}}ish (much like her voice for Rarity) or more relaxed and plain, sometimes within the same episode. Also utilised InUniverse when doing away with her [[NoIndoorVoice "Royal Canterlot Voice"]] to become more soft spoken in Luna Eclipsed.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Her "royal voice" has a reverb.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: She can assume her Nightmare Moon form at will, though whether it's a true transformation or just an illusion remains to be seen. Interestingly, despite these magical special effects, she still has to wear fake pointy teeth to replicate the appearance shown in Zecora's illusions. In the tie-in comics she's able to shift between her smaller and larger designs, though it's not clearly explained if it's involuntary and reliant on her power levels and/or self-confidence, or if Luna changed between the two at will given her confidence problems.
* WomanChild: Certainly in the comics, and consistent with most of her appearances in the show too, Luna is mercurial in her moods and frequently petulant and given to sulks and bursts of rage. Her immaturity in comparison to her sister is very obvious.
* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Of a different variety to her sis. Whereas Celestia's mask is that of an enlightenment monarch (late renaissance/early modern period), Luna's is that of Dark Ages/Medieval royalty. It's implied that a [[LargeHam grandiose]] and [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant intimidating]] demeanor was necessary because Equestria used to be a much more savage and inhospitable place and the sisters didn't have the centuries of tradition and religious reverence that they have now. Luna's mask was at odds with her kindly and fun-loving nature.
* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:In the Season 6 finale, Luna is kidnapped by Changelings alongside Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six, all replaced with Changeling imposters. No one knows how Chrysalis pulled this off without being discovered. (Luna is able to contact Starlight and warn her before she is restrained though, allowing Starlight to know the severity of the danger Equestria is now in).]]
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:She helps turn Cozy Glow into stone in the Season 9 finale.]]
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: [[ShownTheirWork Averted]]. She uses "thou", "thee", and "thy" only when addressing single ponies and "you" and "your" when speaking to multiple ponies. Also, when speaking to single ponies, she attaches the "-est" suffix only to verbs where the listener is the subject.
* YouWereTryingTooHard: She ends up coming off as far more forceful and intimidating than she realizes partly due to this. Once Twilight helps calm her down and make everyone more relaxed around Luna, things go much better.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Princess Cadance]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_cadance_by_90sigma-d4w3sjo2_8536.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[[MagicalNanny The greatest foalsitter]] [[CoolBigSis in all the history of foalsitters!]]]]

->''"This day was going to be perfect. The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small."''\\\
'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding – Part 1]]"

->'''Voiced by:''' Britt [=McKillip=]

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Princess Cadance, is a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal pretty pearl pink princess pony]] and adopted niece of Princess Celestia. She is well acquainted with Twilight Sparkle, whom she used to foal-sit years ago. They ended up becoming sisters-in-law after Cadance married Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. Her main talent is bringing love to others, making her the perfect fit to govern the Crystal Empire, a regal city that spreads her love across Equestria.

Like Twilight Sparkle, she was not born as an alicorn. She was a Pegasus raised by Earth ponies until she reversed a love-stealing spell and was adopted by Celestia as her niece.

For her husband, Prince Shining Armor, see the [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]] page.

----

See her page [[Characters/FriendshipIdMagicPrincessCelestia here]]

[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_celestia_vector_by_fehlung-d5co5fm_-_copy_-_copy_8337.png]]
[[caption-width-right:305:Don't ask us how she brushes that mane.]]
->''"I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."''

%% The intro is not counted as an appearance
->'''First Mention:''' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon "Friendship is Magic, part 1" ("Mare in the Moon")]]\\
'''Full Debut:''' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony "Friendship is Magic, part 2" ("Elements of Harmony")]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NicoleOliver (English), Creator/KikukoInoue (Japanese)

Co-ruler of Equestria. According to the CreationMyth, she governs both the sun and the moon, though she originally commanded "merely" the former and only assumed control of the latter after a disagreement with her sister. However, since said sister's return, she has passed the reigns of the moon back to Luna. A white-winged alicorn with a {{multicolored| hair}}, [[MagicHair ethereal mane]], she is noticeably taller and more slender than her subjects.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Her people absolutely ''love'' her. {{Deconstructed}} in "A Royal Problem" which shows [[SlaveToPR how hard and exhausting it is to live up to those high exceptions]] (which prior episodes hinted at) and no-one (save Starlight Glimmer who they treated as crazy for it) was willing to confront them with her problems causing them to get worse.
* AbdicateTheThrone: In the opening of season 9, she announces her and Luna's intent to retire from ruling Equestria and make Twilight its sole ruler. This is finally carried out in flashbacks from the "The Last Problem", with the two giving Twilight control over the sun and moon during her coronation, and then leaving Canterlot for Silver Shoals.
* AbsurdPhobia: Celestia -- the centuries-old monarch who faced down the likes Discord, King Sombra, Lord Tirek, and Nightmare Moon -- is deathly afraid of... chickens.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Luna eventually felt this way about her, leading to her fall from grace. In the present, she still shows resentment at times over Celestia being more popular.
* BadassInDistress: Despite being a {{Physical God}}dess, in the course of the series she's been captured seven times: [[spoiler:by Nightmare Moon ([[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]), Queen Chrysalis, the Plunder Vines (along with Luna), Tirek (along with Luna and Cadance), Chrysalis again (along with Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six), Tempest Shadow (along with Luna and Cadance), and the Season 9 villain trio (along with Luna, the Pillars of Equestria, Discord, and the Mane Cast except Twilight).]]
* BadassTeacher: She's Twilight's personal mentor in the Magic of Friendship. She also posseses powerful magic and over the years, she fought against Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysallis, King Sombra and Tirek.
* BadBadActing: In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E7HorsePlay Horse Play]]", she proves to be a terrible actress, alternating between over-acting and under-acting: she starts out whispering at a barely audible level, overcompensates by going into the ear-splittingly loud Royal Canterlot Voice, can't work through a choreography to save her life and has seemingly no ability to suspend disbelief whatsoever. She can't even play ''charades''.
* BerserkButton: The misuse of magic really makes her mad, such as the incidents with Discord or Twilight Sparkle in "Lesson Zero".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She is a kind, gentle and benevolent lady who put down ''two'' gods and a unicorn tyrant. She also essentially ''[[DraggedOffToHell sent Tirek to Hell]]''. She may be a kindhearted, forgiving sort, but she shows ''no'' lenience to the irredeemably evil.
* BigDamnHeroes: In "The Return of Harmony", she sends back all of Twilight's friendship reports to break Discord's corruption on her and reunite her friends.
* BigEater: "Ponyville Confidential" caught her indulging on ''mountains'' of cake. Possibly justified in that she is over twice the size of most of her subjects.
* BigFancyCastle: An homage to [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Minas Tirith]].
* BigGood: She is [[GodEmpress ruler over the whole setting]], Twilight's mentor, the one who more often than not tells the mane six they need to save Equestria and easily the most resourceful character on the show -- and armed with the massive power that comes with being a {{Physical God}}dess, to boot. The major villains see her as their chief opponent, and she's always the one to send out the heroes against them.
* BigSisterInstinct: Do not mess with her little sister or her much younger niece. It will end badly for you.
* BoringButPractical: Of all the Princesses, she's the only one seen running a government.
* BrokenAce: She's powerful and beloved by all of the ponies she cares for in the kingdom, but her inability to constantly protect them, as in the cases with Discord and [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis]], as well as being unable to save the Crystal Ponies weighs down on her heart. [[spoiler:In the Season 4 finale, she also knows she will be unable to protect them once she transfers her magic to Twilight with Luna and Cadance before being captured by the villain, who then turns his attention to getting all their magic from Twilight, including hers.]]
* CastingAShadow: Celestia is capable of using King Sombra's dark magic to this effect. DarkIsNotEvil because she does it as a demonstration for Twilight before sending her to stop him.
* {{Catchphrase}}:
** "That's quite alright" in the first couple of seasons, although by Seasons 3 and 4 it doesn't show up much anymore, and it's completely absent afterwards.
** When addressing multiple ponies at the same time, she usually refers to them as "[[TitleDrop My Little Ponies]]" [[note]]Justified, perhaps, since she's one of few full-size horses in the series[[/note]]. Note that "My little ponies" seems to be a pretty common way in Equestria for adult mares/stallions to address younger fillies/colts. And given that [[TimeAbyss Celestia is the oldest living equine in the setting,]] by comparison ''everyone'' would be "little".
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Beginning with Season 2, the show has depicted a more serious and strict side of Celestia, contrasting with her ever calm and relaxed personality from Season 1. She can be fallible, have moments of vulnerability, be overwhelmed by her opponents, feel fear, get upset or angered, and on rare occasions even act downright childish. Season 7 and the comic books depict her as TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask, as well as being a SlaveToPR who never lets her caring persona drop.
* TheChessmaster: She used her god-like power to defeats her enemies in the backstory. In the main narrative she wins through clever planning. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon The]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony pilot]], the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver first season finale]], and the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 two-part]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 Season 2 opening]] provide examples. The show can leave you wondering if Celestia is in fact a Chessmaster or is simply an amazing GambitRoulette player. This dissonance is mainly due to the exact workings of her prescience being left intentionally vague.
-->'''[[WordOfGod Lauren Faust]]''': I never wanted to define her [precognitive] abilities, even to myself. I wanted her to be mysterious and hard to understand on purpose. There are things she knows, things she has a mere sense for and things she can't see at all. [[invoked]]
* ColorCodedWizardry: As of Season 2, her horn and objects affected by her magic have a bright yellow glow.
* CoolBigSis: It's obvious Celestia adores Luna after she gets reverted from being Nightmare Moon, and Part 1 of "The Return of Harmony" confirms they were good friends before that (sharing the Elements of Harmony). In the Season 4 premiere, a flashback shows them doing just that: sharing the Elements of Harmony, to defeat Discord together.
* CoolPet: Her sickly pet bird Philomena, who is actually a [[ThePhoenix Phoenix]] near her rebirth phase and a [[ThePrankster prankster]] too appropriately enough, given the later entry.
* CoolTeacher: To Twilight Sparkle. Her idea of the "best night ever" is talking with Celestia all night.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Downplayed in "Celestial Advice", while the episode puts her in a supporting role, we get to see things from her perspective and the episodes shows some of her past hidden insecurities about letting Twilight go.
* DemotedToExtra:
** Since Twilight's transformation at the end of season 3 and the show's ReTool of the aesops being recorded in journals rather than being sent to her in letters, Celestia's presence on the show has notably been reduced. She only showed up in the fourth season premiere, the penultimate episode, "Equestria Games", and the fourth season finale.
** Her first appearance in Season 5 has her placed as a secondary character since it focused more on her former arch-enemy than the ponies.
** Season 6 had her only show up in the premiere, a couple of episodes after that, with or without a speaking role, [[spoiler:and then the second half of the finale after she's kidnapped by Queen Chrysalis with the Mane Six and the rest of the Royal Family early on off-screen.]] She has more presence in season 7, talking Twilight through her concerns during the premiere ("Celestial Advice") and then having a character-focus episode with her sister in the form of "A Royal Problem".
* DependingOnTheArtist: Celestia's coat looks white, but is actually a very light fuchsia-grey. Her human counterpart in ''Equestria Girls'' has light pink skin, her depiction in the comics usually has a light lavender coat, stylized depictions of her like storybooks and the stained glass windows in Canterlot depict her as light pink, and her toys range from white to vibrant pink.
* DispelMagic: Her most common use of her powers early on is to neutralize out-of-control magic, like with young Twilight Sparkle's wild surge in the flashback of "The Cutie Marks Chronicles", or her "Want-It Need-It" spell in "Lesson Zero".
* DisproportionateRetribution: She doesn't actually indulge in this herself, but some of her subjects (Twilight in particular, who should really know her better) seem to fear she will enforce exaggerated punishments, such as banishing people, or throwing them into dungeons, or banishing them and also throwing then into dungeons, for minor infractions like looking after her pet without permission or missing a school assignment. While she ''has'' dished out horrible punishments, it never falls into this as Discord, King Sombra, and Tirek were all absolute monsters who deserved what they got. Her imprisoning [[spoiler:Cozy Glow]] in Tartarus despite her just being a child ''might'' give some credibility to this, but even then [[spoiler:Cozy Glow]] is a power-hungry manipulator who nearly succeeded in draining all of Equestria's magic for a power grab. That being said, [[spoiler:turning her to stone in the finale could very well be seen as this considering the fact that she could have easily been re-imprisoned and wasn't a threat at that point, especially bad since no indication is given that Cozy will ever be let out, ever]].
* DreamCrushingHandicap: She has wanted to be a stage actress (at least for one production) since she was young, but she's seemingly irrecoverably talentless at anything remotely related to acting.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The season four finale reveals that Celestia can have clairvoyant visions in her sleep. The one seen is of the present, so it's unknown if she can see the future or the past, but she can't seem to have them on purpose or guide them. This ability may explain some of the seemingly illogical choices and plans she has made over the course of the series, her visions telling her what to do in a way that will make things work out best, even if she appears to be sabotaging herself.
* EccentricMentor: She's got a mischievous sense of humor for a PhysicalGoddess and wise mentor.
* ErmineCapeEffect: While not to the tacky extreme seen in other girl shows, she is constantly dressed in impeccable finery and a tiara every time she appears. There's also her rainbow-colored gravity-defying hair. For Twilight's coronation ceremony in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cure]]", we see her in full regalia for the first time, including an ermine-trimmed crown instead of her usual tiara.
* FailureKnight:
** She was unable to save the Crystal Ponies from Sombra's final curse and she failed to prevent her younger sister Princess Luna from being corrupted and turning into Nightmare Moon, which haunted her for over 1,000 years. Then her prized student Sunset Shimmer turns on her and demands to be made a princess, fleeing into another world to plot her revenge when denied. Then Discord comes back and leaves her powerless to stop him from terrorizing Equestria. Next, Queen Chrysalis successfully infiltrates her niece Cadance's wedding and defeats her in direct combat before having her cocooned to prevent further trouble from her. And after that, she and Luna are both seized by the wild vines growing out of the Everfree Forest and imprisoned until Twilight and company save them. It happens again when Lord Tirek imprisons her, Luna, and Cadance, before going after Twilight and her friends and getting bested in combat and thus freeing them once more. [[spoiler:Worse, in the Season 6 finale, Celestia is captured by a vengeful Queen Chrysalis off-camera without any indication of a struggle alongside Luna, who actually did try to struggle and attempt to escape, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, Spike, and the Mane Six, and remains stuck in a cocoon again for who knows how long before being freed with the others by Starlight Glimmer and Chrysalis' Swarm pulling a HeelRaceTurn. Needless to say, once Chrysalis reveals herself to still be alive, Celestia is [[DeathGlare furious over what the former Queen put her and the others through]], but doesn't get the chance to get some payback as [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Chrysalis escapes to plan her future revenge]].]]
** The IDW comics see Celestia [[HeroicSelfDeprecation admonishing herself]] for her past decisions a few times. The whole "Reflections" arc in the comic book was caused by Celestia's acts of youthful impulse finally catching up to her. Her constant jumping between worlds to be with the good version of King Sombra finally caused Starswirl the Bearded to destroy the passage between the worlds, leading to a falling out with Starswirl.
* ForHappiness: And friendship, and magic, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cakes]].
* FriendToAllLivingThings: She tells Fluttershy that she also cares for animals in the episode "A Bird in the Hoof".
* TheGadfly: Not for nothing is "Trollestia" a meme. Since most ponies are completely in awe of her, she often has to resort to good-natured teasing to get them to lighten up. She considers the Grand Galloping Gala to be dreadfully dull, and is highly amused when Twilight, and later Discord, end up ruining the festivities.
* GentleGiant: Much bigger than the ponies and just as benevolent.
* GenkiGirl: "Between Dawn and Dusk" reveals the biggest reason Celestia and Luna don't get along is because Celestia is a larger-than-life extrovert in her free time, while Luna is a reserved introvert.
* GodIsGood: She makes the sun rise, she's involved in the creation myth, her subjects say things like "as Celestia is my witness," etc. (Though she's later surprised she had become such an idiom.)
* GodJob: Bringing the Sun and the Moon up every day for a thousand years until Luna was redeemed, and the Sun alone for some while before and since.
* GodOfGood: While her overt role is being the goddess of the sun, she fills most other qualities and in the creation story she's heavily connected to the Elements of Harmony.
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: Her coat is white, wears gold accessories and she is a PhysicalGoddess.
* GoldMakesEverythingShiny: All of her accessories are gold.
* GoodIsNotSoft: She's a genuinely good pony who cares about her subjects and sister with all her heart. That said, she shows no mercy to a truly evil villain like Discord and was willing to [[SealedEvilInACan seal her own sister away]] when she turned into [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]].
* GuileHero: She's more than willing to resort to [[ThePlan sneaky plans]] to lead the heroes to victory. She masterminded Discord's defeat simply by sending Twilight Sparkle all of the friendship letters she'd sent the entire first season.
* HatesBeingAlone: During the time she and her sister have their marks switched, part of why she finds Luna's duties so hard on her is that she just doesn't work as well alone. With no-one to talk to, she quickly ends up talking to herself ''constantly'', visibly stressed out for it. However, given how she raised both the sun and the moon, it's possible that she has been like this for ''centuries'' since Luna's banishment and it's likely that it left her with some emotional scars from it.
* HerHeartWillGoOn: The ending of the ''Reflections'' storyline of the comic [[spoiler: ends her relationship with Sombra's GoodCounterpart.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: The IDW comics show her going on her own saving-Equestria adventures while the Mane Six go on theirs.
* HiddenDepths:
** She comes across mostly as a formal and regal [[TheHighQueen High Queen]], and it comes across stronger to her subjects. Now observe her mischievous side, such as inviting the Mane Six and later ''Discord'' to the Grand Galloping Gala to liven up the night.
** The ''Reflections'' story line in the comic shows that once upon a time, Celestia was just as inexperienced in matters of her duties as Twilight. Furthermore, she still had the emotional wants and needs of any other woman or mare, such as companionship or romance.
** She enjoys cooking and making table spreads, which she does for Luna (but doesn't get much appreciation for it) in "A Royal Problem".
** "2, 4, 6, Greaaat" reveals that Celestia is quite the sports fan. She starts an interscholastic buckball league between the various schools in Equestria, with the inaugural match played between her school and Twilight's. During the match itself, she loudly (as in, uses the Royal Canterlot Voice) cheers for her school's team.
* TheHighQueen: Most everypony around her treats her like this, but it's implied she'd prefer a more relaxed approach.
* HotGoddess: She is drawn in a more clean, shiny, "beautiful" and pretty style compared to the rest of the cast. It's implied that she is (or fits) the ideal for equine beauty in Equestria; for example, the beauty parlor in Ponyville has a picture of a pony with her tall and slender proportions.
* InSeriesNickname: According to ''Literature/TheJournalOfTheTwoSisters'', Luna calls her "Celie".
* InterspeciesAdoption: [[WordofGod Lauren Faust]] at one point stated that it was Celestia that adopted and raised Spike (who is a dragon, no less) after he hatched from his egg. If the way he turned out is any indication, Celestia seemed to know what she was doing in rearing him.
* ItsPersonal: While we don't learn exactly what he did, it's clear from how she reacts to Discord being released that she has a great disdain for him.
* LadyOfWar:
** She retains a refined air even when firing a deadly solar beam [[spoiler:that comes ''this'' close to reducing Chrysalis to ashes.]]
** We even see some evidence which shows how she and her sister were these in the past when Discord and King Sombra were involved.
* LiteralMinded: Her acting coaching in "Horse Play" goes terribly thanks to this.
* LightIsGood: She's the BigGood and is strongly associated with the sun.
* LonelyAtTheTop: She suffers a small degree of this, though it may have been cured after her reunion with her sister. Seems to tie in to why she HatesBeingAlone -- after a thousand years of enduring this, she has her sister back and does not want to return to her previous condition.
* MamaBear: Though this extends to all her subjects, with Twilight it is especially severe, do ''not'' mess with her apprentice or you will know her wrath.
* MasterApprenticeChain: Her student in the Magic of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, eventually becomes a teacher in her own right to Starlight Glimmer.
* TheMentor: To Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer. She is the age-old mentor who helps Twilight get started on her trip to Ponyville.
* {{Metalhead}}: Apparently, [[WordOfSaintPaul her voice actress has stated]] that her favorite type of music is '80s' Metal. [[invoked]]
* MetaphoricallyTrue: Celestia tends to use half-truths whenever she's [[TheChessmaster planning]] something. None of what she says is untrue, but she lies by omission pretty often.
* ModestRoyalty: She is very social and prefers livelier, more personal get-togethers over extravagant soirees. It turns out this is one of the major reasons she invites Twilight and her friends to the Grand Galloping Gala. She hates how dull the event usually is since she effectively spends the whole Gala welcoming guests and doesn't get to enjoy it, and she's hoping the girls will liven things up a bit. [[HilarityEnsues They]] [[GoneHorriblyRight do]]. [[spoiler: It happens again in Season 5 when she invites her former arch-enemy, Discord, to the Gala to liven things up like the Mane Six did previously. While secretly enjoying the chaos and mischief Discord and the Smooze cause, she physically acts like she is just as annoyed and discomforted by their actions as everypony else is, especially since she is always with Twilight when things went crazy. At the end of it all, she reveals the truth to Twilight, leaving Twilight completely baffled.]]
* MsExposition: Many of her appearances in the series boil down to being this, mainly describing [[WorldBuilding how creatures and artifacts work]].
* MulticoloredHair: Her mane is a mix of blue, green, purple, and pink pastels that move in an ethereal wave due to her magic.
* MyGreatestFailure: That Celestia has so many of these is to show us that despite being the pony equivalent of a goddess, she's just as fallible as anypony -- and that no one knows this better than she does.
** Despite putting a stop to his evil, she seems to feel very guilty about being unable to protect the Crystal Ponies from King Sombra's last curse.
** It tore her up when she had to exile her sister to the moon, and the plot of the pilot is to remedy this.
** ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1 Equestria Girls]]'' adds Sunset Shimmer, a pony she took under her wing not long before Twilight Sparkle that became cruel and dishonest despite Celestia's best efforts, to the list. Sunset's eventual fall from grace reminded Celestia of her forced banishment of Nightmare Moon, and she kept the mirror that Sunset escaped into as a reminder and in hopes of her wayward student's possible return.
** The Reflections arc in the comics reveals that all of these failures have taken a heavy toll on her, [[spoiler: and adds yet another: her falling out with Starswirl the Bearded and her use of the alternate world and Mirror Sombra to help alleviate her mountains of grief. It also shows that she is afraid of everypony, especially Twilight and Luna, finding out about her mistakes. Luna is able to snap her out of it by telling her it's nice to know she isn't actually perfect.]]
* NiceGirl: One of the most well-meaning, kind rulers.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Her reaction to Discord's escape. She calls the Mane Cast in and outright tells them to use the Elements Of Harmony to ''take Discord out ASAP''. Unfortunately, Discord is ''more'' savvy, but she earns points for trying. Justified as she was there the ''last time'' he was free and knows just how dangerous he really is.
* NoSenseOfDirection: After splitting from Luna in "Between Dark and Dawn", Celestia ends up getting lost, noting to herself that Luna usually read the maps.
* OneHourWorkWeek: Averted. "A Royal Problem" in particular has Luna going through what amounts to a normal day for Celestia, which includes various appearances, watching what she says, and presiding over court, all of which leave her exhausted and with little time for herself.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Her behavior in the Season 2 premiere is at odds with her normally relaxed manner in the first season, which serves to underline how serious a threat Discord is. To compare, when dealing with Nightmare Moon, she lets Twilight stumble upon the answer. Here, she calls the Mane Six and straight up tells them to ''take Discord out''.
** Also, the Season 2 premiere is the first time when Celestia is shown to be ''vulnerable and fallible'': She is unable to wield the power of the Elements of Harmony, Discord outsmarts her by stealing the Elements out from under her nose, and rather than resort to an alternate plan, Celestia's only reaction is to jaw-drop and stand there with an OhCrap expression on her face. Yes; Discord is ''that much'' of a menace.
** "Lesson Zero" also showed us the first time Celestia gets visibly upset at Twilight's irresponsible use of magic; the OhCrap look on Twilight and her friends was worth a thousand words.
** In "A Canterlot Wedding – Part 1", she's obviously pissed at Twilight after the latter confronts [[spoiler:the fake Cadance]] at the wedding rehearsal. In Part 2, she [[spoiler:goes straight-up LadyOfWar on {{the reveal}}ed Queen Chrysalis... right before [[TheWorfEffect getting worfed]]]].
** In "A Royal Problem", her patience with Luna has been worn down to the point that she breaks into a extremely uncharacteristically loud and childish argument with her. When Starlight attempts to resolve this by [[DidntThinkThisThrough switching their cutie marks]], Celestia once again reverts to a controlled but ''very'' intimidating form of anger, something Starlight is [[OhCrap very aware of]] and grovels terrified to stay reasonable with.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/12/spikes-original-backstory.html Word of God]] mentions that Spike was reared by Celestia. However, this is in conflict with some later material. Most notably, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue40 Issue #40]] of the main series of comics has it that Celestia only reared Spike from the time from when Twilight hatched him to the time when she began attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, at which point she handed care of him to Twilight. Assuming that there wasn't a delay of more than a year or so between Twilight passing the entrance exam and her actually starting school, this would mean Celestia only reared Spike for a few months at most. From there, Twilight reared Spike more or less on her own. However [[{{Flashback}} flashbacks]] in "Sparkle's Seven" show Spike being raised alongside Twilight and Shining Armor by their parents.
* PeekABangs: Her mane often covers one of her eyes.
* ThePerformerKing: Princess Celestia loves theater and always dreamed of acting in a play, even though her royal duties have never allowed her to take the time to do this. On learning this in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E7HorsePlay Horse Play]]", Twilight decides to give her the starring role in a play she had been writing about Celestia's own early life and ascent to rulership. Celestia is overjoyed, and takes to the role with gusto... until it turns out that she's [[BadBadActing an incredibly bad actress]].
* PerkyGoth: The [=ToysRUs=] exclusive [[http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32801716 Ponymania]] collector's set includes a gothic-themed redeco of her, complete with what appear to be French stockings.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: It's implied that if [[WillfullyWeak she truly cuts loose]], she is capable of being this. [[spoiler:When she manifested in a dream, Celestia's SuperpoweredEvilSide Daybreaker ''doesn't'' hold back, and generates gigantic pillars and explosions of fire.]]
* PhysicalGoddess: Her great age and immense power qualify her as such. Whether she is literally a god or not, she's certainly a couple tiers above other ponies.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Her mane and tail qualify her for this.
* PlayingWithFire: Considering she's a sun goddess, this goes without saying. This is taken to literal measures when she's with her pet [[ThePhoenix phoenix]] Philomena.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: She is the one responsible for moving the sun and her magic normally involves light.
* ThePrankster: AscendedFanon; "A Bird in the Hoof", "The Best Night Ever", and "Make New Friends But Keep Discord" shows her engaging in lighthearted mischief at her subjects' expense, and "Castle Mane-ia" reveals that she filled her old castle with booby-traps for the sole purpose of pranking Luna. [[invoked]]
* PrincessesPreferPink:
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in-show, as she has pink in her MulticoloredHair and has pink outlines but is mostly white. However, most toys based off her were {{Enforced|Trope}} into becoming this, as toy retailers would only sell it in pink despite the fact that she's ''shown as white on the box'' (and in the commercials).
** Played straight in the episode "Magical Mystery Cure", where she wears a pink PimpedOutDress during Twilight Sparkle's coronation ceremony.
** [[spoiler:In Season 5's "Make New Friends but Keep Discord", she wears a pink, Roman-like dress for the Grand Galloping Gala, instead of just her tiara, horseshoes, and collar like back in Season 1's "The Best Night Ever"]].
* RainbowsAndUnicorns: Princess Celestia is a WingedUnicorn whose mane and tail are [[RainbowLite blue, green, pink, and purple]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She's willing to listen to her subjects and is generally understanding and forgiving... unless you're irredeemably evil.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: Is this for Twilight Sparkle. She was also this for Sunset Shimmer, but Sunset wasted the opportunity.
* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Not really necessary, but she is always adorned with a golden tiara, a golden necklace, and golden shoes.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething:
** She maintains life in Equestria by raising the sun every morning. When Luna was banished, she also raised the moon.
** She put down Discord, Nightmare Moon, ''and'' King Sombra. [[spoiler:And several hundred years ago defeated Queen Chrysalis and her army as well.]]
** Apparently, she also seems to be the source (or a catalyst) of many of the magical properties in Equestria.
** In the comics we get to see just how much she does when Luna takes over for her for a day.
** In the Season 4 episode, "Equestria Games", when an accident involving an archery competition endangers her people, she flies up to assist the Pegasus ponies with her little sister, albeit in more of a supportive role to avoid endangering herself and Luna, [[BigDamnHeroes until Spike tells them to get clear before melting the threat himself]].
** [[spoiler: In the Season 5 finale, in an alternate timeline where Sombra returned to power in the Crystal Empire as the Mane Six were not there to help Cadance and Shining Armor free the Crystal Ponies, Celestia, as Commander-in-Chief of Equestria's military, leads the Royal Guards and Wonderbolts onto the front lines of the war, even managing to escape an ambush by four of the brainwashed Crystal Ponies by smacking them away with a shield spell.]]
** [[spoiler: In the Season 6 premiere, Celestia and Luna are in the Crystal Empire to see Cadance and Shining Armor's new daughter, but when the Empire is threatened with eternal winter after the Crystal Heart is shattered, Celestia and Luna assist with trying to protect the Empire, as it is still part of Equestria and their kingdom, putting their own lives in danger to buy time for the others to find a more permanent solution. Afterward, they are able to help in the restoration of the Crystal Heart, saving their lives along with the Empire.]]
** In the Season 6 episode, "Gauntlet of Fire", it is revealed that she and Luna are [[OffScreenMomentOfAwesome almost always dealing with some sort of problem or crisis]] that they rarely have a moment to just relax and visit with a friend.
** [[spoiler:In ''School Raze'', even when their magic was being drained away over several days, upon being warned of who was responsible by Chancellor Neighsay, she and her sister risked going in powerless to confront the BigBad, with the support of an equally-powerless Neighsay and a whole battalion of Royal Guards behind them. Once Cozy's spell is broken and their magic is returned, Celestia and Luna quickly take flight once more with the Pegasus Royal Guards to reach Ponyville faster, arriving just in time to stop Cozy from escaping and punish her for her crimes.]]
** In "The Beginning of The End", she and Luna help Star Swirl deal with the out of control Everfree Forest. "Between Dark and Dawn" shows that this inspired them to take a more active role in helping their subjects (albeit in mundane matters such as fixing a broken bridge, or helping Granny Smith cross the street).
* SilkHidingSteel: Celestia generally desires a less formal relationship with her subjects and has a rather puckish sense of humor, but she clearly is a mare of great elegance and refinement. At the same time, when the chips are down, the steel comes out. Her overall character design reinforces this -- undeniably feminine and motherly, but also emphasizing her sheer size and strength when compared to her subjects.
** For example, when she orders the Mane Six to do away with Discord.
** She goes horn-to-horn with [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings]] in order to keep her kingdom safe. [[spoiler:And once before actually ''did'' defeat Chrysalis. And [[OneManArmy her entire army]], sealing them in a volcano for hundreds of years and leaving them with their holes.]]
** While a downplayed example, Celestia has twice shown to be able to easily undo the damage caused by [[BadassBookworm Twilight's]] magic in "Lesson Zero" and "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", showing that her own magic power remains superior to that of most (if not all) unicorns or alicorns.
** We find out later that she and Luna condemned King Sombra to a FateWorseThanDeath for his horrific crimes against his subjects, albeit sometime before Luna became Nightmare Moon.
* SinkOrSwimMentor: Issue #3 of ''Friends Forever'' reveals that this is the reason for her oft-mocked lack of help for the Mane Six even in the direst circumstances. Celestia's fully capable of solving those problems herself, but this would only stunt the personal development of anypony she helped. And it wouldn't be good for anypony if they had to rely on Celestia to step in every time a problem came up. By the end of the issue, she also shows she will step in when the situation is truly hopeless for anypony but her.
* {{Socialite}}: {{Averted|Trope}}. She prefers more casual reunions and is so bored by the biggest and most important social event in the country that she is ecstatic when the core group ''trashes her ball room'' because it livens things up the first time and goes as far to invite Discord simply because she knows he'll do something crazy the second time. She prefers a casual reunion in a small donut shop with her student and friends.
* SoProudOfYou: Her reaction when Twilight finishes Star Swirl the Bearded's last spell, and becomes a princess.
* StandardRoyalCourt: Or more standard-ish than the rest of the incarnations. So far, there have been nobles, guards, a few royal positions, and the Mayor as a model of government.
* StarCrossedLovers: In the IDW comics, she has this relationship with a GoodCounterpart to King Sombra from a MirrorUniverse. It ends when Starswirl the Bearded destroys the method for her to go to the other world.
* StatuesqueStunner: Her looks combined with her size qualify her for this.
* StepfordSmiler: In the first part of the "Princess Twilight" season four opener, she admits to Twilight that for a thousand years, the Summer Sun Celebration was a bitter reminder of the fact that she'd been forced to banish her ''own sister'', and that she'd simply been putting on a happy face for her subjects during the event. And if the IDW comics' Reflections arc are and indication, she has been through really ''bad'' things, and it really makes her happy expressions unsettling. Luna returning has taken away a large part of this trope away, but there are still painful spots.
* SternTeacher:
** In "Lesson Zero", she gives Twilight an extremely stern look and an equally stern order for Twilight to "meet her in the library". Absolutely justifiable considering the chaos Twilight caused and the fact that Celestia had to fix it.
** She does it again [[spoiler:in "A Canterlot Wedding" after Twilight calls out Cadance for being "evil". Unfortunately, this time Twilight was right, sort of: Cadance isn't evil, [[HumanShifting her imposter is]]. Regardless, it still counts that Twilight was right]].
* StopWorshippingMe: In many of her appearances, she's shown to be quite uncomfortable with all the genuflection and adoration (or fear) her subjects display. This could also explain why she takes so much interest in Twilight's lessons and letters and why she enjoys the meetings between her and the core cast so much.
* StoryBreakerPower: The main reason why she rarely gets screen time, especially in later seasons. It would be all too easy to solve daily problems with her vast powers (magical or otherwise). So most of the time, she isn't involved with the current conflict, and when she is, [[TheWorfEffect she's usually put out of commission quickly]], leaving Twilight and her friends to save the day. [[spoiler:Her hypothetical SuperPoweredEvilSide [[EvilIsBurningHot Daybreaker]] shows what she can do when she has no restraint about herself]].
* SuperStrength: She rarely has an occasion to show it off, but one notable example is that when she takes part in hoof wrestling competition in Issue #10 of IDW comics, she easily defeats ''[[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Big Mac]]'' of all people. He's straining with all his might, while Celestia is just smirking at him.
* SuperToughness: Took a direct hit from Nightmare Moon's energy beam (and the great fall to the ground that came after), and while it certainly hurt her and knocked her out briefly, she appeared to have no major injury from it. This same energy beam was blasting her castle apart like it was made of paper.
* SweetTooth: "Ponyville Confidential" and "[=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express" both imply she has a weakness for pastries, especially cake.
%%* TeamMom: To Twilight and her friends; being their goddess, they're in awe of her.
* {{Teleportation}}: "Lesson Zero" revealed that Celestia can teleport at will... possibly over a far greater distance than Twilight can. She implicitly came directly from her castle, a distance Twilight is shown to match only under extreme emergency, and that only once so far. This can explain why she literally appeared out from nowhere during Season 1 to deliver her advice to Twilight and friends.
%% Don't put TheGoodKing because we already have its DistaffCounterpart TheHighQueen here.
* ThisMeansWar: The actions of Discord upon his return ''angered her''. Until that moment, nobody knew she could ''get'' angry. Her explanation of what happened over 1000 years ago and what we see Discord do in the present imply she has ''very'' good reason to hate him.
* ThrillSeeker: She turns out to be this in "Between Dark and Dawn", with her activities during her and Luna's vacation being such things as ziplining, riding rollercoasters, etc.
* TookALevelInBadass: In "Keep Calm and Flutter On", she successfully enchants the Elements from being forcibly stolen again by Discord, effectively getting a last laugh over him for how helpless he rendered her during his debut.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Judging by the episodes "Ponyville Confidential" and "[=MMMystery=] on the Friendship Express", her favorite food is implied to be cake.
* TranquilFury: Most of the times Celestia is successfully made angry she remains soft spoken and composed... and forms an absolutely chilling DeathGlare that can leave even the most powerful of ponies quaking in fear.
* TricksterMentor: She occasionally "manipulates" Twilight Sparkle in order to teach her a valuable lesson or encourage her to do something exceptional. Usually. See below for when it's for personal reasons. This results in some fans nicknaming her "Trollestia".
* UnmovingPlaid: The colors of her mane and tail wave... just not in the same way that the mane and tail ''themselves'' move. It probably reflects her innate magic, since on the rare occasions where she's defeated or depowered, her hair stops moving.
* WelcomeBackTraitor:
** In the pilot episode, she allows her sister Luna to be her co-ruler again.
** In "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2", she holds no grudge against [[spoiler: Discord]] for betraying Equestria to Tirek.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets three of these during the ''Reflections'' comic-arc [[spoiler: first from Star Swirl during the flashback for using the dimensional mirror behind his back despite the dangers of doing so, and then two from Luna in the present; first about disappearing without telling anypony and then when she found out Celestia tried to alleviate her loneliness following Luna's banishment with one from an alternate universe.]]
* WillfullyWeak: She seldom, if ever, uses her full power.
* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask:
** A far more benign example, but Celestia shows a great desire to be in a closer and more personal relationship with her subjects instead of the adoration, noble politeness, praise, and nervousness she causes wherever she goes, and she holds extremely dear her informal relationship with her star student. That being said, Celestia does have her limits. In the "Neigh Anything" arc in the comics, when Buck starts acting way too personal on her, Celestia tells Cadance to ditch him as soon as she can.
** We also see signs of this in her disdain for the Grand Galloping Gala, though given that she seems to spend much of it greeting the numerous guests, it's not hard to imagine why she says that it's always awful. She also loathed the Summer Sun Festival because it served as an annual reminder of having to seal her sister away. [[spoiler: She loathes it no longer now that Luna is back.]]
** In "A Royal Problem", Luna learns just how difficult it is to be "perfect for everypony" and tells her sister to drop the mask whenever she herself is around.
* TheWorfEffect:
** [[spoiler:The Changeling Queen defeats her at the Royal Wedding, since the Changeling Queen had absorbed enough power from Shining Armor's love at that point. Though it should be noted, even with her massive power boost, Queen Chrysalis was visibly straining against Celestia's power and was as shocked as everypony else when she actually ''won'', so Celestia didn't lose ''that'' easily.]]
** [[spoiler: In "Make New Friends but Keep Discord," after the Smooze splashes her and everypony in its slime, Celestia is unable to use her wings or her magic due to her wings being soaked with slime and having a small glob of the stuff covering up the tip of her horn, blocking her magic from getting out. Subverted that she was acting as discomforted and annoyed at Discord as everypony else, but was actually enjoying the chaos and mischief he and the Smooze were causing and was avoiding using her magic anyhow to avoid ruining the fun.]]
** [[spoiler: In the Season 5 finale, in one alternate timeline where Discord won because the Mane Six were not there to wield the Elements of Harmony to re-imprison him, Celestia and Luna are reduced to being Discord's personal entertainment after he reclaimed his throne from them, humiliating them by having them dressed up as clowns for his enjoyment.]]
** [[spoiler: In the Season 6 finale, Celestia is kidnapped by the Changelings along with Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six, all replaced by imposters. No one even knows how they pulled it off without being discovered.]]
** This happens so often that a hypothetical Evil Celestia (Daybreaker) mocks her for this in Season 7, telling her to stop being so WillfullyWeak. Worse, it implies that she finds herself tempted by the idea of cutting loose, damn the consequences.
* WorfHadTheFlu:
** [[spoiler:Her defeat is justified by Queen Chrysalis having gorged herself on an ungodly amount of [[ThePowerOfLove love]] from Shining Armor and possibly Princess Cadance, and the fact that the room was packed full of her subjects (who she wouldn't want to harm) is important too. She had to avoid causing collateral damage.]] In fact, the ''Fiendship is Magic'' comic shows that [[spoiler:hundreds of years ago, she fought Chrysalis and her army in Trot and defeated them.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Season 4 finale, Celestia mentions that the only reason she and Luna can't fight Tirek directly is because he has ''Discord'' backing him up.]]
** Possibly due to InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality: Celestia can control the sun. [[FantasticNuke Imagine how horrific that would look in a fight]], and you see why she will never be shown to do it in the show. [[spoiler:The depiction of her defeating Chrysalis in the past in the comics shows her firing a WaveMotionGun so powerful it blew bits of Chrysalis' body off while engulfed in flames, implying this is indeed the case, and in the show itself [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Daybreaker]] (who has ''none'' of Celestia's restraint) is shown going all out against Nightmare Moon in the dream realm by unleashing massive solar flares]].
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:She helps turn Cozy Glow into stone in the Season 9 finale.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Princess Luna]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_luna.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:The original [[EnsembleDarkhorse darkhorse]], [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]]!]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[[labelnote:Click here to see her alternate design from Season 1.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/princess_luna_season_1.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->''"You no longer have reason to fear us. Screams of delight is what your princess desires... not screams of terror."''\\\
'''Debut:''' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony "Friendship is Magic, part 2" ("Elements of Harmony")]] (separate from Nightmare Moon)

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TabithaStGermain\\
'''Singing by:''' Creator/KazumiEvans ("Twilight's Kingdom"), Aloma Steele (Seasons 6-9)

Princess Celestia's younger sister. She co-rules Equestria alongside her older sister. According to the CreationMyth, she used to govern nighttime, but grew jealous of her sister and wound up [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away for a thousand years]] as the Mare in the Moon. After being defeated by the reformed Elements of Harmony, she {{Heel Face Turn}}s and becomes Princess Luna again, resuming her nighttime duties.

For her "corrupted" form, Nightmare Moon, see [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMajorVillains the Main Villains page]]. Also has a [[SelfDemonstrating/PrincessLuna self-demonstrating article]].

----

[[caption-width-right:250:The {{ensemble darkhorse}}, [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]]!]]

** Then later on when it was still her (Luna's) turn, the two went offscreen to go see a performance of the opera, "''Ponygliacci''", an Equestrian parallel and reference to the opera ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}''

* CulturedBadass: Luna has shown to have quite a cultured

* DamselInDistress: Despite being a {{Physical God}}dess, in the course of the series she's been captured seven times: [[spoiler:by Nightmare Moon ([[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]), Queen Chrysalis, the Plunder Vines (along with Luna), Tirek (along with Luna and Cadance), Chrysalis again (along with Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six), Tempest Shadow (along with Luna and Cadance), and the Season 9 villain trio (along with Luna, the Pillars of Equestria, Discord, and the Mane Cast except Twilight).]]

** As shown in "Between Dark and Dawn" in Season 9, during the song, "A Lot of Little Things," She takes Celestia to go see the Equestrian version of the musical, ''Theatre/Wicked''.

* CulturedBadass: As shown in "Between Dark and Dawn" in Season 9, She takes Celestia offscreen to go see a performance of the opera, "''Ponygliacci''", an Equestrian parallel and reference to the opera ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}''.
* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:In the Season 4 premiere, she ends up being captured by Discord's plunder vines off-camera with her big sister, only to be saved by Twilight at the end of the two-parter. It happens again in the Season 4 finale, when she is imprisoned by Lord Tirek with Celestia and Cadance. Then in the Season 6 finale, she is kidnapped along with Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the Mane Six. However, she does manage to send out an S.O.S. to Starlight Glimmer before being restrained. In TheMovie, she is turned to stone by Tempest Shadow, and in "The Ending of the End", she and Celestia are captured by the villain trio after Cozy Glow uses Grogar's bell to drain them of their magic.]]