Princess Luna

**Princess Luna** (プリンセス・ルナ, *Purinsesu Runa*), is an Alicorn pony, the younger sister of Princess Celestia, and the main antagonist of the season one premiere of The Legends of Mystical Heroes as Nightmare Moon. She is also the adoptive aunt of Princess Cadance. Eventually, the Elements of Harmony restore Luna to her former self and she returns to rule over Equestria alongside her older sister.

"*Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence so that you might behold the real princess of the night! A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!*"

—Princess Luna.

## Appearance

*Voice actor (Princess Luna):* Tabitha St. Germain (English), Takako Honda (Japanese), Delphine Moriau (French), Deborah Morese (Italian), Heike Schroetter (German), Kriszta Németh (Hungarian), Sari Ann Stolt (Finnish), Jeong Yu-mi (Korean), Brygida Turowska-Szymczak (Polish), Gabriela Codrea (Romanian), Elena Chebaturkina (Russian), Milica Calija (Serbian), Jennie Jahns (Swedish), Wikipedia: (Ukrainian), Carmen Calvell (European Spanish), Irene Jiménez (Latin American Spanish), Leticia Quinto (Brazilian Portuguese), Ana Vieira (European Portuguese)
*Voice actor (Singing voice):* Kazumi Evans (English), Not Known (Japanese), Not Known (French), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (German), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (European Spanish), Carla Cerda (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Portuguese)
Princess Luna has a taller, darker blue body and a translucent wavy mane similar to Celestia's.

## Personality

##### Remorsefulness

Once transformed back to her former self, Princess Luna is remorseful and tearful upon seeing her older sister. She runs to Celestia's side, apologizing for what she had done. The two sisters later join the celebration in Ponyville, where Luna receives a welcome wreath in wonderment, and gazes up with an anxious smile at her older sister.

##### Excessive decorum

Princess Luna returned to the show exactly one year after the broadcast date of A Brand, New Adventure, part 2, in the episode Luna Eclipsed. The episode takes place in Ponyville during Nightmare Night. Despite wanting to win over the citizens of Ponyville, the townspeople are frightened of her booming voice and assertive manner. Twilight Sparkle tells Spike that Luna must be having trouble adjusting after being gone for a thousand years.

When Luna tries to express her happiness with being purged of her dark powers, Twilight tells her that she sounds like she's yelling, and Luna explains that she's using the "traditional Canterlot voice," the royal we, and high volume in order to properly address her subjects. She uses archaic terms like "hath," "thy," "nay," and "thou," as well as other constructs.

Twilight encourages Luna to lower the volume of her voice, but Luna is hesitant. Twilight Sparkle recruits Fluttershy's help in teaching Luna to speak in a softer voice, and later takes her to Ponyville so Applejack can show her how to be likable. For a short while, Luna manages to mingle with the villagers of Ponyville and have fun with them, by playing games where she throws toy spiders or pumpkins onto a target. In Sleepless in Ponyville she seems to show less of her former decorum, dispensing with the royal we, and speaking in a far less harsh manner.

##### Temper

Princess Luna reverts to her intimidating self after Pinkie Pie accuses her of eating Pipsqueak, while she was actually saving him from drowning in the apple bob. She attempts to endear herself to the villagers by turning toy spiders into real spiders, trying to elicit "fun" by making them crawl on their own to the bulls-eye, but the spiders only frighten everyone. The villagers panic and flee, and after a few seconds of indecision, Luna stops the commotion by shouting "*Be still!*" in her royal Canterlot voice, to the accompaniment of a crack of thunder. She then decrees in anger that since the ponies dishonor and insult her with the celebration, Nightmare Night is canceled forever.

##### Playfulness

Thanks to Pinkie Pie's insight, Twilight Sparkle realizes that because of the holiday, Pinkie Pie and her entourage actually want to be frightened, so she arranges for Luna to purposefully scare them. Luna appears as Nightmare Moon, scares the ponies, and bares fangs. After the ponies run away in fright, she changes back to her usual appearance and spits out the false fangs she was wearing, confused as to why Twilight wanted her to do that. Then Pipsqueak approaches Luna on behalf of the children and asks her to come back and scare them again next year, even though she canceled Nightmare Night. Luna begins to understand and reinstates Nightmare Night, at which point Pipsqueak declares her his "favorite princess ever" and hugs her leg.

The princess manages to relinquish the use of her royal Canterlot voice, and in the epilogue she plays a variety of games with the villagers, accepts the foals' candy, and frightens Rainbow Dash by firing a bolt of lightning behind her, a trick that Rainbow Dash had been playing on other ponies over the course of the night.

##### Kindness and wisdom

In the episode Sleepless in Ponyville, she displays kindness and offers wise advice to Scootaloo when she tells her to face her fears. At the end of the episode she gives Scootaloo a wink and a smile, as she knows that Scootaloo has faced her fears and she also knows that she has Rainbow Dash to help her overcome them.

In For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils, Luna once again appears in a nightmare; this time, in Sweetie Belle's nightmare. She gives advice to Sweetie Belle and tells her that she as well has a sister that often "shines more brightly" than her and that she struggles with it. She then takes Sweetie Belle into the past at her fifth birthday party and shows her that Rarity did not want to take over the party, just simply save it. Later, Luna tells Sweetie to go inside a door of what the future might hold if she does not fix her sabotage of the headpiece Rarity had designed for Sapphire Shores. Later in the episode, Luna appears again in Canterlot in order to help Sweetie Belle undo the damage she did to the headpiece.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* Star Swirl the Bearded
* Mayor Mare
* Ponies
* Twilight Sparkle
* Applejack
* Rarity
* Fluttershy
* Rainbow Dash
* Pinkie Pie
* Dragons
	+ Spyro
	+ Spike
	+ King Warfang
* Dragon Sages
	+ Ignitus
	+ Aquarius
	+ Volteer
	+ Aeros
	+ Cyril
	+ Terrador
* Team Sonic
	+ Sonic the Hedgehog
	+ Miles "Tails" Prower
	+ Knuckles the Echidna
* T-Pup
* Buddy Bot
* Thomas Jones
* Team Rose
	+ Amy Rose
	+ Big the Cat
	+ Cream the Rabbit
	+ Cheese the Chao
* Team Chaotix
	+ Vector the Crocodile
	+ Espio the Chameleon
	+ Charmy Bee
* Team Might
	+ Mighty the Armadillo
	+ Ray the Flying Squirrel
	+ Sticks the Badger
* Moss the Sloth
* Team Sol
	+ Silver the Hedgehog
	+ Blaze the Cat
	+ Marine the Raccoon
* Christopher Thorndyke
* Tikal the Echidna
* Vanilla the Rabbit
* Rotor the Walrus
* Bunnie the Rabbot
* Emeral
* G.U.N.
	+ G.U.N Commander
	+ Hope Robotnik
	+ Topaz
	+ Foxwell Fowler
* Princess Elise the Third
* Shahra the Genie
* Chip
* Relic the Pika
* Fixit
* Dillon Pickle
* Wisps
	+ Yacker
* NiGHTS
* Shade the Echidna
* Shard the Metal Sonic
* Honey the Cat
* Thorn the Lop
* King Puff
* Queen Angelica
* Striker the Mantis Shrimp
* Echo
* Coral the Beta
* Pearly the Manta Ray
* Razor the Shark
* Crusher the Chao
* Cliff
* Q-N-C
* MAIA
* Chef Woody
* Perci
* Foreman Fred
* Doc Ginger
* Hayward
* Pokey
* Hokey
* Tucker
* Salty
* Pepper
* The Ancients
	+ Chronicler
* Freedom Fighters
	+ Sally Acorn
	+ Antoine D'Coolette
	+ Julie-Su

### Family

* Princess Celestia (older sister)
* Princess Cadance (adoptive niece)
* Prince Blueblood (distant nephew)
* Twilight Sparkle (niece-in-law)
* Shining Armor (nephew-in-law)
* Vice Principal Luna (Human counterpart)

### Neutral

* Sunset Shimmer
* Discord
* Mayor Fink
* Fastidious Beaver
* Team Dark
	+ Shadow the Hedgehog
	+ Rouge the Bat
	+ E-123 Omega
* Thrash the Tasmanian Devil
* Ghost Girl
* Chaos/Perfect Chaos
* E-102 Gamma
* Team Hooligans
	+ Nack the Weasel
	+ Bark the Polarbear
	+ Bean the Dynamite
* Gogobas
* Babylonians/Babylon Rogues
	+ Jet the Hawk
	+ Wave the Swallow
	+ Storm the Albatross
* Breezie the Hedgehog

### Enemies

* Lord Tirek
* Queen Chrysalis
* King Sombra
* Shreddix
* Eggman Empire
	+ Doctor Eggman
	+ Jack Robotnik
	+ Decoe
	+ Bocoe
	+ Bokkun
	+ Orbot
	+ Cubot
* Shadow Androids
* Metal Series
	+ Metal Sonic
	+ Metal Tails
	+ Metal Knuckles
	+ Metal Amy
	+ Metal Blaze
	+ Metal Scourge
* E-Series
	+ E-100 Alpha
	+ E-113 Xi
* Egg Army
	+ Thunderbolt
* Ghosts
	+ King Boom Boo
	+ Boo/Boom Boo
	+ Bandanna Ghost
	+ Bow Tie Ghost
* Julian Snively
* Lightning Bolt Society
	+ Dave the Intern
	+ Willy Walrus
	+ Weasel Bandits
* T.W. Barker
* Scourge the Hedgehog
* Fiona Fox
* Biolizard
* Nocturnus Clan
	+ Imperator Ix
* Black Arms
	+ Black Doom
		- Doom's Eye
	+ Black Death
		- Death's Eye
	+ Eclipse the Darkling
* Dark Arms
	+ Blurk
	+ Cyzer
	+ Cregal
	+ Rhygenta
* Solaris
	+ Mephiles the Dark
	+ Iblis
* Ifrit
* Dark Gaia
* Nega-Mother Wisp
* The Time Eater
* Dr. Eggman Nega
* Silver Sonic
* Nightmarens
* The Deadly Six
	+ Zavok
	+ Zomom
	+ Zeena
	+ Master Zik
	+ Zazz
	+ Zor
* Lyric the Last Ancient
* Driller Worm

## Abilities and Powers

### Magic

#### Raising the moon

Princess Luna is stated in the first episode to be responsible for raising the moon to bring about the night. Following her banishment to the moon, Luna resumes this responsibility, as shown in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1.

In the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, Spike narrates that this magic is not exclusive to Luna and Celestia, but is or was performable by unicorns collectively. In Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2, Luna temporarily transfers her ability to control the moon, including all of her magic, to Twilight Sparkle.

#### Wielding the Elements of Harmony

In Harmony over Pride - Part 1, Celestia mentions that she and her sister both wielded the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord and turn him to stone. This is further shown in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2 where it's revealed that Luna held the elements of laughter, honesty, and loyalty specifically.

#### Weather manipulation

In Luna Eclipsed, Princess Luna makes clouds swirl above her in the sky when she decrees that Nightmare Night is canceled, and she produces lightning from a cloud to playfully frighten Rainbow Dash.

#### Shape shifting

In Luna Eclipsed, Luna transforms into her Nightmare Moon form with a set of false fangs to playfully frighten some foals on Nightmare Night. In the same episode, she transforms toy spiders into living spiders.

#### Dream duty

In Sleepless in Ponyville, Luna appears in Scootaloo's dreams, stating that as the princess of the night, it is "[her] duty to come into [ponies'] dreams," and offers Scootaloo guidance in facing her fears.

Luna makes a similar appearance in Sweetie Belle's dreams in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils and shows Sweetie Belle visions of her past, the present, and Rarity's future.

In Bloom & Gloom, Luna visits Apple Bloom's nightmare to comfort her cutie mark anxieties, and also brings Sweetie and Scootaloo into the dream.

In Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, Princess Luna hunts down the Tantabus, a nightmare creature she created that haunts the Mane Six's dreams. She jumps from dream to dream and also creates a dream that everyone in Ponyville shares.

### Royal guards

Princess Luna's royal guards look quite different from Princess Celestia's guards. They wear black and purple armor reminiscent of Nightmare Moon's armor. And most significantly, they have purple dragon or bat-like wings instead of the standard feathered Pegasus wings. They are grey-brown and have yellow eyes with pupils in the form of slits. Their ears appear to be furrier than normal. The carriage they pull is aggressive and Gothic, with streamlined shapes evoking bat or dragon-wings as well as arrow-like or spear-like accents. It is built with a low center of gravity, and Luna's royal guards pull it via heavy chains.

### Skills

* Magic
* Flight
* Longevity
* Super strength
* Telekinesis

### Transformations

*Main article:* *Nightmare Moon*
Nightmare Moon employs powerful magic in addition to those stated above. She can expand her translucent, formless mane and use it as extra limbs, demonstrated when she flicks Rarity on the chin when intimidating the ponies in Ponyville and holds the Elements of Harmony in her mane while confronting Twilight.

On multiple occasions, Nightmare Moon turns her entire form into mist. She appears in this manner in Ponyville's pavilion where the Summer Sun Celebration is being held, and she follows the Mane Six on their journey for the Elements this way. While in this form, Nightmare Moon can manipulate creatures and environments.

## History

### Past

#### Prior to ruling Equestria

Princess Celestia tells that she and Luna discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to turn Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, into stone. This spell is later broken because, as Celestia explains, "Luna and [herself] are no longer connected to the elements." In The Crystal Empire - Part 1 it is mentioned that she and Celestia worked together to defeat King Sombra, turning him into a shadow with their magic and imprisoning him in the frozen north. Luna's role in the confrontation with Discord alongside Celestia is shown in minor detail in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2.

Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 confirms that Luna was an associate of Star Swirl the Bearded during the Pre-Classical Era. Along with Celestia, she was involved in the defeat of the evil centaur Lord Tirek.

Princess Celestia confirms that she and Luna have fought alongside with the Ancients against Lyric a long time ago and imprisoned him in a tomb.

#### Ruling Equestria

Princess Luna is introduced in the prologue of the first episode, depicted in a series of medieval-like drawings with a narration that says, "Two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land," and that "the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night."

#### Nightmare Moon

The narration continues by stating: their subjects, the ponies, played in the day but "shunned" the night and slept through it, which made the younger Alicorn grow bitter, eventually refusing to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. Her bitterness "transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon." The elder sister reluctantly harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony and "banished her permanently in the moon," taking responsibility for both sun and moon, maintaining harmony in Equestria.

The name incorporates several plays on words: "mare" as in a female horse, "night mare" as in a mare of the night, and "nightmare" as in frightening dream, derived entirely from the medieval demon which haunts a person's mind with the use of horrifying visions. In addition, when imprisoned in the moon, Luna appears as a dark area on the moon's surface; a similar shape in astronomy is called a lunar mare (Latin for "sea," pronounced *"mah-rey"*).

The season four premiere explores Princess Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon in deeper detail. In a flashback, Twilight is shown the inciting argument between Princess Luna and Celestia, Luna stating she refuses to stand idly by while the ponies basked in Celestia's "precious light." She angrily declares that she would be the only princess in Equestria, and during an eclipse, she transforms into Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon attacks Celestia with her magic, destroying portions of the old castle in the process. When Celestia retaliates with the Elements of Harmony, they prove too powerful for Nightmare Moon, and she is banished to the moon.