How exactly do the Princesses 'raise' the Sun and Moon?

[The Awesome One 1,315]

What I mean to say is. We see the Princesses Luna and Celestia being able to control the Sun and the Moon and raise them or bring them down so the other one can come up. 

 

Isn't the planet they're on revolving around the Sun while the Moon revolves around their planet, like our's?Why move the sun or moon then. Are they not supposed to simply rotate the Earth to make it Day/Night itself?

 

(Unless the world they live in is flat)

Edited May 6, 2015 by The Awesome One

[Frostgage 7,981]

With alicorn magic, of course. Equestria obviously doesn't follow the same laws as our universe does. This sounds like a cop-out but it's probably the most accurate answer.

[The Awesome One 1,315]

With alicorn magic, of course. Equestria obviously doesn't follow the same laws as our universe does. This sounds like a cop-out but it's probably the most accurate answer.

 

No what I meant is that if the planet they're on is anything like our's. The Sun shouldn't be moving at all. It should be staying in one place while the planet they are on itself rotates to make Day/Night. 

[simba86 1,541]

maybe they think there are moving the sun and moon but they are really moving their planet?

[ciphersplash 57]

What I mean to say is. We see the Princesses Luna and Celestia being able to control the Sun and the Moon and raise them or bring them down so the other one can come up. 

 

Isn't the planet they're on revolving around the Sun while the Moon revolves around their planet, like our's?Why move the sun or moon then. Are they not supposed to simply rotate the Earth to make it Day/Night itself?

 

(Unless the world they live in is flat)

 

their planet is minecraft

 

flat

 

you see their map, the reason why its flat

 

they are on a flat planet

 

like minecraft XD

[The Awesome One 1,315]

their planet is minecraft

 

flat

 

you see their map, the reason why its flat

 

they are on a flat planet

 

like minecraft XD

 

Seriously though, that seems very much possible. Surely Celestia and Luna would not keep saying that they 'raise' the Moon/Sun.

[Frostgage 7,981]

No what I meant is that if the planet they're on is anything like our's. The Sun shouldn't be moving at all. It should be staying in one place while the planet they are on itself rotates to make Day/Night. 

 

Ah I gotcha. I think it's more likely that they raise the sun and moon themselves, even though that doesn't make sense. It makes me wonder if all of Equestria operates on the same time zone.

[ciphersplash 57]

Seriously though, that seems very much possible. Surely Celestia and Luna would not keep saying that they 'raise' the Moon/Sun.

 

well maybe they think they are, but all they are doing is flipping their flat world around

 

e.g. eternal night= They forgot which way to flip it to get the sun back

 

 

Sun

 

 

Flat World

 

 

Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

that or Equestria is a 2d phase world

Edited May 6, 2015 by ciphersplash

[Pastel 7,630]

I guess their planet doesn't rotate like ours, that's why they have to raise the Sun and the Moon.

Or maybe their planet is flat, or it's too hard to rotate it.

 

...or cartoon logic.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Blobulle

[Sintanan 151]

Well, if I bust out my headcanon...

 

Equestria is set on a future earth, set long after the reign of humankind.  Something happened to the sun - it was dying.  What happened to the humans is lost in the annals of history, however their legacy lives on in Equestrian devices modelled after ancient humans, and the artificial sun named Realta placed in a geocentric orbit around the planet.

 

The artificial sun didn't work out exactly as intended, only producing minimal lighting which caused an evolutionary adaptation in the animals for larger eyes.  Equines and other cloven animals filled in the role in the ecosystem left by mankind, eventually a new form of natural manipulation devolved - magic.  With this new power in hand, the races of Equis expanded their knowledge of the stars and learned of the Moon and Realta.  Through their magic the unicorns of Equis provided the final touch Realta needed to become a full replacement for the burned out brown dwarf of a star the Sun had become.

 

Due to the manipulations on the heavens by the unicorns of old, both the moon and sun need to be 'updated' on a daily basis to ensure their proper place in the skies above.  These instructions on how to keep the moon and sun in the sky passed down as rituals and traditions to ensure the modern generations would never forget the role the unicorns of old forced upon their race.  It was after the formation of Equestria, that the Royal Sisters appeared and took over the role of sun and moon for the race of unicorns as a whole.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,164]

The thing to keep in mind is that it hasn't been explicitly stated exactly how the world works in relation to the celestial bodies that surround it. As such we can't assume that it works like Earth simply because we can raise an lower our own Sun & Moon; just like we can't control our own weather.

 

As such I think it is safe to assume that the world indeed doesn't revolve around the Sun, and the Moon around the Earth.

[ciphersplash 57]

 

 

Well, if I bust out my headcanon.

 

 

Well, i'm busting out my horncannon

 

 

 

Equestria is actually from a 2nd dimension where everything is flat.

 

However the beings within this dimension can only see in 3d so everything looks normal

 

but everything is actually flat.

[Prince Firemane 309]

How do they raise the Sun and Moon you ask? I say literally. It's been shown that due to the presence of active and passive magic, several laws of physics in our world have been co-opted in theirs. Astrophysics don't work the same there as here. Orbit and revolution don't seem to exist at all as the Moon is always shown to be full. I figure that Equestria is indeed flat and that the Sun and Moon are pushed above or below the horizon, but otherwise move on a kind of celestial autopilot across the sky. I say this because it's been shown multiple times that raising the Sun and Moon is a conscious, willful act of magic; but it is only shown so at dusk or dawn when the Sun and Moon swap places for their ordained time. Celestia and Luna put all their focus into the literal raising and lowering, but obviously have enough energy and focus during the other times of the day to, y'know, rule a nation.

 

It should also be said that the Sun and the Moon normally do not ever occupy the sky at the same time. We see the Moon out during the day in our world all the time, but the one time it happened in Equestria, ponies lost their minds as it was a sign of something wrong, it had most likely never happened before during their lifetimes.

 

In relation to that, I theorize that eclipses don't ever normally happen in Equestria as well. If Equestria does indeed exist on a flat world, then lunar eclipses as we know them would not exist. I imagine that one would only occur if Nightmare Moon were to return or if Luna were in some kind of mortal danger, similar to what happened to the Moon Spirit in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Conversely, solar eclipses are indeed possible in Equestria, we saw one during the flashback to Luna's dark transformation. We don't really know if that actually served a true purpose in Luna's transformation, but regardless of that, I see it as the ultimate disrespect towards Celestia, trying to force the Moon's supremacy over the Sun during its ordained time so naturally, they wouldn't occur.

 

But the physical existence of solar eclipses also raises some questions. It shows that the Equestrian celestial sky does have some depth to it as the Moon is shown to be closer to Equestria than the Sun, like in our world. How much closer, I can't say.

 

But regardless of whether or not Equestria exists on a traditional planet or a flat one, one thing is sure: it is the center of this system. The Sun and Moon are indeed the ones being manipulated while the Equestrian world is more or less stationary.

[Grumpy Enchantress 587]

Isn't the planet they're on revolving around the Sun while the Moon revolves around their planet, like our's?Why move the sun or moon then. Are they not supposed to simply rotate the Earth to make it Day/Night itself?

No, it pretty obviously isn't. It's supposed to be like something that sounds like it could be an old myth or something. So Equestria is most likely flat or at the very least, does not rotate.

[ciphersplash 57]

No, it pretty obviously isn't. It's supposed to be like something that sounds like it could be an old myth or something. So Equestria is most likely flat or at the very least, does not rotate.

 

 

or we are over thinking this and its a simple TV show

 

 

 

 

Nahhhhhhh.................

[ManaMinori 4,149]

I don't think they raise the sun or moon at all, really. I've never seen their horns glow as they were doing it, so if they're not using alicorn magic, they must be doing it out of sheer willpower, without magic, and...hahahahaha. yeah. =_= no.

it's all a lie that they raise anything. (just like people believe Celestia transformed Twi into an alicorn. Guess who's horn didn't glow as Twi was changing.....) =_=

[cuteycindyhoney 13,339]

The Cutie Mark map confirmed it for my headcanon. Equestria is a Discworld! The map would have been far more accurate if presented as a globe, if their world was a sphere. So far, there's no mention of what it might me setting on. Rainbow Dash would approve if it was on the backs of four huge elephants, that were standing on the back of a giant turtle. (Tortoise?) Assuming their world is a disc makes raising and lowering the sun and moon quite easy. There's no need to worry about orbits and such. They just stick them down underneath the disc for a bit. There is also some evidence that their sun is rather small, and very close. In "Sonic Rainboom" Rarity stated she would "Fly up to the sun". She actually was close enough that the heat was increased. She was actively sweating before her wings vaporized.

Edited May 6, 2015 by cuteycindyhoney

[StoneCold 144]

If their world is round, which would explain the several globes we've seen throughout the series, then perhaps Luna's and Celestia's power is to turn the planet on its axis. (Celestia doing so when her internal clock says it's day time, Luna when hers says night)

 

Now, some may ssay that this interferes with timezones, to which I argue that this world doesn't have timezones. Historically, they were created by rail companies to time their trains. Since they are an artificial invention, they could simply not exist.

 

 

Or it could all be propaganda. (ALL HAIL CELESTIA, BRINGER OF THE SUN!)

[LittleMac 3,085]

https://youtu.be/NFQCYpIHLNQ

 

This is pretty much all I got to say XD

[Omar 692]

Well they obviously use their amazing allicorn powers to raise the sun and moon, it's not supposed to make sense.

[The Awesome One 1,315]

Must be a discworld then. Makes sense as they're all 2D cartoons anyway.

[ciphersplash 57]

Must be a discworld then. Makes sense as they're all 2D cartoons anyway.

 

Jolly good Derp Sir

 

That analogy comes with the greatest of Derps

[Sintanan 151]

I have to disagree with the flatworld theory, on the simple grounds of Twilight (and other ponies) have globes of the world.

[Zyfer 21]

It could be minecraft style. Nice and flat much like how most of Europe thought it was because of the technology and ideas being censored by the church.

It could be round planet where they turn the planet or are powerful enough to actually move stars and such.

 

It could possible be a fake mini moon and sun. Some superman comics references him make mini Suns for a pet sun eater along with other uses.

 

It could also possible be a multiverse/multidimensional type deal but that would be much more complex.

 

The Friendship map ins season 5 is nice but it's flat. But it could just be localized. Maybe later in series it'll transform into a globe so they can plan Total Friendship Domination!

[Trixio 443]

....simply alicorn magic?? in what way it's possible, I have never asked me, after all we are talking about strange speakers ponies , alicorns, unicorns,pegasus,use of hooves almost as if they were human hands .. .. so..leave aside the "scientific rigor".

Edited May 6, 2015 by Shadow Ghost