The Unique Abilities of Luna

[Justin_Case001 4,858]

I'd like to talk about something that I feel has been overlooked and ignored since day one.

 

Luna.

 

Luna is completely unique among all ponies, past and present.  She has strange powers that no one else does, that no one else even seems capable of having.  Why is she different than everypony else?  She is even unique among alicorns.  She has special abilities that Celestia does not.  What is it about her that allows this?

 

Think about this for a minute: Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon as a result of many years of anger and resentment.  She actually transformed into a completely different aberration, one that seemed to have an independent personality.  Being a core storyline from day one has caused us not to question this or look at it further.  How was her transformation really possible?  If Twilight grew angry and vengeful, I seriously doubt she would transform into a completely different character.  What makes Luna so different?  Sometime in the distant future, after many generations of genetic studies, will pony kind learn that Luna simply suffered from a rare genetic disorder, a multiple personality disorder coupled with magic that literally creates an inborn Jekyll and Hyde in a pony?

 

But then you have her power to enter dreams.  How is she able to do this?  Saying that it's just because she's "princess of the night" is a cop-out.  The Sisters were not born as princess of the night and day.  They were appointed as princesses and guardians of Equestria by Starswirl as adults.  Even then, they did not have their cutie marks, and did not take over the jobs of raising the sun and moon, until sometime later.  The positions of princess of the night and day do not come with superpowers attached.  It's no different than Twilight being the princess of friendship.  She was appointed as a princess, but of what, nopony knew.  She had to figure out what her role was.  It was the same for the Sisters.  Luna's power to enter dreams seems to be uniquely hers.  This is just a theory, but I believe that Luna's dream power is not a spell that others can learn.  I believe that she alone can do it.  The Tantabus is even more mysterious.  Her unique power was able to create a monster in her dreams that was then able to travel between dreams, and eventually move to the real world if allowed.  And this monster was created purely out of negative emotion, like Nightmare Moon.  Her emotions seems be a living force that have a will of their own.  It seems unthinkable for somepony else to achieve something like this.

 

Luna is completely unique.  She's unique among all ponies, including alicorns, and she's even completely unique from her sister.  Celestia appears to be an alicorn like any other.  Any sufficiently strong unicorn/alicorn could do anything that Celestia could.  But Luna entirely different, and we're not talking about it.  Isn't this strange?  What makes Luna the way she is?

 

(I'd like to add that I'm not complaining.  I think it's neat that she is unique.  I'm just wondering why.)

[Sunny Fox 5,934]

Perhaps she gained those abilities over time while raising the moon every night. The moon has often been linked to psychology (hence the word "lunacy" to mean madness, thought to be caused by the full moon) and what's more psychological than dreams? Maybe in the same way, Celestia's magic became more sun based since she was raising the sun.

[Heavenly Inexplicit 309]

Don't forget to mention her weird ability to control the weather!

It really helps with making a dramatic entrance. Also, it looks really cool.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@@Justin_Case001, 

 

At the first line, I admit I kind of chuckled a bit, because honestly, I think this is one of the most debated and pondered things among the fandom that I can think of. For me especially, having a particular interest in Luna myself. I relate to this character in so many ways, beyond many people, because I actually deal with recurring nightmares that involve a character much like Luna's tantibus. But this is only one reason among many.

 

As for her uniqueness, I've seen a couple theories indicating that her and Celestia are not originally Equestrian born, but of an Alicorn realm that may or may not be of the physical world. I think it might be posited that they could be gods from another dimension even. This idea comes from the fact that they seem to be able to train and create alicorns out of regular equestrian ponies, however none of their creations exhibit the same strange flowing effect that their manes have, nor the extent of control over the sun and moon among other things. Each sister has a unique talent outside their respective daily duties of raising and lowering cosmic bodies from view. Celestia was the one that made Twilight into an alicorn, and I think it may be guessed, she solely has this ability. Whereas Luna solely has the ability to control and enter the subconscious of others, which is extremely powerful in and of itself. Now one thing I'm uncertain of, you mention Starswirl having appointed them. Is that canonical? It must be in the comics or something, cause I can't say I ever caught dialogue in the show that indicates this. (I may have forgotten also)

 

When Luna becomes Nightmare Moon, I wouldn't exactly call this a different personality, although while in that form, she does act quite different. Nightmare moon is the unfiltered bitterness and hatred that Luna bottles up, which, when she loses control, it becomes who she is. This isn't exactly a personality swap so much as its a loss of control, and the desires to take vengeance overwhelm the desires to make peace. She is represented in this way to represent the quality of dreams and nightmares, and how a pleasant dream can quickly become a nightmare. Now I don't know if you're aware, but I've also heard that there is a semi-canon nightmarish version of Celestia, which only appeared on trading cards or something like that. If we include this concept, then it stands to reason she and Luna share some things that aren't shown much at all. Luna also doesn't generally deal with the waking problems of the world, as that is Celestia's domain. I think that both sisters do exhibit uniqueness outside of all other characters though. Even Cadance has no special strange ability beyond her appointed role and her ability to spread love. Twilight seems to be the most powerful of the lot, but only while she has the power of others to draw on. Beyond that, I would argue that the two sisters, as they are, completely outshine all others in sheer power and natural ability.

Getting back to the idea of them coming from another world or what have you. I think if this theory was how it happened, it makes sense. If they came from a world where that power was common place, they would naturally be good leaders in a world of lesser powerful creatures. The theory also gets into the idea that the alicorn nation may have just avoided contact due to the conflict between the three main races, but when Discord rose, their nation went under threat. This is where the two sisters come in, possibly appointed by, or sent for by a certain bearded horse, in search of a saviour for the land of Equestria.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

Well of course I intended for her to be that way as the original creator of her. Well one of the most divesting events with her was when she changed into nightmare moon. I later found out that it was cussed by a glitched protocol in her system. One so high priority that it completely inverted her system making her inaccessible to my control system. But how do dreams work in MLP? Well basically they are virtual universes. But if done in the right way can be ported into the real world.

The thing with Luna is that she can port through and unite dream universes.

This is my perspective of Luna but I didn't have much time to do this post so PM me if you wish to find out more.

[ParadoxicalOutcome 44]

Don't forget to mention her weird ability to control the weather!

It really helps with making a dramatic entrance. Also, it looks really cool.

I believe her advanced weather control is her mixing unicorn magic with pegasus magic, since alicorns have both.

 

As for her other abilities, I think it's her cutie mark. We have seen over and over again that some ponies have special abilities that are tied to their cutie marks (Cadence's love spell, Fluttershy's ability to talk to animals, Shining Armor's city-wide shield spell, Rarity's gem finding spell, Starlight's equality spell, lots of others), which no others can use (Twilight's special ability is to copy other spells, so she's an exception to this rule). This dreamwalking could be her special ability.

 

I think the whole "Nightmare Moon" stuff is something unique to alicorns or their magic. But that's just an opinion because there's no evidance.

 

(Though, if the Elements of Harmony run on the same kind of magic Alicorns use, Equestria Girls might be evidance since the transformation of Human Twilight and Sunset Shimmer seemed to have messed with their personality a lot, and their physical appearence had some key factors similiar to nightmare moon, like the wings, the darker color scheme, etc. Human Twilight even started using a new name when she transformed, like NMM (Midnight Sparkle). And what did they use? The power of the elements of harmony! But then "Does Equestria Girls even count?)

Edited October 6, 2016 by ParadoxicalOutcome

[cmarston1 5,952]

I think it is because the writers put more effort in developing Luna as a character than they did with Celestia or Cadence.

Edited October 6, 2016 by cmarston1

[Castle Bleck 19,173]

And last, but certainly not least, this:

 

[Sonic5421 423]

Well, the Season 6 finale proves that when in danger, Luna can use the dreams of other ponies to warn them of the impending threat, even if she is fighting off whatever is trying to capture her at the same time until she gets her message across. That takes a lot of courage and strength, and I respect our Princess of the Night for being able to do that.

[Justin_Case001 4,858]

At the first line, I admit I kind of chuckled a bit, because honestly, I think this is one of the most debated and pondered things among the fandom that I can think of.

Oh yeah?  Huh...  Well, all I can say is I've never seen it mentioned once.  I dunno, coincidence, I guess.  I mean, folks talk about the Sisters all the time, namely speculating about their origins and such, but I've never heard anyone mention Luna being unique as I discussed.

 

 

As for her uniqueness, I've seen a couple theories indicating that her and Celestia are not originally Equestrian born, but of an Alicorn realm that may or may not be of the physical world. I think it might be posited that they could be gods from another dimension even.

This would actually make a lot of sense, and would surely explain their flowing manes, too.  I like it.

 

That actually makes even more sense when you take that semi-canon Nightmare Tia into account, which I was not aware of, btw.

 

 

Even Cadance has no special strange ability beyond her appointed role and her ability to spread love.

I actually thought of mentioning Cadence's love thing in my OP.  It seems like a unique ability to her, but my headcanon is that that is a spell that others can learn; it's just really difficult.  But it could be unique, too.  That's just my theory.

 

 

Celestia was the one that made Twilight into an alicorn, and I think it may be guessed, she solely has this ability.

I think that point is debatable, though.  I don't believe that Celestia made Twi an alicorn.  I think it came from within Twilight herself.  I also have a headcanon that the Elements killed Twilight, and she was dead in Celestia's movie theater, then she was reborn as an alicorn.  Either way, I like to believe that Twi's transformation came from within, because the alternative is rather repugnant to me: it would mean that Celestia is unethical, because I can't see any way in which permanently modifying the anatomy of another being without their permission is in any way ethical.  Unfortunately, the evidence seems to point more towards Tia casting a spell to transform Twi.  If she did in fact do this, then I'd agree that this power is probably Tia's alone.  This would make the other world theory you discussed even more plausible, since both of the Sisters would seem to be unique from all of ponykind.

 

 

Now one thing I'm uncertain of, you mention Starswirl having appointed them. Is that canonical?

Journal of the Two Sisters.  I think of it as canon.  I suppose some consider it more B-canon, or comic-level canon.  Some argue that the only canon is what's on the show and that's it.  The Journal actually contains an oft overlooked line, which is, in my opinion, one of the most important and significant pieces of information in the entire FIM universe.  Discussing their foalhood, Luna said, "The alicorns thought it [the royal Canterlot voice] was an important part of our education."  There were other alicorns, and from the sound of it, many of them.  This raises many questions, of course.  Perhaps the otherworldly, alicorn realm theory might explain this.  Perhaps all of the other alicorns to which Luna refers have flowing manes like them.  Probably my biggest wish for this show is to have a thorough alicorn/Sisters backstory, if not on the show, then at least in a proper canon book.  But I know that the Sisters and their origins simply isn't a priority or the focus of the show.  Total drag.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

And last, but certainly not least, this:

 

Let's check the command prompt on this one.

 

DRP-START...

GENERATING VIRTUAL UNIVERSE-PLEASE WAIT...

HOSTING ON PORT: KJURW-2727959.

OPENING PING-SYT

CONECTION ESTABLISHED WITH UNIT: A-002 PRINCESS LUNA

 

It's to give you a better idea of how my theory works.

[HighLunarStudios 100]

it could be that Luna didn't have any friends because she was different and followed the code of royalty a bit to close and had the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!!!!!

 

so she made an imaginary friend possibly called Nightmoon and with that long time of being angry Nightmoon took over and the gorgeous Luna became Nightmare Moon because of that anger.

 

but we have took find the culpret of that anger look at Celestia she didn't notice Luna's anger till it was too late

[snowflame 189]

Celestia appears too have some vision powers like we saw in season 4 finale so that is compare in a way. 

[Trixie the Great 71]

it could be that Luna didn't have any friends because she was different and followed the code of royalty a bit to close and had the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!!!!!

 

so she made an imaginary friend possibly called Nightmoon and with that long time of being angry Nightmoon took over and the gorgeous Luna became Nightmare Moon because of that anger.

 

but we have took find the culpret of that anger look at Celestia she didn't notice Luna's anger till it was too late

 

Perhaps she gained those abilities over time while raising the moon every night. The moon has often been linked to psychology (hence the word "lunacy" to mean madness, thought to be caused by the full moon) and what's more psychological than dreams? Maybe in the same way, Celestia's magic became more sun based since she was raising the sun.

 

 

Interesting theories... With beholding such great magical powers, there comes big danger. I believe any unicorn/alicorn is capable of performing both good and evil magic, typically being able to choose between the two. But when Luna started being depressed, her magic tilted more to the evil side, and with time, the more her anger for her sister increased, the faster her magic became darker and darker. Until the point  the effect became IREVERSIBLE. Just imagine how very powerful her magic must be, for it to be able to take over her mind, soul and body entirely. She really is such an intriguing character, I wish S7 will bring lots and lots of Luna screentime. She's one of my favorite ponies, and her fanbase seems to be HUGE. Please Hasbro, pretty pretty pleeeaasseee. We want more of her!!!

[pony.colin 156]

 

 

Luna is completely unique. She's unique among all ponies, including alicorns, and she's even completely unique from her sister. Celestia appears to be an alicorn like any other. Any sufficiently strong unicorn/alicorn could do anything that Celestia could. But Luna entirely different, and we're not talking about it. Isn't this strange? What makes Luna the way she is?

 

I want to believe that Celestia has some actual secondary abilities that are similar to Luna's, in the sense that they are only unique to her as well. Like I said, want to believe... and that it hasn't been seen on the show yet. 

 

They also need to bring Celestia back into the foreground because they have seriously kind of left her a little too much in the background of many of the major events now in these past seasons.

 

I wonder if we will delve into this a bit more with discussing about Luna's transformation and the Tantabus. Because these these two things questions have been kicking around for a while.  What exactly was Luna's transformation into nightmare night? Was this possession via evil magic? Was this a very unique case of split personality or something else? That's the question that is always wondered about Luna. How much of Nightmare Moon was really Luna ?

 

It's always been an interesting question that I was hoping the show would jump more into (same with talking about Tantabus, when did it suddenly have a mind of its own to try and escape from Luna. And why would it want to leave as well?).  

 

I haven't got any other ideas. But Luna still remains an interesting character to me.