Shrine of the Sun Goddess

[Mister Jack 565]

Princess Celestia doesn't get enough appreciation. There's so many Trollestia and Molestia and tyrant jokes out there that people seem to completely forget that she's actually a very benevolent and kind-hearted ruler who has the misfortune of being completely overshadowed in the fandom by her younger sister. So here's a thread for Celestia discussion and appreciation.

 

The REAL Celestia.

[Shankveld 4,946]

I love Celestia,

she's a great princess and I prefer her to Luna easily (: ~

although the thousand year banishment seems a little harsh o.o

[cuteycindyhoney 13,284]

Much like Ankh-Morpork's Lord Vetinari, Celestia is a benevolent tyrant!

 

I think Celestia would really fall for the Discworld Death's faithful steed, Binky!

[Ninja Derpy 343]

They should make an episode just for her! To see what her daily activities were!

[Skye Starlight 223]

They should make an episode just for her! To see what her daily activities were!

 

Yes! I want to know what the princess gets up to in her free time! Although, it might be boring... She's the ruler after all, so she must have a lot of responsibilities... Some of them really boring...

[Ron Jeremy 2,032]

I agree with there being a Celestia appreciation thread.

 

I'd like to see a Celestia episode as well. We've seen episodes about the mane 6, but why not a whole episode for Celestia? There's an interesting character there, and we could use a good episode to dispel this "Molestia" image.

 

I mean, she raises the sun, rules over Equestria. Could make for an interesting episode plot.

[Jeremy 128]

Dear Princess Celestia,

 

Thanks for keeping us all in line by forcing us to write essay-long letters to you every night.

 

Signed all of us.

[Finesthour 7,286]

Celestia is a good ruler.

 

I almost never make trollestia jokes.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Much like Ankh-Morpork's Lord Vetinari, Celestia is a benevolent tyrant!

 

I think Celestia would really fall for the Discworld Death's faithful steed, Binky!

 

Death's steed is named "Binky"? Well he certainly wouldn't be out of place in Equestria.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,284]

Death's steed is named "Binky"? Well he certainly wouldn't be out of place in Equestria.

 

Yes, I wasn't kidding. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, Death rides a white steed named...BINKY! Binky is also capable of flying, only he has no wings. Discworld Death has something fundemental in common with Princess Luna. THEY BOTH SPEAK IN CAP LOCK! Death's diolog is always in all capital letters! His human grand-daugher Susan can do it too, but she can turn it on and off at will.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Yes, I wasn't kidding. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, Death rides a white steed named...BINKY! Binky is also capable of flying, only he has no wings. Discworld Death has something fundemental in common with Princess Luna. THEY BOTH SPEAK IN CAP LOCK! Death's diolog is always in all capital letters! His human grand-daugher Susan can do it too, but she can turn it on and off at will.

 

Wow, those two were made for each other!

 

I love Celestia as a character for what she stands for. Celestia is the sovereign of Equestria in both the deistic and secular sense, but unlike Xerxes (the movie version, not the real one) she is a kind motherly figure instead of an imposing overlord. (That and she's the real deal instead of just claiming divinity.) My take on the *ahem* "alternate character interpretations" of her is that some bronies are suspicious of anypony who commands absolute power, even someone good. It is common in some mythologies for the gods to be corrupt so it could be just a stigma that is hard to shake. Keep in mind that Equestria is a fantasy world, many of which slide towards romanticism, as do many fans of the genre. Historical romanticists were often suspicious of long-standing ecclesiastical institutions. I.e. the Chuch. (I'm Catholic, if it matters, which I hope it doesn't.) Celestia is a one pony church AND an absolute Monarch, you do the math. (Though technically speaking she's now a dual-arch with Luna, but that's a recent development.)

 

Celestia in many ways resembles a post-singularity character. Which are really hard to portray as benevolent in fiction, though not impossible. See Q and The Doctor. The former being callous and playful, but ultimately supportive of the human race's advancement. The Latter being unequivocally a good guy. Those two get off easy on the audience's trust because they are funny and have a lot of screen time. Celestia is composed, though not a stiff, and we don't see a lot of her. Malevolent god-like beings are easier to understand because, in order to work, they have to be petty enough to care about opposing the mortal protagonists but not actively hostile enough to just snap their metaphysical fingers and end the story right then and there.

 

An episode revolving around the Princess would be tricky at best, again not to say it can't be done, her nature just has to be treated carefully. Princess Celestia has been around for millenia. (Scource: Luna's imprisonment was 1,000 years ago and Discord said he was imprisoned for eons.) Any attempt at accurately portraying something of such age as an understandable, physical life-form is quite a challenge.

 

Ultimately though, this is what makes her the archetypal Queen, God, and Mother in the Junigian sense of those words. The Princess has, in many ways, transcended petty mortal vices like envy, pride, and wrath. (Luna got jealous, but she's the younger sister. Of course "young" again in relative terms.) That isn't to say the Princess doesn't get angry. When Twilight abused her magic and caused a riot in "Lesson Zero" she was understandably upset with her student. In contrast, when Fluttershy essentially stole her pet, but otherwise caused no potentially lasting harm, she wasn't even perturbed. Celestia still has emotions, she's just old enough to know WHAT to get angry about. Still, she tries to foster good relationships between her subjects and takes time to understand and walk amongst them. Prime example; when the Smith family came to Canterlot, Celestia could tell they needed a home without them speaking a word of such concerns. What does she do? Give them an entire valley for settling, that's overlooked by Canterlot. Thus, she's indirectly responsible for the creation of Ponyville.

 

Indirect action, in my opinion, is where Celestia's character shines. (Laugh at the pun if you must. I'll wait.) Celestia's will doesn't need magic to be evident and real. She has so much experience and wisdom that she knows how and what to say or do at the right time to get the result she wants. In the pilot, when Nightmare Moon's return was nigh, Celestia sends Twilight off seemingly unconcerned about her student's warning. When all is revealed however, it turns out Twilight's assigned task of making friends was actually purposeful instruction instead of off hoof advice. You wanna really think about it, Celestia might have recognized Twilight as the Element of Magic from her first day and took her as an apprentice purposefully to free Luna. (Though, comparatively, that's cutting it pretty close to the wire if she didn't already have contingency plan.) Then there is sending Twilight back her Friendship reports when Discord had pretty much won. Celestia gave Twilight the resolve to save the world not by direct words of wisdom but just by reminding her student what was important to her on a personal level. Considering that much of the world is directly effected and controlled by the "mortal" ponies already, Celestia's intangible influence in starting, reacting to, and changing events makes her a better metaphor for God than raising the sun does.

 

If God, does effect the world in a story, a better way to tell that story is by having Him do it through people! If Celestia just waved her horn to solve every problem at hand, it would damage not only her as a character, but the quality of the show! In past generations of MLP and similar shows, the world is so simplistic and the characters so devoid of negative emotion that conflict is nearly non-existent. The Princess could very well invoke such a reality! She could scorch away the Everfree Forest, and remove failings from everypony's mind, yet she chooses not to. To create such a world, would make her just as bad as Discord, just by imposing absolute order as opposed to absolute chaos. No conflict, no resolution, no advancement. Complete saccharine stagnation! Celestia (like God) understands that people/ponies aren't perfect. That bad comes of free will, but if you are forced into doing good, the action looses it's meaning.

 

Celestia knows mortals are good at heart, they just need to find their way. As one who's been around long enough to know every roadblock and how to overcome it, she's more than willing to nudge her subjects in the right direction.

 

Princess Celestia, bronies, she would probably laugh along with the haters and encourage us to as well.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Steelquill

[Twi Rubix 726]

Yeah, alot of people say its Trollesita, but I say she just wants to have fun, but can't because everyone is too serious around her. Wonder if anypony will get that feeling...

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Yeah, alot of people say its Trollesita, but I say she just wants to have fun, but can't because everyone is too serious around her. Wonder if anypony will get that feeling...

 

It's not exactly subtly put, either. When she visited Sugarcube Corner, she just wanted to get to know her student's friends better. Meanwhile the Cake's were freaking out at the tiniest inconvenience, to her! When Rarity kissed her hooves in thanks (many times) Celestia looked visibly uncomfortable. I think Royal Protocol must get a bit tedious after the second century.

[---------------------- 1,645]

I always liked Luna and Celestia equally, though I do think the trolestia and molestia things are pretty funny I wont deny that, but still princess celestia is just as good as luna, and they are both kick as chericters.

[Tom 890]

A Celestia centred episode would be interesting.

 

I think most the ponies act too serious around her, as others have mentioned. Maybe the episode would feature Celestia trying to make friends and failing to do so due to her status as queen princess.

[Mister Jack 565]

I feel like Celestia might be lonely. Everypony is so intimidated by her, even though she's always so nice to them. Nobody (except probably Luna) can loosen up and just be themselves around her.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

I don't make Trollestia jokes at all. I find them overdone and annoying, in fact. Celestia is one of my top non-mane six favourite characters! I love her and also prefer her to Luna. The colour scheme, that mane... I love the sun. She's so wise and an awesome Dumbledore-like character. She's not really trolling, she's just having a little bit of fun because all the stiffness gets to her after a while.

 

Seeing an episode about her would be excellent though.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

A Celestia centred episode would be interesting.

 

I think most the ponies act too serious around her, as others have mentioned. Maybe the episode would feature Celestia trying to make friends and failing to do so due to her status as queen princess.

 

If they did try to make a Celestia episode, she could try disguising herself as a regular pony and befriend Twilight and the other Mane Six. One interesting trick to pull would be to NOT have that revealed at the end. The new pony leaves town with a goodbye and Twilight writes her report none the wiser. (Even wilder, perhaps not even the audience knows for sure up until the end!)

 

I feel like Celestia might be lonely. Everypony is so intimidated by her, even though she's always so nice to them. Nobody (except probably Luna) can loosen up and just be themselves around her.

 

I know, I felt so sorry for her. I've met a princess before, and though I tried my best to be respectful, I also tried not to be a stiff. (Though I do understand a bit where they're coming from. I was shaking in my highly shined shoes and her majesty was not a sun goddess!) Maybe the reason Celestia takes a personal protege, assuming Twilight isn't the first, is to have a friend as much as a student. Edited January 30, 2012 by Steelquill

[Lunatic 1,185]

they keep writing lies about our sister...

 

this is our sister, she helped us in darker times!

 

she would do no ponie harm!

[DJ MUFF1N D3RP 322]

I would like to see Celestia get a little love and respect. I never make any Trollestia or Molestia jokes either. I feel bad for her. She is just trying to be friendly to all her subjects and be treated not as an imposing, godly figure, but as a kind and benevolent leader who is willing to be friends with those under her rule. Its hard for her to do that when everypony is constantly putting her on a pedastal and acting like her needs are all that matter.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

they keep writing lies about our sister...

 

this is our sister, she helped us in darker times!

 

she would do no ponie harm!

 

That is . . . all too poignant! Edited February 20, 2012 by Steelquill

[Envoy-in-exile 101]

This thread needs a Celestia pic

[Dreadmallon 353]

Princess Celestia is literally a god. However, I would've been happier if she assisted with Nightmare Moon and Discord. In Discord's case, I am aware that she was no longer connected to the elements, however she still is a god, like Discord.

[--- 41]

Each time she appears, I am always a little distracted by her mane and tail flowing despite her being inside and nothing else around her is moving around.

 

What is up with that? 0_o

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Each time she appears, I am always a little distracted by her mane and tail flowing despite her being inside and nothing else around her is moving around.

 

What is up with that? 0_o

 

The sun's radiation causes the aurora borealis. Celestia more than likely gives off the solar wind naturally. Hence both her mane's coloration and why it's always in motion.