Why does Celestia know very little about the mirror?

[Sugar Pea 2,682]

I ask this, because she told Twilight Sparkle that she would learn more about what's beyond the mirror than she herself would. I mean, she put Sunset Shimmer in there, right? 
Surely, she has to know something about what's on the other side of that mirror...right?

[Jadefire 2,798]

She never said that she put Sunset Shimmer through the portal. The way I understand it, Celestia knows it's a portal (she might know something about where it came from, depending on how she obtained the mirror), but she's never actually studied the world on the other side. Sunset went through on her own after she had her falling out with Celestia.

[Passion 3,484]

Why would she know? I mean, you don't idealize her in your mind, do you?

 

The fact that Celestia's a ruler doesn't mean she's all-knowing. She might be smart/intelligent/clever far beyond an average, but that still won't mean she's a source of all knowledge.

 

And I don't see why she'd hold interest in knowing what's on the other side. Her responsibility is Equestria, she's there to protect it and make sure all its citizens are safe. I don't see any reason for her to travel through the portal and leave Equestria undefended.

 

So, personally, she really might have never been there because she didn't want to leave Equestria.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Khajiit

[Sunny 24]

She does not know what's in the mirror, and what might come out of it, so she placed it in an unlocked room without guards? Sometimes ponies have a very strange logic

[Fhaolan 4,486]

She and Luna might actually be incapable of using the portal. Whatever causes their special ethereal manes may prevent them from leaving Equestria. For example, if they're actually *linked* to the sun and moon, going through the portal might sever the link and cause them extreme pain.

[Dusknight Haze 161]

I've always been under the impression that Celestia knew a great deal about the portal and our world, for the very reason that she warns Twilight that only she can go alone. 

 

This implies that Celestia knows whether the other Twilight resides around the portal in our world or not.

[Broseph 215]

Because saying "Soon you'll know more about this place than even I do" is more dramatic than saying "It's full of fleshy humans"?
That's my guess at least.

[Fhaolan 4,486]

Because saying "Soon you'll know more about this place than even I do" is more dramatic than saying "It's full of fleshy humans"?

That's my guess at least.

I don't know, I think 'It's full of fleshy humans' has a nice ring to it. I can see Luna saying that, in a sort of sarcastic tone, can't you?

[DustJacket 213]

I am going to simply say... they are busy. I mean ever since Luna become Nightmare Moon and was imprisoned on the moon, Celestia took full responsibility or power over raising the sun and the moon. 

Or, she might knew some bit about the mirror only the knowledge that she posses isn't an actual fact -- only a mere guess -- since she locked it up inside a room. Fear, could be possible; fear on something that is unknown. There are a lot of possibilities.

[Nature's Spell 526]

The movie has a lot of plot holes and actually Luna seemed to know more about the mirror than Celestia, or at least the later let her do the talking. I feel pretty sure that she never went in the mirror.

[Child Of Darkness 285]

Sunset shimmer went through the mirron on her own accord, and bu the way, this is Celestia we are talking about, I think she knows more than she is letting on, which is why I have suspitions about Celestia and her true intentions as a ruler.

[Sylentmana 271]

I think a better question is if Celestia is over a 1000 years old, then how come she has no idea what a parasprite is? How can Pinkie know, but not Celestia?

[_Kurtis 636]

She does know a lot about the mirror,

it's just that she never actually went into the portal, or studied much about that world.

Since Twilight is actually going in, she might actually learn things about that world that Celestia doesn't know.

[Scootalove 10,689]

She does not know what's on the other side or not knowing where the mirror originated from. So, Twilight might know something that Celestia does not know.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

Despite being a spin off, I do believe the reason has been unresolved.

 

But maybe she was just one of the many ponies in ponyville that knew very little about it.

[Virulence 254]

That was something I was unsure about. Maybe she had a bad experience and was hiding something? Well no, cause when twilight came back she was so worried about sunset shimmer. Celestia is a chicken. Doesn't explore anything, gosh!

[MLPFanatic34 3,235]

In the Sunset Shimmer comics it's shown Celestia knows little about the mirror but knows some details hence her not telling Sunset more about it and avoiding the subject everytime Sunset brings it up, I believe she knows some details into it, but certainly not as much detail as Sunset found out as shown in some parts of the comic when she's reading about alternate worlds.

[Mr. White 71]

From what I've gathered, she knows what is on the other side but has not studied it closely. It is never stated that she sent Sunset Shimmer through the portal, so it's possible she's "expeditioned" there herself on some occasions even if it's not directly brought up in the movie.

[CornBreadGang 514]

Interesting thought. Seriously, she's had this thing for God knows how long, and she says "I don't know much about it." But it should be said that this mirror has not been given an age, so who knows?