{{Short description|Fictional character from My Little Pony}} {{for|the Peter Pan character|Peter Pan: The Animated Series}} {{Infobox character | franchise = ''[[My Little Pony (2010 toyline)|My Little Pony]]'' | name = Princess Luna [[File:LL-Q1860 (eng)-Ajron Bach-Luna (noun).wav|thumb|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Ajron Bach-Luna (noun)]] | image = Princess_Luna_S5E4.png | caption = Princess Luna as she appears in "Bloom and Gloom" | first = "[[Friendship Is Magic (episode)|Friendship Is Magic – Part 1]]" (2010) | last_minor = | last_date = | creator = [[Lauren Faust]]<br>Mary Jane Begin | based_on = | adapted_by = <!-- for character adaption articles --> | designer = | portrayer = | voice = {{plainlist| * [[Tabitha St. Germain]] (speaking voice) * [[Kazumi Evans]] (singing voice, 2014) * Aloma Steele (singing voice, 2016-2019)}} | motion_actor = | extra-hdr = | lbl1 = | data1 = | lbl2 = | data2 = | lbl3 = | data3 = | lbl4 = | data4 = | lbl5 = | data5 = | full_name = | nicknames = | alias = Nightmare Moon (formerly) | species = [[Winged unicorn|Alicorn]] | title = {{plainlist| * Ruler of [[Equestria]] * Princess of the Moon * Princess of the Night }} | occupation = | affiliation = Equestrian Royal Family | fighting_style = | family = {{plainlist| * [[Princess Celestia]] (older sister)}} | relatives = | spouse = | significant_other = }} {{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic sidebar}}
'''Princess Luna''' (formerly known as '''Nightmare Moon''') is a fictional character who appears in the [[My Little Pony (2010 toyline)|fourth incarnation]] of [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[My Little Pony]]'' toyline and [[media franchise]], beginning with ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' (2010–2019). She serves as the co-ruler of [[Equestria]] alongside her older sister [[Princess Celestia]].<ref name="Olsen-2020"/> She is voiced by [[Tabitha St. Germain]], who also voices [[Rarity (My Little Pony)|Rarity]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/My-Little-Pony/Princess-Luna/ |title=Princess Luna Voices (My Little Pony) |website=Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref>
Princess Luna is depicted as a wise but initially troubled [[anthropomorphic]] [[winged unicorn|alicorn]] who is responsible for raising the [[moon]] and has the ability to enter and manipulate the dream realm. She is characterized by her dark blue coat, flowing ethereal mane that sparkles with stars, her tall stature, her [[regalia]] including a [[crown]] and ornate [[necklace]], and her [[cutie mark]] depicting a crescent moon.
==Appearances==
===Fourth ''My Little Pony'' incarnation (2010–2021)=== ====''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''==== {{Main|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 1{{!}}Friendship Is Magic season 1|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 2{{!}}Season 2|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 3{{!}}Season 3|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 4{{!}}Season 4|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 5{{!}}Season 5|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 6{{!}}Season 6|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 7{{!}}Season 7|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 8{{!}}Season 8|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 9{{!}}Season 9}} A thousand years ago, Princess Luna once ruled alongside her older sister Princess Celestia, but her jealousy over ponies sleeping through the night and the fact that her big sister was more well-known, well-loved, well-received and appreciated than she ever was and also not appreciating her work led to her transformation into Nightmare Moon, which forced Celestia to banish her to the moon using the [[Elements of Harmony]]. Nightmare Moon first appears in the [[Friendship Is Magic (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)|series premiere]], having returned from her banishment to plunge [[Equestria]] into eternal night. After being defeated by [[Twilight Sparkle]] and her friends using the Elements of Harmony, she is restored to her original form as Luna and tearfully reunites with Celestia, who welcomes her back with forgiveness and love.
Throughout the early seasons, Luna struggles to adapt to modern [[Equestria]]n society after her long absence, initially speaking in an archaic, formal manner using the [[royal we|royal ''we'']] and a powerful voice that frightens other ponies. The episode "[[Luna Eclipsed]]" focuses on her attempts to connect with ponies during Nightmare Night (Equestria's equivalent of [[Halloween]]), where she learns to overcome ponies' fear of her Nightmare Moon persona. As the series progresses, Luna develops her role of protecting the dream realm, often entering ponies' nightmares to help them overcome their fears. In the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic finale|series finale]], she retires from her royal duties along with Celestia, passing their responsibilities to Twilight.
====''My Little Pony: The Movie''==== {{Main|My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)}} Princess Luna appears at the beginning of the film alongside Celestia and [[Princess Cadance|Cadance]], preparing for the Friendship Festival in Canterlot. When the Storm King's forces, led by [[Tempest Shadow]], attack Canterlot, Luna attempts to defend the city but is turned to stone by Tempest’s obsidian orbs. She remains petrified for most of the film until the Storm King's defeat releases all the captured magic, restoring her and the other princesses to normal.
====''My Little Pony: Pony Life''==== {{Main|List of My Little Pony: Pony Life episodes}} Nightmare Moon appears in a stained glass window in the second season episode "Magical Mare-story Tour."
===''Friendship Is Magic'' comic series=== {{Main|My Little Pony (IDW Publishing)}} Luna's earliest depictions shows how she used to be when she was younger as she was the 'funny one' and the one that 'could make people socialize the best' compared to Celestia.
In ''Legends of Magic Annual 2018'', during an alternate dimension visited by Stygian and the Pillars of Equestria using Starswirl's mirror portal, a version of the Pony of Shadows kidnaps a young Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. The alternate Pony of Shadows intended to corrupt the young sisters and turn them into Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker. The Pillars of Equestria successfully rescued them; however, Luna's heart is tainted with Nightmare Force, foreshadowing future events.
In ''My Little Pony: Nightmare Knights'', an assembled team of reformed villains, led by Princess Luna, retrieve stolen magic from the chaotic Princess Eris through one of Starswirl's many mirror portals. She encounters Daybreaker, an alternate universe Celestia corrupted by the Pony of Shadows and who killed the Nightmare Moon of that world. Featuring characters like Stygian, Capper, Tempest Shadow, and the "Great & Powerful" Trixie Lulamoon, who each adopt villainous-themed aliases for their mission.
==Equestria Girls alternate version== Luna's human world counterpart, Vice Principal Luna appears as the firm, but fair vice principal of Canterlot High School, with her older sister [[Princess Celestia#Equestria Girls alternate version|Principal Celestia]] as the school's principal.
== Development == Author Mary Jane Begin wrote that "Princess Luna's coloration is an essential part of her overall design, reflecting her role as the pony who rules the night." She also wrote that "Nightmare Moon's overall body shape, wing design, and coloration reflect her more sinister demeanor."<ref>{{cite book|last=Begin|first=Mary Jane|date=2015|title=My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria|location=New York|publisher=Abrams|isbn=978-1-4197-1577-8|page=83}}</ref>
== Reception and analysis == Several episodes of ''Friendship Is Magic'' depict Luna's "difficulty living in her older sister's shadow", such as adapting to modern Equestrian customs and repairing her public image.<ref name="EoH-PL">{{cite book|last=Snider|first=Brandon T.|date=2013|title=The Elements of Harmony: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Official Guidebook|location=New York|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0-316-24754-2}}</ref>{{rp|36}}
In his 2014 article ''Reconsidering religion and fandom'', history professor Andrew Crome wrote that [[Christianity|Christian]] fans had drawn [[Art of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom|fan artwork]] which depicted [[Jesus]] supporting a weeping Princess Luna with a juxtaposition of Luna's redemption from her evil Nightmare Moon persona and [[Bible verse]]s communicating Christ's [[forgiveness#Christianity|forgiveness]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crome |first=Andrew |title=Reconsidering religion and fandom: Christian fan works in My Little Pony fandom |journal=Culture and Religion |volume=15 |issue=4 |year=2014 |pages=399–418 |doi=10.1080/14755610.2014.984234|url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/619586/1/Reconsidering%20Religion%20and%20Fandom%20submission%208%20September%20NOT%20FOR%20REVIEW%20.pdf }}</ref>
Researchers Christian Valiente and Xeno Rasmusson wrote in their 2015 article ''Bucking the Stereotypes'' that Princess Luna demonstrated the show's challenges to traditional [[gender roles]] and depictions of female authority figures as one of "two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land." The researchers observed that even as the antagonist Nightmare Moon, Luna represented a powerful female villain, and that "return from her imprisonment serves as the driving force of the story arc." They concluded that Luna's dual role illustrated how female characters play the roles of the heroes as well as the villains in what they described as the show's "truly female-oriented society."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Valiente |first1=Christian |last2=Rasmusson |first2=Xeno |title=Bucking the Stereotypes: My Little Pony and Challenges to Traditional Gender Roles |journal=Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture |volume=5 |issue=4 |year=2015 |pages=88–97 |doi=10.1002/jpoc.21162}}</ref>
In her 2015 essay ''Everypony Has a Story'', author Priscilla Hobbs compared the [[Sun and Moon allegory|sun-moon dichotomy]] between Princess Celestia and Luna to ancient concepts of [[dualism in cosmology|duality]] like the [[yin and yang]]. Hobbs connected Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon to [[Greek mythology]]: Luna is "possessed by the nature of discord" despite having previously defeated [[Discord (My Little Pony)|Discord]] with her sister, drawing a parallel to [[Hesiod]]'s description of [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] as a force of strife.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hobbs |first=Priscilla |editor1-last=Berti |editor1-first=Irene |editor2-last=Carlà-Uhink |editor2-first=Filippo |title=Ancient Magic and the Supernatural in the Modern Visual and Performing Arts |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |date=2015-04-23 |isbn=9781472532213 |language=English |pages=197–209 |chapter=Everypony Has a Story: Revisions of Greco-Roman Mythology in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic }}</ref>
In his 2018 article ''My Little Pony, Communalism and Feminist Politics'', media scholar Kevin Fletcher analyzed the backstory of Princess Celestia and Luna's defeat of Discord as "a feminist impulse," describing their actions as a form of [[revolution]] where "the sisters fight against injustice and liberate the oppressed." Fletcher remarked that this backstory established Equestria as a matriarchal [[diarchy]] ruled by both princesses, which contrasted with Discord's previous autocratic kingship. Fletcher also examined Luna's role within the show's cosmic symbolism, observing that she and Celestia are part of a pattern where "three of the alicorns are linked to traditional images of planetary gods." He commented that Luna's responsibility for the moon represents her connection to natural forces, which he compared to Discord's disruption of these same cycles during his return to power.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fletcher |first=Kevin |date=2018 |chapter=My Little Pony, Communalism and Feminist Politics |title=Orienting Feminism |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Cham |pages=25–42}}</ref>
In a 2017 study of the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction|''Friendship Is Magic'' fan fiction community]], researcher Sarah Evans examined discussions about Princess Luna's characterization within online writing groups. The study documented a case where fanfiction authors sought advice on writing Luna; community members provided various suggestions for her portrayal, including depicting her as out of touch with modern culture and technology, and debated the appropriate speech patterns for her character, with some clarifying that she spoke in [[Early Modern English]] rather than [[Old English]]. The researchers used this discussion as an example of how the ''My Little Pony'' fan fiction community engages in so-called "distributed mentoring".<ref name="Evans-2017">{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Sarah |last2=Davis |first2=Katie |last3=Evans |first3=Abigail |last4=Campbell |first4=Julie Ann |last5=Randall |first5=David P. |last6=Yin |first6=Kodlee |last7=Aragon |first7=Cecilia |title=Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing |chapter=More Than Peer Production: Fanfiction Communities as Sites of Distributed Mentoring |year=2017 |pages=259–272|doi=10.1145/2998181.2998342 |arxiv=1611.01549 |isbn=978-1-4503-4335-0 }}</ref>
Carly Olsen, writing in ''[[Screen Rant]]'', ranked Princess Luna as the third most powerful magic user in ''Friendship Is Magic'', with her sister Princess Celestia ranked second and her [[protégée]] Twilight Sparkle ranked first.<ref name="Olsen-2020">{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/my-little-pony-best-magic-users-ranked/|first=Carly|last=Olsen|title=My Little Pony: The 10 Best Magic Users, Ranked|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=2020-04-05|access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref>
A 2019 survey of the [[brony fandom]] found that Luna was overwhelmingly the most popular of the non-[[Mane Six]] characters; the surveyors surmised that this could be driven by bronies identifying with Luna's character.<ref name="Edwards-2019"/>
== In popular culture == Luna appears alongside Princess Celestia in the popular [[YouTube]] series "Two Best Sisters Play", where they are portrayed as video game players.<ref name="Edwards-2019">{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Patrick |last2=Chadborn |first2=Daniel P. |last3=Plante |first3=Courtney N. |last4=Reysen |first4=Stephen |last5=Redden |first5=Marsha Howze |title=Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |location=United States |isbn=9781476663715 |page=51,78|date=September 11, 2019}}</ref>
Luna is a popular character in merchandise and collectibles, with items like the ''Kotobukiya Bishoujo'' statue series featuring humanized versions of her character.<ref>{{cite web|last=Roberts|first=Tyler|title=My Little Pony Princess Luna Turns Human With Kotobukiya|website=[[Bleeding Cool]]|date=2021-03-17|url=https://bleedingcool.com/collectibles/kotobukiya-my-little-pony-statue-princess-luna/|access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref> In 2013, online store WeLoveFine sold [[plush]] [[Handbag|shoulder bag]]s featuring Princess Luna.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bigshinyrobot.com/collectibles/my-little-pony-plush-shoulder-bags-now-available/|title="My Little Pony" Plush Shoulder Bags Now Available|date=2013-10-23|first=Kelly|last=Adams|access-date=2025-05-27|website=Big Shiny Robot}}</ref> In 2019, Princess Luna appeared as one of three characters featured in a limited-edition ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' crossover set called ''Ponies: The Galloping'', released as part of a charity collaboration between [[Hasbro]] and [[Wizards of the Coast]] to benefit [[Extra Life (fundraiser)|Extra Life]] and [[Seattle Children's Hospital]]. The silver-bordered trading card depicted both her Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon forms with artwork that blended the styles of ''Magic'' and ''My Little Pony''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/article/my-little-pony-magic-the-gathering-set/|title=Wizards Mashes Up MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MY LITTLE PONY|first=Kelly|last=Knox|date=2019-10-07|access-date=2025-05-28|website=[[Nerdist]]}}</ref>
== See also == * [[List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters|List of ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' characters]] * [[Princess Celestia]] * [[Brony fandom]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic}} {{My Little Pony}}
[[Category:My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters]] [[Category:Female characters in animated television series]] [[Category:Fictional goddesses]] [[Category:Fictional princesses]] [[Category:Fictional horses]] [[Category:Fictional unicorns]] [[Category:Winged unicorns]] [[Category:Fictional telekinetics]] [[Category:Pegasi]] [[Category:Animated characters introduced in 2010]] [[Category:Television characters introduced in 2010]] [[Category:Fictional characters who can control the weather]]