Even in the very beginning, people found the story of Nightmare Moon to be oddly one-sided and self-serving, and a lot of fans assumed that there was another side to it. Then thereβs A Bird in the Hoof. The Cakes are extremely nervous, so Celestia pulls a quick prank, but the moment doesnβt end with her having built rapport with The Cakes. Thereβs also the part where Twilight thinks that Celestia will throw Fluttershy in the dungeon. Itβs funny, but itβs also strange that she thinks that.
We didnβt know anything about Luna until Season Two, so we had to fill in the blanks. In Luna Eclipsed, Luna is this loveable dork, and despite a series of mishaps, including cancelling Nightmare Night, she somehow manages to do a better job of building rapport with her subjects.
Despite being Twilightβs mentor, I donβt think Celestia gives Twilight any advice that isnβt just an empty platitude. Compare that to Luna, who has offered life-changing guidance to The CMC.
And then thereβs the big one. Luna embarks on this huge redemption quest where she tried to help others avoid making the same mistakes she did. She feels so guilty about turning into Nightmare Moon that she created a nightmare creature to punish herself, and when it gets out of control, she tracks it down and helps capture it.
The decision to release Discord and send him after Tirek caused more harm than anything Nightmare Moon did. Celestia doesnβt feel any guilt or remorse. She doesnβt apologize or reflect on her decision. In fact, itβs like sheβs forgotten about the whole ordeal by the end of the episode.
Celestia started out as βa bit offβ and went downhill from there. Luna started out as endearing, and got even better over time.