Talk:Sunset Shimmer/@comment-36899643-20190603045350/@comment-25563752-20191023181135

No, Sunset's not an orphan, but it was revealed that her parents were uncaring and neglectful of her, not even celesbrating holidays with her (this was even confirmed in the EQG comic). Even when Celestia took her in as her student, her parents only viewed her as a way to promote themselves.

This is likely why part of the reason why Sunset went bad. I've taken classes in writing, and I psychoanalyzed Sunset based on her personality and background. I theorized that since her parents were neglectful of her, Sunset likely viewed Celestia as a surrogant mother after she took her in.

Based on Sunset's initial view that you had to have power in order to get the things you want (something she likely got from how her parents treated her), it's likely that the reason she was so determine to obtain power so quickly was out of desire to prove herself to Celestia and a fear of losing her love if she didn't show that she was worthy. Celestia stated that Sunset tried to learn too much too quickly and didn't heed her when she was told to make friends since Sunset thought freinds were just a distraction (kind of like how Twilight initially did). Since Celestia wasn't letting Sunset progress at the rate she wanted to, Sunset grew resentful of her feeling like she was holding her back when deep down she was just afarid of losing what she had and being unable to prove herself. It's very easy for a person to grow to resent someone in these circumstances, and would explain who and why Sunset grew bitter, mean, and resentful. Imagine if you want to show the person you admire, look up to, and view as a surrgonat parent that you're god enough, but then that person keeps holding you back and not letting you. You'd likely end up growing resentful as well.

The comic shows Sunset's origin where Celestia feared that Sunset was going down the wrong path with trying to learn too much and refusing to make friends, so she showed her the magic mirror that showed two possible futures for Sunset. The first showed Sunset as a powerfl but tyranical alicorn ruler, and the other showed her as a human in the human world. Sunset only caught a short glimpse of the human future and dismissed it as a trick of the light and instead focused on the othe future. She thought that the mirror could help her reach the future where she ruled and she began looking into it, despite Celestia's order not to. When she was caught and dismissed, she had already learned that the mirror led to anothr world. She thought she would find the answers she saught in that world, so she snuck back in and went through it to the human world, but didn't know that the portal only stayed open for a few days and got stuck there.

Cut to the first EQG movie, when the portal opened again, Sunset went back and learned how how Twilight had taken her place as Celestia's student and became the Princess of Friendship, the position Sunset felt like she deserved but was held back from getting and the replaced while she was in the human world, so she stold the crown, feeling as if it belonged to her.

We know what happened from there. But yeah, it seems that the way Sunset's parents treated her was the biggest reason Sunset went bad. You could also argue that Celestia was somewhat at fault for not training Sunset properly or for not recognizing the real reason behind Sunset's ambitions, not to mention the consequences of not addressing the reason behind those ambitions correctly. Sunset wanted power because she thought it was the only way to get love (as she learned from her parents). Celestia, whom she wanted to impress and feared losing, ended up becoming and obstacle of that by holding her back, and then Twilight came along to take her place and take what Sunset felt she deserved.