Starlight Glimmer

Starlight Glimmer is a female unicorn pony and supporting, later main, character, initially an antagonist, in the series. She first possibly appears in and first explicitly appears in the season five premiere.

Development and design
Starlight Glimmer has a similar color scheme and name to Evening starlite and a similar color scheme to the non-siren forms of Aria Blaze. She has a pink coat, purple and teal mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a purple and white star with two blue glimmering streams—sometimes concealed by a fake equal sign. Part of her real cutie mark is similar to the compass rose cutie mark of "South Pole", of Léon, usually of Prince Blueblood, sometimes of Blue Moon, and in some material of Friends Forever 13 Unnamed Stallion - Doctor. Her name follows the same pattern as Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and Starbeam Twinkle and includes the name of G1 Starlight.

The book The Art of Equestria reveals that Starlight's mane was originally just two shades of purple. According to director Jim Miller, Starlight "has a talent for magic as well and is a proto-Twilight character. Her colors parallel Twilight Sparkle's for that reason." Her page also reveals different mane styles that were tried out for her, including one similar to Rainbow Dash.

In mid-February 2015, Miller was asked regarding Starlight Glimmer's resemblance to Evening starlite and replied about him having no idea who Evening starlite is and them being not the same as far as he can tell. Later in the same month, he stated that Starlight Glimmer's name is not "Mayor Marx" or variations thereof, was asked in reply, "What is it? Or is that still classified?" and replied back, "You'll find out once the episode airs!"

Jim Miller teased on Twitter that Starlight might return in a future episode. Her return was confirmed at Comic-Con 2015.

According to Miller, Starlight was originally named "Aurora Glimmer", but this was changed due to Disney's trademark on the name "Aurora", which is the name of the princess heroine from their 1959 film Sleeping Beauty and its related materials. Despite this, Zapp is a princess named Aurora, and Hasbro previously also managed to use "Aurora" as part of the name of G3 pony Aurora Mist.

According to Twitter conversations with Jim Miller, introducing Starlight and making her a new main character were the crew's idea that Hasbro had to approve, and Starlight being added to the show isn't a result of Sunset Shimmer's popularity.

In the season six premiere, Starlight begins sporting a new mane style; Miller stated regarding this change, "The other one made her look older and matronly. Also, it symbolized who she USED to be."

Season five
Starlight Glimmer first appears in the season five premiere as the founder and leader of a mysterious village in which every resident has given up his or her cutie mark.

As the leader of this village, Starlight has the philosophy that "true friendship" comes from being equal—no more or less talented than another—and that having special talents of any kind only leads to disharmony. To this end, Starlight uses a magical artifact called the Staff of Sameness to remove her followers' cutie marks and replace them with equal signs.

When Twilight Sparkle and her friends arrive at the village, Starlight Glimmer sees this as an opportunity to spread her message of equality to all of Equestria. She leads the Mane Six to a vault of cutie marks outside the village, where she takes their cutie marks from them with the Staff of Sameness and tries to convert them over to her way of thinking. Fluttershy, the only one among Twilight's friends who appears to convert, spies on Starlight and discovers that her own equal sign cutie mark is actually makeup.

Using a bucket filled with water, Fluttershy and her friends expose Starlight's secret to her followers. It is also revealed that the Staff of Sameness's ability to remove cutie marks is Starlight's own magic and that the staff is an ordinary piece of wood. She attempts to leave with the Mane Six's cutie marks but is thwarted by her former followers. Having lost her followers' faith, Starlight retreats from the village and escapes to parts unknown.

In Amending Fences, Starlight hides her face behind a menu in the café scene. In What About Discord?, Starlight spies on the Mane Six and Discord with binoculars from a bush in the park scene.

Starlight makes her second major appearance in the season five finale. She uses a time spell created by Star Swirl the Bearded to travel back in time to the day Rainbow Dash performed her first sonic rainboom. When she prevents Rainbow from performing the rainboom, she changes Equestria's history, and she takes steps to ensure that Twilight and Spike are unable to stop her from doing so.

As Starlight and Twilight continually clash, Starlight creates numerous alternate futures in which Equestria falls into ruin. Twilight brings Starlight with her to one future in order to show her the consequences of her actions, but Starlight refuses to accept the truth. As Twilight cannot understand why Starlight acts this way, Starlight reveals that when she was a filly, her best friend Sunburst earned his cutie mark and left for Canterlot, leaving a young Starlight without a friend and with a fear of losing potential future friends. After bargaining with Twilight, Starlight decides to allow the rainboom to occur, restoring the present day.

Realizing the error of her ways, Starlight accepts whatever punishment that Twilight and her friends give her. Instead of punishing her, however, Twilight and her friends decide to teach Starlight about the magic of friendship, and Starlight feels reinvigorated with new life.

Season six
In the season six premiere, Starlight has taken up residence in the Castle of Friendship as Twilight Sparkle's pupil, and Twilight presents her with her first friendship lesson: reuniting with her old friend Sunburst. Because of her past actions, Starlight is very nervous about seeing Sunburst again. When the two finally meet again, their dialogue is mostly awkward stuttering.

After a failed reunion, Starlight is convinced that Sunburst no longer wants to be her friend. However, when she approaches him later and discovers that he did not become an important wizard like she believed, Starlight learns that they both have their own histories of shame. The two then help Twilight and her friends save the Crystal Empire from an eternal winter.

With their friendship rekindled, Starlight and Sunburst say goodbye on much friendlier terms and promise to keep in touch.

In No Second Prances, after several attempts to make friends in Ponyville end in failure, Starlight meets and befriends Trixie. When Twilight expresses skepticism in their relationship, Starlight feels that Twilight doesn't trust her to make her own friends. However, when Trixie admits that she became friends with Starlight partly to one-up Twilight, Starlight is emotionally hurt. With Twilight's help, Starlight makes amends with Trixie and helps her in her magic show.

In A Hearth's Warming Tail, Starlight is unenthusiastic about celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve and considers it no different from any other day. However, after Twilight reads her the story "A Hearth's Warming Tale", Starlight gains a new appreciation for the holiday.

In Spice Up Your Life, Starlight Glimmer briefly appears helping Twilight to reactivate the Cutie Map after the events of The Cutie Re-Mark caused it to go inactive.

Personality
When initially introduced, Starlight Glimmer is openly friendly and welcoming, both toward the Mane Six and her followers. She is also somewhat of a disciplinarian, issuing punishment to those who do not conform to her philosophies. However, she later adopts a more callous and ill-tempered persona, desperate to keep up appearances and dismissing any concept of friendship that isn't the same as her own.

In the season five finale, Starlight harbors a bitter grudge against Twilight Sparkle, mocking and belittling her attempts to stop her from altering the past. Her contempt for cutie marks is revealed to be a result of losing her childhood friend Sunburst when he gained his, giving her a distorted conception of "equality". When Starlight finally realizes how friendship is enriched by ponies' differences, she adopts a remorseful, friendlier, and overall happier side.

In the season six premiere, she is shown to be rather timid and easily nervous, especially when it comes to the prospect of reuniting with Sunburst.

Magic
Starlight Glimmer is very skilled in using magic and mentions that she has studied a spell for years. She wields an ordinary wooden staff called the Staff of Sameness while casting a spell in a ceremony known by her followers as "cutie unmarking," pretending this to be the staff's power instead of her own. She also uses telekinesis at long range, projects magical barriers, creates distracting lights, and shoots powerful magic blasts. In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1, Starlight demonstrates self-levitation, cloud-walking, and crystallizing spells. In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, Twilight states that Starlight's magic rivals her own. In No Second Prances, Starlight makes a multi-layered cake in seconds and turns the normally laconic Big McIntosh into a figurative motormouth talking machine.

Software
Starlight Glimmer is a playable character in Gameloft's mobile game, added in the version 2.4 update on July 20, 2015. Her in-game description states, "Starlight Glimmer is a fancy pony that learns a valuable lesson about the true magic of friendship!" Starlight also appears in Hasbro's Friendship Celebration app.

Chapter books
Starlight is to be the main focus of an upcoming chapter book by G.M. Berrow.

IDW comics
In My Little Pony: Friends Forever Issue #14 page 21, one of the ponies at Fillydelphia at least has a horn and coat and mane colors similar to those of Starlight Glimmer and Evening starlite. Starlight Glimmer appears dressed as Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on the final version of the Fried Pie Comics-exclusive cover.

Merchandise
A Playful Ponies brushable toy of Starlight Glimmer, with her real cutie mark, has been displayed at the 2015 American International Toy Fair. This toy, along with a translucent single and Fashion Style toy, was released in the Explore Equestria toy line.

In Enterplay-licensed merchandise, Starlight Glimmer appears on a trading card series 3 binder and has her own cards in the collectible card game.

Starlight Glimmer is also included in the February 2016 McDonald's Happy Meal toys and the Fashems and Squishy Pops toy series by Tech 4 Kids.

Appearances
Beginning with The Crystalling - Part 1, Starlight is added to the group shot at the end of the theme song.

Quotes
"Welcome! I'm so pleased to have you here!"

- The Cutie Map - Part 1

"Please enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We're all quite fond of it. No doubt you will be as well."

- The Cutie Map - Part 1

"When the rest of Equestria sees that a princess gave up her cutie mark to join us, they'll finally understand what we're trying to accomplish."

- The Cutie Map - Part 1

"In sameness, there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. Free yourself from your cutie mark. Choose equality as your special talent. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Accept your limitations, and happiness will follow. You're no better than your friend."

- Recording playback, The Cutie Map - Part 2

"Ugh! Starlight, you clumsy foal!"

- The Cutie Map - Part 2

"You'd all still be living your miserable lives thinking you're "better" than everypony else if it weren't for my magical abilities! I brought you friendship! I brought you equality! I created harmony!"

- The Cutie Map - Part 2

"The only way to be happy is if we're all equal!"

- The Cutie Map - Part 2

"QUIET!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, The Cutie Map - Part 2

"They think they can come into my village and disrupt my life? Let's see how they like spending the rest of their lives without their precious cutie marks!"

- The Cutie Map - Part 2

"Spare me your sentimental nonsense! I gave these ponies real friendships they never could have had otherwise!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, The Cutie Map - Part 2

"Welcome home, Twilight!"

- The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1

"My village was a sanctuary of equality, where nopony's cutie mark allowed them to feel superior! It was a special place, and you and your friends took it away! Now it's my turn to take something special from you! Without the rainboom, you and your friends will never form your special cutie mark bonds! Cutie marks for cutie marks! Sounds like a fair trade to me!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1

"Oh, isn't it a shame we don't live in a world where everypony is equal? No one would ever tease anyone there! Wouldn't that be nice?"

- The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1

"I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined what I built!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2

"Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!"

- The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2

"I know there's no excuse for what I did, but I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair."

- The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2

"Well, you don't know what it was like to be left behind! And then getting so bitter that you steal the cutie marks from an entire village and then get defeated by Twilight and her friends, so you travel through time to get back at them, but they beat you again and teach you about friendship, but you're so terrified ponies will find out what you did that you can't make any friends!"

- To Sunburst, The Crystalling - Part 2

"Stop stressing... Stop stressing!"

- No Second Prances

"Bye bye, Twilight! Say hello to the ground for me!"

- Enterplay collectible card game Marks in Time card #82 C, Frozen in Magicite

"Happy birthday to all the May ponies! And since no pony is more special than any other, happy birthday to all who don’t have a birthday in May."

- My Little Pony Facebook post

"All adventures are equal to all other adventures. That’s why they’re special."

- My Little Pony Facebook post