Sunset Shimmer

Sunset Shimmer is a female unicorn pony-turned-human and former antagonist introduced in My Little Pony Equestria Girls. She is a student at Canterlot High School, a former student of Princess Celestia, and a rhythm guitarist for the student band The Rainbooms. Following her appearance in Equestria Girls, she has since appeared in other films, animated shorts, software, film novelizations and chapter books, and several IDW comics.

Development and design
Sunset Shimmer resembles the G3 Earth pony Sunshimmer in pony design and name. She has a light amber coat, red and brilliant yellow mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a red and yellow shimmering sun. Her name follows the same pattern as Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Starbeam Twinkle.

An image of human Sunset Shimmer that appears on the back of the Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer & Twilight Sparkle doll release's packaging was posted online in mid-March 2013.

On March 19, 2013, Meghan McCarthy was asked "Is Sunset Shimmer going to be a Season 4 storyline? The fact that her backstory seems like a show plot" and responded "Nope." On April 1, 2013, McCarthy wrote as part of an April Fools' Day joke that My Little Pony Friendship is Magic season four episode five would be titled "The Student Becomes the Teacher: The Return of Sunset Shimmer".

In early April 2015, Ishi Rudell stated that Sunset Shimmer's phoenix-like appearance at the end of My Past is Not Today was a visual metaphor and that "her hair is lighter... We wanted to tone her color intensity down a bit with the design of her new outfit." In early May 2015, Rudell stated that "Sunset Shimmers [sic] residency has been discussed... Perhaps one day it will be revealed."

According to Twitter conversations with Jim Miller, Sunset Shimmer's popularity is not why Starlight Glimmer was added to the show. When asked on Twitter in mid-December 2016 if Sunset is one of the Elements of Harmony, Ishi Rudell replied, "In our world she is the 7th element! ☀️" later specifying said element to be "empathy".

According to Katrina Hadley, Sunset's aura color was changed from cyan to red in Mirror Magic as a reflection of her redemption and the colors for when she ponied up in Rainbow Rocks.

In Forgotten Friendship, as a pony, Sunset was given a slight redesign so that her mane slightly resembles her hair, and her horn is slightly longer.

In Twitter communication, Katrina Hadley calls Sunset Shimmer's glowing eyes whenever she uses her magic geode powers an "empathy flash".

My Little Pony Equestria Girls
Sunset Shimmer first appears as the main antagonist in My Little Pony Equestria Girls. She steals Twilight Sparkle's element of magic crown and during a tussle with Twilight, the crown is thrown into the Crystal Mirror that acts as a portal to another world. She then follows the crown shortly after.

Princess Celestia reveals that Sunset was a former student of hers who began her studies not long before Twilight did. However, when she didn't get what she desired as quickly as she wanted, she turned cruel and dishonest, eventually abandoning her studies to pursue her own path. In this other world, Sunset has been living as a human and student at Canterlot High School for some time. She discovers that Fluttershy found the crown and turned it over to Principal Celestia, much to Sunset's annoyance.

After learning that Twilight will be competing against her for the title of Princess of the Fall Formal, Sunset employs various ways to hinder and humiliate Twilight. She has Snips and Snails record embarrassing videos of Twilight struggling to get used to the human world and releases the videos online, and she doctors photos to frame Twilight for ruining the dance decorations. But Twilight's friends help to counter these ploys by improving Twilight's reputation, and Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend, helps prove Twilight's innocence.

At the Fall Formal, when Twilight is named princess and given the crown, Sunset has Snips and Snails kidnap Spike and threatens to destroy the portal to Equestria unless Twilight gives her the crown. Twilight refuses to give the crown up, stating that her being stuck in the human world would be worth stopping Sunset. As Twilight's friends commend her bravery and sacrifice, Sunset snaps and attacks her. Despite Twilight and her friends' efforts, Sunset succeeds in getting the crown and puts it on, and a dark magic aura transforms her into a demon. With her newfound powers, Sunset transforms Snips and Snails into similar-looking minions and brainwashes the other students at the school. She reveals that she never intended to destroy the portal and plans to invade and conquer Equestria with her army of teenagers.

Twilight is able to evoke the powers of the Elements of Harmony when her friends move to protect her from Sunset Shimmer's attack. Temporarily given pony-like characteristics, they use the magic of friendship to defeat Sunset Shimmer and return Snips, Snails, and the rest of the students to normal.

As everyone recovers, a beaten and repentant Sunset is reduced to tears and apologizes to everyone she's hurt. She admits to not knowing anything about friendship, to which Twilight says her friends can teach her. Sunset, Snips, and Snails are later tasked by Vice Principal Luna with rebuilding the part of school they had destroyed during their attack.

Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks
Sunset Shimmer re-appears in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, reformed from her villainous ways in the first film. With the exception of the Rainbooms, the rest of Canterlot High bears resentment toward her, and she even resents herself for the actions she'd taken as what she refers to as a "raging she-demon." She even admits to herself and her friends that she never had a romantic interest in Flash Sentry and only dated him to make herself more popular.

When Sunset gives the Dazzlings a tour of the school, she gets a bad vibe from them when Adagio Dazzle gets defensive about her pendant. Her suspicions are later confirmed when the Dazzlings mesmerize the students and faculty with their singing. Using a magical book with her cutie mark on the cover, Sunset sends an SOS to Princess Celestia in Equestria. During Twilight's role as the Rainbooms' lead singer, Sunset acts in a supportive role and keeps an eye on the competition, especially the Dazzlings during the Battle of the Bands. At one point, Sunset confronts the Dazzlings, who try to manipulate her insecurities by pointing out that the Rainbooms were reluctant to allow Sunset into the band.

When the Rainbooms lash out at each other during the final round of the Battle of the Bands, Sunset realizes what the Dazzlings' true intentions are and is able to stop the petty arguing. She even accepts partial blame due to her lack of knowledge on friendship.

When the Dazzlings overpower the Rainbooms during the film's climax, Sunset Shimmer steps up and sings on the band's behalf. Her help not only gives the Rainbooms the strength they need to defeat the Dazzlings, but she also undergoes a half-pony transformation like her friends. Afterward, Sunset joins the band as a singer and guitarist, and she uses her old journal that she communicated with Princess Celestia through to write her friendship reports to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

During Shine Like Rainbows, the rest of the school now accepts Sunset. The Cutie Mark Crusaders walk happily with her after Apple Bloom catches her journal when it falls out of her backpack, and Bulk Biceps helps her get Angel down from a hard-to-reach perch.

Rainbow Rocks animated shorts
Sunset Shimmer appears in the encore shorts My Past is Not Today and Friendship Through the Ages. In the former, Sunset sings on the school rooftop of how misguided her goals were during the first film and letting go of the past. Likening her reawakening to that of a phoenix, Sunset concludes the song by sprouting fiery magical wings. Sunset appears throughout the latter, interacting with the Rainbooms one by one before meeting them in a warm group hug at the end.

Equestria Girls: Friendship Games
Sunset Shimmer appears in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, competing on the Wondercolts' team in the Friendship Games' motocross event. She is tasked with keeping magic out of the event, but she gets worried that she might fail at understanding how magic works in the human world and that she doesn't have Princess Twilight to help her with her task.

When human Twilight's device starts gathering magic from the main characters and she releases it under pressure from Principal Cinch, she becomes overwhelmed and corrupted by the power. Sunset uses the device to harness the magic of friendship from her friends to stop Twilight's rampage. In the end, Sunset realizes that she is fully capable of solving her own problems and that she can't always count on someone else to do it for her.

The deleted scenes on the DVD reveal a scrapped subplot of the film about Sunset being homesick for her life in Equestria and considering returning.

Friendship Games animated shorts
In The Science of Magic, Sunset decides to experiment on her friends to see why they pony up whenever they play music. Unfortunately, she finds her results inconclusive.

Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree
In the film Legend of Everfree, Sunset Shimmer appears as the secondary central character, serving as moral support for human Twilight. At Camp Everfree, Sunset is paired up with Twilight in the Sapphire Tent. While at the camp, Sunset's magic undergoes a dramatic change, and she develops the ability to sense others' thoughts, memories, and feelings through physical touch.

Throughout the film, Sunset helps Twilight come to grips with the dark magic of Midnight Sparkle inside her, and she guides all of her friends in embracing their new magical abilities. She also helps Flash Sentry get over Princess Twilight, and they start over as friends after their bitter breakup.

When Sunset discovers strange goings-on behind the scenes at Camp Everfree, she initially suspects camp co-director and Twilight's crush Timber Spruce. However, she later discovers it to be Timber's sister Gloriosa Daisy. By helping Twilight overcome her fear of Midnight Sparkle, Sunset proves integral in defeating Gloriosa when she is consumed by Equestrian magic. She and her fellow Rainbooms also take part in saving Camp Everfree from closing down with a Crystal Ball fundraiser.

Equestria Girls: Dance Magic
In the half-hour special Dance Magic, Sunset Shimmer helps her friends raise money to renovate Camp Everfree. She also takes part in the Dance Magic music video near the end of the special, but she accidentally tears Rainbow Dash's jacket during rehearsal.

Equestria Girls: Movie Magic
In the half-hour special Movie Magic, Sunset accompanies her friends to the set of the Daring Do movie, expressing an interest in seeing the volcano movie sets. She is also briefly mistaken for an actress in the Power Ponies movie, cast as the Mane-iac. In the end, she helps expose Juniper Montage's thievery and deception, and she is cast as an extra in the Daring Do film.

Equestria Girls: Mirror Magic
In the half-hour special Mirror Magic, Sunset expresses considerable worry about the next magic-related problem that she and her friends will have to face. During a brief visit back to Equestria to get a replacement magic journal, she befriends Starlight Glimmer and brings her back with her to the human world. With Starlight's advice, Sunset learns to stop worrying too much about the future and instead live in the moment.

Sunset also contends with a revenge-hungry Juniper Montage when she traps her and her friends in limbo with an enchanted mirror. After Starlight convinces Juniper to set them free, Sunset and the rest of her friends forgive and accept Juniper as a new friend. Sunset, as well as Twilight and Starlight, is especially forgiving of Juniper, having used magic to enslave a whole school in the first film.

Equestria Girls: Summertime Shorts
Sunset and Twilight are the focus of Monday Blues, in which she and Twilight walk to school in the pouring rain. In Pet Project, Sunset feels left out when all of her friends have a photo shoot for their pets, so she adopts a pet leopard gecko and names him Ray. In The Art of Friendship, she helps Pinkie find inspiration on what to paint. The Get the Show on the Road title card background text includes "SNZT SHMR" horizontally flipped. In the short itself, she helps restore the Rainbooms' tour bus.

In Epic Fails, Sunset recalls her most embarrassing moment of chewing on a plant while trying to warn Rarity about a piece of lettuce stuck in her teeth. In Good Vibes, Sunset works at a sushi restaurant in the Canterlot Mall. Rainbow Dash gives her a new pair of sneakers after her sandal strap breaks, and she later offers some lunch to a depressed Flash Sentry. She also appears in a photograph in Mad Twience and on posters for the Daring Do movie in The Canterlot Movie Club.

Better Together/Choose Your Own Ending
Sunset Shimmer is a main focus In A Fine Line, waiting in line for the new video game Tirek's Revenge, and in Display of Affection, where she is revealed to be a street artist named Flanksy and helps Rarity with her window display. She is also a main focus in the beach shorts X Marks the Spot, where she follows a treasure map to a sushi truck, and Unsolved Selfie Mysteries, where she investigates a mysterious black splotch in the background of a selfie. In Queen of Clubs, she appears as a member of the CHS fencing club. In Overpowered, her geode powers become supercharged, allowing her to read others' thoughts without touching them. She also has supporting or minor roles in The Finals Countdown, Super Squad Goals, Road Trippin, The Last Day of School, Five to Nine, and So Much More to Me.

In the second season short, Game Stream, she plays a video game with Fluttershy on her gaming channel. Sunset finds herself unable to succeed at the game objective, frustrating her, while Fluttershy has a much easier time. After Fluttershy wins the game, Sunset asks if she can watch her play some more. Sunset is mentioned throughout Schedule Swap as her friends try to navigate their jumbled class schedules. As they have lunch, she is still nowhere to be found and the short ends with Sunset herself appearing and asking Principal Celestia if it is now her lunch period. In Twilight Under the Stars, she appears attending the Canterlot Celestial Society Members' Social. In FOMO, she appears shopping with her friends with whom she throws a surprise birthday party for Rarity. In How to Backstage, Sunset gets a backstage pass to a festival.

Throughout the Choose Your Own Ending series, Sunset serves as director for the Canterlot High School play. She is a main focus in Driving Miss Shimmer, in which she retakes her driving test, and in All the World's Off Stage, in which she solicits help moving a heavy stage backdrop for the play. She is a possible ending in Text Support and Opening Night. She also makes supporting or minor appearances in the Twilight Sparkle ending of Best Trends Forever, Fluttershy's Butterflies, Stressed in Show, Rarity Investigates: The Case of the Bedazzled Boot, Constructive Criticism, and Happily Ever After Party.

Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship
In the hour-long special Forgotten Friendship, Sunset serves as president of the CHS yearbook committee. When everyone's positive memories of her are mysteriously erased, she turns to Princess Twilight for help, reconciling with Princess Celestia in the process. They identify the cause of everyone's memory loss as a magic artifact called the Memory Stone, and Sunset teams up with Trixie to track it down. They discover the culprit to be Wallflower Blush, a shy and constantly unnoticed student who resents how popular Sunset has become despite her bullying past. After Sunset sacrifices her memories to save her friends' memories, they help her destroy the Memory Stone and undo its effects. Sunset and her friends later win the "Best Friends" yearbook superlative.

Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship
In the special Rollercoaster of Friendship, Sunset and her friends visit the Equestria Land theme park, where the Rainbooms are booked as the centerpiece for Vignette Valencia's light parade. She and Twilight spend much of their time at Flim and Flam's rigged ring toss game. Later, she and most of her friends are teleported into a small room by Vignette's enchanted phone after they oppose her ideas to radically change the band's image. They initially believe they are inside the phone, leaving Sunset incensed when they discover otherwise. After escaping, they work together to defeat Vignette and take their place as the parade's centerpiece.

Equestria Girls: Spring Breakdown
In the special Spring Breakdown, Sunset goes on a sea cruise with her friends for spring break, but she is forced to deal with Rainbow Dash's obsessive quest to find Equestrian magic. When Rainbow goes missing, Sunset heads out on a lifeboat with Twilight to find her. After they find her stuck in quicksand on a desert island, the three discover a portal to Equestria, where they all turn into ponies. With the help of Princess Twilight, Sunset and her friends borrow the Staff of Sacanas to quell a magic lightning storm created from the Storm King's magic. When the cruise ship sinks, Sunset and her friends uses their powers to evacuate the passengers to the island, and Sunset brings everyone through the portal to return home.

IDW comics
An eight-page featurette included with and My Little Pony Annual 2013, titled The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, details Sunset Shimmer's last days as Princess Celestia's student.

Like Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer is a magical prodigy. However, unlike Twilight, she's quite boastful and condescending toward others, despite Celestia's lessons about humility. Celestia shows Sunset the Crystal Mirror; in it, Sunset sees herself as a powerful Alicorn—one who could rule Equestria. Sunset briefly sees something else in the mirror, but Celestia guides her away from it before she gets too curious. During the weeks that follow, the mirror is all Sunset can think about, and Celestia repeatedly tells her that she'll learn about the mirror and other lessons "when [she's] ready".

Not convinced, an undeterred Sunset Shimmer begins researching the mirror in a dark magic library behind Celestia's back but is soon caught by the princess and her royal guards. Sunset berates her teacher for hiding such magic from her and demands to be made a princess. Celestia refuses, saying that being a princess must be earned, and removes Sunset from her position as her student and banishes her from Canterlot Castle. She has the royal guards escort Sunset out of the castle, but Sunset overpowers the guards and escapes through the mirror.

As Celestia has the mirror moved to her throne room, Sunset Shimmer emerges in the human world as a teenage girl.

In the Equestria Girls comic of IDW's Annual 2013, Sunset Shimmer interviews Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack for a story for the school paper, but her expression at the end of the comic suggests a far more sinister motive.

On page 12 of, the binding of one of Princess Celestia's books reads "Progress on Sunset Shimmer". Twilight Sparkle mentions Sunset on page 19 of, and Celestia mentions Sunset on page 3 of.

In the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Holiday Special comic, Sunset Shimmer has no one close to be with during the holidays. Her friends cheer her up with a series of slumber parties. In the wake of this, an online persona named "Anon-a-Miss" starts making disparaging posts and comments about Canterlot High students in social media, and Sunset is the prime suspect. Through Twilight Sparkle's advice, Sunset convinces her friends that she isn't "Anon-a-Miss". Later, when "Anon-a-Miss" is revealed to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sunset forgives them for their misguided actions.

Sunset Shimmer appears as a pony on the original version of the Fried Pie Comics cover portraying the "Dorothy" role in a Wizard of Oz parody. She was replaced by Starlight Glimmer in the final version. In, Sunset appears as a pony in a photograph on page 15. She also appears as a filly on page 17. On page 2, she appears celebrating Nightmare Night in Ponyville with Starlight Glimmer and Trixie.

On pages 12-13, Sunset Shimmer appears in Princess Eris' casino. On page 13, Stygian mentions Sunset Shimmer.

In, Sunset Shimmer makes a surprise appearance at the anniversary party celebrating the founding of Ponyville.

Chapter books
Sunset Shimmer is featured as the main antagonist in the My Little Pony Equestria Girls film screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror. In chapter 18, "Back to Equestria", "Twilight had noticed Sunset going around the gym, apologizing to several students. Luckily, most of them had no idea what she was talking about because they'd been in a trance during her little fiery tantrum. But it still showed that she wanted to change."

Sunset Shimmer is featured as a protagonist in the My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks film screenplay novelization My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks: The Mane Event. In chapter 20, "Battle of the Bands", her half-pony transformation includes wings.

Sunset Shimmer is featured as the main protagonist in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine. Wanting to find her place in a world without magic, she decides to become a "magic investigator" and study her friends' pony transformations in great scientific detail. She also helps her friends organize a school fundraiser to raise money for new Wondercolt uniforms.

Software
Sunset Shimmer is in Hasbro's Equestria Girls app.

Of Hasbro's online games, Sunset Shimmer appears as a human in the Equestria Girls game See Yourself as an Equestria Girl, appears both as a pony and as a human in the Equestria Girls game Dash for the Crown, appears as a pony in the game Memory Match Game, and appears as a human in the Equestria Girls games See Yourself as an Equestria Girl - Rockified and V.I.F.

My Little Pony (mobile game)
Sunset Shimmer is one of the available playable characters in Gameloft's mobile game, added to the game on June 13, 2013. Her in-game description states "Sunset Shimmer is one of the most promising students at Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Her cutie mark is a shimmering sun."

In the first week of June 2013, Hasbro's My Little Pony Facebook page and the official Facebook page of the game posted the clues "The path to a new adventure is magical...", "Everyone will love me now!", "Beware, Equestria!", "A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential", "I'm better than all of you!", and "Magical mirrors shimmer".

Magazines
In Pet Project's earlier-released Signature My Little Pony Equestria Girls magazine issue comic adaptation, Sunset Shimmer chooses from the animal shelter her eventual pet lizard Ray.

Hasbro online descriptions
On April 26, 2015, Hasbro's My Little Pony Facebook page referred to Sunset Shimmer as Princess Cadance's former student, edited the post twenty-one minutes later to instead identify Sunset Shimmer as a version of Princess Cadance, and re-edited the post thirty-two subsequent minutes later.

Hasbro.com Equestria Girls description
''Sunset Shimmer rules Canterlot high with an iron hoof...uhh hand. There’s no one in the school more feared, manipulative and dishonest than her. And she doesn’t care who she has to intimidate, frighten, or push around to keep it that way. But this year, there’s a new challenger, and Twilight Sparkle might be the one who finally dethrones her.''

Hasbro.com Rainbow Rocks description
''A loyal friend with a good heart, Sunset Shimmer is always looking out for what’s best for the Rainbooms. She made some mistakes in the past, but now she wants to prove to everyone they can trust her.''

Hasbro.com Rainbow Rocks Encore description
''Sunset Shimmer is a former bully turned nice. Now she’s ready to men [sic] her friendships and cheer on their band, despite feeling out of place sometimes. Will she ever feel like part of the group? Stay tuned.''

Hasbro.com Friendship Games description
Even though Sunset Shimmer is fully integrated into the Equestria Girls group, she still has insecurities about where she belongs, but the rest of the Mane 6 friends consider her to be one of them.

Hasbro.com Legend of Everfree description
''She likes to do things her own way! Even though Sunset Shimmer is fully integrated into the Equestria Girls group, she still has insecurities about where she belongs, but the rest of the Mane 6 friends consider her to be one of them.''

Merchandise
A Playful Ponies toy of Sunset Shimmer was displayed wearing a masquerade mask at the 2013 New York Toy Fair, and was released with the mask and a comb as part of the Crystal Princess Celebration line. The back of the release's packaging bears the general statement "The ponies wear beautiful masks to dress up for a special celebration!" and the specific statement "Sunset Shimmer knows a magical path to faraway adventures! Years ago, she was also a student of Princess Celestia."

An Equestria Girls human doll of Sunset Shimmer was released with another such doll of Twilight Sparkle and other items, including an element of magic crown accessory. Sunset Shimmer's description on the back of the release's packaging reads, "Her striking sense of fashion steals a lot of attention!"

A mini-figure pony toy of Sunset Shimmer has been displayed at the 2014 American International Toy Fair. The toy was released as part of the eleventh wave of mystery pack toys and collector cards. The card states that "SUNSET SHIMMER loves faraway adventures!"

Two human Sunset Shimmer dolls have been released for My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks: one in a fashion set with an extra outfit and a "Time to Shine" doll with wings.

Another two human Sunset Shimmer dolls have been released for My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games: one being a "Sporty Style" and the other one being a "School Sprit" doll. An additional two human dolls of Sunset Shimmer were released for Legend of Everfree: a "Boho Assortment" doll and a "Crystal Wings Assortment" doll.

A brushable Fashion Style pony doll of Sunset Shimmer was also released as part of Hasbro's Cutie Mark Magic toy line.

A miniature doll of Sunset Shimmer was released in Fall 2016 as part of the Equestria Girls Minis toy line.

In the Enterplay collectible card game's expansion sets, Canterlot Nights card of Sunset Shimmer gives her the description "Sunset Shimmer would go to any lengths to achieve her goal of conquering Equestria. Thievery was just the beginning!" and Absolute Discord card of Sunset Shimmer gives her the description "Sunset Shimmer picked up plenty of tricks from Princess Celestia before leaving Equestria. She also learned that sometimes you have to give up something you want to get something you need."

On the respective front and back of a printed insert bundled in the Barnes &amp; Noble Special Edition of the chapter book My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine, a letter to Sunset Shimmer from Rarity includes some concept art of human Sunset Shimmer wearing her rock star dress and a letter to Rarity from Sunset Shimmer includes a draft of the song My Past is Not Today.

Unicorn Sunset Shimmer is shown on Acidfree's first art print.

Personality
Throughout the first film, Sunset Shimmer is shown to be self-absorbed, condescending, manipulative, and dishonest. She frequently insults and belittles others and thinks little of it. According to human Fluttershy, Sunset makes life miserable for "anyone who stands in her way." As a result, most of the Canterlot High School student body is afraid of her. She is also not above making threats and blackmail in order to realize her goals.

When Sunset puts on the element of magic, she transforms into a demonic visage of herself. While in this form, she becomes more ruthless, going so far as attempting to dispose of Twilight. After she is defeated, Sunset Shimmer becomes immediately repentant and apologizes for her actions, appearing to renounce her prior dishonest and unkind ways.

In the second film, Sunset Shimmer has completely discarded her old self and starts believing in friendship, being kind toward others and befriending former enemies. She is also deeply repentant for her actions in the first film, referring to her transformed self as a "raging she-demon". However, she suffers from a lack of confidence, keeping silent in situations she feels it isn't her place to speak up and falling prey to the Dazzlings' taunting. During the final battle, she finally overcomes her insecurities and joins the Rainbooms in defeating the Dazzlings, gaining a half-pony form in the process. By the end of Rainbow Rocks, Sunset starts writing friendship reports to Princess Twilight using the book she once used to communicate with Princess Celestia.

By the third film, while Sunset has managed to fully integrate herself into the group and take mentions of what she did in the past with good humor, she also harbors a fear of losing her school's newly gained trust, and she becomes deeply depressed when she believes she has let them down, despite their assurances. She also becomes increasingly irritated and stressed by her struggles to understand how magic works in the human world, briefly snapping at her friends at one point.

Sunset has something of a temper on her. In her debut appearance, she lashes out at Twilight after her friends praise her. While it becomes less pronounced after her reformation, it still flares up during stressful situations. She also has a competitive streak, outright admitting in Rollercoaster of Frendship that she hates to lose. In Friendship Games, when human Twilight Sparkle endangers her friends, Sunset's anger explodes as she berates Twilight for meddling with forces she doesn't understand, taking her own frustrations and self-doubt out on her. However, she immediately regrets her harsh words and reaches out to Twilight in friendship by the end of the film.

In the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Holiday Special comic, Sunset Shimmer displays a forgiving and compassionate side when she forgives the Cutie Mark Crusaders for framing her as the rumormonger "Anon-a-Miss".

In Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine, Sunset displays a considerable level of intelligence, being ahead of her friends and classmates in school and smart enough to develop various computer applications. Her affinity for science and research is also seen in The Science of Magic, where she explains she prefers a hands-on approach to studying magic over "studying ancient books".

In The Art of Friendship, Sunset has a fondness for sunflowers that she expresses through her painting in art class. Her artistic side is further shown in Display of Affection and Super Squad Goals.

A Fine Line shows that she likes to play video games, and she is excited to get the new game Tirek's Revenge. Her avid gamer personality is expanded upon in Game Stream, where she has her own Internet video channel on gaming.

Quotes
"Sorry it had to be this way... princess!"

- To Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony Equestria Girls

"You must be new here. I can speak to anyone any way I want."

- To Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony Equestria Girls

"Twilight Sparkle wants to be your Fall Formal Princess. But what does it say about our school if we give someone like this... such an important honor?"

- Voiceover in an anti-Twilight Sparkle video, My Little Pony Equestria Girls

"Spoiler alert: I was bluffing when I said I was going to destroy the portal. I don't want to rule this pathetic little high school; I want Equestria! And with my own little teenage army behind me, I am going to get it!"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was another way."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls

"A demon. I turned into a raging she-demon."

- Referring to her transformation, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"Must be nice to have everyone always looking to you for answers to their problems... instead of waiting for you to cause a problem."

- To Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"I've changed! I'm in a much better place now!"

- To the Dazzlings, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"It wasn't a fit of jealous rage!"

- To Trixie, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"I don't think anyone is supposed to have all the answers. But you can count on your friends to help you find them."

- To Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"I also play guitar."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

"Back when I was Princess Celestia's student, I learned best by going out into the field and actually doing something. Studying ancient books is fine for some people, but I like to solve magical mysteries by rolling up my sleeves and getting my hooves — er, hands dirty."

- The Science of Magic

"Am I the only one who thinks this is overkill?"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

"You're supposed to be so smart, but did you ever think that you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand?!"

- To Sci-Twi, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

"True magic comes from honesty! Loyalty! Laughter! Generosity! Kindness! I understand you, Twilight, and I want to show you the most important magic of all... the magic of friendship!"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

"Take my hand, Twilight. Let me show you there's another way... just like someone once did for me."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

"We pony up when we're showing the truest part of ourselves. I was so busy waiting for someone else to give me the answers that I gave up looking for them myself."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

"When I touched your hand, I could see things. I could understand why you were leaving. My new magic...! This is my new magic! This is incredible!"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree

"Girls, we can't just brush these powers aside because it doesn't seem like the ideal time to get them. What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree

"It's okay, Ray. I'll take care of you. Promise."

- Pet Project

"Dear Twilight, How are things in Equestria? It's been pretty normal here at Canterlot High since you left, which, to be honest, is a welcome change. Things have been so crazy ever since I stole your magic crown and snuck through the portal from Equestria. Believe it or not, I'm glad you followed me back to this strange new world with no magic. With the help of your new friends, you won over the student body and managed to beat me to become Princess of the Fall Formal. Even when the magic in the crown turned me into a powerful demon, you wouldn't back down. It was only after I saw the true Magic of Friendship you and your friends possessed, I realized the error of my ways. Little did we know, Star Swirl the Bearded banished the evil sirens to this world ages ago. And once they sensed the magic you released at Canterlot High, they showed up as new students. I could tell right away there was something strange about them, and when almost everyone in the school started turning on each other, the girls and I knew we were gonna need your help. To battle a musical threat like the sirens, we needed a musical counter-spell. I wish you told us you were having trouble writing it. We all just assumed it would be easy for you. The sirens almost managed to tear our friendship apart and use our magic against us, but, fortunately, our friendship was too strong to break. I guess I've learned a lot from you girls, because I finally found my voice and stood next to you fighting the sirens with our song of friendship and acceptance. Thankfully, no more villainous plots to take over Canterlot High have popped up. Although, there is still a good bit of magic around the school. I've been conducting some experiments to figure out why it works differently here than it does in Equestria, but, so far, the results are inconclusive. It would be great to talk things through with you before the upcoming Friendship Games. We're competing against the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts, and it's all anyone can talk about lately. Write me back when you get a chance. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer"

- Equestria Girls Special Look Back

"Everyone matters, Wallflower. No matter how insignificant or invisible they feel."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship

"It's not about the parakeet!"

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship

"What do you want from me?! TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED!"

- Game Stream

"I always called that 'pony up'."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Spring Breakdown

"'Round here we call them 'pony things'."

- My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Spring Breakdown

"Hmpf. I have better things to do than socialize. I'm going to re-read 'Advanced Elemental Magical Practices' and then practice for my advanced summoning spells exam. What are you studying for? Nothing, that's what."

- The Fall of Sunset Shimmer

"I deserve to stand beside you and be your equal... if not your better. Make me a princess."

- To Princess Celestia, The Fall of Sunset Shimmer

"Believe me... I've got everything I need to know about you."

- My Little Pony Annual 2013

"You're more than my friends—you're my family. You know me better than anyone. Ask yourself: would the Sunset Shimmer you know—the real Sunset Shimmer, the person I am now—would she do this?"

- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Holiday Special

"You just have to memorize the formulas and the reactions and the periodic table and all the elements, and be able to predict reactions, and check your answers, and do all the math without making a mistake. That's all."

- Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine

"Eureka!"

- Sunset Shimmer's Time to Shine

"Twilight Sparkle thinks she can win Fall Formal Princess over me? HA! I'm going to rule this school once I get that crown!"

- Thought, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle doll packaging

"When you're having a bad day talking to your BFFs will make it ok. When having a good day talking to your BFFs will make it great!"

- Text message, Hasbro.com