@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
If I can digress for a second…
 
@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  

 
They did these things with Starlight Glimmer (“Every Little Thing She Does” is a particularly obvious example of her having trouble adjusting), and the fandom’s response got ugly. Apparently if you don’t get being good right all the time on the first try, it’s proof you never really changed and never will.
 
 
@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  

 
I think that’s what the stuff with the CMC and Bulk Biceps during the credits was meant to imply. And she tried to reach out during the auditorium scene near the start of the movie, but got shut down, for what that’s worth.
 
As for saving the world… You’re focusing too much on the big picture. They were thinking “What would have happened to me if she hadn’t been here?” That’s what would have changed their minds, not some vague altruistic concern for the status of the planet or whatever, but the much more pressing issue of making sure their own asses get saved.
 
Sorry I can’t address everything else right now, but it’s 6 AM where I am and you’re a very prolific typer.

@Scrounge  
that’s the problem with the Equestria Girls films, barring Legend of Everfree: apart from all the unnecessary fan service (I call it fan disservice) and dependence on the very clichés other high school films/shows have played, they suffered from insufficient run time, which results in a dearth of proper screen time for its primary and secondary casts, which then results in sloppy plot and character execution. these movies should’ve been better off being a television series developed by an outside team. DHX shouldn’t have thrown away their time and resources just to make this crap – time they could’ve spent on developing Friendship Is Magic Seasons 4 thru 6 instead.
 
saving the world is good, but what about making amends with the people she hurt? when do we get to see all that? never; we don’t get to see the most important and meaningful aspects of a redemption arc. she does not struggle with being a good person; fight the temptation of going back to her old ways; reconcile with those she wronged; be anything other than a despondent, self-deprecating, shameful crybaby; pay back her dues (starting with giving back what doesn’t even belong to her in the first place); experience mental and/or psychological meltdowns or dealing with repressed emotions; learn anything about friendship (actually, she doesn’t have to, as she already knows everything – she’s the one who gives out the lesson at the end of the movie!); or empathize with The Dazzlings, as they’re going down the same path she once treaded (reasoning with them – talking them out of their wicked ways – would’ve been great). alas, she did nothing to earn her redemption – it was basically handed to her on three platters: one gold, one platinum, and one diamond! and don’t get me started on how apathetic she was toward the sirens – she came off as a fucking hypocrite!
 
oh, and here’s my question about Flash I posted a little more than a day ago:  
also, don’t you guys think Flash should look rather angry instead of conceited? I’d prefer if he wasn’t under Adagio’s spell for him to break up with Sunset — that way, he could show her how he really feels about and thinks of her.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
She didn’t get a whole lot of screen time after getting blasted in the first movie, so there’s some room for interpretation regarding if there was more change after the magic and/or head trauma that made her come out of the crater different than she went in. (In particular, I think any hope or self-esteem she might have had would need to get beaten out of her to put her where she was, and I don’t think the Elements would really be the best way to do that.)
 
And in her current circumstances, her ability to retaliate would have been greatly diminished, with the faculty now knowing she’d been playing them for fools and watching her like a hawk. Plus, how many of the accidents that she’d usually blow up over would she be able to shrug off or even apologize for without someone realizing she wouldn’t fight back any more? Ruling by fear only lasts as long as you keep them scared. Once they sense weakness or have someone strong enough to rally behind, they will be all too happy to stomp you into the ground. Sunset had lost her claws, and surely they knew it; do you really think they would have held back?
 
In a way, Sunset’s really lucky the Dazzlings showed up when they did. Saving everyone from monsters even worse than what she used to be is likely the only way she could have gained acceptance. Well, that or die trying.
 
(With all you’ve posted, there’s other stuff I want to go back and address, but for now I feel like I said too much already.)
 
…Oh. what was your question about Flash again?

…How the fuck did a 3-years-old image suddenly get tons of discussion again?

@Scrounge  
oops. I misremembered that part.
 
actually, her personality changed after her defeat… and instantly at that! – her change of heart wasn’t gradual as we all think. and I doubt her victims would want to get back at her for all the shit she dragged them through; they were still probably afraid of retribution, as she built and established a reputation so unspeakably sordid that even looking at her funny meant complete destruction of their lives, figuratively speaking. the worst – AND ONLY – thing they could do was ostracize her; that way the wouldn’t have to give her the only other thing she craved besides power, wealth, and buttsex*: attention. she is so savvy and resourceful she can bend her environs to her will, get what she wants without having to work for it herself (even when she doesn’t deserve it), crush and oppress her peers to keep them in line and have them do her bidding, and create conflict with little to no effort whatsoever. why do you think no one was willing to take a stand against her? it certainly wasn’t because she was an innocent, insecure, misunderstood cinnamon roll who just wanted to make friends and follow her dreams – no, she was a heartless monster who tormented other people for fun; she was a sadist, for Gilmour’s sake! hence her lack of remorse and empathy… and the desire to harm others, with or without reason.
 
*sorry, just kidding about that last one! <XD
 
 
and you guys haven’t answered my question on Flash, Faust damnit! >:O

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
Actually, Celestia said she became cruel and dishonest.
 
 
@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
You don’t really get to see it, and it’s not the elements, but the start of “Rainbow Rocks” gives me the distinct impression that her fellow students have been perfectly happy to pay her back themselves between movies (in which case her personality change might be partly due to that). Maybe that’s just me?

@Animanga21  
well, you don’t have to be a murderer to be a monster; all you have to do is treat everyone around you like garbage without any regrets or second thoughts about it, for example – which is exactly what Sunset did. just look around – some people think the same of Gilda just because she went rough on Fluttershy; others see Starlight Glimmer that way after she reformed and was shown mercy by Princess Twilight after all she did to rid all Equestria of cutie marks; and don’t forget Diamond Tiara, who formerly antagonized the Cutie Mark Crusaders regularly. I reiterate, you don’t have to do anything drastic or catastrophic to be considered a monster; sometimes, even the smallest crimes add up to something irredeemably ugly.  
to be fair, Sunset did have decent standards, compared to other dastardly villains, save Starlight… and Discord. ;)

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
I mean, she was a bully, but of course she had standards. She straight up admitted defeat when Twilight called her bluff about destroying the portal. She only freaked out and just made a grab for it after stewing in jealousy as Twilight’s friends showered her in praise. I’m really not sure where you’re getting “she was actually a monster all along” from. She was a jerk and a bully and performed social sabotage. That’s not on the same level as murderer.

@Animanga21  
oh no, don’t you dare get me started on “Lesson Zero!” >:O that was some freak-deaky dark magic if you ask me. ;D
 
and on Sunset… she actually was a monster, but she didn’t want anyone else to know that – she was simply giving them a false sense of civility, as she barely had any standards then. and change can be pretty awful at times but necessary, though I wish we got to see the Elements really putting Sunset through the very hell she put everyone else through for four freaking years, ONLY TWENTY TO THIRTY TIMES WORSE (talk about getting a good overdose of your own medicine! >=D). instead, DHX pulled Sunset’s moment of regret out of the blue – it was agonizing and disappointing, I tell ya hwat. ¬_¬
 
and I am sorry about that first part about corrupting the Elements. I wasn’t saying that you said that – I was simply pointing out a common observation of the Equestria Girls climax, and I took it a little too far.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
Magic in the human world works weird. Remember what happened to Twilight? Using magic irresponsibly seems to have some dire ass consequences, and I never said she corrupted the element. If she did, it wouldn’t have protected Twilight.
 
The point I’m trying to make is that before she put on the crown, she kidnapped Spike then immediately let him go without hurting him because “I’m not a monster”. After she puts the crown on, then suddenly it’s time to round up all those teenagers in a slapdash invasion plan and try to straight up murder twilight and her friends. Something changed her and she clearly didn’t like it, or expect it to happen when she got that crown.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
*she just let her negative emotions get the better of her and cloud her judgement  
especially when Sunset *transforms into a demon
 
how do I not see all this?? can someone please help? apparently, I still have problems proofreading what I type. -~-
 
@Animanga21  
at first, she’s all happy with being a demon… if it meant being the most powerful being in Equestria. but you might be right – all that dark magic was messing with her mind and might’ve caused some trauma to her brain, making her realize how much of a monster she really was deep down inside. but that is NOT to say she corrupted the Element of Magic. you cannot taint the Elements of Harmony; they’re literally capable of eradicating anything that is impure – IT’S IN THEIR NAME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! if they were corruptible, they wouldn’t have that ability to purify and destroy all things perverted and twisted.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
Yeah, it’s not like a hugely traumatic event like being mind raped by corrupted magic and having every one of your failings thrown into your face after going so crazy you just tried to murder a bunch of people might cause you to radically change your personality or anything.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
*she just turned out that way
 
dangit! it keeps happening!
 

 
also, don’t you guys think Flash should look rather angry instead of conceited? I’d prefer if he wasn’t under Adagio’s spell for him to break up with Sunset – that way, he could show her how he really feels about and thinks of her.

@Scrounge  
Princess Luna was a different case; yeah she became Nightmare Moon due to jealousy and anger issues, but the Elements of Harmony didn’t work the same way with her as they did with Sunset – they cured and soothed her rather than perform a lobotomy on her. Nightmare Moon may be Luna, but Luna is definitely not Nightmare Moon – she’s just let her negative emotions get the better of her and cloud her judgement. also, Luna wasn’t always horrible (he just turned out that way), while Sunset was shown to be unrepentant and heartless from the start – hell, even Celestia said she was always cruel and dishonest.
 
but Good Sunset and Bad Sunset feel like two separate persons, whereas Good Starlight and Bad Starlight come off as the same person. had reformed Sunset still had a lot of her old personality in Rainbow Rocks, I would’ve found her more relatable than she actually was. I don’t care if Queen Bee Sunset was a high school stereotype, I want to see her reform, not have her character retconned in the worst way possible simply because there wasn’t enough time in the movie to explain, clarify, or expand on anything. that is why the climax in Equestria Girls is way too nebulous; I had no idea what the hell was happening half the time (especially when Sunset transforming into a demon), and I still don’t! but I guess that’s what headcanons and fanfiction are for, right?
 
yeah, Starlight’s redemption may be too depressing to watch. YMMV.

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  

 
By that line of thought, shouldn’t Luna have been Nightmare Moon until at least the end of season one? :P
 
 
At least this way Sunset won’t have to deal with the actual adjustments and lingering imperfections that Starlight’s facing and that a depressingly huge chunk of this fandom are all too eager too bash her for. (Yes, she was a little too quick to cast spells on other ponies during season six. This apparently means that she’s irredeemable rather than meaning that she’s still got a way to go before she’s all the way better or that she has Twilight’s guidance because she needs it.)

@Animanga21  
well, you never know… some people might hate Dagi for not being as cute as Sunset or somethin’ like that… >_>
 
please don’t take it too personally – I have nothing against you for liking Sunset. as they say, different strokes for different folks, right?

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
I mean, she rebuilt the front of the school that she destroyed, I’d consider that detention/community service. I have no idea how you think she came out horribly wrong or wasn’t reformed out of her own free will. I mean, it seems pretty heavily implied that she realized her big mistake after putting the crown on.
 
But why would Sunset fans hate Adagio?

@Animanga21  
what?? no! that’d be too excessive. and besides, I don’t have that much against Sunset; I’m just upset that DHX ran her character through the mud.
 
some people need to get through their heads that Sunset Shimmer is not the untouchable goddess they make her out to be. even worse is that they use her as a tool to bash on characters as Flash Sentry, Gilda, King Sombra, Princess Cadence, Starlight Glimmer, Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Diamond Tiara, Fluttershy, Timber Spruce, Aria Blaze, Princess Celestia, Lord Tirek, Shining Armor, Princess Flurry Heart… the list goes on and on.
 
some villains can be reformed and redeemed, if done right – but Sunset Shimmer came out horribly wrong. she can still be saved, though, if DHX would stop monkeying around and pretending she reformed out of her own free will (bad news, she wasn’t) – they should at least rework the first three movies; if not, reboot the whole series.
 
oh, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there’re Sunset fans who hate Adagio Dazzle. >8^y
 
 
p.s. I already told you what her punishment should be – detention, community service, and summer school, not the death penalty! that way, this shows the audience that there are consequences for their actions. and if I remember clearly, Sunset wasn’t properly punished by the principal; she’s practically a Karma Houdini! x~x

@DiscipleOfAndrewRyan  
Geez, with how hard you’ve got it against Sunset turning good, I’d think you’d prefer every villain in the show finished with a gangland style execution.

@Red Cedar  
of course. reformed or not, she’s probably not a mild-mannered person. after all, she did terrorize the whole town with brute force – and had no qualms about it whatsoever.
 
@CronoM  
you’re overlooking the fact that he – like everyone else in Canterlot High, save The Rainbooms – was mind-controlled by The Dazzlings when he treated Sunset and Princess Twilight like garbage; it was technically their doing as well. and yet you don’t call them out for that.
 
@PonyPon  
come on, man. what Sunset went through was just a slap on the wrist – that’s not abuse! besides, her worst punishment – alongside rebuilding Canterlot High’s façade – should have been three full school years of detention, summer school for two whole summers, two hundred hours of community service, and Saturday school until her graduation. oh, and make her reconcile with every person she’s wronged in person, whether she likes it or not. and get rid of that stupid, agonizing cute act – it isn’t going to fool anyone!
 
@Beau Skunky  
methinks the fandom are being hypocritical about who deserves forgiveness and who doesn’t. and you’re right: Sunset’s no Daddy’s Little Angel – she’s a heartless, unrepentant Alpha Bitch who was Brainwashed for the Greater Good simply because Hasbro and DHX thought that killing her off for good would’ve been a cruel and unusual punishment that would’ve hurt toy sales. had they actually put their hearts and souls into the making of EqG 1 & 2 instead of abandoning the storyline and character development in favor of pointless fan pandering and lame Internet jokes and references, Equestria Girls would’ve been a series that revolutionized the My Little Pony franchise; sadly, we got what we didn’t ask for.
 
@animefan217  
that is exactly what happened: forgive and forget! sheesh, didn’t Meghan McCarthy and her team even think for even one second that Sunset’s “reformation” and the HuMane Six’s forgiving her would send an atrocious message to their target audience? by the life of Neil Peart!! had I been director, I would’ve canned the film even before they got past the concept phase.
 
 
EDIT: The Dazzlings are the only redeeming factor in Rainbow Rocks!

I think he got into Sci-Twi’s lab chemicals. That’s a “Mr. Hyde” face if I ever saw one.

Good job Flash!! Dump that bitch.

@Background Pony #9355
 
Wow, you haters just live in your own little world where fanon becomes canon.

@Jarkes  

 
I can’t help but think that if you wanted to ship Cadance with somepony other than Shining, the simplest way him laying down his life for her. It’s a little cliche, but it’s a dignified exit for him and gives her an immediate need for emotional support.

Flash Sentry is a excuse for a male. She apologized to you and this is how you repay her scumbag? Breaking her hand and rejecting her? You poor stupid teenager.
 
I hope Twilight rejects you and your pony self in one day.