Sunset Shimmer

Sunset is depicted as being the ex-student of Princess Celestia who left her mentor's teachings to seek power in the human world. She serves as the primary antagonist of the first Equestria Girls film, returning to Equestria to steal Twilight Sparkle's crown, which contains the Element of Magic, and then serving as Twilight's opponent in the election for princess of the fall formal. In the climax of the film, she takes Twilight's crown and places it upon her head, transforming herself into a demon. Twilight and her human friends then use the magic of friendship to defeat Sunset, turning her back to normal. She is forgiven for her wrongdoing and undergoes a redemption arc, serving as the protagonist of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree.

Sunset was created by Meghan McCarthy and is based on earth pony toy Sunshimmer from the third incarnation of the My Little Pony toyline. According to Ishi Rudell, the director of Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree, she represents the Element of Empathy, which is meant to be a seventh element that goes along with the Mane 6 representing the Elements of Harmony.

Development

Voice

Rebecca Shoichet became involved with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic due to her frequent collaboration with the show's composer, Daniel Ingram. Shoichet gained notability for her performance as the singing voice of Twilight Sparkle on the show. She was cast as the voice of Sunset Shimmer in Equestria Girls and reprised the role in all of her animated speaking appearances.