The Origin of Sunset Shimmer (at least, according to IDW) · 5:31am Jul 19th, 2013
Well, San Diego ComiCon is in full swing, and once again I am too broke and jobless to attend. Even worse, Issue #9 of the IDW main series was released early for SDCC patrons...along with an exclusive (well, until the annual in October) eight-page backup comic giving Sunset Shimmer's origin. I'm not linking where I got the scans from (since they also include the full comic; I'm going to buy the Annual and the comic anyway, so we'll wait until at least the latter is out for everyone else), but I thought I'd comment on what's presented anyway for those who've managed to hunt it down, or just want to know what IDW came up with.
---
The story begins with Sunset Shimmer taking her midterm, which involve causing a plant to grow to giant size before burning it with fire magic. So yes, I was once again right about something. (Although it's not really that big of a leap to go from "Sunset Shimmer" to "Pyromancy.") Celestia's overjoyed at how powerful she's become (even if it leaves the school tower destroyed; that place must take a lot of abuse), but there's another issue. You see, Sunset Shimmer is like Trixie with Twilight's level of power, and refuses to socialize with those other ponies who are soooo beneath her. After all, she's Celestia's pupil, and that means she's the best, right?
From there, the comic goes through Sunset learning about the mirror, and how her obsession with it (and Celestia constantly telling her she's not ready) leads to the breakdown of their relationship. And while the plot's rather light on the details, it still managed to flesh out both characters. Sunset Shimmer's fatal flaw is cemented as her ambition and ego, making her more of an anti-Twilight Sparkle. (Speaking of which, she does show up in a background gag with Shining Armor and Cadance.) While a good magic user, her opinion of herself is not only ridiculously overinflated, but completely ignores the lessons about friendship and humility Celestia keeps trying to tell her are important. She wants everything now, and when Celestia refuses, becomes increasingly bitter.
As for Celestia, the comic shows her utilizing the same teaching style we've seen her use with Twilight; she's very hooves-off, mostly offering advice and lectures when necessary. And yet, we also see a much harsher side to her throughout. When the comic begins, she's obviously proud of her student's magical accomplishments, and tries to gently hint that she should make friends. Before long, she begins to grow more and more furious with Shimmer's insistence on knowing about that mirror, until she finally explodes at the end and officially removes her as her pupil. And yet, she never stops caring about her, even moving the mirror to the throne room in hopes that she'll find her way back some day. It's obvious that all this friction is wearing on her, especially after one of the last panels shows a reminder of the other relationship of hers that went sour.
As a prequel, the comic feels a tad incomplete. There's still a rather large section between the events presented and the plot of the movie missing, which I'm guessing will be filled in with the Annual. Plus, there's a couple headscratcher moments. Sunset Shimmer discovers the stuff about Alicornhood while reading a book...which is apparently the only book in all of Canterlot that Twilight has never touched. Also, when Sunset exists the mirror, she looks like she did during the movie, and is perfectly fine standing on two legs. (Unless the very next thing that happened after her evil brooding was her falling flat on her face, which would be funny to see.) Still, it's a decent enough comic that helps alleviate some of the movie's problems, although it would help to have this stuff in the movie next time.
Stay tuned for the review of the actual comic, once it's officially out.
I WANT IT!
Why do we have to wait until October?
Hmm... nice to know some background about her. Is it canon though? I'm confused about that.
1220058
Technically, no. It's a secondary canon you could fit into your own view of the series if you wanted, but it's not official until it's brought up in the show.
This is my headcanon now.
Having just peeked at things - it seems Sunset found the book in the Dark Magic section of the library, which is -presumably- restricted and thus would explain why Twilight the Ever Obedient would not have read it
1220062
Oh... well that's fine.
I should really buy them someday.
I feel like I'm missing out on an important part of MLP FiM.
Sounds interesting.
Maybe she took the book with her or burned it to keep the knowledge from Twily.
The more pressing question is: How did Sunset Shimmer know the mirror had been moved to the Crystal Empire, that Celestia's new star student had become an alicorn, would be present and have her crown with her?
Now THAT'S a (ahem) plot hole.
The optimist in me like seeing an expansion on Celestia's character. The pessimist in me sees the Celestia bashers using it for more ammunition and ignoring that Celestia still cares for Sunset.
Looked around and found the scans.
Not bad, not bad at all. I especially found the group of five unicorns attempting to make friends with her to be a very interesting touch, including a self declared awesome one (Colgate). Alternate mane five, perhaps?
A very interesting look into Sunset Shimmer's background. The thing about me is, I always thought I at least had an idea of what her motives were when I first saw her in the movie: pride and envy. I guess some people just didn't see it as clearly. Don't blame 'em, since it wasn't too clear in the movie.
Is the origin story exclusive to the SDCC issue or just the cover?
1233921
For now, it's exclusive to the SDCC edition. It might be included in the Equestria Girls Annual in October, but that's it.