Howdy y'all.

So, for awhile now SunLight has been one of my favorite ships. I thought it had potential back when the first movie came out, but there weren't exactly a glut of fics exploring the concept. (There were some, of course. Some of 'em damn good.)

Enter Rainbow Rocks, and SunLight is everywhere, and I couldn't be happier. Hell, I've been writing one myself.

But when it comes to shipping Sunset Shimmer, there's two very distinct romantic paths she can follow, And they are both going to deal with totally different themes and issues.

Pony or human?

We already know a ton about pony Twilight, so let's focus on what we know about Human Twilight. Which isn't much, really. In the first movie, Pinkie Pie briefly mentions that she's seen her around town. In the second, we see her in all of her science-y glory for about ten seconds.

It's not a lot to go on, but there are still a lot of things we can assume about her based on strong evidence.

Human Twilight does not understand the magic of friendship.

This is a big one, but she's obviously never met the humane 5. She's never gone through all of the character development Pony Twilight has. The Twilight we saw in episode one of the series has changed a lot over the course of four seasons and two movies. So without that, Human Twilight is back at square one.

Human Twilight is not under the tutelage of Princess Celestia.

This one has enough wiggle room to be retconned if the show staff wanted to, but I think it holds. Principal Celestia treats pony Twilight like a complete stranger at their first meeting, so it's highly likely she's never met the other Twilight either. Now, a whole lot of Twilight's background, aspirations, and neurosis are tied up in wanting to please and impress her mentor who is the ruler of a kingdom. Not to mention everything Princess Celestia taught Twilight even before she moved to Ponyville. Without all of that, what would Human Twilight look like?

Spike is just a dog.

Face it, Spike keeps Twilight in check sometimes. He's her number one assistant for a reason. I'm sure dog Spike is great, but. Well, you know.

He's a dog.

Back to Sunset Shimmer then. When it comes to a choice of her getting into a relationship with either of these fine ladies, which do you prefer?

Sunset dating the magical prodigy who essentially stole what she thought was going to be her destiny, stopped her evil plans, taught her the magic of friendship and helped her find true meaning in her life again?

Or Sunset dating a scientific prodigy who doesn't understand friendship very well and is more than a little unsociable and rude, but behind her cold exterior is likely the same adorkable Twilight we all know and love?

Or mix it up a little. Maybe there's a whacky love triangle between all three. Or take the hidden fourth option. If there's a human Twilight, there's probably a Human Sunset around somewhere, right?

There are a lot of different ways you can explore the dynamics between these characters, and I'd love to see more people rock the boat a little.

What are your thoughts? Which do you like to write/read/see more of written?

3961609 I'm either or. Mainly Human Twi, though.

Honestly, I don't care if it's pony Twi or human Twi as long as the fic is well written.

There are fics exploring the human Sunset concept, but those are very few, so I don't know...

3961609 it's no secret I ship SunLight. I've been writing Let the Sun Shine long before Rainbow Rocks, and that's pony Twi. That being said, with the addition of a human Twi, I'd like to see the idea explored. I most likely would, but I'm still working on a SunLight, and I stretch myself thin as it is.

The Long Road To Friendship is still the definitive SunLight FiMfic story afaic. So, I do like human Twi better because her character arc has only just begun. Pony Twilight isn't as exciting in a relationship because her arc is finished; any inner conflict/tension she experiences would often just be the writer regressing the character so she can have a previously-resolved arc repeated all over again. See canon Fluttershy for examples.

Pony Twilight should know who she is, and there will be less drama where she's concerned. I mean, that kind of stability is what you look for in a IRL relationship. But in a fic we wanna see sparks, we wanna see flaws and conflict, we want chick drama!

But a crazy mixup situation sure sounds like fun for the aspiring shoujo writer!

3962471 I do love me some Long Road to Friendship, and it was the fic that cemented my definitive love of Human Twi as well.

In any case, with Pony Twi, the conflict is mostly going to come from Sunset's end. With Human you'll have the opposite, though Sunset isn't nearly stable enough to have no conflict of her own to add to the flames.

...

Now i kind of really want to see some kind of sitcom-esque "Living With Twilight" kind of romantic comedy where Sunset has to deal with both of them.

3962488
You can title it "From Twilight To Twilight" or something.

3961609

Pony or human?

*thinks about it*

Yes.

I think human SunLight. I think that there would be more of a plot line there. But the question is, do you want thins to more or a Sunset Shimmer point of veiw,or a Twilight Sparkle? If Sunset, then yes. Human.

3961609
Now I personally would rather not see Princess Twilight ever step hoof/foot into the EQG world again. I hated the first movie, and while I liked RR, I think Twilight did absolutely nothing of any use while she was there. So, I would rather Twilight stay in Equestria and keep herself busy with princess things, like seeing how many burgers she can stuff into her face
I'm also a fan of hoping that Sunset decides to live in the EQG world, only making visits to Equestria every so often to visit princesses Twilight and Celestia for old times sake. Since she spent so much effort on redeeming her school reputation, it would only make sense that she would want to stay there, right? So, a long-term relationship wouldn't really work between them.
That leaves the option of Sunset shacking up with human Twilight.

3961635
Does anyone else think pony-Sunset might have played a part in making sure the human-Sunset never made an appearance around the high school? I think if we went by her persona in the first movie, that would very much be like her.

Long road to friendship is pretty much perfect when it comes to the SunLight side of things; the rest of the plot has some little logic hiccups, but all of them are easily dismissed in favor of the engaging storyline... but I digress... back to the matter at hand, when choosing between pony or human Twilight, it gives different options for the relationship:

Pony Twilight, as many pointed out, is already far more mature and (for the most) her arc is complete... but there are still things she's oblivious to, and a romantic relationship is clearly one of those. Yeah, it can get like re-learning some lessons, but a serious relationship, and a long distance one at that, means some different developments for some of those lessons, and also they have a lot of common background for mutual understanding and support (being both from Equestria and having been under Celestia's tutelage)

Human Twilight, however, opens up a much more varied array of situations to be explored: she's shy and insecure, she's aware of her lack of knowledge in so many things, magic, friendship, love... Sunset has some more experience, and her redemption arc as been brought to a close after the Friendship Games, so she can show Twilight the way, while being on the same ground of ex-she-demon, as it were. This also allows for a much closer relationship, in oposition to the long distance relationship with Pony Twi.

However, no matter the case, Sunset's aura is far stronger and dominant than that of any version of Twilight, and she's also more street-wise for that matter, so her presence even with pony Twilight makes her the one who will care and protect for her loved one, and that kind of presence fits better with human Twilight, due to her insecurities

Oh yeah, I made this topic, huh?

Well, in retrospective, I hit the ground running with Human Twi in my own stories, but Friendship Games characterized Twilight as considerably more of a wet blanket than I would have figured, Oh well.

3961609

Human Twilight, but in pony form.

I prefer Human Twi, it just seems right...

In the words of Molestia: Why should I have to choose?

I like the both of them but prefer pony Twilight. They just have more in common and I like their connection as reflections of each other.

3961609
Both, at the same time.

I definitely prefer Pony Twi. Human Twi...just doesn't do it for me as far as shipping goes.
My imagination always goes with Pony Twi, and so I'll go with that, since my imagination's judgement is always fantastic

3961609

She has a very different dynamic with the two. Sunset sees Princess Twilight as dominant over herself, which you see plainly in both Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games. Sunset sees Twilight as a teacher, herself the disciple. Princess Twilight is herself a dominant personality (note that in the very first episode of the show, when by my chronology she's just 17, she's nagging Princess Celestia), though she's usually dominant in a nice sort of way.

Sci-Twi, on the other hand, is socially-submissive. And sees Sunset as her teacher much the same way Sunset sees Princess Twilight as hers.

Assuming the required sexual orientations, I would think that Sunset and Sci-Twi would be more likely to fall for each other than Sunset would for Princess Twilight, because Sunset is herself a natural dominant and Sci-Twi would complement her in this respect with her natural submissiveness. Sunset would probably be very gentle and protective toward Sci-Twi, encouraging her to emerge and express herself more fully.

There's also the big advantage here that Sci-Twi has no romantic attraction toward anyone else. Princess Twilight does -- to Flash Sentry. Which creates whole new levels of emotional issues if she then falls for Sunset Shimmer.

5041493 That post was written over a year ago now, long before Friendship Games came out. At the time, I expected Science Twilight to be a lot closer to season 1 Twilight. Brash, arrogant, and maybe even a bit worse, since Celestia was never her teacher. Indeed, I wrote her like that in my own stories.

But Hasbro decided to go the moeblob route, so eh, whatever.

5041493 5041654
Sci Twi isn't a dominant (in a good way) personality like Princess Twi, precisely because Celestia was never her teacher. That is, she did not grow up with the inherent privilege of being a god-queen's personal protege.

Even before Celestia noticed Twilight, it was evident that the Sparkles (heh, matriarchal lineage) were immensely well-connected. This is why Twilight is pretty stuck-up even as a filly, and never suffered any form of bullying despite being the nerdiest nerd in the world. This can be seen in an alicorn princess being Twilight's babysitter and in Shining being the cap'n of the royal guards. Hey I'm sure Shining's capable and all, but you don't get that high up based on personal merits alone.

BTW, the Shining Armour underdog story of IDW Comics is BS. Shining Armour was never an underdog. This can also be seen in his EQG canon human version. This is why I never consider IDW Comics anywhere near canon.

I best preferred Sunset Shimmer being shipped with Pony Twi

2 reasons why:

1. they are both on my long list of favorite characters from the show, with Twilight Sparkle being my 2nd favorite character but also my favorite mane 6 member, and, of course, Sunset Shimmer being my number 1 and My All Time Favorite Character Ever in the Entire Series!!!

2. Pony Twi was the one that helped reformed Sunset Shimmer near the end of the first Equestria Girls movie :3

Sunset and Sci-Twi, dangit!

okay.... who put a thumbs down on my comment? someone own up to it!

Sci-Twi has this problem where Pony Twi came first- whichever world she's in, she'll be seen as the doppelganger. She doesn't deserve it, but such is her lot in life. And there's probably nobody in the human world Pony Twi has made a bigger impact on than Sunset.

Sci-Twi is super cute, and definitely has good reason to like Sunset. But she's in her pony counterpart's shadow, and someone who owes everything to said pony just doesn't seem like the best person to help her with that. Oh, Sunset might want to (or maybe not!), but can she? Sci-Twi constantly being compared to and taken as her pony self, even if unintentionally, just doesn't sit right with me. She deserves better than that.

With respect to Pony Twi's character arc being completed, on the other hand... the human world is where she has the most potential to keep growing and changing, because it doesn't revolve around the same rules she's built her life around. In Rainbow Rocks, she returned to find that her friends were actually just admirers who knew nothing about her limits and wants, a distinction she never had to deal with in the main show. There are dozens of angles there left to be explored, and many of them involve Sunset. Romantically or not, those two have a lot to talk about, and make a pretty effective team to boot.

They're both fantastic ships, with equal opportunity for depth and exploration or cuteness and cuddles. I just prefer Pony Twi because there's less baggage that needs to be addressed or cleared out of the way beforehand, and they have a much bigger history together.

5755362 I put a thumbs up on your comment because, Heh, we both prefer Sunset Shimmer to be shipped with Pony Twi :3

I think I like Sunset better with original human Twilight.
Sunset and human Twilight have both been through magical power corruption demon transformation and were then reformed by the magic of friendship. They've both been through the struggle for forgiveness. This gives the two of them the ability to truly empathize with the other. Also, Twilight is in the human world with Sunset, whereas pony Twilight is in Equestria. Kinda hard to maintain a relationship.
Anywho, I honestly like them both I just like Sci-TwiShimmer better. :)

3961609
Either or for me.

IT'S SUCH A HARD DECISION!!!! *Looks at my fics and plans* Well, that answered nothing...
*looks at the Sunlight I read* Crap, still nothing.
*continues looking at Sunset fics I read* x PriTwi, x SciTwi, x Cadance and Shint, x Sci, x Pri. Why is this such a hard choice? Wait, ignore that Shiny and Cadance one, great fic, but not important to this conversation.

Overall, I think part of it has to do with how far along these characters are and which direction you're taking them. Both have pros and cons.

And Human Sunset, oh, do I love using her, but not in any shippy way... Yet. Oh so mant possibilities.

3961609
pony twilight all the way, for me like 90% of the time, wish sunset came back at the end of first movie and become twilight's student/lover/adviser/marefriend