@Verbose  

 
That’s some fiiiinnneee psychoanalyzing.

@Verbose  
claps Now, that’s the analysis I was trying to find about those three!

@Digitalgame
 
I’ll take the bait.
 
Sunset still has teeth. She met up with a group of magical thugs in Rainbow Rocks in a dark hallway with the intention of intimidating them. And then she flat out put Human Twilight on blast for threatening the world with a magic device Human Twilight didn’t quite understand how to work in the Friendship Games. It’s also obvious that she’s not the shy, awkward genius that Twilight is. Twilight got her fancy learnin’ from books and shunned human interaction in both EqG and Equestria. Sunset, however, thrives in the direct study of others around her. She learns best (as she explicitly said in the shorts leading up to the Friendship Games) by getting her hands dirty and doing field work.
 
Starlight’s background was more like Twilight’s. She was shy, and her upbringing was based more on not having friends/losing friends. Twilight was very introverted, and she simply didn’t see the importance of friendship. By nature alone (with ample ability,) Sunset is simply hard.
 
Starlight wanted power and control to an end that would make people equal so that Cutie Marks didn’t disband people like she had experienced with her only friend. Starlight was going to run a very neutral, controlled Equestria (and eventually, just enable some form of a Rainbow Boomless Equestria).
 
Twilight, at worst, was oblivious or callous to some of the friends who cared about her (e.g., Moondancer). Ultimately, her “path” was going to lead her to be a hermit but probably a well-respected and well-intentioned wizard.
 
Furthermore, unlike both Twilight and Sunset, Starlight wasn’t a savant in terms of magical prowess as a filly. I don’t think Celestia recognized her ability at any point unlike Sunset and then Twilight. But in the Season 5 finale, Twilight couldn’t compete straight up with Starlight’s raw magical prowess (partially evidenced by levitating as well as pegasi fly and partially seen by the whole magically whisking away your innate special talent to a checkerboard), and (shockingly enough) she’s a better planner than Twilight’s as well. In the Season 5 finale, Starlight had a plan that Twilight simply couldn’t check. And once Twilight began to think of steps to stop Starlight’s plan, Starlight adjusted and even went one above Twilight’s attempted thwarts. Twilight actually openly conceded that they could go on and on like that for all eternity (actually, until one of them died of old age, because they’re still aging normally, or until Starlight ripped the time spell scroll) which means that if Starlight actually didn’t have good intentions, one of those futures (or a different one) would have become the present in reality, because Twilight couldn’t actually stop her from creating it.
 
Starlight’s difference between herself and Sunset and herself and Twilight is that she’s a keen manipulator. She could create a community of different people and convince them to give up their unique talents of their own will. If Spike wasn’t as surprisingly (but refreshingly) self-aware as he was in the Season 6 premiere, she was on her way to manipulating Spike into the tired trope of playing into an immature sidekick’s pride to get them to deviate from their original plan at the whim of another character. But despite her ultimate failure with Spike, it still shows that she’s a manipulative character. That’s not something that’s really part of Sunset or Twilight’s personality.
 
Sunset will overpower and intimidate whoever is in her way for whatever reason, good or bad. Twilight is actually a pretty dynamic character considering it all. She’s overwhelmed antagonists through sheer force, and she’s also used her knowledge of friendship and harmony to get them to concede. Starlight isn’t either of these. She’s got power in spades, but that’s all behind the scenes prep work. When it comes to dealing with an opposing character, she outwits and manipulates them.
 

 
Maybe more simply but hopefully somewhat accurately,
 
>Twilight tries to level with the door to get her way.  
If that doesn’t work, she uses her mallet to level the door.  
If that doesn’t work, then she goes back to leveling with the door.  
>Sunset tries to level the door to get her way with a mallet.  
But it seems as if she wants to level with the door now.  
>Starlight will convince the door that it is a window.  
She then opens the window with a mallet she had hiding underneath her skirt all along.

@Background Pony #165D  
Wow, spoilers.
 
 
Oh, wait. I have no intention on seeing that movie anyway, so what do I care?

@SunnyBlam  
Tell that to Zack Snyder. He pulled that off in like half an hour with Batman and Superman…

No, sir, I don’t like it.

The magic of friendship.

One episode, they’re mortal enemies.  
The next, roommates.
 
Only in Equestria.

Tell you what Starlight, since you’re so keen on moving on from your past, how about you actually do that and establish a new character for yourself rather than a wishy-washy Sunset replica you’re trying to be. Actually remake yourself into a completely new mare and stick with that for awhile, then I acknowledge you as a good character.
 
At least when you were a villain I could respect your motivations and goals (at least until I found out what they actually were.)

my past is not today