@Darth Sonic  
Nope, sorry, sarcasm and the type of sarcasm still doesn’t really translate well over the internet. (shrug)

@CronoM  
I had hoped the “:P” would have clued you in that I was joking.

@Darth Sonic  
Twilight didn’t start out as a villain. I think we’re forgetting the term “counterpart”
 
A “counterpart” is also different from a “copy”. Sunset is a counterpart to Twilight, but as both an integral part of understanding Celestia’s current relationship with twi in the main DHX series, and as a main character in another DHX series with extended lore.
 
In fact eg3 hinted sunset was supposed to be the celestia to both twilights’ luna (no surprise with the sempai role she has with both twi’s in different ways)
 
Starlight is an abruptly created copy of sunset in terms of villain counterpart unicorn genius that reformed, but she doesn’t suffer any grief or consequences for her past besides the new problems she makes for herself in the episodes. Her s6 character is a pretty much a copy of early twilight in several ways…
 
So….Basically starlight’s a copy of both sunset and twilight.
 
But she isnt a waste of a character. One unique role starlight was given so far is trixie’s best friend. They kind of have Joseph Joestar/Ceasar relationship.

@Darth Sonic  
Yes, there’s that angle too.

@Hateot  
Oh, they’re still both copies. Just not of each other :P

@CMC Scootaloo  
It makes a claim that they are very similar, a claim many people disagree with for various reasons. Either way, it doesn’t imply either being worse than the other with that. And the word “prototype” would fit much better for your rhetoric than “copy”.

at least sunset shimmer is not an inferior clone like starlight

@CMC Scootaloo  
Nowhere in this pic is it implied that either is worse then the other in anyway.  
It’s a throwaway gag and the only implication is that they’re very similar.

Everyone is arguing and I just sit here and love it how a picture of Sunset Shimmer was put there as an easter egg, with the implication that Sunset Shimmer is worse than Starlight Glimmer and just a bad copy* of her.
 
Andy Price, I love you, and I want to have many children from you.
 

 

 
 
*And yes, I know what a “copy” is. But even though we heard about Sunset Shimmer first, I think language is flexible enough to use that word here to express that Sunset Shimmer is a weaker version of Starlight, like someone took Starlight and created a pony that is like a misty reflection of her.

@marconde
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
This man gets it.

@Mojo  
this

@Spinny  
Umm…okay? I have no idea why you felt the need to say that to me. You joined this conversation to up-play Starlight and down-play Sunset with your opinion, but you invalidate your points if you outright say ‘I am impossibly biased against Sunset Shimmer and nothing will change my mind ever.’ That’s completely counter productive to everything you say about Sunset now AND in the future.
 
Just because I don’t like the directions of certain characters now doesn’t mean I’m not going to like them in the future with far better writing.

@Spinny  
I’m blaming both the writers and the character. Even in the show she still sucks.

@Crazieman  
That wasn’t bait, I legit believe what I said.

@Background Pony #9469  
Good points. It might also be due to Glimmer’s “crimes” being arguably worse then Sunset’s which make her having it easier then Sunset a bit more jarring for fans.

@Beau Skunky  
It’s because Sunset wasn’t as…shilled for lack of a better word as Starlight was. Remember at the end of EQG 1 they barely focused on Sunset at the end of it. Nobody really thought much about her as well as that there were far more controversail elements in EQG 1 that the fandom combed over with more details, like Flash. Flash was probably the biggest takeaway from EQG 1 prior to RR. He was in two episodes of the show after all and was the source of major debate. Sunset just hung under the radar. Then came RR and like I said nobody really saw Sunset coming up and so it was not telegraphed to us and so the fandom latched on to her. With Starlight they keep making a huge deal about her being reformed and changing her ways, it feels forced and shoved into the center stage. She had the huge montage at the end of Season 5 where everything she did was forgiven where as Sunset had to work for her redemption and the good will of the people around her.  
It also doesn’t hurt that Sunset is in a spinoff and thus can be more ignored by people that dislike her compared to Starlight who is in the main show. Point is if you dislike Sunset you can go about the show without her interfering with it, not so with Starlight.

@CronoM
 

 
Well honestly, Sunset was neither smart nor clever in the first EG, but that’s another story.
 
What I know, however, is that I will never like her. Ever. Even if they make twenty Equestria Girls films. That ship has long since sailed.
 
For Starlight, the ship is quickly taking on water, but at least it’s still at the dock. I have potential to like her, potential that does not exist for Sunset.

@CronoM  
I’m not hung up on that, in fact honestly I used to be pretty critical of Glimmer, and the S5 finale. I just find it interesting that Sunset & Glimmer are pretty similar in some ways yet Sunset has been considered less controversial.

@Beau Skunky  
With good reason. Good writing, good story potential and good character progression goes a loooooong way, even with a rocky start.
 
I see your a little hung up on how Starlight’s treated and how Sunset’s treated in comparison, despite everybody’s input. I can understand that.
 
If you want an additional reason to make sense of it, here’s one. Starlight….was honestly more interesting as a villain then she was a hero. Sunset had warranted fallen ambition considering her backstory and Celestia, but Starlight had a multi-faceted philosophy. A dangerous one, one hardly backed up by her or her backstory, but one that with the villainy removed and more middle-grounds discussed, was understandable and relatable. But then, all of that was thrown to the side.

@Background Pony #C35A  
There were people who thought she had a good base concept, which the first movie didn’t use to it’s full potential. She did spark some discussion from time to time.

@CronoM  
Yeah, though she became pretty popular once “Rainbow Rocks” came out.

@Background Pony #C35A  
She was definitely more liked then flash, but some people were split between whether she was ‘interesting character in a badly written movie’ or ‘brought out of nowhere to be significant for a bad movie’ in EG1.

@Hateot  
@CronoM  
If you were around and active in the fandom at that time you would remember that people hated the movie, not Sunset  
Sunset was nearly Trixie-tier in terms of popularity because of her concept as Celestia’s student before Twilight

@Starswirl  
Thanks!
 
Very good points there too. That’s another way it could of easily gone down between Celestia and Sunset. Most likely, a mixture of both.

@Background Pony #C35A  
Not what I’m implying at all, (heck, even Flash has fans too) but I remember people used to hate on Sunset & “Equestria Girls” in general. Some felt she was a generic “alpha-bitch” character, and such before her redemption.
 
Some actually prefer her (and Glimmer) as a villain though.
 
@Background Pony #BEB0  
Granted, Ponyville never witnessed what she did, and the Mane 6 are pretty easy-going. Though, Glimmer did get some guff from some like Mrs. Cake & Applejack by acting like… well herself. They should’ve had more of Glimmer’s character flaws causing her problems for fans to relate to her, and perhaps have her work more for becoming good.  
I guess going so quickly from nearly destroying the world/time, to suddenly being best buds with the Mane 6 didn’t sit well with some either.