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[burningbrighter]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Zoki
Contact: PM
Age: 21+
Current Characters: Minako Aino


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Sunset Shimmer
Age: Unknown, approximately 17+
Canon: My Little Pony: Equestria Grils
Canon Point: Post-Friendship Games

Background:

This story began in the magical land of Equestria, where as the name suggests, horses rule the earth. After many years of sitting alone on the throne, the land's beloved ruler, Princess Celestia, sought a protégé, and she believed she'd found it an exceptionally gifted young unicorn. The student easily mastered any magical task before her, and Sunset Shimmer certainly believed she was doing well enough to become a princess herself someday.

But the ambitious Sunset lacked an understanding of friendship, brushing off any hoof extended to her in kindness. She didn't have time for anything other than furthering her own goals, and this pure greed made Sunset unsuitable to be a princess. Celestia reluctantly banished her from the school, and with a heart turned on vengeance, Sunset charged through the magical mirror that Princess Celestia had forbidden her from tampering with. She found herself a human among humans there, in a world free of magic...and therefore ripe for the ruling.

Sunset quickly adapted to life as a human, rising in the ranks of popularity at Canterlot High School by hook and crook. The careful spread of rumors, mind games, and bribes brought her right to the top of the social heap, but Sunset craved more. When the portal opened again, Sunset slipped back into Equestria and stole the crown bearing the Element of Magic, the pure friendship magic that would have been hers if she'd stayed on the path of light. The true owner of the crown, Princess Twilight Sparkle, caught Sunset in the act and chased her back to Canterlot High to get it back.

The crown ended up in the hands of CHS's Principal Celestia, so there was only one way to get her hands back on it: becoming princess of the Fall Formal. Sunset was sure of her victory, she'd won the last three Fall Formal elections in a landslide---but Twilight was no slouch. Her kindness and genuine spirit won over the student body, forcing Sunset to take the crown from its rightful owner once more, but the crown had a surprise: when Sunset tapped into its magic, the raw power transformed her into a horrific demon hell-bent on returning to rule Equestria and brainwashing the other students into becoming her army.

That plan stood no chance against Twilight Sparkle's friendship magic. Twilight and friends easily defeated Sunset, leaving her battered and remorseful. The crown's magic had shown Sunset just how evil she had truly become, and the extent of that darkness horrified her. She cried out, begging for forgiveness---and Twilight and friends offered her a hand of friendship.

Months later, Twilight's five best friends (Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity) were still Sunset's only friends at CHS. Sunset genuinely tried to help her fellow students, but after years of her abuse and mind games none were willing to believe she'd change. A sharp contrast from her former self, Sunset now hated attention and rarely spoke up. But she was determined to make things right with the girls who'd offered her their hand. They were now a rock group known as the Rainbooms, and Sunset served as their groupie.

Trouble came to town when a trio of sirens called the Dazzlings transferred to the school, easily enchanting most of the students to hate each other and compete bitterly in a battle of the bands. Sunset saw their magic (that no one else could) and suspected that something evil was going on, but they would need outside help to save the school's spirit: Princess Twilight was needed once more.

Princess Twilight returned to Canterlot High to join the Rainbooms in an attempt to break the spell of hate. Everyone was glad to see her back, but it wasn't smooth sailing. The stress of trying to defeat the Dazzlings eventually took its toll on the Rainbooms, causing them to fight. The sirens fed on this negative energy, gaining their full power just in time to conquer. Sunset was the first to realize what was happening, because she'd been the type to do exactly this in the past---so it was her who knew how to convince the girls to set their differences aside for friendship.

In the final music battle, the Dazzlings revealed their true siren power and knocked the Rainbooms down for the count. Twilight called out to Sunset in their time of need---and for the first time, Sunset cast her fears aside and sang her heart out for the sake of friendship. In doing so, she regained a piece of her Equestrian magic and joined the Rainbooms in saving the day with a magic friendship blast.

Then, of course, Twilight had to return to Equestria. The other girls finally invited Sunset to join the Rainbooms in Twilight's place, and the rest of the school finally began to believe that Sunset could truly be their friend.

Flash-forward another few months: Canterlot High became host to the Friendship Games, an every-four-years event pitting the students of CHS against Crystal Prep Academy in feats of academic and athletic strength. Sunset resigned herself to a mundane event at school for once, but that would soon change with the arrival of a new Twilight Sparkle.

The Twilight on the bus from Crystal Prep wasn't the princess of friendship from Equestria they knew, but she looked just like her. The girls who'd known Princess Twilight were wary of her to varying degrees at first...and for good reason, as it turned out. As the games progressed, they learned that this Twilight had built a magical containment device that was spiraling out of control. One by one, it drained magical power from each of them. All the while, the fierce Friendship Games continued.

Worse yet, that drained magic had some odd effects whenever the containment device opened. When Twilight lost control of it, it caused the motocross event to erupt into near-disaster. Sunset had been tasked with containing the random magical outbursts, but to see that she was failing miserably at preventing this was too much---she vented all her anger at the other Twilight, driving her away in tears.

This presented the perfect opportunity for Crystal Prep's Principal Cinch---she'd overheard all about the magic Twilight had accidentally collected and wanted to see it used to help Crystal Prep win the games. Twilight was initially reluctant, but after a serious bout of pressure from her school, she activated the compact...and promptly turned into a powerful demon hell-bent on ripping up the fabric of her reality to reach Equestria.

Sunset saw her past self in this disaster and did her best to empathize, but she would need enough power to reach the corrupted Twilight. One swiping of the discarded compact later, Sunset gained the power to heal the rips in reality, draw Twilight in with her, and convince her to stand down and allow friendship into her heart.

Finally, the nightmare ended. Principal Cinch was laughed out of town for her corrupting ways, Principal Celestia awarded everyone the prize, and after some thought, Twilight made the decision to transfer to CHS. Now a group of seven once more, the girls were ready to face anything life threw their way.

Personality:

Sunset Shimmer's initial character arc was defined by her original fatal flaw: greed. She saw no problem with manipulating hearts and shattering friendships to achieve ultimate power, and she operated in a surprisingly cunning way. Her techniques included faking e-mails, creating attack ads that could give any political campaign a run for its money, and convincing the students around her that they were powerless and alone. Worse, she could fake sweetness at the drop of a hat, ensuring that the teachers never caught on to her evil schemes. She was an expert at driving everyone apart.

When the Element of Magic forced her to face the depths of her black heart, her defining emotions were guilt and regret. She remained awkward and on the sidelines in her new friendships with the Rainbooms---she lent her ear and shoulder when they were needed, but never spoke up when she felt excluded or mocked. If she criticized anyone, she feared she'd come across as a bully again and lose her fragile new friendships.

That same fear cowed her into submission more than once---who would believe she had truly changed, anyway? She felt deeply that she didn't deserve happiness as much as others do, so she chose to bottle her pain and frustration---though it wormed its way out once or twice in terse comments about her poor social standing.

Luckily, Sunset's confidence has started to return. When Twilight reached out her hand in faith that Sunset could help her win the battle, she stepped forth to lead the Rainbooms to victory. She taunted and pounded the Dazzlings expertly, and she's even willing to take on a guitar solo sometimes. Now, Sunset knows for sure that she's good and her friendships are here to stay, so she's not quite as afraid anymore.

Overall, Sunset is now a humble student of friendship, just as she was always meant to be. She's doing well, sending reports on her progress back to Princess Twilight in Equestria. She's generous, funny, honest, kind, and loyal...and slowly, surely, she's learning that it's okay to have a bit of an edge. She can still prod and tease (gently), but she will always be there to support a friend.

Sunset's biggest berserk button: now that she understands how important friendship is, she has no tolerance for others bullying people the way she did before. She knows for sure now that that's not right, but because she was shown mercy, she'll reach out a hand of friendship if they can show remorse.

Abilities: In her current form, Sunset has no supernatural abilities...for the most part, she's an ordinary human teenager. When she sings passionately or expresses true empathy for someone, she's been known to sprout pony ears and her hair grows an extra tail, but she can't channel that magic to any practical application without the presence of her six friends and a real threat to friendship.

On the mundane end of things, Sunset's strongest subjects in school are algebra and chemistry---she likens them to her precise approach to Equestrian magic. She has a strong interest in tech and hopes to become a mobile app developer. She's also fairly skilled on a motorbike, and she plays backup guitar and vocals in her friends' band.

Were she ever to shift back into her unicorn form through some strange magic, she would regain her old magic, but it would be restricted to the two spells she's shown using: a teleportation spell that can warp her across a banquet hall-sized room and a growth spell on plants---but it would be restricted to quick flower growth, no more giant beanstalks.

Alignment: Aiada. Her entire story started with her as the green-eyed monster envying Twilight Sparkle's success and craving Celestia's power, and as she grew, her emotions slowly shifted toward appreciation for the genuine forgiveness offered to her.

Other: N/A

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample:
test drive thread

and one more, with feeling

It was pretty sad for a fall harvest, Sunset thought, gazing around at the withered plants that plagued each farm. She had been told it was due to apathy spreading across the land, and to be honest, a thought like that scared her. Magic was a powerful force, and especially dangerous in the hands of people who didn't understand it.

And what were they but a large group of people with emotion magic they didn't fully understand? That thought could keep her up at night if she let it. So she approached the nearest tree and sagged against it, trying to think of a happier memory.

If she closed her eyes, she could almost see herself back at Sweet Apple Acres. The whole Apple family would be working around the clock to make this harvest the best ever, and her dear friend Applejack would be there with a smile on her face and an apple pie in hand...

Sunset licked her lips. What she wouldn't give for some of that Apple family comfort food now. But she couldn't quite stop reality from sinking in: she knew her farm girl friend would be just as horrified by the fate of these poor plants. And as she considered this, she looked up just in time to catch the sight of a cluster of the tree's leaves dropping right on her head. Sure, it was autumn, but she knew she'd done it.

"Agh---no, I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" she called, touching the base of the tree, trying to will it back to health. "It's awful, what's been happening to you. I promise I'll try to help, okay?"

Having said that, and having wished the tree health, she had to stop and laugh at herself for being so silly. This wasn't like Fluttershy and her animal friends back home---the animals understood and helped Fluttershy every day. This was just Sunset being silly, and a little paranoid. Still, if warmth and friendship could literally fix things...

She reached over to hug the tree, half-heartedly convincing herself it was in the interest of emotion-based science. And maybe it was her imagination, but she could've sworn she heard a pleasant rustling of the leaves in response.

Questions: None at this time!