@Scrounge  
Hm, indeed.

@Millennial Dan  
Glad I could help you lose sleep!
 
My actual interpretation is that finding herself on her hands and knees in a smoking crater caused Sunset to think about where she screwed up (If you were in a smoking crater, you’d try to figure out where you’d gone wrong too.) and that most of the real change happened between movies.
 
But the other way is fun to speculate about sometimes.

@Background Pony #63DD  
Your argument is weak when you have to base it on what you think Luna “would have done.” She said she wanted to be the only princess, yes, and in that moment, maybe she really meant it. But that does not alter the fact that the transformation changed her personality. Her evil persona was “locked in” at that point. This is so obvious that I honestly didn’t think there was anyone who would argue otherwise. There is every reason to believe that she became worse after transforming into Nightmare Moon.
 
And you don’t know what Sunset’s plan was before she transformed. We know that she planned some type of coup in Equestria, but not the specific details. What we DO know is that she too became worse after transforming. Again, I’m surprised there is anyone who would argue against that. Sunset definitively stated that she would not harm Spike because, in her words, “I’m not a monster, Twilight.” She also didn’t attack Twilight or anyone else when she had the chance. Rule of Equestria was her primary goal, and flawed as her morals were, she still placed limits on herself. Those limitations all flew out the window when she transformed.
 

And now you really lost me. Not only do you only remember things the way you want to in those scenes, you’re even injecting obvious headcanon into the mix.
 
You may think their depowering wasn’t enough on its own to produce the reactions they had, but that merely shows you haven’t thought it through. Luna had a thousand years to think about her actions. She even said herself that she missed Celestia. Unfortunately for her, her “dark power”, i.e., her Nightmare Moon transformation, kept her from acting as she would if she still had the moral liberty that would allow her to change. Once the Elements eliminated that persona, she was once again able to choose freely. Similarly, Sunset’s limited sense of right and wrong was wiped away when she went full demoness. Her beliefs about herself were shattered when she saw what she had become, so it’s really not a shock that she responded in the way she did.
 
The issue that you’re having is that you think of these characters as being a particular way before their transformations, and since the way they act after being hit with rainbow power contradicts those initial assumptions, you think they must have been brainwashed. This is obviously not true. It is especially evident when you consider that the same power was not able to change Discord or Tirek; they didn’t suffer some evil twisting of their true selves, so there was nothing to revert.

@Millennial Dan  
Luna was explicitly saying that she was going to be the ONLY Equestrian princess before she transformed, and I don’t think she was going for legislative overthrow of time type. She was definitely going for violent takeover even before she was Nightmare Moon, and there’s nothing implying that she wouldn’t have been just as willing to attack Celestia if she hadn’t transformed.
 
Sunset wanted to use the crown to take over Equestria using mind-controlled slaves even before her transformation, and her personality really didn’t change any after she put it on other than the fact she could do stuff openly now.
 
After they were hit by the elements, they instantly started crying and begging for forgiveness in a way that was way more heartfelt than “I lost, better make the best of it” would have been. There’s a chance that Luna was dabbling in dark magic or something that produced the personality and transformation we saw in the flashback, but Sunset has no such possible excuse.
 
It’s creepy, and definitely not something the writers intended people to focus on (especially since the target demographic was entirely little girls at the beginning), but I think it’s very likely that there’s some kind of degree of brainwashing involved with the elements nuking someone.

@Background Pony #63DD  
Luna was not “out for Equestrian Domination” before her transformation, she was jealous and bitter and rebellious. Once she turned into Nightmare Moon however, she became downright murderous. Much like the Alicorn amulet did for Trixie, the transformations that Luna and Sunset experienced brought out their worst side while suppressing their consciences. It’s a classic Jekyl and Hyde scenario, in a way. The Elements didn’t “brainwash” them, they merely made their personalities whole again, giving them the freedom to choose not to be evil, just as it was before they transformed. That is why Celestia and Twilight were both still lecturing those two after they depowered.
 
@Scrounge  
This idea is downright creepy. Magically induced happiness lobotomy is really not a theme I care to see in the show.

@Background Pony #63DD  
It’s fair to say, though, that it was the elements responsible for the change, rather than the holders, yes?
 
And I have to ask… Is it really that bad? Even as a pariah, Sunset seems to be taking life better on the side of light than she did before being turned around. She spent the most of the first movie stressed and angry. Turning good seemed to help her relax a little; she’s not going off over every little thing and she’s even smiling a genuine smile sometimes. If she could go back, would she want to? Or would she rather stay “brainwashed”?
 
…And for some reason I’m reminded of this comic I read where one of the heroes was brainwashing herself to make sure she stayed good.

Unicorn 6, and no dragon.

@Millennial Dan  
And yet, Luna was pretty obviously out for Equestrian domination before her transformation, as shown in SE4E01; there’s no evidence that the transformation changed her personality any, and yet she was completely contrite and much nicer after being blasted. The elements changed her personality in SOME way that can’t be explained by reverting her transformation.
 
Sunset had a similarly ultra extreme personality change after being blasted.

@Background Pony #63DD  
Nah, I really don’t think that’s what happened. The Elements didn’t change their core personality, they just reverted transformations those two had brought on themselves.

I know this image is about Sunset, but it felt more like the basis image used for today’s episode.
 
Which would explain why I got the fanfic feeling from it. It’s something I had already seen and read in the fandom over a year ago. I get the feeling this’ll be happening a lot more as we go along.

@PonyPon  

 
And, very fortunately, wasn’t.

@Scrounge  
As ominous as the implications are, it’s also possible that the elements purged some/most of Sunset’s darker desires and thoughts, much like they did with Luna. With Luna it’s less creepy because it’s possible that she used dark magic or was possessed by something, but it’s still possible that the EoH literally brainwashed the two of them into being more good without them noticing.

WELP!

@ExOttoyuhr  
Or an “I have five girlfriends and you have nopony” smile.
 
@PonyPon  
I gotta go with BP on this. The Heel Face turn was a bit sudden my tastes, but jusdging from Rainbow Rocks (aka the Equestria Girls movie that was actually worth watching), her change of heart is genuine. Thus it’s fair to say that she did, in fact, get some sense smacked into her.

That is not an “I’m among friends” smile, that’s a “three more years and my life’s ambition is fulfilled” one – although I’d imagine that Sunset’s friends would grow on her, especially with their all being well-connected Canterlot unicorns…
 
(Looks like I’m not the first one to notice that aspect of this one. :P)

Where have i seen those 5 ponies?  
oh i remember! the comic titel The Fall Of Sunset Shimmer..

@Millennial Dan  
what ones? explain me again cuz i forgot and i can’t understand my own words.

@Background Pony #E393  
No, I try to avoid that, but I have contradicted one or two arguments.

@Millennial Dan  
Boy, you havn’t contradicted SH*T!

@Takashi.0  
Indubitably.

@Millennial Dan  
On top of that, the comic showed her when she was roughly Twilight’s age, as opposed to y’know, a child.
 
Something could’ve easily happened between her being born and becoming Celly’s student (I.e. orphaned) that could’ve resulted in her turning out the way she did.

@Millennial Dan  
what claims? that sunset is a bitch?

@RIG  
You’ve made a couple of different claims so far, both of which I’ve contradicted. If you have no position, then we really have been wasting time.

@Millennial Dan  
wait, i am suppose to defend something?

@RIG  
It’s just as well, when you have an indefensible position.