Top 5 reforms in MLP FIM (From good to bad)

Hello my dear readers and welcome to a new entry of the Azrael blog! And today I want to give you my thoughts on the whole reformation that has been going on through the franchise of FIM. Now, with a franchise called Friendship is Magic it just sound natural that the villains will be reformed in due time and since season 3 the villains getting reformed/forgiven are not so rare anymore. So I wanted to give you, my dear readers, my personal thought of which heel-face turn have worked out and what instead was made with no effort at all. So let’s begin this top 5 of the villains who have been reformed from the best one to the worst, taking on account all their crimes and how much they had to had to go through to be actually forgiven and of how their personality have changed.

But before I start I want to tell you that Discord is not going to be in this list because of how divided I am on him. From one part I don’t think that his reform is that bad because of how he has kept his personality, the other part of me agrees on the other several issues that his change of behavior has brought him, turning the spirit of chaos in the Genie from Aladdin. Nor will be Gilda be in it because I never have seen her like a villain. With that said let’s go!

1) Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon. She has tried to take over Equestria and make night eternal. And THEN Princess Twilight episode happen and showed that she also tried to kill Celestia despite the fact it was never mentioned in the pilot of the show (Unless it was supposed to be implied in the whole Eternal Night). And THEN the Re-Cutie Mark happened and we found out that Nightmare Moon dreaded eternal night in the end didn’t seemed that horrible out of all the possible alternate futures, making the whole thing of her being just because then Celestia wouldn’t be the top ruler of Equestria… You know what? Let’s just ignore the crap that is Princess Twilight and Re-Cutie Mark and stick with the pilot, for the sake of my mind.
Now, Princess Luna actions were due because she didn’t felt the night was appreciated, neither her work in the lands of the dream (And no, it is not because of some weird aliens like being brainwashing her). While her sister got all the glory she had to live in her shadow for a very LONG time. So she became Nightmare Moon. After she had been hit by the recently awakened Elements of Harmony she was cured by her feelings and she made peace with her sister. Then she had Luna Eclipse, an episode famous for his fucked up moral but that I love despise of its flaws for having brought Luna back and made me fell in love for her (Not in that way you pricks!).
Now, while her comeback episode may have been done better I still loved how she tried to show that she was not evil but at the same time it didn’t in a way that it would make it be annoying like some other character which is in this list but I digress. After that and some other episode she finally manage to get the respect she deserve and made peace with herself making her whole arc of redemption nice;
2) Trixie: And now, after a quite complex and well constructed heel-face turn we start to go into the lazy territory. Trixie, a character that is either loved or hated. Me? While I may not be her greatest fan I still enjoy her more than Derpy (Yes, I went there) just of how hilarious over-the-top personality wise she is with her “The Great and Powerful Trixie!”. I think she had potential to be a nice recurring character and maybe explore her back-story more and having her become sort of the 7° member of the Mane 6. But after just one episode we had to wait till season 3 to have her comeback with the episode “Magic Duel”. An episode that despite not be what people expected I still enjoy it. Trixie didn’t started up like a villain but she become one once her credibility went destroyed after the Minor Ursa fiasco and that can be a problem when you make your living as a magic showmare, forcing Trixie to do hard work just to live. So I can understand her reasons to wanting some payback by buying a relic called the alicorn amulet and challenged Twilight into a duel. Sadly for her the amulet began turning her into 100% villain with the classic plan of taking over the world which is stopped by Twilight intelligence and team work and in the end she shows to be truly sorry for what she has done and is forgiven. And then? What happened to her?
The comic happened. Since IDW or some other comic series about FIM has been done her character has appeared in there rather than in other episodes, probably condemning her to never appear again in the main show if not in some one-cameo episodes at best.
Sure, she gets easily forgiven but other than her wanting some small payback (She could have done so much worse than banish Twilight from Ponyville) the rest of her nasty actions were because of the Alicorn Amulet. She had excuses for what she has done… unlike the next one of this list!
3) Diamond Tiara: And from the lazy territory we start our march into the lands of crappy reforms. Diamond Tiara was introduced (With her sidekick Silver Spoon) as an arrogant brat that liked to mock AppleBloom for her lack of Cutie Mark. Then for the rest of Season 1 and 2 she became more and more like the villain for the CMC and with time she got worst and worst. Let’s make a summary of her crimes other than the aforementioned mocking of AppleBloom: insulted Granny Smith, used an iron hoof on the school newspaper and blackmailed the CMC to keep working on the gossip on their families and friends without caring how much they would get angry at them, made Babs join her using her fears and mocked Scotaloo possible HANDICAP. Then, Season 5 happened and suddenly Silver Spoon, who has always been at her side to mock the CMC suddenly goes “You know what? I don’t want to mock those three anymore. BRB” and then we find out why DT has been so much a bitch for 4 season. Brace yourself for the shock: She acts like that because her mother is a rich bitch. Surprised? Me neither. I don’t know why but FIM just wants to make the rich people acts like pricks just because of how rich they are (Fancy Pants being the only exception). After that the CMC find out about her family they forgive her instantly without showing a trace of doubt or anything that a living being should feel for someone who just loved to try and make your own life a damn mess. So yes, Diamond Tiara reformation is weak as hell and is just one of the issues with that particular episode. And it’s sad because I feel that she could turn good in a way that it made more sense rather than rush it in that way.

4) Sunset Shimmer: It’s not a big surprise of having this character here, though people may be surprised that I didn’t placed her in the lowest part of this list, but I have my reason for it. Now, everyone who follow my blogs and/or knows about my hatred for EQG will also know why I hate her etc so let’s cut to the cheese: she’s first off a bully which hungers for more power (While yet deciding to stay in a world that has no magic in it other than the portal instead of staying in a land filled with artifact which might grant her the power she seeks), she steal Twilight element, she tries to frame Twilight for smashing the gym, brainwash the school for making an army with it (Most asinine idea ever) and tries to kill Twilight when she could have just do anything else but kill her. Then, after the whole movie didn’t do nothing than show us of much she’s a cunt and not having an ounce of regret in her actions the movie make the absurd move to make her perform the most pathetic heel-face turn in the history, changing her character from a cunt to a crybaby who just didn’t know how to make friends (Despite the fact she was Celestia student). In the time Rainbow Rocks came out her personality is completely swapped and acts like a fusion between Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle and instead of getting hammered with her being evil now we got drilled with her being changed. Now, there is some people who call that a character development but the truth is that there is none of that here. Character Development is when a character grow in personality and learns from its mistake, turning slowly but noticeably into a better people. With Sunset there’s nothing. In one movie she’s a complete prick and since the end of the first movie she turns into complete opposite character without having showed any development at all. And the idea that the Elements of Harmony can do that creeps me out. You can say that the Elements of Harmony cured her from the negativity like they did with Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna but there is one small difference: Princess Luna had showed that she was not evil from the get go and become corrupted when she felt she was not loved from her subject. Sunset never once showed that she cared about friendship (If we have to the comics into account) nor Celestia mention her failing to make friends. The idea of the EoH being capable to brainwash people into become totally different person is just stuff from nightmare. So no, no Character Development at all. In one movie she’s view as the most evil being in the existence and in the next ones she’s one big Mary Sue.

So, by the sound of it she should be the worst villain reform of all, right? Well, she sure sucks, but like I’ve said before I have my own reason to put her at number 1, but there are some things that hold her back. First off for how much lazy and sure not planned reform at least it took two or three movies to show her change of behavior. Second point (much more important) is that because Equestria Girls nature as a spin-off being its own thing, having no relevance outside the movies and being largely ignored in the main series. So, for how much Sunset reformation was made with very poorly (to say the least), at least is possible for us to ignore her as much those horrible at worst and low side of MEH at best movies. Something that just can’t be done with the character that I’m going to speak of next. Just guess who she is.
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5) Starlight Glimmer. Yeah, we all saw that one coming a mile away, especially if any of you has read about my post about her you know that I don’t like what the writers have done with her and the more time pass the more bad it gets. She’s also a proof that backstory doesn’t always makes a villain great if you make such backstory weak such her was, but let’s go with order.
Starlight crimes ranges from brainwashing an entire town and forcing her ideals of equality into others, steals cutie marks and tried to change history itself just for petty revenge.
Now leaving aside how she managed to get to do such time-travel spell (which is stupid to said the least) you would expect her to use it to change history so that she’s the one to rule Equestria so that she spread her ideal on the entire pony-kind. But no. She just want to make Twilight pay for ruining her small, lost, completely forgettable, village instead of doing what any smart villain would do. The consequences of her plans are predictable: Villains who should have been defeated by the Elements of Harmony rules Equestria in the alternative futures (with the exception of any villains of EQG). We even got to see one Equestria completely wiped out of all life into a desert wasteland without even getting to know what exactly happened. Starlight was so out for revenge that she didn’t even thought of what would happen if the EoH wouldn’t come to be. I say out of revenge because the alternative of her being completely ignoring of the above fact is much more dumb. Yet, despite seeing the result of her effort she’s still out trying to change the past just to spite Twilight. Then we got to see her past and the reason why she turned into a villain. A dear friend of her got the cutie mark and, without any else happening and without any attempt of her to contact her friend she decided to become evil. That’s it… that’s some of the most pettiest reason to become a villain I have ever heard of! Now I get that losing a friend it hurts, but the way we get to know about it is so rush and make it look like a very poor work to try to make us feel sympathy for Starlight. We didn’t see her trying to contact her friend, we didn’t see her get bullied because her friend got his cutie mark and she not so how in fuck sake I’m supposed to feel sorry for her!? In fact her whole backstory makes her look even more like an asshole who’s ready to do a series of terrible crimes just because she’s overacting! And why if she's so hurt by that event doesn't use her time-travel spell to change it?!? But the worst is not over yet! After finding out of her origins Twilight is so saddened by it and with some sweet word and Starlight saying the magic words (I’m sorry) everything is fine the villainess get forgiven and everypony is all smiles and sunshine for having a new friend who was willing to fuck history and fuck with ponies mind because of her man-child mind. What a load of fucking BULLSHIT!
Starlight is the prime example of how a crappy made origin story can destroy a character, be that a hero or a villain. Whenever or not you think Starlight was or not a great villain you can’t deny that the Season 5 finale outright murdered what she seemed like, turning a smart and cunning villain into an incompetent moron! Now, you can have a villain having a petty reason to be evil. Broly from the Dragon Ball OVA has a pretty trivial reason to be angry at Goku but that reason works because of how completely evil and insane he is.

Each villain needs a decent back-story that fits for his reason to be evil and his style. If you want a villain to be mysterious then you can avoid doing its origins so that it will help rise around him an enigmatic aura. If you want a villain to just a being who loves tear people into pieces then you can give it a bloody origins. But you can’t take a villain who acts like a mastermind magician and then giving him a petty reason to be evil because it doesn’t make any sense!
And having her being forgiven so easily without showing a shadow of a doubt, in a way that makes Sunset Shimmer reform look better, you clearly doing something wrong and in the worst way possible!
If Starlight is a sign of the quality of the main show then Friendship is Magic then the show is doomed. The writers have lost their chance and I doubt they will ever manage to save the series now. Not until they will take the Friendship Is Magic this way.