Starlight Glimmer

So I'm sure you're familiar with this character. The mare who sang "Our Town", is played by the VA for Sango from Inuyasha, did a bunch of time travel shenanigans, had the changelings "taste the rainbow... beetles", and is probably one of the most polarizing controversies I've seen in this show to date. I've seen all sorts of opinions about her, good, bad, positive, and negative. I've mostly stayed out of it, because it seemed like every other controversy to date (Fluttershy's legitimacy as Best Pony, Luna's handling over the seasons, the Mare-to-Stallion ratio and how the latter is being treated, etc.), but it's gone a bit past that. Usually this sort of thing dies down from a lack of interest, but it hasn't. It's spread, developed, gotten muddled and viscous. But there's something I want to say that I haven't seen people talk about, and that's how her backstory ties into her actions, which leads directly to her redemption.
Now, I think we can all agree that her backstory is by no means compelling. She loses a friend, even though she doesn't really lose her friend, and she makes a cult where equality is the norm. But I believe that may be intentional. It's a problem to her that can't be resolved because she can't resolve it the way she is. As it stood, she was a powerful unicorn who manipulated time because she wanted to ruin Twilight's friendship, but turned the alternate versions of the present into dystopian and/or apocalyptic environs. So it would be logical to lock her up somewhere (or kill her) so she can't harm anyone else. However, we cut back to her lackluster backstory. Twilight recognizes this and manages to solve her easily-solvable problem and succeeds in talking her down, resulting in her being molded into a protagonist. While this could turn to be riskier (as she may regress and become a fearsome antagonist in a potential mind-bending series finale where "Through the Fire and Flames" plays in the background), it could lead to turning one of the most dangerous enemies the Mane 6 have ever faced into a valuable ally. This lead to To Where and Back Again, but it's understandable for it to be written off as Author Fiat.
To me, her redemption was synonymous of taking the top general on the opponent's side, and getting him to join you in your fight against the opposition. It might not have been handled the best way, and Phineas and Ferb handled a similar situation with 2nd Dimension Doofenshmirtz much better, but her presence overall doesn't affect my stance on the show that much. It's still a cartoon for 2-11 year olds that brings a smile to my face for one reason or another. Not sure if you feel the same, but I thought I could throw my 10 cents in.