) I can safely say that My Little Pony: A New Generation was great! 
And here are my random thoughts:
Top 20 Best MLP/Equestria Girls Characters · 11:04am Jul 8th, 2020
Save the positives for last.
After much consideration of the order, these are my picks for the top 20 best characters in Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls. I like more characters than I dislike so that's why I added the extra five.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Kerfuffle
It's very touching how Boulder Media created a excitable yet self-conscious fashion designer pony with an admiration for Rarity's work who also happens to be an amputee, and yet nopony in Rainbow Roadtrip ever stares at or draws attention to her prosthetic leg.
Bulk Biceps
Didn’t think too much of him in Hurricane Fluttershy, came to love his bombastic personality as he made more speaking appearances.
Pear Butter
Anyone who can say "screw my dad threatening to disown me, I'm gonna be with the one I love and he can either accept that or go away" is a cool character in my book.
Minuette
Like Bulk Biceps, I didn't think much of her when I first started watching the show. Come Amending Fences and her unwavering upbeat attitude and politeness to both Twilight and Moondancer quickly won me over.
Sugarcoat
This girl has no filter and it's great.
Saffron Masala
This mare really deserved a better episode to debut in because she's just great.
I adore her genuinely upbeat optimism, her passion for cooking and how she isn't afraid to stand up to her father when he's being difficult. Plus her design is just... wow.
Ember
Nice to see other dragons besides Spike who defy the toxic masculinity that dragons live by, as well as her funny attempts at interacting with ponies and being gentle.
The Storm King
I admit, this guy’s a HUGE guilty pleasure for me.
It’s a massive shame how little screen time he had in favour of Starlight 3.0, how quickly he got defeated and how lacking he was in intellect compared to the show’s other villains. But at the same time, he’s the first truly entertaining MLP villain we’ve had in a long time so I’ll take what I can get. I love how energised, bombastic and delightfully evil he is, especially when he plays around with moving the sun and moon and when he creates that giant storm around Canterlot while cackling maniacally.
Remember that? When villains were allowed to be fun? Before new writers started ruining everything with terrible redemptions that tried and failed to create the next Zuko?
Cheese Sandwich
Weird Al as a pony? Uhh, YES!
Sweetie Belle
She probably has the most maturity and common sense out of the CMC, though not without her moments of mischief, along with her and Rarity having one of the best sibling dynamics in the whole show.
Okay, now onto the countdown!
20
Autumn Blaze
I'm not ashamed to admit I immediately fell for this chatty and adorably eccentric sweetheart of a Kirin like everyone else did, partly due to Rachel Bloom’s amazing voicework. It was genuinely sad to see that losing her speech and emotion was hard for her because of her love for plays, singing, stand-up and making others smile.
She's like Pinkie Pie but not emotionally delicate and aggressively needy.
19
Capper
Hands down the best character from the movie.
Imagine Nick Wilde from Zootopia if he was a cat: sly, smooth-talking, charming and willing to change his ways after Rarity shows him generosity when supposedly no one's ever stuck their neck out for him, especially in a shifty place like Klugetown.
Plus his song being the best on the soundtrack helps too.
18
King Sombra
As far as I’m concerned, he’s still incredibly underrated.
Yes, he barely said anything in his first appearance, wasn't as hammy as the other villains up to that point and didn't get a satisfying payoff. But what makes him great is how different he is when compared to the other villains, as he's more of a Sauron-esque force that instils terror in the Crystal Ponies rather than the traditional "get up in your face and laugh evilly" kind of baddies in the show. Go back and watch The Crystal Empire more closely, and you’ll find that he actually set a lot of great countermeasures to protect the Crystal Heart and came within a hair's breadth of winning had Spike not been there.
Even his personality revamp in Season 9, as jarring as I found it at first, was still pretty fun. Besides he still retained his cunning and was ultimately a formidable and effective villain to kick off the season.
17
Trixie
The best thing to come out of Boast Busters and a ton of fun in the later seasons.
Snarky, theatrical, over-the-top egocentric yet still has a good heart, rags on Worst Pony and makes her life a living hell. What's not to love?
16
Sonata Dusk
Hey, look, it’s Derpy if she had a personality that was more than just "I LIKE THIS FOOD!".
Plus the fact that she's scatter-brained and childish but still just as wicked and manipulative as her fellow Sirens, coupled with the silly spats between her and Aria, makes her a joy to watch.
15
Gloriosa Daisy
By God, a sympathetic villain with a motivation that’s actually sympathetic and yet has all the fun and hammy energy of a '60s Batman villain!
More of this please, future cartoons!
14
Big Mac
When I began watching the show, I got a chuckle out of him once in a while with his monosyllabic answers but that was about it.
He quickly became a more fleshed-out character when the later seasons came around and he began speaking more, displaying more fun personality traits and establishing relationships with other characters like Spike, Discord and Sugar Belle, and even showing how he's willing to step out of his comfort zone for the ponies he cares about, particularly Sugar Belle.
And all that started with Brotherhooves Social. (holds back a sob) ‘Nuff said.
13
Queen Chrysalis
Hail to the queen, baby.
She might not be the smartest villain and she may have suffered from Darth Maul Syndrome in Seasons 6-8, but y'know what?
She was still a joy to watch every time she came onscreen. Her hammy evilness always made me excited to see her get her ass kicked and, best of all, the writers didn't force a shitty sobstory or redemption onto her in Season 9.
12
Scootaloo
Her admiration for, and later sisterly bond with, Rainbow Dash is cute without coming off as creepy stalking, her tomboy attitude is fun, and her personal dilemma about her stunted wing growth and whether or not she'll ever be able to fly is one of the most heart-breaking character struggles in the show.
11
The Royal Family
These three are probably the most well-adjusted and stable (lol) family in the show.
Shining Armor is caring, supportive and has a fun sibling dynamic with Twilight yet, in spite of his professionalism as Captain of the Royal Guard, is also a massive dork.
Cadance is the most responsible and grounded princess who has cute banter with her husband and actually gives Twilight very straightforward and down-to-earth advice when she needs it, rather than claiming “You’ll figure it out eventually” and being needlessly vague and cryptic.
And oh my God, Flurry Heart is just the most precious thing and I will fight you on this!
10
Spike
When this kid's written right, as in supportive, helpful, snarky, working off of Twilight's meltdowns beautifully and not the source of his episodes' conflicts, he's genuinely a very loveable character. I mean, Gauntlet of Fire, Equestria Games, Inspiration Manifestation and The Times They Are A Changeling (until the rushed ending) anyone?
9
Maud Pie
Her consistently funny deadpan delivery that plays off of the other characters, her love for her sister who she will literally move mountains for, her bluntness, and her self-consciousness about being judged for her interests without that insecurity being detrimental to herself or the ponies around her? She's basically Pinkie Pie if she had her shit together.
Yeah, she rocks.
8
Lord Tirek
Ho-ly shit, was this guy a force to be reckoned with!
Manipulative, powerful, genuinely scary but also badass and Tim Curry-levels of over-the-top fun. Yeah, he's a pretty kickass villain and the kind of villain we desperately need more of right now.
7
Twilight Sparkle, seasons 1-4
As in, before the later seasons turned her into a blind dogmatic idiot with a white saviour complex who preaches about friendship like a religion and believes it can solve literally every problem.
During Season 1, I admittedly didn’t think too much of her, seeing how the writers forced her into every episode just so she could write to Celestia about the lesson, even if she didn’t actually contribute anything. But come Lesson Zero, when the writers established that everyone could write friendship reports to Celestia from now on, she was finally allowed to become her own character and be involved in areas she was best suited to.
She went from a character who had her moments here and there but was still pretty dry to one of the show’s most compelling, funny, adorkable yet no-nonsense and snarky characters. Talk about an upgrade.
6
Discord
All hail the awesomeness that is John de Lancie!
Discord was a villain who was smart, intimidating and hilarious and fortunately stayed hilarious after he was reformed. It was nice to see him genuinely trying to be a good friend and, as chaos is in his nature, help out in his own crazy way but still get called out on any damage he caused.
Plus his relationship with the first pony to treat him with kindness is downright adorable, especially in Discordant Harmony when he literally risked fading out of existence because he wanted to make his home more comfortable for Fluttershy.
5
Applejack
Anyone who claims she’s boring or a background pony can bite me.
She’s smart, honest, strong, hardworking, the most level-headed and straight-forward of the Mane Six, has a "take charge and get shit done" attitude, cares for her family but still has her moments of pride and dishonesty yet is willing to take the consequences when she messes up.
4
Adagio Dazzle
Still the absolute best villain in G4 that the villains after Rainbow Rocks never came close to topping.
Cunning, menacing, alluring, patient, sadistic and fortunately didn’t get a snapshot redemption. I demand more villains in future cartoons follow her example.
3
Rarity
I can't believe I used to despise her.
Like a lot of fans during Season 1, I thought she was just a whiny and prissy bitch who was more selfish than generous. But then I came to love her hilariously melodramatic moments, her confidence, her passion for her career in fashion and her moments of true generosity. She remains my second favourite of the Mane Six to this day.
Speaking of which...
2
Fluttershy
Bless this horse!
It’s safe to say Fluttershy vastly improved after It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies when the writers finally stopped recycling the “Fluttershy learns to stop being timid” plotline for her episodes and her character development stuck, going from just ‘the cute one’ to having the most personality development out of all the Mane Six.
Between her Seasons 1-4 self and her character onward, it’s like looking at two completely different ponies. She still has her shy moments (it’s in the name after all) and certainly doesn’t like Nightmare Night but is now perfectly capable of being sassy, acting as a voice of reason, speaking up for herself and applying her assertiveness to different situations for someone’s own good, be it her brother or her friends.
Just... BLESS THIS HORSE!
1
Sunset Shimmer
Check it out, it's Starlight Glimmer done right!
Hard to believe she started out as such a forgettable villain in her introduction but, in the very next movie, went through the best redemption arc bar none that required her to work to earn everyone's trust back, becoming one of the most developed, level-headed and enjoyable characters in the G4 franchise who constantly works off the Humane Six's different personalities in various entertaining ways but still has general personality flaws that literally any human being can have (becoming frustrated from putting pressure on herself, her fear of letting people down, her competitive streak, having one or two minor selfish moments, etc) while never taking a step backwards into her past villainous ways.
She really is the heart of the Equestria Girls series and the number one best MLP character.
And that's it. Byyyyye!
Perfect choice for number 1. I'll admit, Sunset got off to a weak start, and it took me a while to warm to her. But you can't help but love her nontheless.
Good choices.
Yeah, I figured out a number of your top picks (if you'd put anyone other than Sunset as your number one I'd have been floored XD), but this was still a lot of fun to read. Especially approve of the high placings given to Applejack ("background pony" my ass), Rarity and Flutters in particular.
Also good to see Tirek rank as high as he did too. I've really grown to appreciate that wicked centaur more and more. XD