The irony of the situation was absolutely delicious!

@Background Pony Number 17  
I know right? In my opinion, she was the best big villain in the series yet. The smartest too. Literally, her only mistakes, in terms of her villainy, were not being more cautious of Fluttershy and Party Favor in the village. And, not bringing anything to store cutie marks in the finale. (Which was a pretty big mistake. But, one that didn’t matter too much in the end. I’m not sure if that was even a mistake at all. Considering she wanted Twilight to keep coming back, anyway…) She wasn’t beaten by being super dumb and letting the good guys do what they needed to do to beat her. Or just having a stupid plan to begin with. (Seriously? A teenage army? Making a game out of finding the Elements of Harmony? Even if that one was more of a quirk.) Her mistakes were more honest. Not to mention, that she put the Mane 6 in the most impossible situation yet with the time magic.
 
She was only beaten in the end by seeing the error of her ways. The fact that she was such an extremist for what she thought would change the world for the better, also makes her better than the others. She had a more philosophical motivation. The other villains in the series really didn’t have any motivation that wasn’t just simply power or control. While, Starlight’s is more three dimensional. You could argue that she was selfish. But, she also believed that other ponies could benefit from her ways. And, when the good guys came and ruined it, she went and got the perfect revenge. She was pretty nasty, but only because she was broken and lost. She just had more depth. Even if she wasn’t a perfect character. If she was truly evil, she would’ve torn up that spell, and won.
 
Her backstory could’ve been stronger, but she actually got one in the show canon. One that isn’t just made up and stuck in the idw comic. One that isn’t just some historical exposition of an ancient evil either.

Hey kids! Do you want to see a donkey show?

The really twisted thing is, Starlight isn’t being deceptive here. She’s genuinely trying to solve a “friendship problem” the way she knows how. As she put it, that it also ends up destroying Twilight’s future is just a happy coincidence.

“Hey kids! Do you know what Stranger Danger is? No? Perfect!”

I love this. Even here, she is taunting Twilight. I love the exaggerated faces she makes too.