Artsit’s comment:
 
Antagonists being redeemed has often been talked about by many, myself included, as something that MLP has really been pushing for in recent seasons, seemingly using it for every new villain the show gives us. But something that’s very easy for us to forget is that, when you get right down to it, it was there right from the show’s first episode. The idea that enemies can become friends was something taught to us with their very first villain, and while it may not have been taught with other villains of the first four seasons, it’s still wrong for us to call it a recent thing for the show.
 
Now, I’ve been well-known in the past for being critical of the show’s push for redeemed villains. But the thing is, I actually get it. I understand why this lesson is one the show keeps wanting to teach. Because it is, at the end of the day, a positive, uplifting and hopeful idea. That no matter how far a person has fallen, no matter what terrible deeds they’ve committed, they can still be better. They can still return to the embrace of their friends and loved ones, even in spite of all they might have done. That, inside all of us, there is still good, even in our darkest days. I may not always agree with the execution of that lesson, but you will never find me condemning the idea behind it :)