Haven't really watched
Ponies since the first season, since I pretty much got what I was going to get out of it. It was a cute feel-good adventure show for kids, and managed to portray female characters that are both feminine and strong, which is actually pretty rare. They managed to create action and tension, while avoiding overt violence... quite a feat for a kids show. Adding to that, it was impossibly, ridiculously cheerful. Hell, I make a point not to squee in public, but there were more squee moments than I care to count.
Anyway, I recently discovered that it's on its third season now, and since it had been a while, decided to binge on some of the most recent stuff to see how it stacked up. Apparently while I was away, the show learned more tongue-in-cheek humor, added complexity to their plots, and seem to now be tailoring their Aesops to both kids, and to adults watching the show with their wee ones (or, ehem, staying up late to watch it on the internet). It seems to have managed to hold on to that inexplicable feel-good quality too, which was nice. Many "D'awwww!" moments were had.
All in all, I think the show matured in a number of positive ways, and the writers seem to be a bit more adventurous with what they're willing to try. Some of the new villains are rather creepy; fey changelings have always weirded me out. They also appear to have introduced a more likable young male character to the plot in the form of an older sibling to one of the existing charcters. Guess they noticed there are plenty of boys watching, despite their target demographic.
Long story short, it was a fun binge, and I'm glad to see that they're still doing well. With stuff like this, adventure time, and so on, I feel hope for the future of cartoons again!