I defend nothing and refuse to make any exceptions, that out of the way I can sum up the entire review in a few words: it was there. There was nothing significant about it, nothing bad about it; it was literally just there. I don't feel special watching it before TV release, I don't feel like it was bad.
While a few things did seem a bit rushed the reasoning behind it was explained and eased in slightly; the prime example of that was Twilight's big reveal to her human friends. However, if I were to add anything to the 'bad' list, it might be the fact that there were a few clipping errors on the human models that made them seem awkward at times.
The entire thing felt like a re-done version of Boast Busters(S1) with a dash of Magic Duel(S2), that's literally how Sunset Shimmer felt as a villain just another redo of Trixie. After the ending I even had to check the voice actors to see if they were the same, they just felt too similar for Sunset Shimmer to be an original antagonist.
Wrapping this up, I'm going to have to give this one a 5/10. Nothing significant, nothing heaven-shatteringly bad; nothing sharp, nothing dull. It was literally just there. Nothing to even boast about for seeing it early, not even after full frontal release (Theatrical, TV, DVD, etc.) should it be anything to boast or gush about, if you do then I question your integrity of being a human being.