@MegaAnimationFan  
“Other characters have done worse with little to no regard for how it will effects others, but no one cares.”  
Go ahead and list the things worse than  
Indoctrinating an entire small town and forcibly removing their special talants because her best friend moved away.  
Using time travel to cause (Best case) a nightmare moon takeover or (worst case) an apocolypse because Twilight ruined the first plan.  
Using mind control on her supposed friends because “acting as friends” is hard.  
Impulsively using magic to switch the talents of the kingdom’s leading monarchs because they had an argument.

@Background Pony #E8CB  
Except she was praised for doing it at the end, that’s not a good lesson to teach kids.

@Background Pony #C64B  
Punished for what? Doing what needed to be done? Succeeding at her mission? It was only for a day anyway, and the stakes were low.  
What’s up with everyone wanting Starlight to be punished for every little thing she does (No pun intended) Even if it was for the best? Other characters have done worse with little to no regard for how it will effects others, but no one cares. Why is Starlight any different? I’m sure if Twilight did the same thing, I’m willing to bet that no one would complain.

@Background Pony #C64B  
I don’t think she really needed to be punished. She expressed regret right away, and it turned out for the better. It was only 24 hours anyway.

The fact she got zero punishment for this was the worst part.  
Even if things went well at the end, she still fucked up hard by forcing the decision on the princesses.

Its probably not a great idea to remind the royal sisters that you remain a credible threat to them.