Despite the title "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind" sounding on the corny side, "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind"/"The Tiara of Truth" did have more appealing and more promising concepts than most episodes of 'My Little Pony: Pony Life'. Actually found the first half of Season 2 to be a big improvement over the whole of Season 1, and really wish that "Planet of the Apps"/"Back to the Present" onwards kept to that improvement.
Season 2 did see the whole of its first half to be surprisingly watchable and two episodes were decent. This was one of them. Neither segment are my definition of great and still have not so minor problems, but those problems were ones that were far more major in the rest of the show. Does "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind"/"The Tiara of Truth" live up to the concepts quality-wise? Not quite perhaps, but the potential is a long way from wasted which could not be said for any of the conceptually promising episodes of the first season.
A lot is good here. The best aspect is the voice acting which is very good all round, full of energy and nuanced. The character writing is some of the best of the show up to this date and overall, with all the main characters not having flaws exaggerated and having good intentions. They are in character and the chemistry does feel like a friendship and well connected. The moralising is less predictable than usual and is more sincere and more subtle.
Of the two segments, "The Tiara of Truth" is the better one, with it being more eventful story-wise and tighter paced. Also found that the story was advanced a lot more in this segment. "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind" does boast some very inventive and colourful visuals and is one of the best looking 'Pony Life' episodes. There is more humour than usual, and it is mildly amusing and not childish or misplaced.
Both segments though are nothing special story-wise, especially the rather narratively thin and over-stretched (which made the pace feel dull at times) "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind", which felt like set up. Not much is imaginative as well, with both segments having obvious outcomes and no real surprises. It's all present and correct, just not with enough spark.
Did find the writing still too simple and at times cheesy. The animation lacks imagination and looks rushed on the whole, excepting moments in "Close Encounters of the Balloon Kind", and the music is high school quality with a grating theme tune.
In summary, decent, above average and one of only two episodes of 'Pony Life' to be so. 6/10.