I don't have any major gripes about the episode, but I guess it maybe wasn't as funny as most episodes usually are, but I don't mind having less comedy if the rest of the episode has enough substance to keep it from being downright boring, and I think this one certainly did. Also, this really didn't feel like a Pinkie Pie episode, at least not in the same way that Pinkie Apple Pie and Pinkie Pride did. She was always front and center and in the spotlight, but the conflict and lesson revolved more around her friends than Pinkie Pie herself. Although there was no journal entry, there was still a moral, so I have no complaints there. Last week's episode did not have a journal entry either, and several season 3 episodes did not feature letters to the Princess. So long as there's some kind of underlying moral to take from the episode, I don't think the letter/journal writing is a requirement.