You know aside from the assassination of Twilight in this comic, I actually thought some of this might have actual history. I did like the idea of a powerful pony rising up taking the crown and attempting to become the mare version of Augustus Octavius Caeser, with the idea of creating everlasting harmony by subjugating the other races and forcing them to accept Equestrian culture and be subservient to Canterlot. That might have been one of the factors that lead to its collapse and eventual balkanization.