@Adam Griff
I would have loved if the pony race conflict was always building up even as early as Season 1 and then it finally boiled over in Season 9.

It felt a little out of left field in Season 9 though I think it is an intriguing idea.

Because I can imagine Pegasi and Earth Ponies might want more influence over Equestria. And I can imagine Cloudsdale trying to become the new center of pony power.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
Maybe - but it may not have even necessarily been them. We’re talking about centuries or possibly millennia between G4 and G5.

For all we know, Twilight never even had a direct royal successor following her retirement and/or death. She might have decided that Equestria’s future was best served by having a kind of Council like she had with the rest of the Mane Six to oversee Equestria. This could’ve worked for some time, or only a little, or even not at all. Because ultimately the ponies that followed Twilight are just that - ponies. They can make mistakes, be susceptible to vice or desire as any other, have falling outs, maybe even encounter an event that they aren’t able to control.

And it didn’t have to happen all at once - again, I would just as much suspect a very slow decline over the centuries as certain issues and fissure points began to pop up over Equestrian society, and in difficult times they got aggravated, until some Black Swan event occurred where it finally all boiled over and led to the fall of Equestria as we know it.

I can even imagine ponies in the post-Twilight period even feeling disappointed by the situation, finding that the post-Twilight Kingdom of Equestria of their dreams was far different than the one of reality. Rather than a utopian kingdom of harmony, ruled by Friendship Philosopher Kings always guiding it into the right direction, it is instead a flawed kingdom, ruled by compromises, and by ponies that are just as susceptible to rash and selfish thinking as any other, and easily being able to make mistakes that would have serious consequences for the Empire as a whole.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
Exactly, its idiotic to blame the fall of an empire on a single individual, when in truth it can be many bad leaders. I would like to tell Misanthro Pony, this “Are you going to blame Cyrus the Great for the fall of The Persian Empire?”.
The Persian Empire was without a doubt a great and amazing empire, you would think it laughable that they would eventually be conquered by a Macedonian…they eventually were. Cambodia once had an empire that ruled nearly ruled two thirds of Southeast Asia. When we look at history and how so many great nations and empires fell, despite everything going well for them, we can see why Equestria fell.

It’s doesn’t matter how it ended, its how we move on.

Well in the finale Cozy, Triek and Chrysalis managed to drive a wedge between the pony tribes even if temporarily. So that wedge could have caused a domino effect that led to the tribes splitting again

@Background Pony #CE96
Even after the rule of the savior of the Roman Empire, Aurelian, the Western Roman Empire still fell eventually. And until them the Empire fell under more chaos.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
It’s possible. They were young enough to become successors, and screw something up. The work of Emperor Claudius was handed over to Nero and we all know how he royally screwed up..or take Emperor Tiberius a great expander of the Empire, who’s empire soon fell under the loser Caligula.

@Zerowinger
Luster Dawn or Flurry Heart… Did they make any mistakes?

The decline probably started some time after Twilight’s rule. While Twilight and the royal sisters before her were excellent stewards of Equestria, there was no guarantee that any of her successors would have the same skill or temperament to guide the ship of state. Even Twilight herself once sung that she wasn’t flawless, and that applies to every pony else.

@Background Pony #09D8
And Hasbro probably won’t reveal how it collapsed, because then they’ll get the g4 fans angry.

@Background Pony #CE96
Yeah.

@Background Pony #09D8
Yeah, like Misanthro Pony…That review still makes me cringe.

@CottonTales
Thousands of years, plus as we saw with the station in Zephyr Heights that other ponies used to visit there and Bridlewood, which means the segregation happened a couple hundred years ago(These three places did not exist in Twilight’s time) so no, it’s not her fault.

It makes no difference. All the various retards will continue to blame Twilight simply because they want to.

But do we have any proof it isn’t her fault?
Like she inspired the fix but did she also cause the problem