I saw it and loved it. Here is my basic opinion of the episode;

I might as well get this out of the way; I am really pleased that they still credit Lauren for creating the show. I realize that I seem to be the only brony who cares about her, but it was reasuring to see that she is still getting credit for creating the show. I think that the episode was good especially when you consider it was the first to not involve her at all.

I really enjoyed the storyline of the episode, and it shows that those left behind still get what the show is all about. The crystal kingdom looked absolutely amazing, and I would totally go there if it was real. There were some pretty cool call backs to past generations, which also reasured me (I was fearful that they were going to stop these after Lauren left, but thankfully they didn't). For those of you who didn't understand; I think that Twilight refering to it as a test was a kind of reverse psychology thing. It makes sense in context. I thought everypony looked awesome in crystal form, even though it was clearly a way to sell the toys. Interestingly; while "it's just a ploy to sell toys" is something that haters have always said about MLP since it began, this is the first time it's ever happened so blatently...

I kind of see Uncle Big Hand's point about Shining Armor and Cadance. I wonder if it was Hasbro's way of making up for introuducing them to us during season 1, and then not using them until season 2? At least they've come up with some justification for Cadance to have wings now.

Sombra... I'm afraid he was the weakest link in the chain. He barely had any lines, there wasn't enough of him to really show any form of personality, even in flashback when he had a solid form he did next to nothing. Normally I'd be able to see past this, and just think of it as an opening for fans to do better (if I can find a place for him in my fanseries, I will make more of an effort for him). The problem with that is King Sombra is a FANMADE character. It must be pretty annoying for whoever won the contest to create the vilain of the episode to find that after all that, Hasbro gave him no personallity...

Finally, was I the only one who found(SPOILER)the door that makes whoever opens it experience their fears, interesting? I really wanted to see what the other characters would have seen if they had done it. Ironically, I planned on doing a similar thing (not exactly the same) on my fanseries... funny how things turn out.