Well, I just finished watching the episode, and the repeat straight after. (POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING)
Needless to say, it looks like Lauren's step down from power isn't gonna damage the show at all. Everypony was in character, the scenarios were pretty cool, and Discord was indeed awesome. The voice actor really put his all into it.
My only real complaint was that the first few scenes just seemed a little rushed. It just seemed like they were trying to get the exposition out of the way as quickly as possible. But once Discord himself showed up for the first time, it seemed to sort itself out.
And now, my list of moments and scenes that will no doubt mutate into memes:
Pinkie and Chocolate rain (So obviously a reference to the original Chocolate Rain meme)
Slenderbunnies
Discord X Pinkie shipping/rule34
Scary-ass party balloons
You handsome hunk of a diamond!
ALL of the ponies' evil forms (Nasty Pinkie, Bad Liar Applejack, Flutterbitch, etc)