Notes on Equestrian Government Structure (headcanon, obviously) · 7:40pm Oct 15th, 2017
Political system in Equestria can be most succintly described as "constitutional oligarchy". While nominally, the minutae government have had been largely delegated to elected representatives, major decisions are universally deferred to alicorns.
1) Legislative.
Legislative power in Equestria is represented by the Senate - a collection of two hundred and forty seats charged with development and voting on laws. Adoption or amendment of law requires achievement of clear two-thirds majority of votes. While princess Celestia traditionally oversees the Senate, she takes no part in voting herself. However, she traditionally possesses the power of unilateral veto which she may execute at her discretion. Twelve vetoes in the single year is grounds for premature reelections of Senate.
Out of two hundred and fourty seats, sixty are hereditary and belong to specific bloodlines, and as such are not subject to reelection, but after a particularly grand tiff between princess Celestia and the hereditary portion of Senate on the subject of tea imports in 1354-57 AD and consequtive three reelections, sixty "bloodline" seats are recused from voting for the duration of seven months in case of reelections forced by excessive vetoing.
Remaining hundred and eighty seats are reelected every six years barring the aforementioned veto dismissal. To avoid complete shutdown of legislation for the duration of reelections, seats are staggered so that each year sees thirty reelections, traditionally held a week before the Hearthwarming. In case of veto reelections, each seat comes with remaining term attached instead of full six years.
In case of bloodline lapsing, the hereditary seat is reverted to Celestia`s purview for seven months, during which she may nominate the next bloodline to occupy it. If Celestia disregards the opportunity to do so within aforementioned seven months or announces that the seat is open for nomination, any member of senate may nominate a candidate bloodline for the seat, however unlike nomination by princess, Senate-proposed nomination is subject to debate and voting by full Senate sitting.
Elected Senate members are nominated from the Equestrian provinces proportionally to population density and are obligated to represent the concerns and interests of ponies in their area. In particular, they are legally required to present any formal inquiries and suggestions made by mayors in their respective areas.
Additionally, after each election, an internal voting takes place in Senate. The result of those votes are seven members of Senate endowed with additional powers and responsibilities, who act as a Cabinet Of Ministers for the duration of their Senate term. The exact ministers are as follows - Minister of Education, Minister of Culture, Minister of Healthcare, Minister of Science, Minister of Infrastructure, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Industry. Each minister has a right to hire up to seven aides for the purposes of paperwork and representation, but may not hire any of the Senate members for the job in question. Minister aides are subordinate directly to minister and may only be dismissed by the minister in question or by minister themselves being dismissed from the post. Senate possesses the right to impeach any of the ministers or entire cabinet by achieving clear two thirds majority on a vote to do so.
Ministry of Education is responsible for establishment and budgeting of schools and colleges and appointment of principals. Additionally, Ministry of Education decides the base cirriculum that must be fulfilled for an educational establishment to retain their legal standing.
Ministry of Culture concerns itself with beautification of cities, preservation of historically important landmarks and establishment of recreational zones and structures, such as parks, theaters, circuses and racing circuits. An important part of this ministry`s duties is tourism and accomodations for it, such as hotels, museums, tours and fairs. More recently, ministry had also been charged with establishment and upkeep of modern objects of recreation, such as cinemas, arcades and planetariums.
Ministry of Healthcare handles the organisation of medical services and emergency responce system. Construction of hospitals and clinics is within the purview of this ministry, as well as antiepidemic measures, ranging from public awareness campaigns and all the way to declaring city-wide quarantines. In the last it cooperates closely with Ministry of Science, as well as in development of new cures and medical procedures.
Ministry of Science handles establishment and budgeting of installations and programmes intended to further scientific progress. Additionally, Ministry of Science is also responsible for developing efficient implementation methods for new technologies and practical reusal or recycling of obsolete ones. This also includes addressing ecological problems as they arise.
Ministry of Infrastructure is charged with development of efficient network of roads and railroads throughout Equestria as well as organizing efficient airship routes and building airship berths. Additionally, Ministry of Infrastructure serves as a middleman and mediator between Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Agriculture in questions of weather management.
Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for organizing and monitoring Equestrian agriculture. This includes subsidizing of valuable or underproduced crops, cooperation with Ministry of Science on successful intergration of new and better crops and agricultural methods, as well as close cooperation with Ministries of Industry and Infrastructure to handle the weather distribution.
Ministry of Industry is responsible for mining and manufacturing conducted in Equestria. Aside from fulfilling duties similar to ministry of Agriculture in regards to individually owned mines and rock farms, Ministry of Industry is also responsible for stable operation and upkeep of weather factories, as well, as, jointly with Ministries of Agriculture and Infrastructure, distribution of weather.
Each Minister has the right of "first dibs" in the Senate - Senate meeting begins with request for Ministers to bring forth the matters needing legislative solution. Only after all the proposals from Ministers have had been addressed, the Senate floor is opened for individual speakers.
As a legal oddity, there is no Ministry of Finances - instead, each of the Ministries presents their projected budget and the allotments are discussed in a full sitting of Senate. It is worth to mention that such budget meeting is traditionally "closed doors meeting" - anyone who walks out of the meeting before it`s officially closed with agreed upon country budget is immediately forfeiting their chair on Senate. That chair remains empty until the closest Senate elections. By a long-standing tradition Budget Meeting (which is held right after Hearthwarming) is dedicated to budget allocations alone and all other concerns are postponed till next month, unless they`re of urgent and vital nature.
2) Judicial.
Judicial power in Equestria is distributed between the Royal Court and Conclave. Conclave is an elective body of twelve ponies who sit on it for three years. Conclave`s duties revolve around appointing judges for local courts and hearing cases of national scale or against the nation of Equestria as a whole. Based on the results of such cases, Conclave is imbued with a power to suspend any law as unconstitutional until such time Senate reexamines the law in question with regard to information produced by Conclave. Theoretically, Conclave also possesses the power to censor alicorn princesses if their actions are deemed a direct threat to Equestria as a nation, but there are no historical records of Conclave ever achieving a censorship, though there are records of censorship being proposed for discussion. In order to be eligible for Conclave seat, nominated pony must have no less then seven years of active law practice as a judge, persecutor or advocate.
Royal Court is a mean of direct appelation to princess, who sits as a sole judge of the case. While in absence of any other princesses, that duty invariably fell to Celestia, in latter years a number of Royal Court sessions have had been conducted with princesses Cadence, Luna and lately Twilight presiding instead. Decision of Royal Court is final and not a subject to further appelation.
Appointment of judges is a permanent employment offer for judges in question. Every town numbering more then half a thousand of ponies is appointed a dedicated judge, who also serves as visiting judge for the surrounding rural areas and minor settlements. In case of major cities like Manehattan or Las Pegasus, the city is sectioned according to population density and each section receives an independent judge. If that is the case, city is also appointed one extra judge to serve as a visiting judge to the rural areas around the town. Mayor of the city may reassign judges to the sections as they deem fit, but may not dismiss judges from their appointment. Mayors, however, are endowed with right to petition Conclave for judge dismissal, if they can prove sufficient motivation for it.
Prosecutor office is situated in Canterlot and counts twelve persecutors. Prosecutors are nominated and voted on by a Conclave. Each of them, by necessity, is visiting persecutor. They collate evidence and formulate the accusation in case of crime against Equestria being committed. Crimes against Equestria include treason, murder, rape, kidnapping, banditry, arson, grand embezzlement and criminal hatred. In case of lesser crimes, the evidence towards accusation is instead presented by sheriff of the area. If it so happens that a case against the nation of Equestria is brought to the court, office votes on three representatives of prosecutor office to serve as advocates of the nation.
Advocates are self-employed ponies who have had attended and graduated the college of law. Their job is to give legal advice to their clients and if necessary, represent the client in court. In case of property dispute or other civil matter, advocates of all involved sides will collate their available evidence and argumentation and present it to judge in court. Based on their respective presentations, judge will make a decision on the case. In case of criminal matter, advocate presenting the accused will be arguing against the prosecutor or sheriff (depending on the severity of a case), who will present proof and collected testimonies that verify guilt of accused party. Any pony may act as their own advocate, if they so desire, but only officially certificated advocates may represent other ponies in court.
Any advocate with three year experience may present their petition to be considered for the prosecutor office or bench of judge. As a rule of thumb, advocate petitioning for the posting as a judge will do so along with endorcement from Mayor, Sheriff or retiring Judge, but that much is a tradition rather then requirement. Another tradition is for newly minted advocates to enter into apprenticial agreement with more experienced colleague - this is typically done when the senior advocate is serving last year of their career before being accepted as local judge or elected to the office of Prosecutors, upon which their apprentice takes over their old practice. This tradition allows for relatively seamless transition of legal cases.
Any positive indictment on criminal charges means an end to pony`s availability to practice law henceforth. This can be overturned by Royal Court or Conclave, but to do so typically requires presenting incontrovertible proof that prior indictment was made in error. Any judge, advocate or prosecutor who is accused of criminal behavior is suspended from their duties and treated as any other citizen until such time their guilt or innocence is proved in court. For the duration of their suspension, Conclave may appoint a temporary replacement from the cohorts of eligible advocates. In order to prevent this provision from being used for wilful sabotage, accusation against a lawyer must be vetted by a randomly-picked comittee of three persecutors (excluding accused one, if it`s against persecutor) to be enacted. Random picking is traditionally done by drawing lots.
3) Executive.
Executive power in Equestria is balanced between three organisations. Army, Post and Law Enforcement. Executive Committee consists of five topmost officers of Army (Captain of Royal Guard, Commander of Ranger Corps, Grand Admiral of the Fleet, Archmagus of the Magical Corps and Head Engineer of Engineering Corps), Postmeister of Equestria and High Sheriff for a total of seven people. Every member on the comittee is appointed by royal decree, although Conclave may impeach any of the members if they are indicted for a crime against Equestria or princesses.
Executive Comittee decides the matters of national security and response to natural disasters. Due to nature of organizations under the comittee, each member of committee bears personal responsibility for recruiting into their organization - none of the positions are voted upon. Just like with Senate, princess has the right of unilateral veto, but does not participate in deliberations otherwise.
In the event of war, Executive Comittee is expanded to include princesses and makes all military decisions unilaterally. The exact decision of which princess is to be included is still in the air due to the fact that insofar, Equestria had never had more then one princess during wartime. Informally, the role is still expected to fall to Celestia, unless she gives explicit orders to the contrary. During wartime, princess serves as the Commander in Chief and final authority on Executive Comittee`s decisions.
Post and Law Enforcement are organized similarly - Postmaster of Equestria and High Sheriff respectively appoint Postmasters and Sheriffs to towns at their own discretion. Ponies are eligible for appointment only if they have three years of service, respectively, as a postpony or deputy. Barring the unforeseen developments, each postmaster and sheriff usually has an apprentice that works as their second in command and will step up in case of retirement or dismissal. If it so happens that there is no such successor or that successor is ineligible due to being otherwise engaged, being indicted on criminal charges or some other reason, Postmaster of Equestria/High Sheriff will make an appointment unilaterally.
Each individual postmaster/sheriff is expected to hire a number of subordinates, preferably locally. Those subordinates will be, respectively, postponies/deputies. Postmaster/sheriff is allotted budget in accordance to the terrotory and population they have to cover and are expected to maintain their workforce independently, by hiring, retiring and educating their employees to ensure the efficient service.
Besides that, both Postmaster of Equestria and High Sheriff each have two directly subordinated offices, for which they`re directly responsible. For Postmaster, the offices are Royal Courier Corps and Mass Mail Service. For Sheriff, it`s Internal Affairs Committee and Public Relations Office.
Royal Courier Corps is a militarized branch of postal service. They handle military mail, royal mail and high security mail. In addition to being capable of fast movement and endurance, each Royal Courier is additionally trained in combat and security. They`re expected to deliver their mail safe and sound no matter what. RCC is one of the few branches that expects their employees to be openly armed at all times they`re on duty.
Mass Mail Service is office charged with organization of bulk transfer of mail between cities. This is typically done by the means of railway, though MMS also has a number of airships for delivery of mail in less accessible areas. This office works in close cooperation with Ministry of Infrastructure.
Internal Affairs Committee is a group of investigators who`s sole concern is examining any and all allegation of criminal activity among Law Enforcement itself. They have no other obligations and answer only to High Sheriff. They have prerogative to suspend any sheriff or deputy from their duties for the duration of up to a week for the investigation. Suspended pony may not execute any of the rights or duties normally allotted to law enforcement personnel and is usually considered to be under house arrest. Appointment to IAC is done on a closed list, and not announced publicly - only High Sheriff and fellow agents know who is currently employed in IAC.
Public Relations Office is a group of ponies who are responsible for effecting the connection between Law Enforcement and general public. They create press releases about impending law changes, reply to inquiries by general public and handle public announcements about missing persons and wanted criminals. Said public announcements include articles in local newspapers, posters and lately radio announcements. Additionally, PRO is expected to give timely information to any town criers, if town still employs any such civil servants.
4) Army.
Formally, a part of executive branch, Army nonetheless is extensive enough to need it`s own separate entry in this article. There are five formal branches of army. Royal Guard, Rangers Corps, Fleet, Magical Corps and Engineering Corps. First two are largely egalitarian, but last three tend to have clear majority of, respectively, pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies in their ranks. This division, however, is more due to practical reasons then any traditional or tribalist notion.
Royal Guard is headed by Captain of Royal Guard. The duties of Royal Guard include the safety of the princess and the matters of national security. Royal Guards serve as bodyguards for princesses as their public function. Other then that, Royal Guards also include a far larger numbers of plainclothes security who are, essentially, Equestria`s counterintelligence and anti-spy network. Members of Royal Guard are considered to have primacy, so they may command ponies of equal rank from other branches of Army, if there is a need to do so.
Rangers Corps is headed by Commander of Ranger Corps. Their primary job is to patrol borders and wilderness areas and report any incursions or wild beast outbreaks. Ranger Corps is sufficiently armed to deter or defuse minor incidents on their own, but their first and foremost focus is on "observe, survive, report". In case of natural disaster or major civil incident (such as revolt or escape of dangerous criminal), Rangers Corps is the first line of emergency response and may be temporarily deferred to be commanded by local sheriff.
Fleet, controlled by the Grand Admiral of the Fleet, is the striking force of Equestrian Army. Pegasi constitute a clear majority in the ranks, which is understandable for the force centered around military airships. Primary focus is cannon airships - capital ships carrying batteries of cannons, bombs and rockets for aerial bombardments. For the purposes of point defence, each airship also comes with a detachment of pegasi skirmishers, typically two to four squadrons depending on the size of ship. Fleet also employs troop carriers - airships intended to transport large numbers of soldiers quickly and reliably. They`re usually armored as heavily as achievable without sacrificing too much of speed but only lightly armed. Depending on the size of carrier, they may carry six, twelve or twenty squadrons apiece. Additionally, twenty squadron carriers may instead carry a detachment of Engineering corps or up to sixteen platoons of Magical Corps.
Magical Corps is commanded by Archmagus of the Magical Corps and it`s duties are varied. Due to general versatility of magic, Magical Corps is further split into divisions - Medical Division, Intelligence Division and Sabotage Division. While there is a clear majority of unicorns in this branch of army, it is not forbidden for pegasi or earth ponies to join, if they happen to exhibit a talent in one of the fields Magical Corps specializes in.
Medical Division is self-evident - they handle medical services in army. As a rule of thumb, at least one squad from MCMD is to accompany any airship and be stationed in every harrison. A second line response unit for emergencies, MCMD reports to any natural disaster along with Engineering Corps right after rangers arrive.
Intelligence Division concerns itself with espionage and scouting. Their job is to obtain relevant and current information on any and all organised opposition Equestria might have. As such, they have close if not widely publicised connection with Ranger Corps, as random incidents reported by Rangers can be and sometimes have had been signs of hostile activity. MCID has the dubious honor of being the division with most drab uniform. This is somewhat influenced by the fact that operatives of MCID more often then not wear anything but their official uniform.
Sabotage Division is, depending on who you ask, most fun and least reputable division in the whole army. Their job is to use guile and magic to hinder hostiles in any way, shape or form. While at times MCSD does conduct magical bombardments, their primary focus is, as the name suggests, sabotage. Rotten food, breaking equipment, unexpected inclement weather, logistic mistakes, stolen munitions, disease outbreaks and annoying tunes that whole platoons insist on whistling much to irritation of their commanding officer - all of that and much more is likely the work of MCSD when it happens to enemy. Not surprisingly, MCSD is reported to contain about 85% of all pranksters in Army.
Finally, Engineering Corps, headed by the Head Engineer of Engineering Corps, is the part of army that concerns itself with construction of permanent, semi-premanent and temporary structures for military benefit. They`re responsible for construction and upkeep of all military facilities in Equestria, maintenance of airships and construction of temporary and permanent bridges and pontoon roads. Each airship and military installation has a crew of engineers for maintenance. This branch is also responsible for defensive artillery - both the emplacement of such and use of such. In the event of all-out war, Engineering corps is expected to dig in and be the wall to halt the enemy advance, as the Magical Corps bleeds them dry and Fleet destroys their strongpoints. Engineering Corps is the second line emergency responders, and will show alongside MCMD to any natural disaster right after rangers.
5) Local government representatives.
Based on the size of settlement, the amount of government servants assigned to the current locale grows. In order of emergence...
a) Settlement (Below 100 ponies) - defers all governmental and organizational needs to closest town.
b) Village (100 to 500 ponies) - elected Forepony, an elected official charged with organizational needs and representation of settlement`s necessities to the government officials of nearby town.
c) Burg (500 to 3000 ponies) - elected Mayor (usually, Forepony evolves into Mayor), assigned Judge and Sheriff. Additionally, following positions may be assigned at the discretion of Mayor and availability of facility - Brandmeister, Schoolmarm, Doctor. Brandmeister is the pony responsible for handling of fires, Schoolmarm is responsible for operation of elementary school and Doctor conducts medical practice in town. As a rule of thumb, brandmeister is expected to hire at least four other ponies to be part time firefighters.
D) Small town (3000 to 10000 ponies) - Mayor, Judge and Sheriff remain as they are, although Sheriff gains the right to deputise up to four ponies. Ministry of Education assigns a Principal and furnishes the necessary funds to construct a school and hire teachers. As a rule of thumb, Schoolmarm (if one were appointed) is the first considered candidate for the post of Principal, but a good number of them prefer to retain their vocation as Schoolmarm to continue working with foals. Ministry of Healthcare furnishes the necessary funds to construct a clinic (usually combined with apotecary, unless town already has independently organised one). Post Office constructs a requisite building and assigns a Postmaster, who is required to employ no less then two ponies as postmen. Lastly, Ministry of Infrastructure furnishes funds to construct civil services structure and erects a water tower. If Mayor fails to employ somepony as Town Engineer or/and Brandmeister, they are assigned by Ministry of Infrastructure. Additional possible postings now also include Librarian (if town possesses a library) and Beautification Forepony (if town possesses a park or a botanical garden).
E) Town (10000 to 50000 ponies) - Mayor, Town Engineer and Beautification Forepony are now all entitled to hire up to two aides. Sheriff`s deputy allotment is increased to eight ponies. Brandmeister is expected to have at least two full-time firefighters and up to six additional part-timers. Ministry of Infrastructure constructs a railway station and corresponding railway line, provided one wasn`t built during the founding of settlement. If railway is not feasible in the locale, airship berth is constructed instead.
F) Major Town (50000 to 200000 ponies) - Mayor, Town Engineer, Beautification Forepony, Sheriff and Brandmeister all are relieved of max employees quota and are permitted to hire as necessary within town budget. Ministry of Health furnishes funds for two to four additional clinics and a hospital. Ministry of Education likewise furnishes funds for two to four schools, a fully stocked library and a college or trade school. Ministry of Culture ensures that town has at least one major park, one theater/circus/racing circuit and one hotel. If there is anything at all memorable in the area, at least one museum is also constructed. Mayor is strongly encouraged to organize a fair or otherwise create some tourist attractions. Depending on the layout of town and it`s logistic needs, Ministry of Infrastructure may create additional railway lines and/or airship berths as needed, construct a public transportation system and waste treatment plant.
G) City (200000 to 1000000 ponies) - City is sectioned, and additional Judges and Sheriffs are assigned to each section. Mayor appoints vice-mayors to oversee each section of the city. Civil services are further expanded, as is the infrastructure. At this level, city invariably contains several schools, at least one college and two trade schools, several hospitals and clinics, several firefighter depots and other assorted sundry and tawdry means of facilitating a city.
H) Megalopolis (over a 1000000 ponies) - so far, a theoretical article, although Manehattan is believed to be quickly approaching that milestone. As theoretized by Senate, at the level of Megalopolis there will be a necessity for one more level of aggregation, appointing a High Sheriff and possibly a Conclave to oversee the city of such a gargantuan size. Insofar, however, this is merely thought experiment, and such a necessity is not expected to arise for at least twenty more years.
Very detailed and organised! i admit, mine isn't nearly as thoroughly laid out - perhaps I'll borrow some of it as filler.
If you're interested, my legislature is loosely based off the old Classical Era system, which itself came form a merging of the three tribes over time - in the beginning it was literally three seperate governments whose leaders formed a triumvirate. Nowadays all the three Chambers are multi-tribal to varying degrees, but their origins can still be felt.
From the unicorns comes the Chamber of Lords, whose seats are hereditary. Celestia can create new ones at will as well as annul existing ones, but she does so only sparingly. An heir may only actually take their seat in the chamber if approved by a one-time vote of existing members, which helps keep the younger nobility more or less in line and mostly scandal-free. Well, except the ones who were never interested in politcs anyway...
The pegasi provide the Chamber of Officers - once this meant military officers, of course, but nowadays it means ponies occupying all sorts of top-level civil service positions. Or rather, their representatives - this is the only chamber that allows proxy representation, and most of those eligible for seats are too busy to sit themselves.
And lastly but not leastly, the earthponies' ancient ways of democracy give shape to the largest Chamber of Representatives. these ponies (or even occasionally non-ponies) are elected every three years, generally in sync with the mayoral cycle - indeed, in something of a reversal of Earth politics, Representatives often owe their position to mayoral endorsements, as most ponies are more interested in local politics than the Canterlot sort. After all the Princess is the one really in charge over there, isn't she?
Well, yes and no. Yes, during Luna's absence Celestia did effectively have total veto power over Parliament. Now that her sister has returned, theoreticallly the three-way balance of power they once had is restored. Though in practice, pro-Celestia sentiment is high enough that a hint of her support will get any bill passed and her approval quash it - which is one reason she tries not to give such hints except when it truly matters.
As for actual procedure - well the details vary between the chambers, but generally any member can nominate a bill or just a matter for discussion, sufficient backing means it gets discussed, and if it passes one Chamber it goes to the other two. Depending on the nature of the bill, it may just need a majority of all Parliament or also a majority in all three Chambers. Once passed, all that's needed is a Princess's stamp of approval.
Actual parties are rare, but there are semi-consistent voting blocs and factions within and across all three chambers. These blocs tend to be aligned on certain issues of mutual relevance, such as tribal or regional matters. And then there are the subcomittees, but let's just not get started on them...
So then, if that's the executive, what of the judiciary? Well, it's not really an independent body per se - Equestria never developed that kind triune division. Judges are part of the Ministry of Justice, being appointed by the Princesses - technically they can pick anypony of good character, although in practice nowadays they're always lawyers and nominated by a Ministry subcommittee. (Local magistrates require only Ministry approval and can be nominated by a mayor or town council, but are limited to trying misdemeanours and civil cases up to a certain value.)
There are a few levels, from local courts to the High Court - the Princesses themselves are judges in the Highest Court, which tries charges of treason. (Yes, a bit of a conflict of interest, but it made sense at the time.) A higher judge can try lower cases if available, and there are procedures of appeal.
Oh, to cap off the non-independence? The Princesses have total veto power - not just pardons and commuting sentences, but actually dismissing verdicts and even granting immunity to charges, like Twilight did for Starlight. Thankfully, these powers are used rarely, and usually in the public interest...
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I think you`d be better served by putting your theories into your own blog entry. Keep them handy and all that. Not to mention the possibility, however slim, of peer review. ^_^
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true. Or posting them in the thread - if I moved them there, might you comment?
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Comment on what? I have little to say about your system - it`s workable for lite writing and leaves enough of blank space and ambiguity for people to adapt it for their specific plot needs. Not much else can be said here.
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I tend to start with broad strokes and add detail as needed. Comment and questions from others, especially detail-minded others, helps with that.
Rereading this without feeling the need to soliloquize on my own system, it's really impressive still. Could also easily be adapted for an original setting with just a few tweaks, too.
One thing I would like to know is where various canon settlements fit on the scale. I can guess (Ponyville seems like a growing Burg, for instance), but hearing what you had in mind would be nice.
I bookmarked this post, it helped with my own woldbuilding immensely. Thanks, fellow russian who is female, much appreciated, and best wishes to you wherever you happened to be