Out of the three main bastardizations of Celestia one of the worst is the Tyrant, which begs the question... how do we put together a government that would avoid this without removing Celestia from power? Given the varying political beliefs of the members of this group I am sure that this will be a very interesting topic.

Perhaps she has a system of checks and balances. Yes, she makes the decisions, but all decisions have to be ratified by some form of council.

That's my headcannon, anyway.

She is a tyrant in the original Greek sense, where it meant a popular strongman who wielded power by popular consent rather than by right of birth, wealth or anything else. That fits in pretty well with what we've seen in the show, where she is adored by all and may as well derive her authority from that as any other reason. The original tyrants were not cruel or despotic, but tended to be what we might nowadays call left wing, and usually came to power by opposing the cruelty of oligarchies. A good example would be Pisistratus of Athens.

And, being immortal, she can even avoid the otherwise inevitable downside of popular tyranny: the chaos that follows the death of the tyrant.

Goddess of the Sun =Princess (or whatever title she wants) of Equestria

It could be like the ancient pharaohs of Egypt who did rule with absolute power, but Celestia's personality prevents her position from going to her head.

On an off topic note: Celestia Sphinx.

908071
...you learn something new every day. Nice info drop.

Well Celestia has Luna, Cadence and now Twilight to help her.

I would imagine Blueblood would serve at least some purpose.

Also according to Megan McCarthy we are going to see more Alicorns in Season 4, so there's that.

908093
Wouldn't that just be a statue of Celestia in Repose? Only with a broken off horn?

908123
You assume Equestria would allow anything to deface a statue of their Sun Princess?

Parliamentary monarchy. An elected parliament whose decisions must be ratified by the Princess.

My approach is a Federal Diarchy with separation of powers between three branches of government and between the national government and provincial governments. There are nobles but they are less likely to make a nuance of themselves since they owe their jobs to Celestia.

908116
Wait... more Alicorns? Oh dear the fandom is not going to be happy.

908116

Wasn't that just an April Fool's joke?

908152
Don't know. Could just be seeing that Alicorn foal Twilight went to Magical Kindergarten with, all grown up.

908136
Please. We both know Ditzy Do bumped into it.

Ill write when i get to a pc. What i say may piss a few people off

908147
I had written this:

Wait... more Alicorns? Oh dear the fandom is not going to be happy.

How's life from under your rock?
I don't want to be an asshat but it's been an established fact for a few months already.

And then I read the rest of the original comment. Dear Wish Granter I'm dumb.

908178
I mean more so the usual. We can confirm that the fandom will not be happy until Hasbro *takes a breath* removes Twilight's wings, banishes Celestia to the sun, make Octavia/Vinyl and Bonbon/Lyra canon, RD being a lesbian, buy out the rights to Doctor Who, give Trixie the Element of Magic, move the series from the Hub to Adult Swim and rename it the Trixie and Luna Super Happy Funtime Show.

908201
You sir win the interweb.

Dont forget that the batponies become Master Chief, with the same personality of any character from COD.

908201

I bow to your genius.

908201
Sad but true.

As for the government, the way I thought about it is that we have a government composed of normal ponies (who may or may not be elected officials) and a parliament who govern and can propose new laws, but Celestia (and Luna) need to give final approval and have right of veto. Or something like that.

908201

And Fluttershy gets a spin off Called "My Waifu and I" where each episode is fluttershy dating some random anon-appearing-in-equestria.

908237>>908282
I did forget that Hasbro has to bring back Ditzy/Derpy and pair her off with the Doctor (of course the fandom would be upset if she isn't given just the right personality)

908290
Fluttershy and Luna. And Pinkie would be a psychopathic killer

Discussion of fanon taking over the show aside...

My current "design" for the morning/evening court is:

Supreme-level: Princesses Celestia/Luna
Ministerial-level: Appointed ministers
Provincial-level: Nobles
Municipal-level: Mayors

Originally, Equestria was a feudal society but that was abolished by Princess Celestia about 500 hundred years after Nightmare Moon's banishment on the moon and replaced with the current system. Technically, it did not change the old system much but shifted much of the higher level legislative and judicial power up to the Ministerial-level, including taxation. The nobles now occupy the post of what a US Governor would occupy, they don't exactly hold land but the title is still hereditary.

Princesses Celestia and Luna are pretty much a two-pony team of Supreme Court and the top-most tier of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches, the rest of the branches are filled by the ministers, who watch over areas of Equestrian interests at the national level (Weather distribution, Food distribution, Production and Magical Research and Development to name a few).

It is, in a way, similar to the old imperial courts of China and Joseon (Korea), at least in the Ministerial and Supreme levels and was based on that.

908201, And then the fandom will still find something to gripe about. I guarantee it.

908176, Don't let the possible backlash stop you from saying what you feel you need to say.

908071, You're a genius.

908299
And dont forget about gratutious ammounts of sex with futashy.

Not to sound like a hipster, but i feel like ive been saying that for months.

908392
Hence why it would moved from the Hub to Adult Swim.

908201 Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball.

Hmm, never really thought about this all that much.
In my own fic (God Empress of Ponykind) the theory is that Celestia and Luna would hold an equal ammount of responsibilities, but as the story takes place just before Luna becomes Nightmare Moon that kind of breaks down.

908921
Celestia is going to make damn sure she doesn't repeat the mistakes she made as the EoM I'm guessing.

908933 She'll try...

908934
Which is going to be very interesting to see.

908395
and also, half of the characters would also be changelings that were seperated from their hive at birth and raised as ponies....
BUT, the grievence that I swear I WILL LEAVE the fandom immediately, (forgive me,908391 But its the truth); the Past Sins episode... I believe that Tai will explain my displeasure:

NOW! enough with how the fanon is ruining Canon. If you want to contine make a seperate forum or PM me because this is not the place for it.

908116 Really? More fucking alicorns? Cadence was Fine, Twilight was REALLY pushing it, but MORE? It better be an april fools joke.

Equestrian Governemnt:

Now, most of my intrepretation,(mixed with headcannon) would describe how Equestria was like a monarchy or feudal state. Luna is gone, and Celestia begins to renovate the system of governemt, Starting with a modernized system of the armed forces, having Generals and admirals etc. They have a written constitution, dictating equality, much like the Constitution of the United States, Written law, and etc.
But then, Celestia, being crafty, and see how somewhat broken the Caste system of Nobles ruling over lands, starts a new system of government (possibly being inspired by the forms of GOVT from colonies and other walks of life across the planet.) for years, she uses negotiation and other things and lifts all political power from the nobles, and instead starts a democratically elected system, ranging from mayors, to splitting the country into sections and appointing governors, and furthermore, representitives to serve areas of constituents for populations of each state/ province.

But at the top of it all, bieng tethered together by checks and balences, is Celestia, acting as a head of state and holding a great amount of power, but also bound by law. She, having immortality and also the common sense to adjust accordingly with the times, serves the citizens of Equestria. They can still present themselves to her court if they have any concerns and are willing to pay the price to have an audience. (not monetary based, but instead the time, trip to Canterlot, having said case approved by a clerk, ETC.)

Nobles, even though they have no direct political influence, are still wealthy, and have the capital to invest and are business holders. (In my story, "Prince" Vladimir Blueblood is the heir to a majority stock in his lamp oil Company; the Blueblood Oil Company). they keep the title to keep up their ego, and since a country is dependent on its economy, Celestia allows their asshattery.

Now, with things like the judicial/ representative system, that is reserved for qualified professionals, for even if a person is popular, (Obama, FDR, Clinton) they will be removed from office if they are too incompetient (Taft, Carter,).

Now, here is the part that will PISS EVERYONE OFF, and possibly John Hood will renounce me as a friend. I find it perfectly logical that celestia, at one ponit, would try to adopt a socialist structure. She wants to take care of all of her ponies, but at the same time by trying to do so, you are hurting them in the long run. For in reality, the best course of action to perform any type of governemt or any other type of command is to delegate it to the person of least authority nessecary to complete the task.
To prove my point, ill use an example: Govt said that from now on, Everyone would eat a healthy diet of fruit, so they supply everyone with Apples, and for those who are alerigic to apples is given an Orange. Now, who is in thier right to tell you what you can and can't eat? your govt, your representative, your mayor, or you? what if you don't like apples and you want to eat berries? you'd be breaking the law because you are not eating the government issued food.
Let's broaden the scale, if the Govt, wanted LA to be safer, they would not send in the Marines, the task should be delegated to the Mayor of LA and the Govenor of Califormia.
Either way, Judging on how Everyone in Equestria is not suffering, starving, have all the same things, or poor, I can safely assume that this communist idea was tried and then revoked, paving back to a free market economy.
Furthermore, dipping into Headcannon, Unlike the growing number of People who think Twilight is actually a noble (Sorry, I fucking hate that idea. I like Cinderella stories too much) I believe that Twilight's dad is probably the a member of the Equestrian federal Reserve, or whatever private non government organization that controls the coining and control of monetary policy. (I know it sound evil, but that is the way the Federal Reserve is, it is NOT controled in any way by the United States Governement beside the fact that the Prisident Selects Governors of each district when there is an opening, but other than that, they recieve NO outside influences by private entities or Political ones. )Each governor is a highly qualified professional in the field of economics, and has to jump through 1001 hoops to gain thier position.

Other than that, All i can say is that I restate my idea that the Royal guard is more like the Secret Service, and that Equestria has a large standing armed force, while instead of military rule, each district has a police force designed to serve and protect the population.

Ill add more if i think of anything.

Also, like i put in my intro post, I would Love to write a fic abotu Equestria in a severe depression and Twilight's dad, (I don't know why, but I always think his name is Alan?) goes from a college economics professor to the Head of the new Equestrian federal reserve, in a satire of why the American Economy is tanking so bad.

908052
908070
908071

Curious. I always approached it this way:

Out of all the dictators in history, few have ever come by their power honestly. Hitler shaped Germany into an economic powerhouse by spreading myths of hate. Stalin murdered his way to the top of the USSR, and exterminated millions of his own people. When we think of a ruler with absolute power, we think of these evil men.

That's not the universe MLP is written in. It's a world of fantasy. A world where good rulers who care about their citizens actually exist. I suggest a slightly different way of looking at the situation:

According to The Show's canon, Celestia and Luna rose up and liberated ponykind from Discord. They fought against Sombra, restored Day and Night to their proper times, and encouraged civilization to flourish once more. I would argue that, by simple right of conquest, they earned the authority to be absolute dictators. All ponykind, probably even the entire world, is indebted to them. They rose up and cast down Discord, two little ponies achieving what all the other races could or would not.

Then, Luna became filled with hatred and envy. She became Nightmare Moon. We know from the show's cannon that banishing her to the moon had a profound emotional effect on Celestia. It was, I dare infer, the hardest thing she ever had to do. She had to stare in the face proof that even an Alicorn was not perfect. That she and her sister were not divinely appointed saviors of the world, but just as fallible and corruptible as any mortal pony.

Eternal night would have meant that Nightmare Moon would rule as a true iron-hooved dictator. She would crush and oppress all who opposed her, and hammer at the world until it was reforged to her will. We know this not only from the description in the first episode, but Luna also speaks of her "dark powers" in Luna Eclipsed. She wanted to rule the world, and decided that if she would not be loved, she would be feared. Rather than agree with her sister that alicorns were "better" or "knew best" for the world, Celestia gathered the Elements and banished her. She chose liberty over tyranny, even though it cost both her pride as an alicorn and her baby sister.

That's all show cannon, or reasonably inferred from it and proven by supporting evidence. What's that all add up to?

Celestia has the right to rule the whole world. She earned it by saving the world, by crushing the enemies of her little ponies, and by sacrificing that which was most dear to her for the ponies she was born to protect. She has the right of life and death over every newborn foal, and stands as the ultimate authority over Equestria. We should not begin by saying "Gee, how do we fit a Princess into a representative government?"

No, no.

We should begin by saying "Why would Celestia give up any power? Why have mayors, or nobles, or laws of any kind? Why should be anything more than a kind tyrant, who is fully justified in her tyranny, such that those who speak of natural rights should be mocked and accused of being ungrateful to the one who has safeguarded their race for over a thousand years?"

Why?

A note. I do not agree with the concept of Celestia as a dictator, evil or not. It doesn't match what we see in the show, and it simply cannot account for the amount of socital progress made, since tyranny as a rule demands the repression of the thinking mind. By distinct contrast, Celestia regards learning and inquisitiveness so highly that she takes on personal pupils. She adopts and nurtures young fillies who achieve great things, such as Cadence, rather than kidnapping and brainwashing them. I simply pose this question to help get this thread back on the right tack, and also in the hope of poking at a nerve.

Why isn't Celestia a dictator? Why should she be anything else, what benefit would it be to her? Why not a gentle tyrant?

And, as something of a hint, what is so beautiful about liberty that she would give up power just to see it flourish?

909060
Because a princess, worrying about starving children, about the return of a being that has the full intent to inadvertantly kill everything as a side effect of its vanity, who must prepare for the looming prospect of war, enslavement, and the death of her people, has no time to focus on speeding tickets, grain distrubutions, welfare checks, flooding, estate taxes, building codes, or a factory polluting a stream and killing fish.
Simply put, if a government tries to control everything, especially its business and people, everything will be miserable.

Take 2 examples, Hong Kong VSVenesuela and The United States VS. The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
End of WW2, venesuela was among the most wealthy countries in the world, it had limitless resouces of both crops and oil. Look at it now, it is among the poorest countries on one of the poorest continents. the govt is corrupted and investment is not protected.
Now, Hogkong was destroyed at the end of WW2. but once again under the British rule, it returned and was one of the highest growing nations in the world. when the brits had to leave decades later, the commies of the Chinese decided to keep it pure of its corrupting and disasterous ideal of communism, and even today, it has a more free economy than the Untied States even though it is a fraction of the size.

Now, both America and the Congo were colonies. By the british and the Belguins, respectivly(but i am not absolutely sure). America has prospered by its balanced govt and protection of its business while the Congo has regressed into feudal civil wars and has devolved into a simple dictatorship.

Yes, Celestia could be a benvolent dictator, but this is the land of ponies, afterall. nothing is that perfect in the real world and i doubt it would last in a fake one either.

I have to admit when I crafted my Equestriani government it was done in a way that I couldn't be accused of making Celestia a tyrant, benevolent or otherwise. And at one point in history Celestia was a dictator, a term taken from the Old Markab Republic meaning One Who Dictates, that era was right after the War of Eternal Night when she really didn't know who to trust (even her allies couldn't be completely trusted not to lead a witch hunt). She made sure to quick turn over most of the powers once the current Constitution was ratified.

909131 oh god, if you wanted the far right represented in this debate, john Hood and I (if he doesent want to murder me for my Pinko statement) are the two bronies to do it.

909194
Please no, while debates are kind of the point of this thread I would rather not get either the Far Right or Far Left to start going on why our ideas are completely wrong... I will respect you and John's political beliefs but I tend to have a low tolerance for stupidity on either side, which probably why I enjoy the Colbert Report so much

909234
Its not that, really. Many debates, such as gay marrige and immigration I don't really care about, but ever since I started college (at a private business school I may add) ive become more concerned over the real issue of our country, the economy. and the only ideals that work are on the right (But don't think i don't know politicians are just fuck ups in disguise). that, and the fact that Ronald Regan, in 2 years and a democratic house solved bigger problems than Obama has in 5 with a friendly house.
So, other than the protection of my second ammendment right. (I like my guns) and the fact that i dont want to have abortions paid through my taxes, this is how i usually view politics....

Consider my intrusion into the powder keg a joke and the topic dropped.

909284
AS we don't go overboard and it sounds like Election season... or like the debates going on right now on both sides.

909003, There's nothing to forgive, because you've done nothing wrong.
You spoke your mind. That's perfectly fine.
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
*salute*

...woah, I walk into this thread and am bombarded from all sides with governmental structures!

Gunna be honest, I've read a lot of these comments, and have tried to give it much thought.

Thinking about the Equestria cannon has built, I think it's safe to say it's nothing like the human governments we have, for one simple reason.

It has endured 1,000 years in a form with a single Princess seemingly in the highest determinable seat of power, and prior to and afterwards, with 2 discernible Princesses in influential, though vague, positions in their society. And from what we can tell from flashbacks, it's remained mostly unchanged in all that time.

Nightmare Moon non-withstanding, the core of Equestrian society, and indeed the position of Celestia in particular, seems to have remained constant over the years. What that position is besides the obvious title, is much harder to define.

In my head cannon, Celestia is less a ruler, and more of a trouble-shooter. Ponies govern themselves by and large from the looks of things, at least in so far as having a Mayor of a given town would denote. As far as royalty, perhaps there is ownership of lands for the sisters, which plays into how the Apple Family got it's start in what would become Ponyville.

However, how she got that land, likely came from her conquest, Luna along side her, of Discord, and likely protected the land, with the Princess title being honorary at first. Perhaps it was even less about their land and accomplishments, but their abilities over the Sun and Moon that got them the title. In all honesty, I don't see the two of them ruling at first per say, though likely their own lands that were given to them as a thank-you likely developed and they gained a form of kingdom.

This is where I assert Pony Psychology as having dynamic key differences from our own, which enable Harmony, and indeed this kind of government arrangement to be possible...whatever it is.

Gunna be honest people, I want us to instead of trying to define it by our known systems, instead build off of the historical events we KNOW happened, and maybe come up with something knew, something from the perspective of beings who's creed of "Love and Tolerate", is well known to us all. Just a thought, and I'd love to hear/see ideas on the matter, and where you draw the ideas from.

Consider it a challenge, if Celestia's Paladin would allow.

I still say she's a pharaoh.
*pouts at the well thought out posts*

In a nutshell, I'm assuming that ponies herd like horses IRL, and need a strong female leader. The show kind of backs that up--a single pony will run away or faint in terror to a perceived threat, while a group will stand up to it, and a strong mare (such as Twilight) can get ponies to stop their panicked reactions.

Assume that the events of HWE are kind of a metaphor--the ponies didn't decide to work together on their own, but Luna and Celestia took the power of controlling the sun and moon from the unicorns. Celestia isn't stupid, so maybe she gave the unicorns some titles to make them happy, while the pegasi and earth ponies were so happy with the improvement in their station, they pretty much went along with what the alicorns said.

Finally, we have Kings (Sombra) and Queens (Chrysalis), so why are the alicorns princesses? I'm thinking that maybe they didn't exactly take the throne, but are stewards waiting for somepony else to return (who may or may not ever). That might make their ascent to power easier for everyone. "Don't worry, guys, I'll just sit on the throne and raise the sun until your real leader comes back." After a thousand years, nopony's really expecting anypony to challenge them for it.

I've got more details on how this all works in my head, but don't really feel the need to write a novel here.

909875
I shall allow it

910312
You do raise a good point, why isn't Celestia a Queen? We know why outUniverse she isn't one, blame Disney for making Queens evil. But why inUniverse?
For my the answer is two fold, By Law and Tradition there shall me no King or Queen in honor of the sacrifice made by the Three Queens of the Tribes.

Also I do agree with the idea that Celestia and Luna at least in part got there position by the Right of Conquest. They did lead what is sometimes known as the Cutie Mark Crusade against Discord, which happens to coincide with a large scale revolt against his rule.

910754

Agreed--Discord's canon; anything else is speculation but could work in the framework of the story (since we really don't know all that much about Equestrian history).

910761
Which is what makes this world-building so interesting, we do have a lot gaps to fill in. Though I always keep two things in mind: canon and what I can do to stick it to the fandom

910787
Yeah, I try for that too. Must have been exciting times in Equestria "one thousand years ago." Whatever we come up with, though, there's likely to be an episode that contradicts it eventually. Ah well.

910312 Answer: Equestria is a principality. Seriously, a lot of fictional worlds where a princess is in charge would benefit from remembering that this form of government exists.

As for government, well, there's only so much I can say that hasn't already been said, but I'll give it a shot.

Taking local governments out of the picture for a second, there are three cities that influence all of Equestria: Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and the Crystal Empire (and don't get me started on the whole "that word doesn't mean what you think it means" thing). Out of all of these, Canterlot has the least influence. True, it's where the princesses reside, but Cloudsdale provides the weather for Equestria while the Crystal Empire spreads love and light across the nation.

I feel that Celestia did this on purpose. She's ruling from a city that, while prestigious and known for its high class, doesn't impact Equestria as a whole. In that sense, I agree with 909060 here. Celestia gives up power willingly, perhaps so that she won't be corrupted by it.

911155

I'm going to agree while disagreeing (this is gonna be awesome)

We know from canon that unicorns can control the weather. We don't know how well, but Rarity isn't all that powerful of a unicorn. Probably a bunch of them that were good at it could manage, just as HWE tells us that they did back in 'Ye Olde Times' with the sun.

We also know that the Crystal Empire can't be all that important to Equestria, since it was not there for a thousand years (unless its love influence is needed to counterbalanced Luna, who was also not there for a thousand years). We don't know for sure where Cadance has been, but it wasn't the Crystal Empire, since she was foalsitting filly Twilight (unless they defrosted her or destoned her as needed).

I'm also not sure about the corruption issue--while it's true that on Earth dictatorships and their ilk tend to be run by corrupt rulers, I would think that being--for all practical purposes--immortal could mitigate that somewhat.

All that having been said, I agree that Celestia willingly gives up power which could be hers, although it might be difficult to describe her motivations for doing so. I mean, we know that she can control the sun and the moon, but she happily gives control of the moon back to Luna. Presumably, if she wanted to, she could give the sun to a bunch of unicorns. I also believe that all the cities in Equestria are important for sometihing, and while others could take their place, the system works best when the right ponies are doing the right jobs.

So, in conclusion, I'm not sure it's actually possible to ascribe a human form of government on a magical society which is headed by a long-lived or immortal being who actually controls the sun.

911242

Awesome points, but a few minor canon notes need to be added for clarity. The Crystal Empire isn't "needed" by Equestria. When Celestia sends Twilight to save it, she describes the "positive" effects of the Crystal Empire in brief. She is much more clear about what will happen to Equestria if the Crystal Empire falls to Sombra. Bad things. Very bad things.

Luna doesn't say "We must save the Crystal Empire, think of all those poor ponies enslaved!" Oh no. Luna's in full combat mode. She says:

The empire's magic is powerful. It cannot fall again, my sister.

She wants to go there and kick Sombra's tail. She's the Princess of the Blitz, the Nightbringer, every time we see her she's either adorable or ready for battle. To translate into human terms, this is how they see the Crystal Empire:

"Britain's important. I mean, having them on our side is grand and all, but we can't let the Nazis invade her shores. Because after that island has fallen, it's only a matter of time before they look westward again. So, the British Empire is important, my faithful student, not because they offer us much, but because we cannot let the Black Nazis conquer her."

Could Equestria manage without the Crystal Empire? Sure, Celestia handled things fine for a thousand years. However, it was not a matter of a distant affair that did not affect Equestria. If the Crystal Empire fell, Equestria would be next on the list. At the very least, Sombra would hold something of a grudge for being trapped in ice for a thousand years.

Heh. Trapped under ice.

Secondly, Cadence was mortal-born. She started out as a little pegasus who was adopted by earth ponies, but wound up ascending to alicornhood after thwarting an evil enchantress who did evil dances, and was stealing other ponies' love by putting them in trances...

After that, she found herself teleported to the Master Emerald where she became Super Sonic, er, astrally extruded to a place that looks a lot like the battleground from the final few episodes of Gurren Lagann, ah... she met Celestia just outside the galaxy, and after witnessing her ascension Celestia offered to adopt her as her royal niece.

So, she's mortal-born and ascended, just like Twilight. All that is canon. The Crystal Ponies accepted her as their leader because she fufilled their ancient prophecies of the "Crystal Princess" who would bring balance to the force mostly leave them alone to carry on their lives and handle all that ceremonial ruler-junk that nopony else wanted to bother with. Y'know, kind of like the UK's current monarchy.

909875

Regarding the Apple Family being given land by Celestia, the Everfree Forest and the land close to it was property of the crown because it used to be the site of the Royal Pony Sisters' castle. We learn this in S01E02, when Twilight and friends go searching for the Elements of Harmony. Judging by the state of the castle, either there was massive damage done during the battle to banish Nightmare Moon, or some other tragedy forced it to be abandoned.

So, that's why it was Royal land. It was literally Celestia's home, the place she and her sister either built or restored after vanquishing Discord. She probably either quarantined it or simply let it regress into the wild, but judging by how many crazy things grow in the Everfree, it looks like there was a ton of magical fallout from the battle with NMM.

That's all canon. One piece of inference I will add is that Celestia probably gave the Apple Family that land because she could tell they were hard-working ponies who could endure the hardships involved with reclaiming it. She was almost certainly planning to use Ponyville as a stepping-stone to save her sister from Nightmare Moon. After all, hasn't anyone thought it a bit fishy that Celestia "just happened" to have the Summer Sun Celebration on the night she knew NMM would be able to return at the town right next to the Everfree Forest, which was also home to six ideal matches for the six Elements of Harmony?

Wow. This is a great thread! Tons of awesome points being made, respectful discourse all around... what happened to the Great Internet Hate Machine?

Answer: Derpy broke it. And that's why we love her so.

Okay, we all know Discord's rule is cannon. He's described as a "draconequus". That means Dragon-horse. We know his reign came before the Sisters Astral (Luna and Celestia). Let's think about the entire timeline of events that we know happened. Before Discord came the Three Pony Tribes, who came together when they discovered Equestria and vanquished the Windigos. That was Equestria's First Founding, the Second Founding came when Celestia and Luna led the Great Crusade and reclaimed the land for Ponykind. Before then, ponies were rogue tribes, living in bands and barely trusting one another enough to survive.

All canon. Pretty epic canon. There's a lot to work with there.

910787

Right there with you. I know very little about the "debate" between the "New Lunar Republic" (What happened to the old one?) and the "Solar Empire". I do, however, find it extremely hilarious that the more one delves into cannon, the more one sees that Luna would lean toward an authoritarian regime, while Celestia has spent a thousand years cultivating liberty like a bonsai tree.

For my writing purposes, I almost always use the "federalized" approach. Each city handles its own affairs, often interacting with its geological neighbors far more than any federal power. Cloudsdale operates almost entirely autonomously, while Canterlot is more of a hub of high society than a seat of power. Furthermore, it is the cities who firmly control the budget of the federal government, since taxes are collected from the treasury of each city rather than from the individual. Celestia is more a "sentinel" than anything else. As for why she has the title "Princess", well... hrmm... let me see if I can dredge up that C.S. Lewis quote.

"Oh dear," said Cor. "I don't want to at all. And Corin-I am most dreadfully sorry. I never dreamed my turning up was going to chisel you out of your kingdom."

"Hurrah! Hurrah!" said Corin. "I shan't have to be King. I shan't have to be King. I'll always be a prince. It's princes have all the fun."

"And that's truer than thy brother knows, Cor," said King Lune. "For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there's hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land."

When the two boys were going upstairs to bed Cor again asked Corin if nothing could be done about it. And Corin said: "If you say another word about it, I'll-I'll knock you down."

- C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy, 1954

I rather fancy the image of Celestia going to bed every night, blowing out the candle, and smiling in secret to herself. She will never be a Queen, only a Princess. Princesses have all the fun!

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The hate machine isn't working since we are a like minded lot and the trolls know that I may come down as the Hammer of Celestia:

Also in regards to the Crown Lands idea... ok this is creepy since I have the same idea. The majority of the land in the Province of Everfree is owned by the Everfree Clan, i.e. Celestia. Though she leases out the land so she still receives income from rent.

I agree that Equestia has a federal system. At least 15 provinces given some amount of self-rule. In the case of one, the Sable Islands, this is a necessity as that province is more than 2 days sail from Equestria.