Gaia

**Gaia** is one of the territories of Equestria and one of the three nations that came together to form it, together with Ceria and Icaria. It is located in eastern Equestria.

Historically it has also been known as the Earth Pony Lands and its population as the Earth Pony Tribe.

Its largest city is Manehattan.

## Politics

Gaia is a republic within Equestria, which elects its leader by popular vote. The leader holds the title of chancellor. At the time of the foundation of Equestria, the leader was Chancellor Puddinghead.

## Military

As it is hard for an Earth Pony to simultaneously handle a weapon and move, the Gaian military mostly relies on two things.

On the defense, construction of walls and watchtowers from which cannons and rifles (traditionally ballistas and crossbows) can be shot, as well as, when in foreign terrain, the construction of palisades to blunt enemy charges and more recently the digging of trenches.

On the offense, chariot warfare is used, where a Pony drives a chariot and another Pony shoots a ranged weapon from it. Soldiers and carriages are armored and ranged attacks may not be effective against them.

Close quarters combat is avoided, but soldiers are often equipped with melee weapons in case the need arises. Regardless, it is inadvisable to engage earth pony armies in close quarters and hit and run tactics are preferred. Magical weaponry is another highly effective option.

Gaia also oversaw developments of various forms of carriage-mounted weaponry, including artillery and rotary guns. Rotary guns in particular have been used to devastating effects against armies with older and slower weaponry, and they are considered by some military officers to be a modern, industrial form of killing, turning a rotary motion into mass deaths like a factory turns it into goods.

## Geography

Earth Ponies have traditionally spread over plains where agriculture is easy and the terrain is well suited for wheeled vehicles.

Because of this, Gaia is notorious for its plains and flatlands.

## Economy

### Agriculture

The Gaian economy is largely based on agriculture. Clover is a major staple food, planted in crop rotation with cereals, usually wheat or rye and occasionally corn. Clover blossoms are used to make tea.

Apiculture is another major agricultural activity in clover farms as bees pollinate clover. To sustain apiculture, there's a cottage industry of wicker products as wicker is used to build beehives and bee suits.

Rice has grown in importance as a crop in wetlands and it's a popular food source for the Qilin diaspora.

Flax is a common cash crop in the rainy temperate environments with loamy soils of Gaia.

### Industry

The cart and carriage industry is remarkable. The workshops in the city of Detrot provide much of Equestria's vehicles.

Carts and carriages are an important aspect of daily Equestrian life, but especially so in Gaia where many activities rely on Pony-drawn vehicles.

War chariots and wagons have always been a key feature of Earth Pony armies and tools based on carts, such as ploughs and harvesters, are used in most phases of farming, from loosening the soil, to planting seeds, to harvesting.

Because of the preexistence of skilled wainwrights and the abundance of rivers, the flax spinning industry in Gaia enjoyed an early mechanization through the use of water wheels in rivers. These riverside flax spinning plants remain a common Gaian sight even as most industry employs combustion engines.

### Infrastructure

*See also Rail transport#History.*

Gaian infrastructure features an extensive network of roads, bridges and highways to enable the easy movement of carts and carriages, which gave Gaia and advantage during industrialization.

Another major infrastructure is the irrigation systems which drive Gaia high agricultural output.

Gaia also features large walls and towers that were built to withstand invasions from other tribes before Equestria was formed.

Within cities, streets are usually made of packed dirt which is cheaper and doesn't cause as much hoof wear as stone. This stands in contrast to the cobbled streets of Ceria. Segments with heavy wheeled traffic may still be cobbled.

## Demographics

Most of the population of Gaia is made up of Earth Ponies.

Because of its location in eastern Equestria geographically closer to Pyrisia than other parts of old Equestria, Gaia hosts a large part of Equestria's Qilin population. Qilintowns are a common feature in major Gaian cities and Manehattan has the largest Qilintown in Equestria (little Qilinia) with a population that rivals that of many cities.

Qilin immigration in Gaia has helped cover the demand for jobs that require magic-wielding creatures in the face of the lack of Unicorns.

### Druids

In ancient times, Gaia also had a significant population of Unicorns known as druids. These druids played an important role in religious rituals and politics.

Druids carved their horns with decorative patterns, perhaps because they believed it'd strengthen their magic or possibly simply because of aesthetic purposes.

Druids used their magic powers to stimulate plant growth and increase yields of crops. The magic field of druidry is named after them.

## Culture

Clovers are an important symbol in Gaia due to the role of clover as a staple food. They are most strongly associated with abundance, luck and a regional identity for Gaians as well as Earth Ponies as a whole.

Harvest festivals are celebrated during autumn equinox during which parades are arranged in cities and towns and large feasts are served.

## Ecology

The jackalope, a horned hare, lives in the fields of Gaia.