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.

Most of the population of Gaia is made up of Earth Ponies. Historically it has also been known as the Earth Pony Lands and its population as the Earth Pony Tribe.

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.

Geography
Earth Ponies have traditionally spread over plains where agriculture is easy and the terrain is well suited for carts and carriages.

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

Economy
The Gaian economy is largely based on agriculture.

The cart and carriage industry is also 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.

Flax is a common cash crop in the rainy temperate environments with loamy soils of Gaia. Because of the pre-existence 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 and these riverside flax spinning plants remain a common Gaian sight even as most industry employs combustion engines.

Infrastructure
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.

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