The theory of politics has interested me for a while now, simply because of the philosophical reasoning behind all these views, and problems they cause. Now, we all know Equestria is ruled by a certain Princess Celestia. However, in no place during the season did it mention that the country was governed by her. So, this leads to a question: How is everything actually run in Equestria? Is it just Celestia and Luna doing every single thing, or is there a different system. Perhaps there's a parliament of sorts, or maybe everything is anarchic. As well as this, I'd like you to think of the legal system, including courts and related matters. Run wild.
Thing is Test this is probably never going to be addressed in the show itself because little girls don't give a crap. It's one of those plot point the writers are asked not to think about. I have read a few fanfics now and the one that explores this the most is 'Luna's Goodwill Tour'. But not that much. I guess we can just assume it is a dictatorship run by Celestia. At least she is a nice dictator. But likes to troll her subjects now and then. I personally find find politics too boring to give a crap about. (even though it was an optional subject I picked in high school and got my highest grade on). I would rather Equestria just be about the lives they live not about who rules.
I'm tempted to say "magic" and leave it at that. Honestly, besides Celestia and Luna, I don't think there is a need for politics in Equestria. Everyone seems to get along well enough.
Celestia and Luna rule all with mighty magic. That's just what I like to think. Ponyville has a mayor, so I'm guess all other towns and cities have mayors. They could control things on a town level.
I think that despotism is the system in Equestria. Celestia is a god and an absolute ruler (i think Luna doesn't have any power now; Celestia doesn't want another coup). Celestia uses magic so she is able to rule at herself (mayors do not have real power; they only start various holidays and festivals). It is only my opinion. Nobody agrees with it, I think.
I love stuff like this. Anyway, I think the titles of Celestia and Luna hold some interest of their own. We all know they're princesses for marketing purposes, but since we're deliberately overanalysing here, I reckon there's a canon explanation. Ponies and nature have a connection unfamiliar to humans. Ponies literally change the seasons, are significant in other species' ecosystems, and are generally pretty damn important to Equestria. With this in mind, perhaps they are similar to real life tribes, believing that the true king or queen is not a pony, but rather a spirit, lifeforce, or mere concept of life itself. Since Celestia is a princess, following the nature of a monarchy, she could be a whole different kettle of fish. Celestia is well over a thousand years old, yet is still youthful in appearance and demeanor. Granny Smith, who by name is only 2 generations older than Applejack, is old and withered. Not only this, but she is still the same size as all the other ponies. This basically proves that Granny Smith is a fully grown pony. Taking into account Celestia's size and age, it could be concluded that she is of a divine right, as in she was born into her role. Her 'mother' (and by extension queen) would be the lifeforce mentioned earlier. This would explain how her powers are more influential in nature. (Clean up after winter? I raise the freaking sun!) It would also explain why she is so revered. However, Ponyville, and assumingly all the other settlements in Equestria, have their own mayor. I'm assuming this means Celesita hold very little power in terms of politics, rather allows sovereign communities to develop by not destroying them with the power of a thousand suns. As for Luna, perhaps she is also of divine right, but is younger, and therefore has to learn from Celestia. She could be something of an apprentice. As for Prince Blueblood... I don't know. It's not as if anything I just said was in anyway creditable. I'd love to elaborate on this, but I have a feeling very few people here can be bothered. Nobody else but Test find this kind of stuff interesting...?
Ponyville has a mayor, that's small town politics Although how she got her job isn't exactly sure, it's quite obvious that Celestia and Luna don't do all the work running, if anything they seem to make the administrative decisions which are probably delivered to the different regions via the royal guard. Seeing as the day and night cycle, very important for growing crops, is under the complete control of deathless deities - it'd be hard to push them into PR positions, but while they control very important mechanics they have been shown to be far from all powerful: Twilight was worried about Celestia's wellfare with the parasprites, Nightmare Moon's magic and tracks were fairly weak from what you'd consider an incredibly powerful magician could do - they obviously can't control everything with an iron fist/hoof so they'd need a sort of beurocracy to carry out their will. Overall, the main problem is that we haven't seen much of the capital so the only politics we've seen is glimpses of the national level and the local level.
