Crossword Genius

Flower from a foreign, revolutionary society in The Shetlands (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ponies

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the shetlands' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both animals as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'flower from a foreign revolutionary society' is the wordplay.
'flower' becomes 'po' (Italian river).
'from' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a foreign' becomes 'ein' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'revolutionary' says the letters should be written backwards.
'society' becomes 's' (common abbreviation in names of organisations).
'ein' backwards is 'nie'.
'po'+'nie'+'s'='PONIES'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ponies that I've seen before include "Small horses" , "rides" , "Small breeds of horse" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times and the Irish Times (Crosaire).
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