Are Celestia's guards necessary?

[Waplon 14]

Think about it. Celestia is pretty much a god and is the most powerful being in Equestria. Why, then, does she need the royal guards? For that matter, are they even necessary?

[Brave Sir Andrew 5]

Sure they help protect the citizens of Equestria, but ya Celestia probably doesnt really need a guard to defend her. Altho she still needs ponys like Shining Armour to help her defend the city. For example when he has the blue wall goble around Canterlot.

[Bari 7,021]

They are in charge of keeping the peace and repelling intruders. They may "seem" unnecessary, but the serve an important purpose. They also discourage ponies from committing crimes. Look over the episodes, and you'll see they have a job that they do adequately.

[Waplon 14]

They are in charge of keeping the peace and repelling intruders. They may "seem" unnecessary, but the serve an important purpose. They also discourage ponies from committing crimes. Look over the episodes, and you'll see they have a job that they do adequately.

 

I understand, but why does Celestia need some of them following her around everywhere?

[Hazardus_Havard. 479]

I don't really think they're meant to protect her unless she is in a vulnerable spot such as sleeping.

 

No, I think they're really meant to keep the peace around the palace. To prevent intruders from getting to her in the first place so she may go about her duties as the princess sees fit to do.

 

Plus, there's also the fact that a huge library of magic scrolls and books are there. I can presume that some could be dangerous. And why stop there? I bet there are other things like artifacts hidden as well with equal amounts of danger.

 

And of course they are more or less the "cops" of the Equestrian rule. While the Equestrians can go about with a fair head of sense to not do anything wrong, it could happen and so they are used to go about policing wrongful acts. Why else would Twilight even speak about a strange punishment of banning Fluttershy if there wasn't a hint of truth in the matter? I guess it's something to think on there, eh?

Edited July 22, 2012 by Hazardus_Havard

[000 206]

Well, to be a God you need people to bow down to you. That's why she has "guards"

Get it?

[Bari 7,021]

I understand, but why does Celestia need some of them following her around everywhere?

 

It's all a part of the image. She is the ruler of all of Equestria. Where ever she goes publicly, it's important her subjects know she is there on serious business.

[princess Luna <3 7]

the guards are just there because she is a princess and she needs guards (wow don't like the guards)

[Lostwanderer 366]

The're there mainly as a formality i'd imagine, aslo to make sure she isn't bothered when she has work to attend to.

[Motion Spark 7,806]

think of them like different kinds of police in Equestria (bodyguards, policemen etc) and Celestia as the president, she can't do everything

[Skye Starlight 223]

Formalities or to ensure no-pony around the princess is in immediate danger. I mean, what if she was at the royal court, and some-one came in attempting to take the life of one of the nobles or high-class ponies?

She also mightn't be immortal, just have a really long life-span. She might actually be able to die due to violence. It's not like she can protect herself from a highly trained assassin, but maybe her guards could have been trained to deal with such a situation.

[InfinityWhale 771]

It seems to me that having Celestia deal with every agressive, disgruntled citizen would be somewhat akin to pest control with a nuclear bomb. If normal ponies can handle minor threats, then let them take care of them. Also, they seem to serve more purposes then just protecting Celestia. And she's a monarch, some ritual and tradition helps mantain control and whatnot.

[Jammo 986]

SPOILER

 

We've seen her get her flank handed to her by Chrysalis... And Chrysalis has no godly powers other than replication and a silver tongue. I think people overstate her power. She can and does get attacked by her enemies and can and does get hurt by them.

She's not immortal. I'm sure a lot of figures would want to harm her.

[Random User 249]

Let's be honest, are you more intimidated by the smiling face of Princess Celestia, or the death glare of a royal guard? The guards certainly are likely to serve a greater purpose keeping peace throughout Equestria, and the ones with Celestia are likely just escorts.

 

That said, they really need to do something about the golden armour...

[NavelColt 22,876]

Firstly, Faust has stated clearly that Celestia and Luna are not gods, demi-gods, or anything remotely resembling deities. They are a hybrid of unicorn and pegasus, that have long lifespans, whom are very skilled in magic, have special talents for raising and lowering the sun and moon respectively, and whom are royalty. That's pretty much it. Not bashing either of them in any way, but just setting the necessary scope of their power.

 

As far as guards go, they protect all of Canterlot, not just follow Celestia around. Only two to four of them follow Celestia around, the rest of them are in Canterlot. And for the ones that follow her, it's clearly formality, to show respect, class, elegance, etc etc. Plus if there was a crowd control issue or something got out of hand somehow, they can assist her in whatever case.

 

SPOILER

 

We've seen her get her flank handed to her by Chrysalis... And Chrysalis has no godly powers other than replication and a silver tongue. I think people overstate her power.

 

Let's not throw Celestia out the window though. Chrysalis by herself I doubt is that strong, defintely not stronger than Celestia. However, she is a parasite. She DID have powers that trumped Celestia during the wedding arc, but only because she sucked Shining Armor dry of love. Chrysalis herself looked worried when she and Celestia were facing off, then acted utterly surprised that she beat her. 'Consuming it has made me even more powerful than CELESTIA!'

 

tl;dr she's a cheating, thieving parasite who temporarily gains massive power boosts from others. She herself is probably not that strong.

[BoopMan 2,403]

Firstly, Faust has stated clearly that Celestia and Luna are not gods, demi-gods, or anything remotely resembling deities. They are a hybrid of unicorn and pegasus, that have long lifespans, whom are very skilled in magic, have special talents for raising and lowering the sun and moon respectively, and whom are royalty. That's pretty much it. Not bashing either of them in any way, but just setting the necessary scope of their power.

 

As far as guards go, they protect all of Canterlot, not just follow Celestia around. Only two to four of them follow Celestia around, the rest of them are in Canterlot. And for the ones that follow her, it's clearly formality, to show respect, class, elegance, etc etc. Plus if there was a crowd control issue or something got out of hand somehow, they can assist her in whatever case.

 

 

 

Let's not throw Celestia out the window though. Chrysalis by herself I doubt is that strong, defintely not stronger than Celestia. However, she is a parasite. She DID have powers that trumped Celestia during the wedding arc, but only because she sucked Shining Armor dry of love. Chrysalis herself looked worried when she and Celestia were facing off, then acted utterly surprised that she beat her. 'Consuming it has made me even more powerful than CELESTIA!'

 

tl;dr she's a cheating, thieving parasite who temporarily gains massive power boosts from others. She herself is probably not that strong.

 

Totally agree with CD here. If you watch their beam battle, you can tell that Chrysalis looked as if she were EXPECTING to lose, but Shining's love for Cadance was probably much stronger than she thought.

[NavelColt 22,876]

Totally agree with CD here. If you watch their beam battle, you can tell that Chrysalis looked as if she were EXPECTING to lose, but Shining's love for Cadance was probably much stronger than she thought.

 

That power level was then proven, when it, with ease, sent Chrysalis and her entire army packing in a matter of seconds, off into the horizon.

 

lol, defeated by the source of power you were feeding off of. Quite ironic.

 

Back on topic though, I think the guards are more for show then anything. Yes there are monsters lurking in Everfree, but we've yet to see shady characters in Ponyville or Canterlot. As far as we know, murders, assassination attempts, etc are not an occurrence, because society is higher than that, and everyone appears satisfied with Celestia's rule. So all in all I don't feel like they're there solely for her protection. This is Ponyville, not some dank city alleyway with a flickering light, and a gunman murdering your parents, causing you to turn into Batman. Just Ponyville :3

Edited July 22, 2012 by ~Chaotic Discord~

[pinkiefan1287 610]

Celestia can't watch over everything in equestria. She needs help some of the times to help main tame peace in her world. The guards might also protect her when she cast a big spell and then is drained of her powers.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 471]

Celestia may be a goddess but she's not omnipotent. It's only fair that she hires other ponies to do things that she would rather not worry about constantly, such as guarding her own security.

[Yellow Diamond 7,561]

There is dispute over whether or not Celestia is a "goddess" in the proper sense. She has remarkable power and is seemingly ageless, but she is not omniscient and/or ubiquitous. Celestia's abilities come through in her ability to strategize and make the best use of resources. Case in point: When Night Mare Moon was slated to return, Celestia orchestrated events so that the Elements of Harmony would gather and subsequently defeat/restore an evil Princess Luna. Celestia's true strength lies in her assessment of others as well as herself. Clearly she is not all-powerful, however, since Chrysalis managed to neutralize her during the attack on Canterlot.

 

The Royal Guard provide another avenue for Celestia to enact her plans and preserve the peace. They can also bring security that Celestia on her own would be incapable of readily providing. The citizens of Equestria also likely feel safer because the Royal Guard are present. Even though they are tasked with protecting Celestia, their primary objective is to protect the whole of the kingdom. Note that the Royal Guard were present across Canterlot during the wedding; aside from the groom, Shining Armor, none of the Royal Guard were at Celestia's side. So it seems that, at least within Canterlot, their constant presence near and around Celestia is not required. On trips outside of Canterlot, it makes sense that some of them are present to ensure her safety as well as the safety of her subjects present.

 

While Princess Celestia could order the Royal Guard to focus their efforts on protecting her person, she has probably set that duty aside so that her subjects are protected first and foremost.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Clearly she is not all-powerful, however, since Chrysalis managed to neutralize her during the attack on Canterlot.

 

She only managed to neutralize her because Shining Armor's love for Cadence was at an all-time high. By feeding off that power, Chrysalis' own power was able to ascend to levels beyond that of Celestia's - perhaps Luna's and Celestia's powers combined. My reckoning here is that love, like any other emotion, is limitless. Similar to how the Hulk gains his power through rage - the angrier he is, the stronger he becomes. This is a bit sad for Chrysalis, though - if she had never absorbed Shining Armor's own power, she would have been most likely obliterated by that solar beam Celelstia fired. Even then, Celestia was actually winning the beam struggle at first - until, of course, Chrysalis' absorbed powers kicked in and was kind of looking like her own beam was easily overpowering Celestia's.

 

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfLQHW3_qVw

 

Though, maybe Celestia was trying to simply injure Chrysalis enough so that Chrysalis' spell would have been broken, or at least much easier to break - as if she tried to vaporize her in the first place (as ruler, I'm sure she is quite capable of that) it would have had adverse effects on Shining Armor.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Devin McCourty

[moneyshredderofdeath 414]

I wouldn't doubt guards in a way being like a cabinet for a President. Celestia's more powerful than a President but she still can't watch over every aspect of Equestria 24/7. I'd think all guards would have the skill of protection, but at the same time there would be specialized abilities only certain guards have.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

While Equestria is a pretty safe place, it doesn't appear to be that safe from a possible invasion of the entire land, as the Changeling invasion of Canterlot threw everybody off guard. It even looked like it got to the point where the Canterlot guard were being overpowered easily by the Changeling conquerors because this was not only sneaky on the invasion part (force field was the only real obstacle for them), but the infiltration of Canterlot's highest ranks was honestly... a masterful display by the queen herself. Honestly, it was really sad to see the entire royal family nearly collapse because of how easy Chrysalis made it for herself. She adapted when necessary (faking tears when Twilight accused her of being a phony), and stood her ground at other times (Twilight's suspicions rising, Shining Armor getting confused and worred) - not only that, but her own army seemed to be much larger in numbers compared to the royal guard. While there were skirmishes in some streets in Canterlot (a royal guard and a Changeling scrapping, for example), the vast number of Changelings proved to be too much for the Canterlot guard to handle as they just took over the city in a matter of minutes. I have to wonder if the Mane 6's assault on the Changeling blockade to the Elements of Harmony was just something the Changelings made up in order to slow them down because... what happens after that? They get captured!

 

Just imagine what would have happened if there wasn't a royal guard... the Changelings would have just devoured Canterlot in seconds and then proceeded to other big cities of Equestria. The entire country would have been torn down - and even if the royal guard were there, the vast numbers the Changelings have still might have been too much. In hindsight, it would probably come down to Celestia and Luna's already superior magical powers + the elements of harmony to counter those numbers. Though... if Shining Armor is still as powerful as the wedding portrayed him to be (erecting a city-wide force field that was nearly impenetrable until a huge swarm of Changelings came along and started smashing it to the ground), then perhaps that's all that Chrysalis needs to wipe out the royal family for good.

[Rainycakes 30]

Yes and no. No, because they're about as much use as a frilly dress is to Applejack, and yes, because Celestia is past her prime.

 

Whenever there's any kind of trouble, Celestia calls upon Twilight to fix it (Even though Celestia was originally the one who put the baddies away in the first place), and Twilight does while Celestia sits back waiting to reward her apprentice with praise. This leads me to believe that twilight is being molded into Celestia's replacement.

 

Edited July 26, 2012 by Rainycakes

[Jokuc 8,172]

Why would they be unnecessary? She is a Princess and needs protection if the situation requires it.

 

..Have you seen the Wedding episodes? >__>

Chrysalis got stronger than Celestia..