Equestrian Military Autocracy?

[LunaUmbra 108]

So, it's 4 in the morning and I just had a thought. It's a bit screwy, so hang on and hopefully you don't become too confused.

 

In the show, the mare to stallion ratio leans heavily in favor of mares during most shots in the show (Hearts and Hooves Day excluded for obvious reasons). This would suggest that it is more likely that a pony will be born female rather than male. Unless this is written into their genetic code, this more than likely is not the case (but still plausible). In A Canterlot Wedding, we see a small army of Royal Guards, all of which are mixes of each of the pony races, at the railroad station as well as throughout Canterlot. White and grey are the prevalent coat colors and all of the guards shown are stallions. What I submit to all of you is this: What if Equestria isn't some near utopia under the rule of a pair of benevolent god-princesses? What if it's actually a Military Autocracy, and the majority of Equestria's stallions are conscripted into the service of Celestia and Luna? True, the residents seem happy and there isn't any evidence of suffering amongst the populace. For this reason, I turn you to two examples in my defense in light of this evidence: The Last of Us and George Orwell's 1984. In The Last of Us, Ellie makes remarks throughout the game about the world around her. What we know as skyscrapers and subway stations she simply sees as part of the landscape. They are a naturally occurring things to her because she has no frame of reference to contradict that thought. In 1984 the children of a neighbor treat Winston with contempt as well as open hostility and exalt Big Brother because the government set up programs to make them think that way, and with nothing around them to show them an alternative, they accepted those thoughts as fact. Well, whose to say Celestia hasn't used the same programs? We saw a pony girl scout in Just for Sidekicks, which indicates some sort of social program is running in Ponyville. It's also possible that we are at a point in time where any ponies with any memories of times before Celestia's rule (Granny Smith would have came after, so don't bring her up. See Family Appreciation Day) have either died or have lost all hope and simply accept their fate. Another crack in this theory is the term Autocracy. An Autocracy, for those that don't know, is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control, save for a possible revolution. With this in mind, I continue to use Autocracy in my assessment. Celestia is the one most ponies turn to and praise while Luna is more of an outcast princess, like a disliked member of the nobility (See Prince Charles (high brow joke)). It's possible she has some power, but Celestia would hold ultimate authority since A.Most ponies have had to depend on her sole leadership for the past 1000 years, and B. Celestia is the one most seen making royal decrees and handling affairs of the state (ex. Magic Duel, where she entertains ambassadors from Saddle Arabia).

 

So, there's my theory. Now it's almost 5. Thoughts, arguments and opinions on this wall of text are welcome.

Edited August 30, 2013 by UmbraScriptor

[Declen 118]

If I used the analogy method, I'd say, that a country cannot hawe too large standing army. Even industrialised developed nations don't have standing armies of more the 3% of total population inlisted. What you suppose is a situation where at least 30% of total population are inlisted. It would brake a neck of any nation, unless it has strong allies who send enormous quantity of supplies and food ("Second Front tinned stew" IYKWIM).

But the analogy method don't really work when we compare our reality and Equestria.

[Scootalove 10,684]

I can't really compare the autocracy in Equestria to the autocracy that happens in the real world. Maybe the stallions serve Celestia and Luna for a specific reason, I really don't know.

[Melior 52]

The underrepresentation of stallions is very well answered in this video by Digibrony. I suggest you watch it as I didn't see any flaws in his logic. It goes over how Ponyville stallions would mostly be doing field work, that they are quite present during holidays (when they wouldn't be working), points out stallions in nearly every location in Equestria, and quite a lot more.

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

That video does offer a good explanation. I would like to add the idea that they would not show up in Ponyville as much, simply because when the show first started it was targeted at small girls. This explains why stallions also have "manly" roles like military duty and field work.

 

The presence of this military strikes me as mostly decorative, simply a part of Celestia's image of a princess. Equestria is without a doubt an autocracy, but not dictatorial. The ponies seem to live their lives just fine, negating the need for laws. This makes Celestia a teacher and protector as a semi-deified goddess-queen.