Royal guards

The Royal Guards are dark gray Unicorn Ponies or white pegasus ponies clad in solid golden armor, who serve Princess Celestia. They act as bodyguards for the princess, ceremonial guards in festivities, and chauffeurs in several occasions. The guards' helmet crests are reminiscent of Roman galea, and they are the same color as their tails. The guards are generally shown wearing extremely serious expressions and almost never speak. In fact, they didn't even talk in the series premiere, they just whinnied.

The guards first appear in the show's title sequence, standing at the feet of Princess Celestia's throne. These are gray unicorn ponies, described in the "varieties" section below, along with the pegasus pony royal guards.

During the first episode, a pair of the more commonly seen white-colored pegasus guards chauffeur Twilight and Spike from Canterlot to Ponyville in a flying chariot. Their following appearance is in the second episode, when the mayor commands them to stop Nightmare Moon -- however she strikes them with lightning bolts which swat them away -- and drawing the royal carriage into town at the end. They briefly appear in Swarm of the Century, driving Celestia's flying carriage, and in Sonic Rainboom, accompanying Celestia in her spectator box at Cloudsdale's stadium.

They make their longest appearance so far in A Bird in the Hoof, where they perform various tasks. This appearance is also the only time they have been heard speaking. Two guards stand on duty at the entrance to Sugarcube Corner where Celestia is staying. They are pestered by Rainbow Dash who tries to elicit a response from them, but they remain stoic and silent. Soon afterwards, they hinder Fluttershy's entrance until Twilight confirms she's allowed inside. Later, a guard notifies Celestia that the mayor seeks an audience with her. Even later, two guards are sent to inform Twilight that the Princess's bird is missing, and they continue looking for the bird throughout the episode. The episode ends with the bird, Philomena, tickling the guards and making them laugh at Dash's request.

Their next appearance is in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. Set in Twilight's flashback, eight gray unicorn guards play fanfare for Princess Celestia as she comes on stage and raises the sun for the Summer Sun celebration. The guards also don't have any facial expression.

Varieties
Two varieties of royal guards appear in the show:


 * Unicorn ponies with dark gray coats, white and azure tails and crests, and amber eyes
 * Pegasus ponies with white coats, blue tails and crests, and blue eyes

Trivia

 * The Pegasus Royal Guards have an appearance similar to Pegasus from Disney's Hercules.
 * The Royal Guard's cutie marks are always hidden.