The royal guards are a group of white and dark gray Pegasus, unicorn, and Earth pony stallions clad in solid gold (sometimes with purple paint) who serve Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They act as bodyguards for the princesses, ceremonial guards in festivities, and chauffeurs in several occasions. The guards' helmet crests are reminiscent of Greek Corinthian helmets and medieval Barbuts Helmets, and are also the same color as their tails and mane. The guards are generally shown wearing extremely serious expressions and usually don't speak, but when they do, their voice is provided by Jayson Thiessen[1] or Andrew Francis. Their cutie marks are obscured by their uniforms.
They have more active roles in two episodes: They guard the VIP balcony and allow Rarity to enter it at the Wonderbolts race in the episode Sweet and Elite, where the color of their magical glow is green.
Unicorn Guards appear in It's About Time wearing different uniforms, featuring helmets with flowing crests and redesigned armor. They patrol the Canterlot Archives and one of them, who recognizes Twilight Sparkle, unlocks the restricted "Star Swirl the Bearded" wing for her, even though at first she tries to avoid them and dreads being discovered sneaking about but finds herself eventually cornered.
During the first episode, a pair of the more commonly seen white-coat Pegasus guards chauffeur Twilight Sparkle and Spike from Canterlot to Ponyville in a flying chariot. Their following appearance is in the second episode, when the Mayor commands three of them to stop Night Mare Moon, she strikes them with lightning bolts to swat them away. The guards later draw the royal chariot into town at the end of the episode. They briefly appear in Swarm of the Century, driving Celestia's flying chariot, and in Sonic Rainboom, accompanying Celestia in her spectator box at Cloudsdale's stadium.
They make their only speaking appearance in A Bird in the Hoof, where they guard the Princess and search for her pet bird, Philomena. 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 tickling the guards and making them laugh at Rainbow Dash's request.
The Pegasus guards featured in the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant share the same design as Celestia's Pegasus guards, but have a different color scheme and a lightning bolt emblem instead of a star-shaped emblem.
Princess Luna's Pegasus guards appear in Luna Eclipsed, chauffeuring her flying carriage to Ponyville. They have a dark gray coat, black tails, tufts of hair on the tips of their ears, bat-like wings, and cat-like slit pupils. Their armor is purple, and it has a webbed crest over the helm. One of her guards appears in the Castle Creator game.
Two of the royal guards seen overlooking the station in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 have no wings or a horn, marking them as Earth pony guards. Another Earth pony guard appears in The Crystal Empire - Part 1, informing Princess Celestia about the return of the Crystal Empire, this also marks the first time in the series that a Royal Guard has removed his helmet, confirming at least for the Guard in question that the crest on their helmet matches their mane color.
Royal Guard: The Royal Guard pegasus ponies serve as the protectors of Princess Celestia and all of Equestria. Princess Luna's Royal Guard: Princess Luna's protector ponies are identified by their dark coats and manes, as well as their purple armor.