My foal was SO cute today, he asked me “dad are clouds candy?” I told him they were water. Then he asked “dad, what’s Equis’ defense system?” and then I remembered I don’t have a foal and he asked again his eyes now obsidian black “what is the defense system father”

Adapted from https://twitter.com/OmarNajam/status/935626720408768512?lang=en

@Antonyourknee  
True.

@Narlepoax III  
Well I Think we can both agree regardless of our views or style that we both put far too much effort into this concept then it deserved.

@Antonyourknee  
That’s fine. Everyone has a different style of communication. Personally, I prefer for my points to be as succinct as possible.

@Narlepoax III  
I just like to make sure my arguments make sense.

@Antonyourknee  
Dude, just because I’m not a windbag doesn’t mean I’m not taking you seriously.

@Narlepoax III  
I’m getting tired of taking to you. You cherrypick parts of my comments while ignoring the mass of justifications I give, respond with simplistic,repetitive and minimal “arguments” that don’t’ elaborate, don’t use details from the show and don’t use context.  
It’s clear your set in your ways for this and won’t open your mind on this topic but it seems I have given other users thinking about this topic some inspiration about it and I’m glad for that, That’s good enough for me.
 
Lets both move on from this silly thing(something I’ve tried to do twice before)

@Fwelin  
Bonbons Force were monster hunters…
 
Now I want to see bonbon in Azuros Armor…

Having a much larger army would likely not have helped against too many of the threats that Equestria faces anyway.
 
 
Nightmare Moon: might have helped, but not to a good resolution because Celestia’s goal was reformation via the elements
 
Discord: a large army wouldn’t have helped against him
 
Chrysalis #1: would have driven her and her army off
 
Sombra: would have helped, but it’s arguable how much of a threat he was in the first place in the main timeline since Celestia and Luna already beat him before
 
Tirek: wouldn’t have helped
 
Starlight: a large army wouldn’t have helped
 
Chrysalis #2: might or might not have helped, depending on how much of the military she would have infiltrated and how well they can siege her citadel with no magic; regardless, the military resolving this situation would decimate the changelings and prevent their reformation
 
Storm King: would have driven off Tempest and prevented her from getting the Princesses
 
 
That’s 3 villains it wouldn’t help with, 2 that it would help with, 1 where it could go either way, and 2 where it might have helped, but to a worse conclusion than what happened.
 
 
Personally, I’m of the opinion that Equestria doesn’t have a proper permanent military, with their only forces being Royal Guards for personal protection duty for the princesses and for ceremonial duties, and maybe the occasional covert operation like Bon Bon’s former organization.

@Antonyourknee  

 
You’re right.
 
And yet, they have one anyway. Just in case they’ve underestimated the size and/or strength of their enemies. Because it’s better to have something and not need it, than to need something and not have it.
 
Or, as the Boy Scouts say, “Always Be Prepared.”
 

 
And yet, as you keep saying, Equestria is the world’s chief military aspect in MLP.
 
Canada can get away with having a smaller military, because they have allies with very substantial militaries. Equestria does not.
 

 
I believe I have. Multiple times. But if you want me to repeat myself, then fine.
 
Equestria’s military keeps failing. Against every opponent we’ve seen challenge it, it has failed.
 
You can keep repeating that those threats were unaccounted for, but that just means that Equestria’s military commanders are just as incompetent as the rest of its military.
 
The fact remains that Equestria does not have a military powerful enough to protect itself.
 

 
There is no such thing as tactics that render a military’s size irrelevant.
 
You can mitigate some of the threat, but you can’t change the fact that facing a military larger than your forces is a risk. And the larger your opponent, the larger the risk.
 

 
You’re saying that Equestria doesn’t need a large military because MLP is an adventure show.
 
That’s pretty meta.
 
Also, you do realize that the majority of military operations IRL involve covert ops specialists? The main reason we have large militaries is for their deterrence factor.

@Narlepoax III
 
 
My concern with your estimation is not with population sizes or city number but rather the reason why Canada needs an army size of 80,000 and 40,000 reserve that’s mostly politics(to both Meet international obligation such as peace keeping missions as well as to employ citizens and claim to secure national defense) and in truth Canada has no (real) need for an army of that size since thanks to geographic position its economic and diplomatic ties with US who would react to any threat to Canada by those stated ties as well as the belief that anything that could threaten Canada would probably threaten America more(i.e. North Korean nukes,Where the US military is the chief military aspect of the Western effort to contain them )
 
So I believe you never gave a reason for why 14,000 soldiers with the assumed auxiliary personal and naval and air branches would not be a large enough army in a world where thanks to the visual evidence depicted in the show,that all other known Civilizations lack the means to be a military threat to Equeastria as already established,Nor how a larger standing Army would counter the threats they face.
 
The closest threat threat they faced that was an army was the changelings. However the Changelings as discussed before main methods of attack is infiltration and conspiracy. Tactics that render Military size irrelevant and even after they were exposed (by a way also competently unrelated to military size)they manged to beat the guards.  
Why? Because presumably they had already infiltrated the guard force,which explain how quickly they arrived and totally overpowered the guard and then even if their was an army of a million ponies outside the city they could do nothing since they would now that the changelings held their leaders,elites and entire population of capital city hostage and could not risk making a move that could provoke a drastic response. So the changelings by their methods I wold not count as a mundane civilization or nation like the yaks,griffons or Buffalo.They way they attacked would have rendered a massive standing army useless. And as already established threats like discord or Tirek are not threats that could have been stopped by military power.
 
So I feel that “It clear that… the threats that do threaten Equestria are on a level that renders Army Size pointless” is really quite factual in lieu of a proper counter argument. As for the Military apparently failing time and time again to stop threats. We have to remember that Celestia Canonically reigned for a thousand years with no major failures or disruptions. Taking the show in context we can assume that when the mane six got the elements of harmony and unleashed all the magic stuff, it caused some sort of Cosmic value to turn that would lead to all these extraordinary threats to appear. Like how the earth in comics never faced world ending threats that would cause a divergence from our world until super man came about and then suddenly the earth was facing apocalypses every month.Or it was canon(for a while at least) in DBZ that Goku’s mere presence attracted crazy stuff to earth.
 
The point is that when the mane six got the elements,things changed. Celestia stated How she and Luna were losing their connection to the elements and because of that things like the tree of harmony and plunder vines showed up.  
Now the proper response would some reforms to the military to adapt to that change but while some recruitment might be added ,the main focus should be on increasing the capacity of the solider to be more able to react to threats(presumably greater magic stuff)but its clear what has been most effective in stooping per-mature non-military threats are operational troubleshooters.We know Celestia sends or allows the main six to face threats(we can assume the diplomatic task the Map gives them prevent civil or foreign strife before they become problems thus nipping them in the bud) but as we we know that Celestia apparently has a spy agency of sorts(BonBond) and one can assume that Daring Do even has a part in this as she stopped the Mayans cult guys from using an artifact to control the sun.
 
All of these problems were solved not by Army Size but by Specialized non-military units being sent in.  
Of course some threats like Discord,Tirek and Sombra are just too powerful for mundane armies to ever handle (ponies may just be naturally military incompetent if the tactics they used are any indication))so in my humble “Opinion” the way to solve these problems does not rest with physical army size but that for normal operational task(Tirek was the only threat on the show that lasted more than a day after all)14,000 is decent enough meeting normal priorities(patrolling borders,keeping the peace,guarding leaders) that it was not seen as worth the effort to expand it as we can assume it is already the largest army in the show’s world…
 
As for the part about drafts,all I’m saying is that I believe the Equestrian Government and Celestia would not dismiss the concept of conscription if events had so spiraled out of control where it was even a necessary.
 
We know that the shows ponies are shown to be sometimes irrational creatures,such as how the town population including he mane five-which we can assume corresponds to the population of many rural populations- as opposed to confronting the Zecora they just hid from her or the bunny stampede and how most citizenry seem to just run around in panic when things go wrong if their not a guard or just stand around in confusing . They have no guns so combat is brutal,up close and personal,scary for little ponies who have known only peace. Even if they believe a conflict is just they may hope that “other” ponies will fix the problem and try to flee as such recruitment drives may be ineffective  
and some ponies may to be conscripted so they can serve as the manpower for the force that’s trying to end whatever threat that exist to them.
 
I’m not saying that any threat shown required a draft(cept maybe the sombra timeline)or that it would not be massively against the principles of the leadership but that if such a crisis came which would only come when all other options had failed and where such numbers were needed, the state has a duty to utilize whatever resources(and if means rounding up unwilling citizens to fight for their own best interest then that’s how it must unfortunately ) it has to achieve the means to end the threat and safeguard the nation and I don’t think Celestia is that incompetent to not fulfill that duty.( If we of course write off the massive idiot balls the writers give her to achieve their plots)
 
As stated in my last comment,This argument is losing meaning. I’ve already mentioned how I think that if we were to give some thought Equestria could probably use a larger army With many tens of thousands if not hundred of troops and have all sorts of crap like combat mages and battle golems and a real intelligence agency with the many dozens of rival fantasy style nations but going from what we have seen and can infer from the show an army of 14,000 guys as the doodle above claims is not too bad a figure for a standing army in Equestria. There that is my point. And that the Government would be willing to use drafts if it came down to it I guess.
 
If you want to keep arguing these points I ask that you use more in-show examples to form counterpoints and put more details in them to avoid generalizations.
 
Or we can depart from this great silliness and go on with our travels on Derpibooru. I’m sure we have said all we can say about the above image.

@Antonyourknee  

 
Which is why I said “IF my estimation is correct”.
 

 
Well, that’s your opinion.
 
And even if it were true, it doesn’t change the fact that Equestria’s military is obviously not enough. They keep losing. Repeatedly. Embarrassingly. As if they weren’t even there.
 

 
Well, here’s the thing: Drafts are very, very rarely needed.
 
Governments use drafts to supplement the military when voluntary enlistment is low. IE: When the government wants to fight a war, but the people don’t.
 
When there aren’t enough soldiers to fight a war that the citizenry believes is just, guess what? Enlistment drives are usually perfectly effective.
 
And you wouldn’t even need that, if your military was big enough to do the job to start with.

@Narlepoax III
 
For the first part. I hoped to remind everyone to be careful in their comparisons of Equestria to earth and to take note of the fundamental differences in their culture and society that would produce their state of affairs. Not to disregard assumption we can make about their population and infrastructure.
 
Regardless of the rate of which Equestrias leadership is compromised (their structure of government seems to be less affected), As I have stated before the Size of their army would not have mattered in any of the events shown to threaten them as the threats were either too well infiltrated(changelings),off the grid(Starlight) or magical gods9Discord.Tireck,Sombra). It clear that in lieu of any political or national(as in an opposing nation) Threat,the threats that do threaten Equestria are on a level that renders Army Size pointless and thus not worth the effort to form a large standing Army as it would appear that no amount of solders could protect Equestrian from the threats that could take down their Alicorn Leadership. It just Wouldn’t be worth the Tax money and cost.
 
Not Until at least an actual armed Threat like the Sombra’s Army time line appears in which case then the Army needs to be Expanded. Could a larger standing Army have beaten Sombra before he launched his attack? We can assume not since Apparently even with all of Equestria in Total war and Celestia herself leading the charge,they can only hold him back. So the use of a standing Army is at best Questionable for Equestria.  
If Anything Celestia needs better Able Soldiers, notjust a large standing Army. Quality over Quantity.
 
No Good Ruler likes Drafts,I would think that if a need for soldiers came(which would means that diplomacy had badly failed,so already the state is not in a normal state of affairs) that many ponies would gladly join up  
willingly as it has been in many situations in countries thorough history. I think you Misunderstand when I said That Equestria has drafts in that I meant that if it came down to it,As a nation Equestria would be obliged to utilize any means to secure the safety of its citizens and interest and if that meant drafting able bodies ponies then it should and would do that.
 
Its not hypocritical and its not the first choice but if a state came about where it was needed we can assume the nation is already in crisis(to an extent that Celestias normal methods of going about have not worked) and extreme measures need to be taken that may be troubling to official state principals but such things are the reality of nations in crisis.
 
I was confused when you Questioned if Equestria had a draft because to me the idea of Equestria not having a draft at all,as in they would not do it if the need came up seemed odd to me.
 
I also feel as that Equestrias military capacity is already such that even with 14000 soldiers it is probably one of the if not the largest armys in the know world.  
As such Only Irrational Rulers like the Yak Prince or those beings so powerful that the military is irrelevant to them,would try to be threats to equestria.
 
Its like in Comic books, the big bad is such a powerful supervillian or has some Macguffin that all the armies on earth with all their numbers and tech and missles and stuff can do nothing but be redshirts and so we have to fall to the heroes to save the day. I don’t even know what the point here is any more,since obviously the reason the guards and Celestia are so useless in the show is because the writers make em so the bad guys can be a bigger threat.
 
I guess my point is that An army size of 14,000 is not such a bad number or impossible all things considered. Though personally I Headcanon that Equestria has an Army of 100,000 or so with royal guards as a separate branch and the normal soldiers wearing silver armor. Man I was disappointment when they had cool helmets for Sombras guys and the awesome uniforms for the Wonderbolts and Whatever Pinkie and maud were but the Normal Soldiers just had gold armor,not even the unicorn version.

Note that the events of The Cutie Re-mark seem to imply a draft. Applejack says that it takes the efforts of every pony in Equestria to keep up the fight, and that kind of total war effort basically requires a draft for a non-military dominated country like Equestria.

@Antonyourknee  

 
If you’re gonna pull out that argument, then we may as well just lay this topic to rest. Because there’s no possible way of knowing exactly what Equestria’s infrastructure or population is for certain.
 

 
The fact that Equestria’s government is successfully overthrown about once a year seems to refute that point.
 
There’s a saying that goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
 
Whether there are any known threats to Equestria capable of overpowering their military or not; it’s obvious that there are many unknown threats that are capable of it.
 

 
I’m not grieved, I just think that your characterization of Celestia is a bit hypocritical.
 
She loves peace and harmony so much that she’d rather draft ponies by force than keep a large army at hand.
 
Keeping in mind that a large army can be a deterrent to war.
 
…And maybe a bit of my bias is sneaking in there. I am disgusted by the idea of a draft.

@Tavi959  
 
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

@Tavi959  
Its like a town in an elder scrolls game…you have to use your imagination to think of yourself in a bustling city filled with at least hundreds if not thousands of people instead of a few copy pasted building with a dozen NPCs running into walls…After all we can’t decide that the Whole Government of Equestria is solely Celestia,Luna,their Secretary Raven and the Equestrian Education Council,just because that’s all we’ve seen.
 
Of course in the context of this image,its possible the subject has been talked about enough…way more than a little doodle should have brought about.

@Antonyourknee  
Not really. The Royal Guard, Night Guard and (in theory) the Wonderbolts are cumulatively Equestria’s entire standing military force. We’ve seen time and again that they aren’t up to the task of stopping invasions. We know that they serve primarily as the personal guard of Celestia and Luna and as entertainment for the masses.
 
The maps imply that Equestria encompasses the equivalent land mass of the United States and a portion of southern Canada, with the Crystal Empire occupying northern Canada. It’s inconsistent in-universe, of course, because we’re talking about a cartoon.
 
None of this changes anything though because I doubt there’s anywhere near 14000 ponies in the combined Guard. I would posit somewhere closer to 1000 given the actual frequency with which we see guards and how a single pony leads the entire force, which appears to be stationed only in Canterlot unless Celestia or Luna travel.
 
Equestria’s military is woefully underequipped and depends just a little too much on the Magic of Friendship as wielded by six civilians/five civilians and a princess.

@Tavi959  
its an intriguing subject

@Narlepoax III  
The nation-state structure of Equestria is very different from earth,both in terms of technology and capacity. We don’t know Equestrias actual size or population,the Continent could be as big as north America or the island of Britain and from the maps we have seen they seem to imply a relatively small country by our standards if you take the maps literally.
 
So no we actualy have not established that 14,000 troops as a standing army is not appropriate for the nation. As other commenters have pointed out that counties more fitting to Equestrias pseudo-industrial like the united states before the civil war had relatively small standing armies as they had no real rivals on the continent that threatend them and only in times or war was the army expanded.
 
We have however established that from show examples that no other species (besides the changelings who they had no known diplomacy with and seemed to be mostly unaware of the the existence or home of) could threaten them and that Equestria has some sort of Hegemony since all other species(cept the breezies who are from another dimension) speak ponish and use bits. Indication of a cultural and economic hegemony, this is important as I have said multiple times. So I think Comparing Equestrias military needs to modern Earth military standards is inappropriate.
 
I have not ignored that “it’s possible for a country to have a substantial standing military, and focus on diplomacy” Its just that I have been explaining how its not necessary to have a substantial standing military as Equestria has more effective means to secure its self from conventional threats then a large army. Equestria is not our world and it doesn’t seemingly need the military complexes of our world.
 
And as for your last part, My comments imply That Equestria under Celestia whose national values are Harmony and friendship would primary use diplomacy and cultural influence to keep potential threats (like the arrogant yaks whom she made pinkie meet and entertain)in line and in good relations. Mean while I would assume that Equestria as well keeps a standing Army with almost certainly Navy and air attachments which could have numbers comparable to the army in their ranks at hand. and when Necessary would use conscription to grow and expand the numbers of their Army if they believed it was necessary to safeguard Equestria if all that Diplomatic Influence had failed such as in the Sombra Timeline where its clear a sort of Total war is going on. I never said or implied that all troops come from draftees or conscription merely it most likely is an option to be utilized by if the need arises by Equestria as is similar in policy to most nation through history.
 
Does this Sate your current Grievances?

@Narlepoax III  
Hold it! Hold it! Had a thought!
 
We may be approaching this wrong. We’re basing these numbers and comparing them to modern militaries. Anybody know what kind of numbers we’d be dealing with if we were to start comparing Equestria with, say Medieval France?

@Tavi959  
Sure. Let me get my…  
 
…What happened to the popcorn?

@Starswirl  
You are excused, provided you can provide popcorn for this absurd debate.

@Tavi959  
You’ll have to excuse me, I’m over a thousand years old.

@Starswirl  
That was definitely me that said that. :3