What I found interesting was that the barding had a rounded edge that was specifically designed to cover up their “cutie mark,” the little flank mark that in shorthand summarizes a MLP (My Little Pony)’s entire existence and purpose. The armor was designed to strip away the guard’s identity (or else the animator didn’t want to create two new characters, but for the purposes of this exercise, we will assume intentionality. Now, if this is like the tall wig and uniform that created an identical appearance of the Guards Regiments, it’s a little less frightening. If it’s like the executioner’s hood, a mask to anonymize a legally appointed killer, we’re getting into weird autocratic territory here.
In Ponyville jail, are lifetime offenders re-branded? Is the prisoner’s cutie mark burned away, replaced with their prisoner number or a simple icon of their offenses, or perhaps a ball and chain? Do MLP bank robbers wear those tight, form-fitting biker’s shorts?
