A Critical Analysis of Race Relations Present in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

The world of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is one filled with a large variety of creatures with their own lives, personalities, and world views. However, it is also one dominated by strict social classes and xenophobic ostracization of strangers based around a view of pony superiority. Members of several sentient yet non-pony species are relegated to a servile working class while the ponies remain firmly in power. Non-pony newcomers to Ponyville are considered something to fear and doors are shut before them.

The Non-Pony Proletariat
From the very first episode, we witness the servile child labor of the dragon species. The young dragon Spike is the servant of the upper class scholar Twilight Sparkle and is regularly mistreated and exploited. It is yet to be made clear whether he is paid with anything more than food and shelter, however his lack of personal possessions and lowly bedding arrangement points to the negative.

Other dragons have been seen in Equestria outside of a servant role, however these others are full-grown dragons and quite capable of securing freedom for themselves. The ponies appear to fear their power and it is perhaps for this reason that dragons are secured into servitude during their childhood in an effort to condition their complacency. Child labor is well known to have detrimental effects on the child’s mental development and education, and it may be the pony’s hope to intentionally cripple them to avoid any threat to their power.

Spike may be considered one of the fortunate ones. He is servile to a scholar and acts primarily as a scribe and messenger, allowing him to potentially educate himself. However, he is not above being forced into physically dangerous situations, such as his unwilling participation in a rodeo competition during episode thirteen.

In episode four, cows make a brief appearance and are shown to be capable of speech and have an awareness of their surroundings. However, they are seen being roped and herded similar to other animals that apparently have no such awareness, such as rabbits.

Based on their handling, it is clear that the ungulates are segregated from the pony community and any effort to escape is dealt with harshly. The reason for this separation is unclear. It could be an effort to contain a perceived threat of stampede or uprising, similar to the Japanese-American internment during World War II, or simply a strict cultural divide based on a view of racial inferiority, like Nazi Germany’s Jewish ghettos. Whatever the reason, the cows are not seen from again, which may be a sign of firmer controls and security around their community.

Antipathy Toward Strangers
The ponies of Ponyville appear to be a xenophobic population. In episode nine, we are introduced to Zecora, a zebra who visits Ponyville from her home in the forest. From the moment she appears, the residents treat her with a mix of fear and suspicion. Shop doors close and pedestrians seek shelter indoors. She is forced to rummage for what she needs on the streets, only fueling further suspicions.

Being a zebra, she is closer to the pony mold than other species like dragons and cattle (see fig. 1), which may partially explain the ponies’ response. Aside from her fur pattern and manner of speaking, she is little different from them, but different enough to to foster inexplicable hesitation. She is grouped as a minority in the town. Where there is one, there may be many, and any majority group, the ponies in this case, who sees a threatening growth in a minority group tends to act with hostility.

Like America’s civil rights period, further alluded to by Zecora’s African accent and home decor, this may come from a pony’s feeling of superiority being shaken by a historical release of zebras from bondage. Considering the ponies’ treatment of other creatures, it is not unseemly to assume a servile past for the zebras. With their release, the former masters maintain a fear of retaliation and hold a deep-seated grudge at the loss of a former key to their workforce.

Conclusion
Equestria is a world dominated by the ponies’ sense of superiority, which results in differential treatment of lesser species. Non-ponies are either forced into servitude or ostracized from society. The monarchical government seems unwilling or unable to remedy this condition. If human history is any indication, the non-ponies of Equestria will need to rise up in protest if these conditions are to improve. Until then, the ponies will continue to firmly hold on to their power and smother any small attempts at resistance.