bug blogger

-ponies who are being trained for the alien stage will have their cutiemarks removed surgically and replaced with their name branding, hence the scarring on Mizi's flank. if they haven't developed a cutiemark by the time they've started training they may be subject to experimental suppression drugs to try and prevent them from developing one at all. aliens don't see the point of their cutiemarks and would rather depersonalize the ponies as a form of control

-pegasus may have their wings clipped if they're troublemakers, but for the most part the students/contestants are relatively easy to control with psychological manipulation or fear

-unicorns may have their magic suppressed with drugs or experimental technology