This is beautiful artwork

@Huacaya
No, this armor is pretty practical for wearing to battle. I study real armor, and I would say this is pretty useful for actual combat.

I’m in love with the undertones of the Attic-style Helmet in Luna’s.

I love how butch and manly they look in dat armor.  

@Barhandar  
According the Baron at least part of the showiness of the armor is because the Princesses want enemies to be zeroing in on them on a battlefield. They’re much stronger and harder to hurt than any mortal pony and they use that to their subjects’ benefit.
 
That and in the confusion of a battlefield, especially a melee, it’s easier to pick out the gaudiest armor around and head for that to rally around.
 
The unprotected eyes and what not, I suppose are just ‘artistic license’.

@cdpaliden  
@Ardashir  
This combined must mean that either the armor is enchanted and extends the protection to visibly unprotected parts (and then you’re in for a surprise when you try to attack an “exposed” area and your blade glances off it like it’s steel) and the weight, decorations, etc are necessary for the enchantment - after all, Equestria is magic - or it’s parade armor. Or Baron Engel needs armorer lessons, because with armor this flashy and impractical either you wear something else for combat, or you’re not relying on physical properties of it for protection and can take the inevitable focus of enemy attention.
 
The exposed mouth could make sense even without magic - since Baron depicts ponies using mouth for holding things - but completely exposed eyes, ha ha ha nope they’d get a sword or arrow in them no NO time. Real horse armor at least attempts to protect them with cover - which would be much more necessary when the eyes are in MLP’s proportions and thus a much bigger target.

@Huacaya  
My problem with that argument is that unless their combat is completely alien from our own - which let’s be honest here, a spear is still a spear - I cannot foresee how things are going to be different enough to mitigate the glaring weaknesses of those suits of armor… :\

I look at that gorgeous armor and think, ‘What wonderful targets the Princesses must make on a battlefield’.

@cdpaliden
 
I don’t disagree, but I feel that many of your objections are based on how you assume combat plays out. Being quadrupeds changes things so significantly that I just don’t think anyone can predict what the armour would look like with any degree of confidence.
 
Again I don’t disagree, I just don’t think there is enough information to make authoritative statements. Do they engage in a melee like a real horse? How do they use the spears they have in the show? How does magic change the dynamic of a fight? Is it even possible to wield a blade with a mouth without breaking your jaw or losing teeth after you connect a blow?
 
It’s just not possible to know, so I’m more than content with Baron Engel’s interpretation.

@Huacaya  
Sorry to be a negative-Nancy, but as someone who knows armor and fights in it, no, this isn’t. It’s pretty and would make nice ceremonial armor, but would be almost completely impractical. It protects all the wrong areas and leaves vital portions exposed, or under-armored. For example, the upper-forelimb is completely exposed (which is anatomically similar to our shin, muscle back, bone front), one good kick or wrap from the haft of a spear and you’re going down like a sack of potatoes. Luna’s snout is completely exposed, as it Celestia’s nose - both would be targets of my blade seeing that. The back of their necks are overarmored and their throats are grossly under armored. I wouldn’t have to hit them that hard and I could break their windpipes. I personally wouldn’t armor my belly that much either, it’s extra weight for a spot less likely to get hit. Finally, there is no way that they are going to be able to fly in that armor - there’s no wing-shoulder articulation in that plate - so they might want to cover them up completely to protect them. All of this, I deduced in about one second, which is the amount of time you might have on a battlefield. If I handed this off to my armorer friend, I’m sure he’d spot more.
 
That said, I love the level of detail. There was clearly some thought and a great deal of time and care put into this picture. No, what this picture suffers from isn’t a lack of skill, time, or dedication, but the insight of an armorer/ martial-artist. There is only so much you can gain from looking at horse-barding, before you go making Equestrian-Pony armor. Put simply, their bodies don’t move the same and you don’t have to protect against the same threats as a cavalryman on horseback.
 
TL;DR: it’s beautiful art, but not practical armor.

Princesses of war.

@Huacaya  
Yeah, the artist seems to do a lot of research.

Fantastic! It looks almost authentic, like something they’d actually go to war in.

Love it! :D

Wow. I could learn a thing or two from your art. Holy shit.