Rarity

Rarity is a unicorn pony who resides in Ponyville, and is one of the main characters of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. She is the older sister of Sweetie Belle and the love interest of Spike. Rarity works as both a fashion designer and as a seamstress at her own shop, the Carousel Boutique. She has a white Persian cat named Opalescence. She represents the element of generosity.

Development and design
Rarity's design from Sparkler and Glory, ponies from the original line of My Little Pony characters. She looks like the unicorn Majesty, who came with the first-generation castle set, except her hair is purple instead of blue. Rarity uses Glory's color scheme and Sparkler's cutie mark and appearance, with the personality of third-generation Rainbow Dash, as she spoke with a dignified manner: G3 Rainbow Dash speaks in a Mid-Atlantic English accent, and also has tendencies to flip her mane and say "darling." The G1 pony Heart Throb may also be an influence to Rarity' character design as they have several traits in common; like loving to be in the spotlight and being the only one of her friends to express interest in marriage. She shares her name with a G3 pony, who was voiced by Cathy Weseluck, who currently voices Spike in the new series.

Rarity's eye design is less frequently-used than most other designs: the two spa ponies from Green Isn't Your Color share the same eye design as Rarity's, including color, shape and design of upper and lower eyelashes. During running sequences, Lemon Hearts has the same eye shape as Rarity as well. In The Best Night Ever, Rarity puts fake eyelashes on before going to the Grand Galloping Gala. Rarity is seen later with fake eyelashes in MMMystery on the Friendship Express while being interrogated by Twilight.

Rarity's dressmaking shop, the Carousel Boutique, is designed after a toy of the My Little Pony line sold by Hasbro. In Lauren Faust's "pitch bible" for the show, the boutique was named the Carousel Couture, and it specialized in carousel-inspired designs. Rarity was originally the "Element of Inspiration", but this was considered "too tough for kids to wrap their heads around."

Love of beauty
When Rarity meets Twilight Sparkle for the first time, she is busy decorating Ponyville's pavilion for the Summer Sun Celebration. As soon as Rarity turns to look at Twilight, she expresses concern for Twilight's messy hair and practically forced on her the first of many makeovers.

Rarity cares for her own beauty as well. She attempts to show up Trixie in Boast Busters by making herself a dress from Trixie's curtain, but Trixie retaliates by ruining Rarity's hair, making her burst into tears and run away. Rarity is particular about her cleanliness: she panics while trying to avoid getting muddy in Look Before You Sleep, and tries to keep herself from getting soaked in the rain. This causes some conflict with her friend Applejack, who is, by contrast, not at all bothered about getting muddy or wet. Her fashion-consciousness extends even to times of peril: in Dragonshy, she wears a scarf on the way to the dragon's lair, wondering if she should carry a tiara to match. She indulges in a full spa treatment with Fluttershy in Green Isn't Your Color, as part of their "weekly get-together", and she's shown putting on eyelash extensions as part of her gala preparations in The Best Night Ever. In MMMystery on the Friendship Express, she wears false eyelashes, and in the latter part of the episode, she wears her hair in such a way to prevent this becoming known to her friends, having lost one of them while trying to make her escape from Pinkie Pie.

Love of being under the spotlight
Rarity expressed admiration of Fluttershy's grace and poise during Green Isn't Your Color, and implored Fluttershy to model her clothing, despite the fact that Fluttershy doesn't enjoy putting herself in front of others and only asked her because Photo Finish is scheduled to come photograph her work. When Rarity loses the spotlight to Fluttershy, she attempts to overcome her envy and remain very supportive of Fluttershy. However, the same could be said of Rainbow Dash and herself in Sonic Rainboom. After Rainbow Dash expressed disappointment that the others would not be able to go to Cloudsdale to cheer her on in the Best Young Flyer competition, Rarity insisted that they all find a way to go there and support her, and had Twilight test a spell on her that would allow her to fly in Cloudsdale. Rarity gained a lovely pair of wings thanks to this spell, but steals the spotlight when she shows them off to everyone and even enters the competition herself, sending Rainbow Dash into a nervous breakdown. Rarity eventually falls from the sky after burning her wings from flying too close to the sun, much like Icarus of Greek legend. Rainbow Dash spots Rarity as she falls, and flies to save her, even performing the sonic rainboom in the process. Rarity later apologizes to Rainbow Dash for her behavior and then calls her the greatest flier in Equestria.

Rarity's personality is similar to that of Scarlett O'Hara, the histrionic anti-heroine of Gone With the Wind. Many of Rarity's lines are rephrased from lines Scarlett says in the 1939 movie.

Mannerisms
Rarity is definitely the best-spoken of the main six ponies. Her vocabulary is formal, and she is prone to use complex words and more sophisticated, refined phrasing than the others. She speaks with a cultivated trans-Atlantic dialect, and shares some mannerisms with similarly accented Hollywood actresses, such as Grace Kelly.

However, Rarity sometimes gets carried away with her attention to detail. In Look Before You Sleep, she has difficulty tearing herself away from fixing a messy bookcase, despite the much bigger problem of a tree that crashed into Twilight's bedroom. In Winter Wrap Up, she becomes so preoccupied with fixing Twilight's messy bird's nest that she spends nearly the entire day on it, when she was supposed to be making hundreds of other nests.

Rarity shows herself to be quite tough and resourceful in dealing with the Diamond Dogs in A Dog and Pony Show. Even though the others are worried she would panic over how dirty the underground was, Rarity takes control of the situation quite well, manipulating the Diamond Dogs to release her, and even letting her have several cart-fulls of gems. Rarity's properness and aversion from messiness clashes with Applejack's brashness in Look Before You Sleep. They bicker throughout the episode about each others attitude, but finally unite in the face of adversity, which takes the form of a tree crashing into Twilight's library. They work together and eventually come to enjoy the company of one another, which is apparent in more recent episodes. In Over a Barrel, Rarity is baffled at the level of care Applejack bestows on a tree that she named Bloomberg, who is being taken to Appleloosa for planting. Rarity complains that the tree received a private coach; however Applejack takes this in stride and takes no offense at Rarity's complaints. Rarity later provides Applejack with much appreciated support in their attempts to protect Appleloosa from a buffalo stampede. Rarity even comes to compliment Applejack's manners when she doesn't charge Rarity for food from her stand at the Grand Galloping Gala, in The Best Night Ever.

Generosity
"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of GENEROSITY!"

- Twilight Sparkle

While Rarity cares about her appearance quite a bit, being averse to stepping in mud or risking getting herself messy, she is not above getting her hooves dirty when it comes to helping her friends or creatures in need. She slices off her own tail to calm down the sea serpent in Friendship is Magic, part 2, willing to sacrifice her beauty to help restore the distressed serpent's "fabulosity". This action earns her the element of generosity, and later, when she activates the element, her tail is restored. She has been out on rugged pursuits such as in Dragonshy and Over a Barrel in aid of her friends. The episode Suited For Success heavily revolved around Rarity's generosity, as she was willing to not only make 5 unique dresses for her friends for the Grand Galloping Gala, but additionally re-work and redesign them as her friends desired. The overworking ran Rarity ragged and despite her friends' designs being horrible designs fashion-wise, she continued making them in order to satisfy her friends' desires. At the end of the episode, Rarity's friends realize that her original dresses were beautiful and perfectly matched for each of them, and that they should not have taken advantage of Rarity's generosity.

Rarity is hypnotized by Discord into believing a large boulder is actually a giant diamond in The Return of Harmony Part 1. For a short moment she resists the temptation, but soon she becomes corrupted, obsessively protecting her "diamond" and refusing to let anybody near it, as becomes possessive and greedy. This continues in The Return of Harmony Part 2, where she refuses to part with the boulder and names it "Tom", while additionally hoarding other items she sees as valuable, such as the jewelry of the Elements of Harmony themselves. After the corruption is undone, she throws the boulder away and tells her friends to "never speak of this again" in a hushed but assertive whisper.

Career
Rarity works as a fashion designer at Carousel Boutique. Rarity's work ethic and dedication to her customers is depicted in Suited For Success. She initially sews dresses of her own design for her friends, but when they're not satisfied with the result, she sews them brand new dresses under their direction.

In the episode A Dog and Pony Show, the pony pop sensation Sapphire Shores visits Rarity's boutique. She claims that she's been planning to "keep an eye on ALL the up and coming fashion designers in all of Equestria", and a local magazine "simply raved about (Rarity)."

Rarity stresses herself into making a new set of dresses the way her friends want them, going as far as following all their instructions instead of her own instincts. She is unhappy with the results, even though her friends are very satisfied. When these dresses are devastatingly criticized by "the bigwig fashion hotshot" Hoity Toity, she locks herself in her room, lamenting her ruined career; luckily for her, her friends had been able to convince Hoity Toity to hold another fashion show, this time with her original dresses.

Rarity's work is so important to her that during the parasprite crisis in Ponyville in Swarm of the Century, she yells in panic and rushes to her boutique once she realizes the parasprites might get there and eat her work.

Rarity is quite willing to let Spike help her out with her work, and shows some concern for his welfare. They go gem-hunting together in A Dog and Pony Show, and she rewards him for his assistance with "the finest reward", a gem, which he holds very dear to him simply for being a gift from Rarity. At the end of the episode, once she has several cart-fulls of gems, she lets Spike indulge on a great number of them. He willingly gives himself as a pin-cushion in Green Isn't Your Color and says he "can't feel a thing" thanks to his thick scales. There's a brief shot of Spike wearing a t-shirt with Rarity's head emblazoned on a heart, as a gag about the overt nature of Spike's "secret" crush.

Rarity wears a pair of reading glasses while sewing, but there is nothing to suggest that they are for anything more than allowing her to see her stitching much more closely.

Magic
As a unicorn, Rarity can use magic, and while it may not be up to the standards of Twilight Sparkle or Trixie, she uses it in connection with making things "fabulous", like gem-finding, dressmaking, and topiary art. She puts on an impressive light display for the fashion show she holds for Hoity Toity in Suited for Success. She uses sewing and cutting tools through telekinesis with the precision needed to make her dresses, manipulating multiple items at once. Her telekinetic ability has a quite extensive range and strength: in Lesson Zero, she is able to pull a couch from her home within a matter of seconds in order to dramatically recline upon it. She is able to magically attach her sheared tail hair to the sea serpent's mustache in Friendship is Magic part 2, and also reattaches a large branch to a tree in Look Before You Sleep and magically trims its foliage into topiaries.

Rarity can also use her magic to expose underground gems, which is a major plot point in the episode A Dog and Pony Show. This spell is copied by Twilight in the same episode, as Rarity had taught it to her some time before. Unlike Twilight having to learn it, Rarity's gem-finding ability developed on its own: her story in The Cutie Mark Chronicles shows this ability activating by itself without her knowingly casting a spell.

Close combat
Despite Rarity's delicate nature and formal personality, she has shown an occasional propensity for martial arts.

Like the other ponies, Rarity gets into physical conflicts throughout the series: she delivers a kick to the manticore's face in Friendship is Magic, part 2, knocks away Twilight with a whip of her backside in Sonic Rainboom, and delivers a flying kick with a martial arts stance to Applejack in The Return of Harmony Part 2. In Dragon Quest, she threatens the teenage dragons, telling them that she will "Rip them to pieces!" if they try to hurt Spike. Additionally, she managed to kick open the door to Sweetie Belle's room in the same manner a police officer would in Ponyville Confidential. She is also able to defeat several Changelings in hoof-to-hoof combat in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2.

Miscellaneous
Rarity has a talent for charming male ponies to help her and her friends. In The Best Night Ever, she talks two stallions into pulling the carriage to take her and her friends to the Grand Galloping Gala, and in Putting Your Hoof Down, she sweet-talks another into giving her the last piece of asparagus, which Fluttershy needs for Angel's salad.

Rarity displays a lack of skill in tic-tac-toe. She plays several rounds with Pinkie Pie in Dragonshy while they wait for Fluttershy. She loses "thirty-five games in a row", and then asks for "best of seventy-one".

History
In Sweet and Elite, Rarity states she was born in Ponyville. During The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Rarity retells her story of her life as a filly to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The flashback starts on an outdoor theater near the schoolhouse, where some fillies were practicing for a school play, dressed as various foods. The teacher complimented Rarity on her costume design, but the perfectionist Rarity insisted that the dresses didn't meet her expectations and tried to create new ones to no avail. Almost immediately, a light ignites in her horn, and it shoves Rarity leftward until it stumbles into a very large, geode-like boulder. Rarity, having thought her horn would help her find "[her] destiny", is deeply unsatisfied. Then, Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom occurs, causing the boulder to split in two, revealing the boulder to be filled with gemstones. Rarity decides to add these to the existing costumes to snaz them up, earning both the admiration of the crowd, and her cutie mark.

Rarity is responsible for the decor during the Summer Sun Celebration. When she sees what Rainbow Dash accidentally did to Twilight's hair she is compelled to give the latter a makeover. She also develops a fascination with Twilight when she hears she is from Canterlot. Twilight flees the Carousel Boutique (Rarity's shop) in fear of the thought of Rarity dying her coat a new color.

Rarity daydreams in The Ticket Master about meeting Princess Celestia's dashing "nephew" at the Grand Galloping Gala, with her fantasy culminating in marriage and induction into royalty. Upon attending the Gala in The Best Night Ever, she spots a stallion, depicted with the same character design as the one in her fantasy, who is identified as Prince Blueblood. Although handsome, and initially charming, Blueblood turns out to be conceited, rude, and narrow-minded. He expects Rarity to care for him while doing nothing in return. Rarity tries to be patient with the prince's manner, but his selfish ways finally exhaust her patience when Blueblood uses her as a shield from an incoming cake. She then angrily declares him to be a "royal pain" and splatters frosting all over him.

Sweetie Belle
Sweetie Belle is introduced as Rarity's little sister in Stare Master. Her clumsiness, paired with an insistent willingness to "help", tests Rarity's patience, and she eventually asks Sweetie Belle to let her work in peace. Sweetie Belle "borrows" important supplies from Rarity in Stare Master and The Show Stoppers, using her most expensive fabrics to make amateurishly-stitched costumes for her friends. But even though Sweetie's eagerness to help usually unintentionally causes messes, Sweetie and Rarity truly do love and care for each other. At the end of Sisterhooves Social, they agree to embrace and love each other's differences, and send a letter to Celestia describing how being sisters is mainly about having fun, but that it also requires compromises and work to keep a strong relationship.

In Sleepless in Ponyville, Sweetie Belle invites Rarity to go on a camping trip with Apple Bloom, Applejack, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash. She refuses at first, since she does not usually enjoy being around nature, but she reluctantly agrees to go after seeing some disappointed faces made by Sweetie (her decision could also imply that she has learned her lesson about compromise in Sisterhooves Social). Though Rarity is not necessarily abusive of Sweetie Belle, she makes her carry all of her luggage on the trip and wait on her after they set up camp. Later, Rarity shows compassion towards Sweetie Belle, such as letting Scootaloo carry her luggage in order to give Sweetie Belle a rest, comforting her when she's frightened by Rainbow Dash's ghost stories, and happily racing with her at the end of the episode.

Parents
In Sisterhooves Social, Rarity's and Sweetie Belle's parents make a brief appearance. The two have a mid-American accent and are shown to be carefree, with personalities that are vastly different from Rarity's. Her father is a white pony with a brown mane and mustache and very thick eyebrows compared to other stallions. Her mother is a pink unicorn with a body and mane design similar to that of Mrs. Cake, although her mane color is a slightly lighter shade of Rarity's royal purple mane.

Opalescence
Rarity keeps a cat named Opalescence, who is supportive in Suited For Success. In Stare Master, however, Rarity seems to have trouble with the cat and asks for Fluttershy's assistance. In The Best Night Ever, Opalescence scares away the mice that Twilight Sparkle had turned into horses to pull their carriage to the Gala. Opal makes her first season two appearance when Rarity dresses her with her shrunken wool sweater in Sisterhooves Social. Her next appearance is in May the Best Pet Win!, where she is shown as one of the trials for Rainbow Dash's potential pets. She appears again in Sweet and Elite, accompanying Rarity on her trip to Canterlot and tries to remind Rarity to work on Twilight Sparkle's new birthday dress but Rarity is too caught up in social obligations. When her friends come to her suite at the castle, Rarity quickly douses Opal in water to support her made-up excuse she gave as to why she couldn't make it to Ponyville for Twilight's birthday, much to Opal's dismay.

Spike
Spike has a crush on Rarity, and she is very fond of him. Their friendship has developed to become stronger with the passage of time. Spike calls Rarity "beautiful" when he first meets her in Friendship is Magic, Part 1. He admits to having a crush on Rarity in Green Isn't Your Color, and is seen wearing a shirt that has a picture of Rarity superimposed on a heart.

In A Dog and Pony Show, Spike goes with her to look for jewels. When she is abducted by the Diamond Dogs, he alerts the other main characters and accompanies them during the rescue mission. In Owl's Well That Ends Well, Rarity defines Spike as "simply amazing", and gives him a bow tie laden with jewels.

In Secret of My Excess, Spike generously gives Rarity a Fire Ruby that she covets. In gratitude, she kisses him on the cheek, and calls him "Spikey-wikey". During Spike's birthday party, they affectionately rub their cheeks at each other. When Spike later grows into a monstrous dragon, he abducts Rarity. However, Rarity does not realize it is Spike until she tells the story behind the jewel and Spike's generosity, causing Spike to remember the moment when he gave her the ruby and she kissed him. This memory returns Spike to his normal size. As the two start falling, Spike is on the verge of confessing his feelings for her, but Rarity simply covers his mouth with her hoof, implying that she already knows. After they are rescued by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, Rarity kisses Spike on the cheek again. A picture frame that Spike had put around the kiss mark on his cheek is shown at the end of the episode.

In Dragon Quest, Rarity stands up for him when Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash pick on him, but she still affectionately calls him "Spikey-wikey". When Spike decides to join the Dragon Migration, Rarity tries to change his mind, stroking his head and telling him that she doesn't want him to get hurt by the other dragons, but when Spike claims to be firmly convinced, Rarity desperately implores Rainbow Dash to stop him before it's too late. She joins Twilight and Rainbow Dash in following Spike to the dragon lands, watching over him and keeping him from getting into trouble. She even threatens to seriously hurt the older dragons if they harm Spike. When they're all safe from the dragons, Spike tells the Ponies that they are his Family, and they all share a group hug, and Rarity squeaks.

In The Crystal Empire - Part 2, Rarity hoof-makes traditional crafts for the Crystal Ponies while Spike watches. To conceal her frantic exchange with Rainbow Dash, Rarity tells the Crystal Ponies that she just found out about "face painting for the little ones". She pats Spike's head and picks him up while saying this. She whispers in his ear and he exclaims, "Twilight is doing what?" and runs off. When the Crystal Ponies look confusedly at Rarity, she says, "He... really loves getting his face painted." Later in the episode, Spike is climbing down a treacherous crystal path with the real Crystal Heart when he loses balance and falls. Rarity, who is watching from a balcony, cries "Spikey-wikey!" and covers her eyes.

In Spike at Your Service, Rarity pretends to eat Spike's disastrously burned pie to make him happy. While she's chewing it, Spike tells her that she looks good even when she's chewing, and she smiles at him. Later in the episode, the main characters try to trick Spike into saving Applejack's life by pretending that Applejack is being attacked by a timberwolf. Pretending that there is a real crisis, Rarity desperately hugs Spike, sobbing and telling him that the Timberwolves are coming.

Hasbro.com description
''Rarity could possibly be the most beautiful pony you've ever seen. As she prances down the street, her coat gleaming pure white and her royal purple curls bouncing, everypony's head is turning--- and boy does she love it! A talented fashion-designer, her biggest dream is to one day design for Princess Celestia. At first glance she may seem like a typical debutant, vain and entitled, but it's simply not so! Generous to a fault, she's believes so badly that the world should be beautiful she's all too eager to simply give away the designs she's worked so hard on and to offer anypony a custom Rarity makeover. And should you make it through one; you'll learn that Rarity's greatest beauty is her heart.''

Hubworld description
''With her gleaming white coat and royal purple curls, Rarity is the most beautiful unicorn in Ponyville. And she knows it. After all, heads turn when she prances down the street. A talented fashion designer, Rarity loves to give the other ponies makeovers, and her dream is to design for Princess Celestia.''

Teacher for a Day description
''Finding another unicorn pony as beautiful as she would be a rarity for sure! This talented fanshionista almost always turns heads - and she loves every minute of it!''

''She dreams of one day designing a beautiful dress for Princess Celestia! Until then, she continues to prance around Ponyville like the belle of the ball.''

''This pretty pony is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside - and as generous and caring as she is talented! She loves to help her friends look and feel the best!''

My Little Pony mobile game description
Representing the Element of Generosity, Rarity is Ponyville's resident fashion designer and seamstress.

My Little Pony magazine description
''She's a beautiful unicorn and wants every pony to be beautiful, too. Rarity's fab at giving makeovers, hates getting dirty and faints at the sight of a bug!''
 * Creative
 * Fashionable
 * Stylish

Quotes
"My hair? W-what about your hair?"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"Take that, you ruffian!"

- Friendship is Magic, Part 2

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected."

- Friendship is Magic, part 2

"It. Is. On."

- Boast Busters

"I used to be somepony. I used to be respected! I made dresses. Beautiful, beautiful dresses. But now, everypony is laughing at me. I'm nothing but a laughing stock! ...Leave me alone! I want to be alone! I want to wallow in, whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in! Do ponies wallow in pity? Oh, listen to me! I don't even know what I'm supposed to wallow in! [sobbing] I'm so pathetic!"

- Suited For Success

"No, I don't like it... I love it!"

- Suited For Success

"Rarity... is ready!"

- Sonic Rainboom

"Look upon me Equestria, for I am Rarity!"

- Sonic Rainboom

"Whining? I am not whining, I am complaining, do you want to hear whining? This is whining. Oh, the harness is too tight, it's going to chafe, can't you loosen it? Ugh! It hurts and it's so nasty, why didn't you clean it first? It's gonna leave a stain and the wagon's getting heavy. Why do I have to pull it?"

- A Dog and Pony Show

"Thank you Twilight. But don't get any ideas about my gem! I know where you live."

- The Return of Harmony Part 1

"Mine!"

- The Return of Harmony Part 2

"Oh, Fluttershy? Could you be a dear and fly faster please."

- The Return of Harmony Part 2

"Out of all the worst things that could happen, this is the! Worst! Possible! Thing!"

- Three times in Lesson Zero

"I didn't know you could burn juice."

- Sisterhooves Social

"As Celestia is my witness, I shall never be sisterless again!"

- Sisterhooves Social

"You see? We are apple pie!"

- Sisterhooves Social

"They may not be as sophisticated as some of you Canterlot ponies, but they are my best friends. And they are without a doubt the most important ponies I know."

- Sweet and Elite

"When I get back, you're gonna get it, Rainbow Dash!"

- The Last Roundup

"Nice is an understatement, I look fabulous!"

- Dragon Quest

"Fighting's not really my thing, I'm more into fashion, but I'll rip you to pieces if you touch one scale on his cute little head!"

- Dragon Quest

"I'll destroy her!"

- Ponyville Confidential

"Fine, I'm guilty! I wear false eyelashes! Oh, and I took a bite of the cake."

- MMMystery on the Friendship Express

"It's mine!"

- A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2

"I just wish it was permanent, did you see my mane? It was absolutely sparkly!"

- The Crystal Empire - Part 2

"As fun as creating this haute-couture ensemble that I just finished making? Delightful, non?"

- Too Many Pinkie Pies

"I despise camping! All of that... nature."

- Sleepless in Ponyville

"(Sing-song voice) I-de-a!"

- Multiple episodes

Gallery

 * Rarity image gallery