Rarity imagining silk PJs on a Sunday morning. 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 mane and practically forces on her the first of many
makeovers while Spike looks on.
Rarity cares for her own beauty as well. She tries to show up Trixie in Boast Busters
by making herself a dress from Trixie's curtain, but Trixie retaliates
by ruining Rarity's mane, making her burst into tears and run away.
Rarity is also 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 to avoid it
messing up her mane. 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 puts 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
Stealing the spotlight from Rainbow Dash.Rarity expresses admiration of Fluttershy's grace and poise during Green Isn't Your Color
and implores Fluttershy to model her clothing despite the fact that
Fluttershy doesn't enjoy putting herself in front of others and only
asks 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 Rarity in Sonic Rainboom. After Rainbow Dash expresses disappointment that the others would not be able to go to Cloudsdale to cheer her on in the Best Young Flyer competition,
Rarity insists that they all find a way to go there and support her,
and has Twilight test a spell on her that would allow her to fly in
Cloudsdale. Rarity gains a lovely pair of butterfly-like wings thanks to
this spell, but steals the spotlight, showing them off to everyone and
even entering 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, performing a sonic rainboom in the process. Rarity later apologizes to Rainbow Dash for her behavior and 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 after Twilight's sleepover is ruined by a broken tree and a messy bookcase.
Rarity's vocabulary is formal, and she is prone to use complex words
and more sophisticated, refined phrasing than her friends. She speaks
with a cultivated trans-Atlantic dialect, and shares some mannerisms with similarly accented Hollywood actresses, such as Katharine Hepburn.[dubious – discuss]
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 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 into releasing her and even letting her
have several carts full of gems. Rarity's properness and aversion to
messiness clashes with Applejack's brashness in Look Before You Sleep.
They bicker throughout the episode about each other's 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 becomes more apparent in
later episodes. In Over a Barrel, Rarity is baffled at the level of care Applejack bestows on a tree that she named Bloomberg which 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
Rarity cuts off her tail to help the sea serpent in Friendship is Magic Part 2While
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 revolves around Rarity's generosity, as she is willing to not only make five unique dresses for her friends for the Grand Galloping Gala,
but additionally re-work and redesign them as her friends desire. The
overworking runs Rarity ragged and, despite her friends' designs being
horrible fashion-wise, she continues making them in order to satisfy her
friends. 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 with an illusory diamond she names Tom. 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
brainwashed, obsessively protecting her "diamond" and refusing to let
anybody near it, as she 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 brainwashing is cured, she throws the boulder
away and tells her friends to "never speak of this again" in a hushed
but assertive whisper.
Career
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique."
Rarity sewing clothes 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 are able to convince Hoity Toity to hold another
fashion show, this time with the 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.
Spike with a Rarity t-shirt. 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 carts full 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. She also designs the wedding dress
for Princess Cadance and the bridesmaid dresses for herself and her
friends in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 and A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2.
Skills
Magic
Rarity's dresses for the fashion show. 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 swoon and collapse upon it. She magically
attaches 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, who had 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
Rarity's martial art skills
Despite Rarity's delicate nature and formal personality, she has shown
an occasional propensity for the 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 flank in Sonic Rainboom, and delivers a flying kick with a martial arts stance to Applejack with a karate yell in The Return of Harmony Part 2. In Dragon Quest, she threatens the teenage dragons, viciously telling them that she will "rip [them] to pieces" if they try to hurt Spike. Additionally, in Ponyville Confidential,
she kicks open the door to her bedroom in the same manner as a police
officer in order to confront Sweetie Belle, as well as knock three Wonderbolts into unconsciousness in mid-air while falling in Sonic Rainboom. 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 his 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".
Rarity is also the subject of a running gag in the series where,
either by accident or social obligation, she eats or drinks something
foul and spits it out at the first opportunity. In Party of One, she spits an entire mouthful of fruit punch in Pinkie Pie's face when she notices that Gummy is
swimming in the punch bowl. She then takes another sip to be polite,
but spits it into a potted plant as soon as Pinkie looks away. In Sweet and Elite,
she accidentally dips an hors d'œuvre from the Canterlot Garden Party
in the chocolate sauce at Twilight's birthday party and is repulsed by
the horrible flavor. In Spike at Your Service,
Spike brings her one of the burnt apple pies he made and she
reluctantly takes a bite so as not to offend him, but spits it into a
napkin while Spike is distracted.
History
Filly Rarity trying to make another set of costumes for the play. 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 are practicing for a school play, dressed as various
foods. The teacher compliments Rarity on her costume design, but the
perfectionist Rarity insists that the dresses don't meet her
expectations and tries 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 it to be filled
with gemstones. Rarity decides to add these to the existing costumes to
jazz 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 in fear of the thought of Rarity dying her coat a new color.
Rarity's daydream in The Ticket Master
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
Rarity and Sweetie Belle having overcooked breakfast with their parents.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. Even though Sweetie's eagerness to help usually
unintentionally causes messes, she 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. Rarity 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. Though Rarity is not
necessarily mean towards 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 and Sweetie Belle's parents make a brief appearance. The two
have a mid-American accent and are 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
Opal 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 where she tries to remind
Rarity to work on Twilight Sparkle's new birthday dress when Rarity
becomes 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 and Rarity hugging in A Dog and Pony Show.Spike has
a crush on Rarity which she accepts, and she is very fond of him. Their
relationship 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 Party of One, he is seen taking out the rubbish for Rarity and Spike addresses her as "most beautiful one".
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.
Oh, my little Spikey-Wikey! *smooch* 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 knows about his
feelings for her, and gives a teary smile and Spike smiles back. After
they are rescued by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash,
Rarity calls Spike her hero for stopping himself from destroying the
town and kisses him 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.
Trying to convince Spike not to go on the migration.In Dragon Quest,
Rarity stands up for him when Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash
pick on him and she still affectionately calls him "Spikey-Wikey". She
even picks his cheeks by saying he has "the cutest widdle cubby cheeks".
When Spike leaves the group angry and embarrassed, she asks the others
if he isn't adorable when he waddles off in anger. 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. When
Spike leaves, she salutes him by saying "Goodbye, Spikey-Wikey!". She
joins Twilight and Rainbow Dash in following Spike to the dragon lands,
watching over him and keeping him from getting into trouble. When Spike
tells Garble that he would like to stay forever with the other dragons,
she gets really worried. 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 makes traditional crafts by hoof 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, with King Sombra riding a dark crystal directly at him. Rarity, who is watching from a balcony, cries "Spikey-Wikey!" and covers her eyes.
Oh Spikey, save me from the thing that isn't attacking me! 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.
Human version of Rarity. In My Little Pony Equestria Girls,
Rarity's human counterpart gives Twilight a disguise to make her
unrecognizable and says that it's too bad they'll also need a disguise
for Spike, because she finds him "so adorable." Later, in the human
world's Sugarcube Corner, she lets Spike sleep on her legs and pets his back. She warns Twilight to stay away from Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend.
Rarity's idea of rallying the students by encouraging them to wear
the Canterlot Wondercolts' headbands, tie-on tails, and jerseys is a
success. Rarity also says she hasn't sold any of the Canterlot
Wondercolts' paraphernalia in ages.
When the students find out that Spike can talk, he incredulously
asks if a talking dog is the weirdest thing they've seen that night.
Rarity says she for one thinks he is adorable. She picks him up and
scratches him behind his ears.
According to a crew member, in an early draft of the movie,
Rarity was the girl who unsuccessfully ran for Princess of the Spring
Fling against Sunset Shimmer, but the final draft of the movie did not
reveal this.[5]
The crew member also stated that "a couple of lines in the movie" still
imply it. In the movie, Fluttershy mentions the unsuccessful candidate
for Princess of the Spring Fling when she advises Twilight against
running for Fall Formal Princess. Later in the movie, Rarity says she
expects "some sort of apology for last spring's debacle."
Nightmare Rarity.
After the Nightmare Forces convince Rarity that while others might
eventually abandon her for someone better and the Forces would always
want her help, Rarity is manipulated into becoming their queen.
Just like Princess Luna's
Nightmare Moon persona changes her appearance, Rarity's height is
increased and she gains a darker coat, a diamond on her horn and a much
longer mane and tail. Even her cutie mark changes to become more
star-like.
In Issue 7, Nightmare Rarity speaks of Rarity as if they are two
separate characters by saying Rarity was her specific choice as a
vessel. She also speaks as if she is the original Nightmare Moon by
saying that the ponies have defeated her before.
In Issue 8, Rarity is restored by the other five ponies with the
power of friendship and Spike with his love for her, and the evil force
possessing her is destroyed.
"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!"
"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?"
"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."
" I mean, the five of us are obviously very different, but
deep down, we're all Canterlot Wondercolts! Sunset Shimmer is the one
who divided us, Twilight Sparkle is the one who united us. And we're
gonna let everyone know it! What do you think?"
