Suited For Success

Dear Princess Luna..

Fourteen more episodes, including this one. If I can continue doing two a day, that would mean just one more week and my journey through the Ponyverse is complete. However, there's a phrase: 'under the weather' and that applies doubly right now. I woke up feeling terrible, continue to feel terrible, and it's sweltering out. Don't know if I will be able to watch one, let alone two, tonight, as I just feel so, so, awful and me medicine either didn't have any effect, or isn't potent enough. =]

That looks about how I feel. =[

Alright, so I wandered to bed and eventually fell asleep listening to Nazi propaganda swing and whatever else my MP3 player was playing, too tired and miserable to get up and change it. Woke up a few hours later to the Charleston, feeling much better than earlier. Still not 100%, but good enough for government work.

Starting off, we see Rarity creepily roleplaying about going to the Grand Galloping Gala and having people compliment her gown.

"Why, yes, I did make this myself!"

Next, if you've read my Green With Envy post or seen that episode, you would know that Rarity used Spike as a pin cushion. Behold:

Oh, look. An actual pin cushion. So who jabbed them into Spike, himself or Rarity/Twilight/other?

Later, Applejack kicks open the door and enters with Twilight, as Rarity is using magic to make a gown. Twilight and Applejack start whispering, distracting her, and she finally has enough enough and asks what the hell they want.

"Do you want something, or just came here to annoy me?"

 Twilight says she wants a button fixed on her dress for the Gala, a relatively plain looking garment, which does suit Twilight I suppose. Rarity can't believe Twilight plans to wear that and offers to make her a new outfit. Twilight declines, but Rarity insists and Twilight accepts her generosity.

"You realize this is the event in Canterlot, and I'm going with you, so there's no way I'm letting you wear this, right?"

Rarity then asks Applejack what she is wearing, and ends up agreeing to spruce up the 'work duds' Applejack planned to wear.

"Hmm.. Did I forget my hat? Nope, its there, don't know what Rarity's problem is with my Gala attire, looks fine to me."

Rainbow Dash screams 'Look out below!' and smashes through the roof of Rarity's shop, bouncing off the floor and crashing into a a bunch of dress forms and stuff. I think last episode I made a comment about how being around Pinkie was hazardous to your health, apparently being Rainbow's friend is too, as she seems to smash into her friends' homes often.

"Hey Rarity, can I wear this to the Gala, it looks good!"

Rainbow apologizes, claiming it was a new trick that went SNAFU, and Rarity says she'll make her a Gala gown too. She gets excited, saying she'll make one for all the 'mane 6' and they will do a fashion show afterwards. Applejack questions whether that much work is a good idea, and Rarity says it will be good for her business, and fun.

It then goes into a musical bit about Rarity making their gowns, using her love for her friends, her fashion sense, and magic to assemble garments tailored to her friends' personalities.

Thread by thread, stitching it together

Twilight's dress, cutting out the pattern snip by snip

Making sure the fabric folds nicely

It's the perfect color and so hip

Always gotta keep in mind my pacing

Making sure the clothes' correctly facing

I'm stitching Twilight's dress

Yard by yard, fussing on the details

Jewel neckline, don't you know a stitch in time saves nine?

Make her something perfect to inspire

Even though she hates formal attire

Gotta mind those intimate details

Even though she's more concerned with sales

It's Applejack's new dress

Dressmaking's easy, for Pinkie Pie something pink

Fluttershy something breezy

Blend color and form,

Do you think it looks cheesy?

Something brash, perhaps quite fetching

Hook and eye, couldn't you just simply die?

Making sure it fits forelock and crest

Don't forget some magic in the dress

Even though it rides high on the flank

Rainbow won't look like a tank

I'm stitching Rainbow's dress

Piece by piece, snip by snip

Croup, dock, haunch, shoulders, hip

Thread by thread, primmed and pressed

Yard by yard, never stressed

And that's the art of the dress!

Since we've seen the Gala episode, or I have and presumably most of my readers as well, we know these look kind of like what they end up with, but with minor differences I think. I don't think I mentioned it on that one, but I really like Rainbow's design, with the rainbow and cloud trim plus gold Caesar looking headpiece.

Rarity unveils them to her friends, and they are speechless, with Applejack finally saying they are 'something.' How nice, Rarity just put all this time and love into these things and her friends can barely say thank you.

Rainbow blirts out that it isn't as cool as she imagined, and the others also chime in, saying they appreciate it, but they aren't exactly what they want. Rarity says it isn't an issue and will re-do them, wanting her friends to be 110% satisfied.

Rarity is upset, asking what she got herself into after they leave. I can see where the others are coming from, you know, wanting cool gowns that they like, but for one, Rarity is making them out of the goodness of her heart and obviously put a lot of time, energy, and thought into them only to see her friends poo-poo them. And secondly, Twilight was going to wear some old, really plain dress, Rainbow was going to wear nothing, and Applejack was just going to wear her hat.

"I wish I had Twilight's magical ability, so I could go back in time and stop myself before trying to do this nice thing for my ingrate friends..."

Rarity, looking mighty stressed out, called Fluttershy over to show her her new dress. Fluttershy says it's 'nice.' Rarity keeps bugging her to tell her what she really thinks, since she obviously has issues with it, until she finally bursts and spits out what the problems are.

"The armscye's tight, the middy collar doesn't go with the shawl lapel, the hems are clearly machine-stitched, the pleats are uneven, the fabric looks like toile, you used a backstitch here when it clearly called for a topstitch or maybe a traditional blanket stitch and the overdesign is reminiscent of pret-a-porter and not true French haute couture. But, uh... you know... um, whatever you want to do is fine."

A reprise of the earlier song begins, showing Rarity re-making all the dresses, this time getting her friends' to explain what they want.

Stitch by stitch, stitching it together

Deadline looms, don't you know the client's always right?

Even if my fabric choice was perfect

Gotta get them all done by tonight

Pinkie Pie, that color's too obtrusive

Wait until you see it in the light

I'm sewing them together!

Twilight requests a pretty badass piece with constellations on it. Pinkie wants something with balloons and candy. Fluttershy keeps requesting French haute couture. Rainbow is just standing aloof. Applejack keeps shaking her head at Rarity's designs.

Complains about free dress. Refuses to say what she really wants. She probably really wants armor like she wore in Hearth's Warming Eve as Commander Hurricane. Eh, can't blame her, that was pretty awesome.

Hour by hour, one more change

I'm sewing them together, take great pains

Fluttershy, you're putting me in a bind

Rainbow Dash, what is on your mind?

Oh my gosh, there's simply not much time

Don't forget, Applejack's duds must shine

Twilight nit-picks over a constellation (Canis Major, not Minor), Fluttershy requests haute couture, again, prompting a cute 'Eh...' from Rarity, Applejack wants galoshes, just in case it rains, Pinkie wants more candy, less candy, more balloons, less balloons, then streamers, which Rarity clearly doesn't want to do but Pinkie says it is her dress. Rainbow continues standing aloof, finally telling Rarity it needs to be cooler, just make the whole thing cooler, and it needs to be about "20% cooler", exasperating Rarity.

"Did I mention I want French haute couture?"

"The shape's fine, just make the whole thing... you know, cooler. It needs to be about 20% cooler."

All we ever want is indecision

All we really like is what we know

Gotta balance style with adherence

Making sure we make a good appearance

Even if you simply have to fudge it

Make sure it stays within our budget

As seen above, for some reason they request it stays within their budget. I thought Rarity was making these for free?

Got to overcome intimidation

Remember, it's all in the presentation!

Piece by piece, snip by snip

Croup, dock, haunch, shoulders, hip

Bolt by bolt, primmed and pressed

Yard by yard, always stressed

And that's the art of the dress!

Rarity collapses, then tells Opal, her cat, they are the ugliest dresses she's ever made. She shows them to her friends and tells them to tell her exactly how they feel, they all love them. Spike enters, and tells Rarity he told some hot shot Canterlot fashion guy, Hoity Toity, about Rarity's fashion show, and he's coming to see it. Rarity is alarmed, knowing she'll have to show her terrible dresses she just made since her friends like them so much.

"I really need to find that time travel spell and put a stop to this... Maybe I can give Twilight a sealed letter to give to my past self..."

 That night, the fashion show is still a go. Hoity Toity arrives.

He looks like a macaroni aka a dandy/fop.

Rarity is stressing out and tries to comfort herself by saying her friends like their dresses, Hoity Toity will too, and the show begins.

Assuming that's not dyed, that's some pretty awesome mane/tail coloring she was blessed with.

Now, you may have noticed I didn't have any pictures of the dresses, they kept them in shadows for the most part, only showing little bits of them, so we shall see how terrible they are shortly. =]

After an elaborate intro by Spike, the dresses are revealed.

Yeah, they are pretty bad.

 The crowd is confused and disgusted.

"Why isn't everyone cheering?"

Eventually Applejack and the others realize that maybe, just maybe, they fouled up and ruined Rarity's rep.

Twilight's dress had so much potential too. Also, this gives us some insight into the Ponyverse, as we see here: a centaur, a scorpion, a goat, and a crab. It could be not all mythological stuff is real, and the Centaur is an 'old mare's tale' for them.

Hoity Toity says they are just horrible, having everything but the kitchen sink (Rarity then pushes a kitchen sink out of sight) and wants to know who is responsible for subjecting them to these 'horrors' and wasting his time. Rarity walks out in shame.

I was kind of thinking her friends would run back and get the 'good' dresses Rarity had made for them and salvage the show, but apparently not.

Days later, her friends go to see how she is doing, and she apparently hasn't left her house in days.

"Why would I want to see you, you girls ruined my life!"

Rarity is so upset she just starts rambling on to herself, saying she will wallow in whatever it is ponies wallow in. Pinkie says she will be a crazy cat lady. Twilight Worth isn't going to leave this one alone and spies through the keyhole, seeing Rarity's unfinished Gala gown.

"Exile... I guess technically I'd have to move away to live in exile. Where would I go? And what would I pack? Oh, it's going to take me forever to do all of that packing. What are you supposed to pack when you go to exile? Are you supposed to pack warm?" Just ask Twilight, she's the resident exile expert. =]

Rarity hears Opal crying and sees her up in a tree. She races out to save her and sees Rainbow also in the tree, and gets upset. It was, of course, a trick to lure her outside, where they show her her Gala gown that they completed on their own, thanks to 'Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of sewing.'

Aww.

Rarity inspects it, says she doesn't like it, prompting an 'Awwww....' from her friends, then says she loves it. It's exactly what she imagined, and they say they just followed her briliant design. Twilight surprisingly admits she was wrong, saying they should have let her design their dresses in the first place, since their first dresses were perfect. Is she talking in hindsight, or did they just request new ones, stressing out Rarity and sinking her career, just because they could? That does seem like something Twilight might do. The others also chime in, saying how sorry they were and how even though they got their dream dresses, it didn't turn out well. Rarity forgives them but says her career is still over, but someone has invited Hoity Toity back for a private fashion show, which, surprisingly, he agreed to see.

"I love it! Now why didn't you imbeciles love the things I painstakingly hoof-crafted for you, instead of ruining my life with your horrible designs?"

The show starts, with Rarity using her magic to put on some badass lighting and background effects to compliment each dress.

New use for magic: putting on an out of this world fashion show.

Twilight premieres with a bunch of stars and fireworks.

 Hoity Toity's eyes pop out, he wonders how this can be the same designer as before.

A shot of Sweet Apple Acres ends with Applejack lassoing an apple and posing with her dress.

He thinks this is simply magnificent, and suddenly has a 'fierce craving for some Dutch apple pie, candied apples on a stick, apple turnovers, apple cobbler...'

A rain of sweets falls on Pinkie Pie and complete her dress. She of course is in a candy land.

Sweets rain from the sky, putting finishing touches on Pinkie's dress. (And of course, she eats one) Hoity Toity says it's brilliant, then is shocked as a sudden lightning storm pops up.

Rainbow hued lightning and beams of sunlight showcase Rainbow's awesome dress.

Rainbow's dress is spectacular according to him. Vines start growing, and pop into flowers, butterflies and petals rain down onto Fluttershy.

Flowers and butterflies enhance Fluttershy's dress.

Hoity Toity is really impressed and demands to know who is responsible, Rarity steps forward in her Gala gown and thanks him and her friends.

Aww.

Afterwards, Twilight dictates a letter to Princess Celestia, where she says Rarity learned if you try to please every pony, you often times please no pony, including yourself. She says she also learned not to be overly critical if someone does a favor for you, like making you a beautiful dress, and not to 'look a gift horse in the mouth.'

At least in the end her friends do end up actually liking their dresses.

Hoity Toity asks if Rarity will do him the honor of letting him stock her designs in his boutique in Canterlot. Rarity is so happy...

"Oh my, this is every thing I've ever dreamed for! With my dresses in Canterlot, I'll have an excuse to visit, so I can finally find my Prince Charming!"

...until he says he needs a dozen of each dress by next Tuesday, and the episode ends with a shot of Rarity looking dumbfounded with her eye twitching.

"Do what now?!?"

What I learned from this episode:

• Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash are douchebags and have horrible taste in fashion. I mean, honestly, just look at what they each came up with. Twilight's could have looked pretty badass with the constellations, and Rainbow could have made some kick ass Rainbow Dash themed pegasus armor like Commander Hurricane's, but instead they ended up forcing Rarity to make those terrible designs, and almost ruined her life's dream.
• Score some more points for Unicorns/magic, that show at the end was pretty epic. Unicorns probably make awesome movies.
• I hope they have the other characters wear their Gala dresses in future episodes. I don't think any of them do except Rarity. I especially want to see more of Rainbow's, that looks really good on her. =]
• I changed the image format to png, some of the old pictures look pretty bad in jpg. I might go back and replace them if png is better, but man, that would be several hundred pictures to re-take, re-edit, re-upload, not to mention re-watching all the episodes. I don't know, I'm kind of a Twilight mixed with Fluttershy, so obsessing over details like that is something I do. I really would like to do it (and take more screenshots since some early episodes have like half or less than recent ones) but 'dash' of Rainbow Dash in me says, 'That's a lot of work'. =]