Well, yes she is in my opinion. Taking a break from what I planned and doing a fluffier piece after seeing an argument on /mlp/ about this. While I planned on this just being a fluff piece I think it is the longest blog I have done.

In support of this are the following: Faust made her character with that in mind (and since departing nothing has gone against that), official material supports this, and various in show elements exist to further support it.

But it is not weird to see the contrary argued.

In order to be clear, I am not saying the arguments are stupid or worthless in any way. I simply think they are flawed and heavily influenced by tunnel vision, often missing the point or easily supporting an alternate conclusion when viewed in the right context. By this I mean a few things: for one they take a lot for granted, are based highly on inference and as such can be interpreted differently, and lastly the interpretations drawn by the other camp are largely inconsistent with the show and characters as a whole. The last point being the major sticking point for this blog post.

Before beginning with the specific arguments one should put forth the evidence in favor of Rarity being the prettiest. As I mentioned earlier it is supported by the show's creator. A weak example could be her interview with Ms. Magazine where she describes all the traits each pony is meant to convey, Rarity's being "artistic and beautiful". A better example is seen when Faust answered twitter questions and explained the reason she originally thought of Spike's crush was to convey that Rarity was exceptionally beautiful. Which is also an in show method of conveying this quality, not just Word of God. Both are linked below.

Additionally, I pointed out that official material supports her beauty. Examples can be seen here, http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rarity#Other_depictions, where one can see that in nearly every single entry she is described as beautiful and the other 5 are not because it is not a trait they are known for. Not to say that they are ugly in any way but simply that she is known for her beauty.

Most importantly, male characters are frequently attracted to her, usually only her (and men do decide what is attractive for a woman let's be real), and even males of other species or high station showing that her allure transcends various boundaries. Notable examples include Blueblood, the stallions before the Grand Galloping Gala, Hayseed from the comics, the spider on one of the variant covers for the first arc was offering her a flower, the Dragon in Dragonshy, the nerd stallion in Putting Your Hoof Down, the Diamond Dogs in the Rainbow Rocks short, and Spike of course.

As can be seen this is consistent with all representations of her, from the show to the comics to Equestria Girls. This consistency is important because it is what the arguments to the contrary need to be checked against.

And as a brief aside I do lump all three together when discussing her character. Because while they may not be the same individual, or are in different continuities, they are all meant to represent her character in each instance and in terms of characterization are the same character simply reacting to different situations like in the comics or in a different station like in EQG. For example EQG Rarity would have been prom queen over Sunset if it were not for underhanded tactics on the part of Sunset, so one can infer that being a social butterfly is consistently shown as a trait to her character and use that as evidence. Like a restaurant franchise there may be minor differences but still essentially the same menu and corporate culture, and can be used to make judgments on the company as a whole when aggregated. I suspect lots of people may not like this attitude of mine but it never extends beyond using evidence from all three sources to support arguments.

The arguments to the contrary of my opinion typically fall under these two camps: Rarity relies on cosmetics and therefore is not naturally pretty, and In Green Isn't Your Color it is confirmed that Fluttershy is the prettiest.

Generally these arguments are used together, usually the former being used to support the latter. I say this because it is rarely seen on its own whereas the latter often is. The latter being the more important argument in my mind so we will focus on that first.

In regards to Photo Finish picking Fluttershy as a model, I do think it was made abundantly clear by both Rarity and Photo Finish herself that Fluttershy's talents as a model are related more to her performance than her looks. Rarity compliments Fluttershy on her grace and poise when she asked Fluttershy to model for her at the episode's beginning, and Photo Finish never states Fluttershy's allure is her beauty. Instead she uses vague allusions to something not physical, such as "de magicks" or "graceful." For a similar example, it's like Trenderhoof preferring Applejack. In no way is it presented that this is for any other reason than Trenderhoof's preference. Again this is not to say that Applejack doesn't have admirable qualities, she has them in spades, just that Trenderhoof was only looking at one specific dimension to who she is.

The lack of direct confirmation does not refute this possibility but when weighed against the evidence in Rarity's favor it is lacking.

And potentially on a meta level, Fluttershy being picked to be a model and becoming famous due to Photo Finish always struck me as a dig at "appealing to authority." After all, at the end Rarity is able to convince the crowd to support Fluttershy. They went along with Rarity because a mare pointed out that because Rarity had good fashion sense she "must know a lot about fashion." And while this is true, there was no way those people would have known that and furthermore Rarity was making what she said up for the benefit of Fluttershy. As such they simply saw her as an authority and went along with her words. Moreover, they thought Rarity's fashion was excellent whereas Photo Finish did not. So it's not too hard to see this as an instance where an authority mistakenly dismissed someone with promise and elevated another who did not want the attention. Making Rarity overlooked (which happened in the scene with BonBon) and Fluttershy overexposed (which was made very apparent during the episode in its entirety). Which anyone using this episode as an argument for Fluttershy being prettier could also be seen as being guilty of.

However that is possible sophistry on my part and not necessary for this post. Just a thought that I will not labor further.

The second argument, that Rarity's beauty comes from skillful cosmetics use, is on its own is very weak since the obvious retort is to point out that there's no reason to assume anyone else in the Mane 6 is prettier. But when paired with the above argument it becomes much more convincing. Maybe Photo Finish saw that Fluttershy was a natural beauty hidden behind her shyness and brought it out, whereas Rarity is not as naturally pretty and needs cosmetics more.

In addition to supplying the above point in regards to Photo Finish and Fluttershy I will also offer this observation. As best as I can remember, even when dolled up as a model Fluttershy didn't have any male suitors or interest. While not my whole argument on this front it is worth pointing out that Rarity still has that in her favor. Not to be outdone, the hypothetical proponent of this may point out that at the beginning of Green Isn't Your Color, Fluttershy did not want to have a lot of green goop put on her face. The implication presumably being that Fluttershy doesn't need it. This is incorrect. Fluttershy did not want as much of the green goop, yes, but she also wanted less work done on herself in general. Work that was not actually related to her physical appearance. This makes sense, Fluttershy is shy and would feel self conscious about being pampered and given so much attention. A microcosm of her feelings for the entirety of that episode.

However to deal with the argument that Rarity needs cosmetics to be pretty on its own I point out that there is no good evidence that she is not naturally pretty. After all, all high class and fashionable ponies wear makeup and often have styled manes. So Rarity doing the same could simply be her putting a lot of effort into her appearance as is appropriate for her role as the pretty and proper character in the Mane 6. As well as Rarity being persnickety about looking good and a perfectionist who would put forth the maximum effort. So it can be seen as justified by her role and characterization. This being what was meant by many of these arguments being susceptible to different interpretations.

Moreover, in Sisterhooves Social Rarity is seen playing in the mud with Sweetie Belle while it is raining. This would no doubt be disastrous for her appearance if she did need cosmetics so much but in fact she looked very good with her hair wet and normal style ruined. This is called Unkempt Beauty and nearly always indicates a natural beauty in media/fiction. A similar thing is seen in Simple Ways where Rarity purposely dresses poorly and stops taking care of herself and she looks much the same. Although to a much lesser extent.

On the other side of the spectrum there have been scenarios where every mare would be wearing makeup and Rarity still received male attention. Instances like the Grand Galloping Gala. Being a classy event, one could reasonably expect all the female attendees to be looking their best. Especially since even Twilight Sparkle is seen powdering her face at the start and as I earlier pointed out high class mares almost always have visible makeup on, most of the mares at the Gala probably being high class.

And of course, during this episode Prince Blueblood approached Rarity. And he probably did it because of her looks, there being no other reason to from his perspective.

Truthfully this is inference but it is what the writers of the show chose to communicate to us, just as they made subtle suggestions towards Fluttershy's ability as a model being for something beyond appearance.

For some minor analysis into Rarity and her looks while all of that has been said, they do play an important role in her character. Not just as a requirement for her role as the fashionista but deeper than that. Rarity can get what she wants using her looks. She's used it before to do just that but for the benefit of her friends. She even managed to seduce a Prince so Rarity would not have a problem being a trophy wife if she wanted to. But she still runs her boutique, even starting her work on fashion before she received her cutie mark. This is important for her character since it sets her apart from the stereotype characters like her usually are, for obvious reasons.

Furthermore her vanity also reinforces her preference for form over function and her naivety when it comes to high society where she seems drawn in by the glitz and glamour from time to time despite the personalities of the Elites.

And as some final food for thought with no real conclusion, Rarity is inspired by Audrey Hepburn more than anyone else. This is probably in reference to her idealism and charity but it is possible that she looks something like Audrey in the sense that she's not a standard beauty queen but has her own unique appearance. This could say something about her character as well but I personally don't think any answer I have is supported enough.

But the overall message is clear: beauty is integral to Rarity's character.

Before closing this out it is worth pointing out that while my evidence is also based on inference to some extent it does check out with the evidence in Rarity's favor at the start of this blog. Whereas the interpretations of the other side are largely inconsistent with that evidence. In my opinion, that is the difference.

Faust's rebuttal to Ms. Magazine: http://msmagazine.com/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/

Faust twitter questions: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/05/lauren-fausts-twitter-questions-and.html

Faust saying Rarity was most inspired by Audrey Hepburn: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/05/lauren-faust-answers-bunch-of-questions.html