September is the not only the return of Season 5, but the beginning of what I am calling the Month of Rarity with not one, not two, but three Rarity episodes back to back. First up is Rarity finally realizing her dream of opening a boutique in what is possibly one of the two biggest fashion hubs in Equestria, Canterlot.

Of the Mane 6 besides Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight are the only ones to have any major presence in this episode, and neither detract from the episode itself. As I've said before, S5 seems to be doing everything in its power to make me like Pinkie Pie again after how annoying she was in S4. I'm also glad that, when she made herself sick from continuing to eat her horribly tasting cupcakes that even she admitted were awful, that we weren't treated to sounds of her throwing up off screen. Not only do we also get confirmation that Twilight is now Best Princess in-universe, but it's very admirable that she was more than willing to model Rarity's dress to help further Rarity's dream despite how awkward it may have felt for her to do so (she didn't exactly look ecstatic to have all the reporters trained on her at once.)

I think it goes without saying that Rarity is in top form here, as she usually is. Her dress designs all look fabulous and seeing her finally achieve her dream is a pleasant thing to see.

This episode also debuts a brand new song, Rule of Rarity. It what is now a particular style to Rarity, her songs all seem to start out happy before dipping into a somber reprise. Art of the Dress, Generosity and now Rule of Rarity are all on my favorite songs list for this reason.

Viewers were also introduced to a bunch of new characters, like the conflicting personalities of the gothic Moonlight Raven and her sister, Sunlight Smiles/Strawberry Lemonade (possibly paralleling Celestia and Luna with how they're wearing the dresses designed after the Princesses) and the fashionable pony Cayenne/Pepper Steps (despite how rude she was to Rarity).

However, this episode was not without its faults, such as Twilight's heavy-handed exposition about how Rarity was able to afford a location in Canterlot thanks to all the money she made from making dresses for Sapphire Shores. This entire exposition dump comes off as long winded, clunky and frankly unnecessary to the overall story. Had it been cut, I don't think anyone would have noticed or really cared that much.

And then we have Sassy Saddles, the main source of my issues with this episode. I'll be frank: I didn't trust her the moment she walked on screen. I couldn't place it at the time, but I just knew she was going to be trouble. And, lo and behold, the episode wasted almost no time in firmly establishing that Sassy was, in fact, the antagonist for this episode. And it just gets worse from there.

Sassy is meant to represent the more industrial side of fashion, particularly the mass production of a hundred plus copies of one dress, which comes into direct contact with Rarity's style of making each dress unique and special. She parades this as helping Rarity succeed, but she spends nearly ever opportunity to step on Rarity's hooves and make me wish someone would just smack some sense into already. The fact that Rarity puts up with it for as long as she does should prove just how patient Rarity is.

Though even Rarity has her limit, and once she finally snaps at Sassy I couldn't help but cheer "You tell her Rarity!". However, Sassy's following line about "not being a part of another failed boutique" shows that this isn't the first time she's run a boutique into the ground thanks to her over-controlling ways (something she likely conveniently left off her resume no doubt). Part of me wants to feel sorry for her, but the fact that this isn't the first time she's done this makes me wonder why she hasn't learned from her mistakes thus far. Trying the same tactic over and over and expecting a different outcome is the often cited definition of insanity after all.

Her realization also came far too quickly. I would have liked it better if there was a brief scene where she's utterly confused that Rarity's style of business is working far better than her calculated plan before eventually coming to realize that she should have listened to Rarity all along. To her credit though, she does learn her lesson and decided to leave of her own accord after all she's done. I've heard some people say that Rarity should have let her walk after everything, but keeping her on to manage the boutique is a very in-character for Rarity to do, so I don't have an issue with that.

And finally, we have that morbidly obese pony in the last bit of the episode. Just… why? Not only does she look like something I would doodle in the margins of my notebook or on my desk in middle school to the point of looking unsettling (Is there a pony uncanny valley?), but there is literally no reason why she had to be there. If they needed a pony with a bigger build, I would have understood, but you could literally replaced her with any pony or just take the scene out entirely and it would have changed nothing. All this was was a quick jab at morbidly obese people walking into a dress shop like other shows before it have done, which is rather tasteless if you ask me.

All and all, this episode is a very average affair as far as Rarity episodes go. Despite the few issues, it's still an enjoyable episode and a decent way to re-enter into S5. If this is the worst that the following Rarity episodes can bring, then I look forward to next week.