SPOILERS! Mariusioannesp Reviews: "Rarity Investigates!" · 6:40am Sep 20th, 2015
WARNING!!! The following contains SPOILERS for today’s episode of MLP “Rarity Investigates!”
Now, without further ado, here is my review of “Rarity Investigates!”
Rainbow Dash pays Rarity a visit in Canterlot. Rainbow Dash is the lucky Wonderbolts reservist who has been chosen as a stand-in lest a Wonderbolt not be able to perform at opening for Princess Celestia’s royal garden. Rarity will be accompanying Rainbow at the event and various related ones. Fortuitously enough, Rainbow does get a chance to fly with the Wonderbolts when Spitfire is called away after learning in a letter that her mother has taken ill. However, it is then discovered that Spitfire’s mother is fine, and the letter was fake! Rainbow Dash is the prime suspect for this heinous crime! It is then up to Rarity and her noir-inspired wardrobe to prove Rainbow’s innocence, or she’ll be banned from the Wonderbolts. Forever! Will Rarity solve the mystery and crack the case in time?
So what’s the verdict?
The second part of the “Rarity Trinity” (as I will call it) is MLP’s token Noir Episode. And it was amazing!
We start off this mystery story at the Canterlot Carousel where Rarity is unveiling and explaining her new Femme Mystique Chic line to Sassy Saddles. Some might be surprised to see Sassy Saddles so soon again after her debut. I admit, I kind of wass. Anyway, Rarity explains that she drew inspiration from the Shadow Spade series of mystery stories she’s been reading. Sensing the direction this episode was going, it’s clear Shadow Spade is Equestria’s answer to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe and other hard-boiled detective types. Anyway, Rainbow Dash shows up and accidentally messes up the boutique. She explains why she’s in Canterlot, about being a backup for a Wonderbolt and such. Rarity will be accompanying Rainbow to a dinner at the castle that night. After Rainbow takes her leave, we have a brief scene where Rarity uses her feminine wiles to convince a delivery pony to fix her order when she sees it’s the wrong kind of rhinestones. 
Just a friendly reminder of how much of a flirt Rarity can be.
Later on, Rainbow and Rarity are at the dinner with Princess Celestia and all the Wonderbolts flitting around. There they run into Wind Rider, a gentlepony with fabulous taste in colognes and scarves according to Rarity. Wind Rider is an old, retired Wonderbolt who still holds the record for the Mustang Marathon. He’s come out of retirement to participate in one of the Wonderbolts’ formations the next day. Rainbow is excited to meet a living legend. 
Methinks the animators have been watching Steven Universe.
Though she is somewhat disappointed that she’ll most likely be watching from the sidelines. Spitfire happens to mention to Wind Rider how she thinks Rainbow will be able to break his records soon enough. Once the night is over, Rarity escorts Rainbow and Spitfire to their rooms in the east tower of the castle, Rarity making plans to go to the practice with Rainbow.The next day, Rainbow and Rarity are at the practice where it turns out Spitfire wasn’t able to make it because she got a letter saying her mother was sick and she went off to attend to her. Soarin calls in Rainbow to take her place. Rainbow is ecstatic and does a dance of joy in the sky.
I admit, I was actually a bit miffed by this. Does Rainbow not realize she’s flying because her teammate’s mother is ill? She should have toned it down like a lot.
As the practice continues, Rarity chits and chats with a mare that sits next to her. Turns out the mare is Stormy Flare, Spitfire’s mother....
That’s right folks. We just met and were introduced to Spitfire’s mother before we could do the same with Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack’s mothers.
Moving on. Obviously, Spitfire’s mother is not sick. The letter Spitfire received must have been fake. But who would would send Spitfire a fake letter? Wind Rider points a hoof at Rainbow Dash! She is accused of sending the letter to send Spitfire away so Rainbow could take her place. Rainbow of course denies it, but the evidence so far is not in her favor. She was seen leaving the dinner with Spitfire, she said she’d do anything to fly with the Wonderbolts and Wind Rider, and she doesn’t have an alibi for the night before. She could only admit that she was having an awesome dream about flying with the Wonderbolts, which does not help. Soarin offers Rainbow an ultimatum. She can fly in the show if she can prove beforehand that she’s innocent. Otherwise in accord with the Wonderbolt bylaws, she will be banned from the Wonderbolts!
Rainbow wonders how she will ever prove her innocence. That’s when she walked in.
Suspecting this would be MLP’s token noir episode and knowing Rarity, I had a feeling Rarity would be killing it with her noir-inspired fashions. And she does! They got to lock her away for murder for how much she’s killing it.
She kind of looks like Carmen Sandiego.
Where in the wide, wide world of Equestria is Rarity?
Rarity begins her investigation at the scene of the crime. She finds the envelope that held the letter in Spitfire’s room. Within it, she finds several strands of rainbow-colored hair. While investigating the hallway outside Spitfire’s room, Rarity gets seemingly distracted by the damask curtains. There they find the royal guards who were on patrol the night before so they interrogate them. Rainbow gets nowhere with her blunt tactics as they only admit to seeing her in the hallway that night. Rarity takes an approach that’s decidedly… friendlier. 
Rarity’s both the hard-boiled detective and the femme fatale. You don’t see that often in a noir.
And where’d she get her fainting couch all of a sudden?
I can’t be the only one who felt uncomfortable here. That was just too much.
It seems oddly familiar though.
Rarity is able to get the guards to admit that they briefly left their post to eat a cake that they found someone had left for them. After getting the details on the cake, Rainbow starts to lose it as she doesn’t see the point of finding out what kind of cake. She even starts to think she might be guilty because she doesn’t know what she does in her sleep. However, these details allow Rarity to track down the bakery from which it came: Cinnamon Chai’s Tea and Cake Shop. The proprietor Cinnamon Chai is able to describe the the pony who bought the cake as a mare wearing a coat, hat, and scarf so that it obscured her face. She also had a deep, raspy voice, kind of like Rainbow Dash’s. The mystery mare also hitched a pitch when she got chocolate stain from the cake on her scarf. Rainbow gets even more frustrated by Rarity’s seeming unhelpfulness. She’s spent more time changing clothes than helping her. Rarity just asks Rainbow to trust her, but Rainbow seemingly can’t.
Back with the Wonderbolts, they were unable to locate Spitfire at her mom’s house, so no pony has any idea where she is. Rarity and Rainbow walk in, and Rarity identifies the true culprit. It is none other than….
You know, G.K. Chesterton once said there was a special place in Hell for those who ruined the end of a mystery story with Judas and the other traitors. I wonder if that’s anywhere near the special level reserved for child molesters and people who talk at the theater. 
Rarity reveals that the true culprit is none than Wind Rider!
Rainbow thinks Rarity has lost it. How could it be Wind Rider? But like at the end of any good mystery, Rarity explains how all the evidence seen before adds up to this conclusion. She notes that the rainbow hairs found in the envelope were cut and couldn’t just have fallen off Rainbow’s head. The envelope also smelled of Wind Rider’s cologne. Not only that, but one of the damask curtains in the hallway was missing its rope-holder, indicating some pony was hiding behind it. Also, the pony who bought the cake that distracted the guards got a chocolate stain on their scarf. Rarity points out that Wind Rider tied his scarf with a different knot, and when she unties it, there’s the chocolate stain!
Wind Rider finally admits that he did it. Rainbow doesn’t know why. Rarity explains that Wind Rider was afraid Rainbow would break his record because she heard him laugh disingenuously when it was brought up the night before. Wind Rider admits that in the letter, he said Spitfire’s mother had Pegasitis and the only cure is the ice iris found in the Crystal Mountains.
Wait a minute! Going to the mountains to find a flower to cure an illness. It’s It’s a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door all over again! Just like “Three’s A Crowd” was last season!
Spitfire’s been gone so long because the ice irises are difficult to find in the spring. Rainbow doesn’t want Spitfire to miss the royal garden opening because of this so she goes to find her herself. Later on, Spitfire arrives with Rainbow. Rainbow apologizes to Rarity for not trusting her even though Rarity believed her innocent from the beginning. So, we have a lesson here in trusting your friends even if you don’t understand what they’re doing. That’s a lesson I can stand behind! Spitfire strips Wind Rider of his Wonderbolt status and offers Rainbow the opportunity to fly in his place. In the end, Rarity watches Rainbow flying with the Wonderbolts.
Like I’ve been saying, this is MLP’s token Noir Episode, and it gloriously wears all the noir tropes on its sleeve. Most of the scenes from Rarity’s perspective are in black and white like a traditional noir film. Rarity also narrates those black and white parts of the episode as in a typical noir film. In fact, there’s a running gag where Rarity realizes she’s said something aloud instead of narrating it in her head. There’s also a moment where Rainbow wonders what Rarity is doing just standing there after one of her narrations. Even the background music during these scenes has a melancholy jazz flavor as is typical in a noir film. There’s even a moment where there appears to a be a pony providing the music by playing a trumpet! 
But I will tell you the single greatest moment of this episode! It wasn’t out in front though. Noooo. It was in the background. 
That’s right. They’re pony versions of John and Sherlock from Sherlock! I actually had to pause the TV when I saw it just to make sure. And I just LOLed at it! I could not believe it! I could tell from the bee cutie mark that had to be Sherlock. Any Sherlockian worth their salt knows Sherlock Holmes eventually retires to take up beekeeping. Though I have no idea what the Watson pony’s cutie mark is supposed to be.
But wait! There’s more. 
They’re chasing a Moriarty pony! Though I also don’t know how that cutie mark is supposed to relate to him.
I think the powers that be behind MLP are slowly but surely turning into Bronies like us. Ponifying everything in sight!
In other news, this Wonderbolt is officially named for the first time in this episode. She’s named Blaze, which I think is actually a name the Brony fandom came up for her. Go Bronies! Yay!
As for what is wrong with this episode, I admit I’m confused as to how Wind Rider exactly got a chunk of Rainbow’s hair. They never really explained that. That’s pretty much it. It was too solid an episode.
Overall, “Rarity Investigates!” was the stuff dreams are made of. Having Rarity at the center of MLP’s token Noir Episode was a stroke of genius. Two Rarity episodes down. One to go. I really look forward to the finale of the Rarity Trinity.
What did you all think of “Rarity Investigates!”?
God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.
He cut it at the party, then placed it at the scene. Don't know how he cut it, but I'm pretty sure it was said in the show.
It looks like we both thoroughly enjoyed this episode.
Indeed. The creators of the herd have now joined the herd.
That's awesome. Though I wouldn't have known this unless you mentioned it. There are too many fan names to keep track of. I guess that's no surprise since every pony to ever appear in the show has received a fan name at some point.