Here, I'm going to have to disagree. To me, it's clear that Rarity only started embracing the fancy life over her friends because she was pressured to. Since she usually tries to please everyone, she thought she could manage juggling a bunch of fancy events with creating Twilight's dress. As it turns out, she couldn't.
Remember the scene where some classy ponies were trying to persuade Rarity to attend some events coming up? Initially, she refused, because Twilight was more important to her than some strangers. However, when they started going into dramatics, her generosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but agree.
Even though Rarity spends a good amount of the episode seemingly reveling in her popularity, she only believes it's some side work and that the dress is the main priority. However, she's so exhausted by the end of the day that she can't work on it.
In the end, she realizes that she hasn't actually been giving her friends top priority. Seeing how little work she had put into the dress and how she'd much rather be with her friends than some upper-class strangers made her decide to sacrifice her reputation. Sure, Fancypants accepts this and restores her reputation, but that doesn't mean she still wants to continue life in Canterlot. After all of the neglect she gave her friends, why would she?
I have to disagree as well. We could have had this ep end with Rarity getting what evoking that many Blatent Lies and the Two Timer Date plot would have normally resulted in, but that's been done 100s of times before. Instead, we're seeing Rarity struggle internally with her choice, eventually come out to support her friends, and then we get a plot twist in how Fancy Pants praises their "rustic" charm, a win-win for everypony save Jet Set and Upper Crust. That made the overall episode much more enjoyable.
I do think to this end, a few additional lines (not even a full scene) where Rarity apologizes - and gets quickly forgiven - to her friends and/or to Fancy Pants (which, head-canon, might have started his own life from a "rustic" location), as it was only herself that struggled with the choice - she created the problem herself and likely if she had told the truth to her friends, Twi would have still had the party moved to Canterlot and done much of the same for the rest of the episode. But, unlike significantly necessary motivation missing from Mare Do Well, these missing elements aren't critical to appreciate the rest of the episode.
Rarity hasn't learned anything? Balderdash. The episode centers around Rarity's fame in Canterlot and how it contrasts with her roots in Ponyville. Initially she tries to cover up and lie about her past and present friends, and that eventually works both for and against her. She gains more fame in Canterlot, but is also too busy to work on the dress. At the end of the song she seems quite disappointed in herself for not doing more on Twilight's dress.
Then she is invited to the garden party by the same ponies that scoffed at her. I admit I was disappointed in Rarity for skipping the birthday party; how exactly would your reputation be ruined by NOT attending something? But karma is a wicked force, and not two minutes later her friends show up and surprise her, then ask her questions about her dressing up and the plain dress (which turns out well on its own.) So instead of Rarity just trying to hide her roots from Canterlot, now she is forced to hide what she's been doing in Canterlot from her friends.
The hiding game is the focus of the episode, I think. The lies are an easy target because they are blatant and inconsequential, but keep in mind that they are a small part of the large curtain of deceit Rarity has drawn between her friends and her new connections. She eventually has to learn to take that curtain down. Keep in mind that when Rarity chooses to go to the garden party, there was no immediate threat to her status or friendship; all Rarity was faced with were the consequences for not attending one or the other. But after Twilight exposes her to the entire garden party crowd and puts her new status in a very dangerous position, Rarity decides to side with her friends regardless. The fact that Rarity might make a wrong decision when not under pressure but sticks with her friends in a bad situation makes her character much more interesting to me.
And yes, Rarity eventually gets away with everything due to Fancypants, but you know what? He didn't HAVE to cover for Rarity. He wasn't the pony who invited her, nor does he have any special connection with Ponyville (that we know of). His judgment was entirely his own, it just happened to have a happy ending for Rarity.
Some notes on the smaller things:
- From what we've seen of Canterlot, it's no surprise Rarity fits in there. She does have a bit of an elitist streak and tries to act fancy and dignified at all times. Usually she keeps it in check for her friends, but it really shows in this episode.
- Rarity does want to be recognized more as a fashion designer, but she is not attention-seeking. Remember that before she ran into Fancypants, she was just going to stay in her room and work on the extravagant dress design. All of the other ponies invited her to the events, and she honestly seems conflicted by their invitations, not just blindly accepting them for attention.
- Art Gallery Rarity is best Rarity.
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An unsatisfying episode.
This episode, while fun, was wholly unsatisfying to me. The reason is this:
Everyone in Canterlot is obsessed with status. It is essentially a city full of self-centered jerkasses. Even Fancypants, when he compliments Rarity's friends, is ultimately condescending ("charmingly rustic?" come on). Everything about Canterlot appears incompatible with our mane group of friends and their simple town of Ponyville. What troubles me most about this is that Rarity fits in so well there. She is perfectly happy until her two lifestyles collide, leaving her with a difficult choice - and she ends up choosing her high society life over her friends. She chooses to hang out with people who were only too happy to dismiss her when they learned that she was from Ponyville. Is Rarity just that attention-seeking? She would rather have the false adulation of strangers than true friendship? I refuse to believe that she is so shallow. She does eventually make the choice to stand up for her friends when they (rather obliviously) make asses of themselves at the garden party, which is nice. Rarity deciding to sacrifice her reputation is heartwarming. But PROBLEM: the blow is softened by Fancypants' decision to accept Rarity's friends, and the subsequent preservation of her status.
The overall problem with this episode is this:
Rarity has learned nothing. She has learned that she can lie, and that she can have both the snooty and shallow lifestyle of the socialite and her friends, all with no consequences. In fact, she comes out better in the end for it, when Fancypants inevitably orders a shitload of dresses.
Let's hope Rarity doesn't come away with the lesson that she can get away with anything as long as she keeps on making those fabulous dresses.