History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E14CanterlotBoutique

-->'''Rarity:''' How can I have forgotten? ''This'' is what I've been dreaming about!

** Played straight when Rarity tries to change the design of the Princess Dress. Sassy is shocked when she hears this since they are all suppose to be the same and tells Rarity to go see the customer's reaction like she wants. When Rarity presents the new design to the customer, Cayenne, she immediately notices how it is different and when Rarity asks what she thinks she says "[[DamnedByFaintPraise they're... fine]]" but they're ''not'' what she ordered, making it clear she wants her Princess Dress to look ''exactly'' like the one Princess Twilight wore. Though Sassy and Cayeene are both a bit rude to Rarity in this scene and this rejection breaks her spirits, she tried to change a product without the customer's permission, and part of the reason the Princess Dress is so popular is because everyone wants the same kind of dress as the one Twilight wore, not a model that's ''similar''.

* DoingItForTheArt: Another InUniverse example; Rarity won't have a successful boutique if it means sacrificing her creativity.

** Played straight when Rarity tries to change the design of the Princess Dress. Sassy is shocked when she hears this since they are all suppose to be the same and tells Rarity to go see the customer's reaction like she wants. When Rarity presents the new design to the customer, Cayenne, she immediately notices how it is different and when Rarity asks what she thinks she says "[[DamnedByFaintPraise they're... fine]]" but they're ''not'' what she ordered, making it clear she wants her Princess Dress to look ''exactly'' like the one Princess Twilight worse. Though Sassy and Cayeene are both a bit rude to Rarity in this scene and this rejection breaks her spirits, she tried to change a product without the customer's permission, and part of the reason the Princess Dress is so popular is because everyone wants the same kind of dress as the one Twilight wore, not a model that's ''similar''.

* IKissYourHand: One stallion does this to the mare Sweet Biscuit when she shows off her Princess Dress.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Deconstructed. Despite overstepping her position, Sassy points out that her business practices have been benefiting Rarity's business, albeit not Rarity herself. Rarity even agrees with this initially and tries to humor Sassy. In time, however, she realizes that Sassy doesn't understand what Rarity wants out of this business and decides to pull rank by closing down the shop.

* KarmaHoudini: Sassy Saddles almost ruins Rarity's dream of owning her own store in Canterlot, and Rarity lets her stay on board anyway when Sassy is prepared to leave and find another position. Even [[https://twitter.com/TheBiggestJim/status/642729317370339328 the]] [[https://twitter.com/mktoon/status/642729287150276608 show]] [[https://twitter.com/WheelOfCheese/status/642729307379404800 staff]] cried foul on this. However, given Sassy nearly reaching the DespairEventHorizon when recalling her past failures, she's not exactly as scot-free as, say, Suri Polomare. It helps that Sassy does have a genuine desire to be a better manager, even when she thought she was getting fired. Also, the show wasted no time showing that the lesson really did stick, as the very next episode features her and Rarity getting along fabulously.

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics:
** Surely a successful small business owner like Rarity should have realized that she would be working on an entirely different scale of market opening a branch studio in a major city like Canterlot and at least inquired about temporary help and/or hired a production crew. Then again, she probably just thought it'd be "bigger" than Ponyville, to some extent. Considering her "Rules of Rarity" song number she could easily have thought she might have to adjust for more designs, expecting more or less to make new individual dresses, not mass production. Similarly, she probably didn't expect her manager to take such huge amounts of orders (and outright states she intended to start out smaller). When she does... it is too late to get any real help, and she is swamped.
** Sassy also doesn't seem to realize that they could probably make just as much money selling fewer dresses at a higher markup (something that would have meshed well with Rarity's methods), because of their, ahem, rarity.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Rarity apparently hired Sassy after reading her resume, rather than check up on references. As it turns out, Sassy laments that she was part of many boutiques that closed down, and it's implied her ControlFreak nature caused the owners to burn out. There's a reason why people in real-life check references and experience.
** In a deconstructed case of JerkassHasAPoint, Rarity keeps humoring Sassy by going with her ideas because they are working. Sassy does her own version of TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity by micromanaging her own boss. Eventually, Rarity pulls rank when Sassy says that the Canterlot Carousel is ''her'' boutique and talks about future plans; sometimes the boss has to be the bad guy because even a qualified employee can misunderstand intentions.
** Sassy keeps piling on large orders of princess dresses, exhausting Rarity.
** Rarity tries selling a modified version of her princess dress but the customer complains it wasn't what she ordered beforehand.

* TakeThat: This episode might be a big one for corporations in general. Many of Sassy Saddle's risk-averse business practices reflect the main criticisms that big corporations face from both creators and consumers. From changing stuff from the creator's original vision without consent, focusing on a single product to the detriment of other ideas that are just as good, to saturating the market with that product to the point where it loses its original value and meaning. Even Hasbro itself is guilty of these practices, which makes it a bit of SelfDeprecation or BitingTheHandHumor.

* RealityEnsues:
** Rarity apparently hired Sassy after reading her resume, rather than check up on references. As it turns out, Sassy laments that she was part of many boutiques that closed down, and it's implied her ControlFreak nature caused the owners to burn out. There's a reason why people in real-life check references and experience.
** In a deconstructed case of JerkassHasAPoint, Rarity keeps humoring Sassy by going with her ideas because they are working. Sassy does her own version of TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity by micromanaging her own boss. Eventually, Rarity pulls rank when Sassy says that the Canterlot Carousel is ''her'' boutique and talks about future plans; sometimes the boss has to be the bad guy because even a qualified employee can misunderstand intentions.
** Sassy keeps piling on large orders of princess dresses, exhausting Rarity.
** Rarity tries selling a modified version of her princess dress but the customer complains it wasn't what she ordered beforehand.

* GoLookAtTheDistraction: Pinkie uses a cupcake to distract the rest of the Mane Six so Rarity and Sassy can talk alone.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Downplayed; as it turns out, Rarity doesn't close this venture in Canterlot, but will still live in Ponyville as usual with regular errands to this satellite boutique and with the local work delegated to Sassy Saddles. As she points out, the reason why she ''hired'' a manager was to ensure someone could watch the shop in Canterlot while she runs from home base.

* TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity: It seems to happen a lot with Rarity. While she's upset with Sassy Saddles' insubordination, she agrees to let it slight when seeing that Sassy's methods seem to be working in boosting her business. Cue Sassy belittling her for changing one order by adding beads, getting ''more'' orders than one pony can finish, and wanting to create an assembly line production team. Rarity understandably snaps when Sassy says the boutique is "hers" and not Rarity's.

* AnAesop: Never lose sight of why you followed your passion in the first place. For it's not fame or success that makes it worthwhile, but loving what you do that makes it count.

* BenevolentBoss: Rarity would have been within her rights to fire Sassy for making her business expansion a misery, but after Sassy shows some contrition, Rarity keeps her as branch manager.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite overstepping her position, Sassy points out that her business practices have been benefiting Rarity's business, albeit not Rarity herself.

* KarmaHoudini: Sassy Saddles almost ruins Rarity's dream of owning her own store in Canterlot, and Rarity lets her stay on board anyway. Even [[https://twitter.com/TheBiggestJim/status/642729317370339328 the]] [[https://twitter.com/mktoon/status/642729287150276608 show]] [[https://twitter.com/WheelOfCheese/status/642729307379404800 staff]] cried foul on this. However, given Sassy nearly reaching the DespairEventHorizon when recalling her past failures, she's not exactly as scot-free as, say, Suri Polomare. It helps that Sassy does have a genuine desire to be a better manager, even when she thought she was getting fired. Also, the show wasted no time showing that the lesson really did stick, as the very next episode features her and Rarity getting along fabulously.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Downplayed; as it turns out, Rarity doesn't close this venture in Canterlot, but will still live in Ponyville as usual with regular errands to this satellite boutique and with the local work delegated to Sassy Saddles.

* UltimateJobSecurity: Sassy Saddles steals Rarity's thunder, upstages her in presentations, takes a load of orders her boss will have to struggle to fill, and browbeats her boss into a laborious grunt work mass production that makes the new boutique a misery to run. Any one of those missteps could be grounds for Rarity to fire her, but after some contrition, she is allowed to stay as branch manager.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses:
** Invoked by Rarity, who styles one of the dresses in her debut collection after the stained-glass window in Canterlot Castle honoring Twilight's coronation. Sassy takes the idea [[SeverelySpecializedStore and runs with it]], completely ignoring two other dresses inspired by Celestia and Luna.
** Invoked again when customers fawn over [[FrillyUpgrade how nice they look]] in some of Rarity's unique designs -- i.e. "This makes me feel like a princess."

%%* {{Keet}}: Fashion Plate

* TheVoiceless: Even though Spike appears, he doesn't have a single line of dialogue.

** Rarity tries selling a modified version of her princess dress but the customer complains it wasn't what she ordered.