History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E16RarityInvestigates

* NiceHat: Two of Rarity's outfits have these -- the broad-brim hat with her trenchcoat, and the little veiled "fascinator" with her dark suit.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** While most of the Wonderbolts think Rainbow Dash is the one who tricked Spitfire from the getgo, Soarin as the second-in-command steps in and gives Rainbow the chance to prove herself innocent, since there's no evidence to prove or disprove her innocence until the investigation begins.
** As Rarity points out, multicolored hair like Rainbow's would have to be in a chunk in order to be immediately recognizable, and some of it has been obviously cut off. This is the first clue Rainbow really was framed.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash return to the castle, where Rarity accuses Wind Rider of sending the note and framing Rainbow for the misdeed. He hid behind the loose curtain in the dining hall, distracted the guards with a cake, and even planted some of Rainbow's hair on the envelope to throw suspicion on her. Wind Rider laughs at her accusations, but Rarity loosens his tightly-wound (silk!) scarf, revealing the chocolate stain from the frosting on the [[DeliciousDistraction cake]]. Wind Rider confesses that he did it in an effort to get Rainbow Dash out of the Wonderbolts so that she could not threaten his record. He insists that a little dirty play is justified in the name of success, but Soarin' and the other Wonderbolts disagree. Meanwhile, Rainbow quickly flies off to retrieve Spitfire, who promptly strips Wind Rider of his status as a Wonderbolt and kicks him out of the show. Rainbow Dash is given the position of honor in his place, while Rarity is satisfied that she helped clear her friend's name.

--> '''Wind Rider:''' I did what I had to do to protect my record. Sometimes, you gotta play dirty to be the best.
--> '''Rainbow Dash:''' That's not what being a Wonderbolt's all about.
--> '''Soarin:''' She's right! Wonderbolts look out for each other!

* {{Irony}}: Wind Rider frames the Mare of Loyalty for a petty act of treachery. Also, the actions Wind Rider took to preserve his reputation and legacy ended up completely destroying them.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Wind Rider uses this trope (and the exact phrase) as an pathetic excuse for his actions, claiming "you have to play dirty" to be the best. Rainbow Dash, Soarin and the others don't buy it, stating a real Wonderbolt looks out for their teammates.
--> '''Wind Rider:''' I did what I had to do to protect my record. Sometimes you gotta play dirty to be the best.
--> '''Rainbow Dash:''' That's not what being a Wonderbolts' all about.
--> '''Soarin:''' She's right, Wonderbolts look out for each other.

* ItsTheBestWhateverEver: Rainbow Dash proclaims "This is the best thing EVER!" after Soarin tells her they need her to replace the missing Spitfire for the aerial show. However, her enthusiasm soon gets doused when the Wonderbolts start accusing her of having plotted to remove Spitfire.

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: After Rarity revealed that Winder Rider was behind all of this, he admits it and says that he thought if he can get Rainbow Dash kicked out of the Wonderbolts forever, his record would be saved.

* ChekhovsGunman: [[LawOfConservationOfDetail Of course]] Wind Rider did it.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Wind Rider is seen as the greatest Wonderbolt in Equestrian history. However, he frames Rainbow Dash for a crime she didn't commit, out of spite so she doesn't break his Wonderbolt record.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Wind Rider uses this trope (and the exact phrase) as an excuse for his actions, claiming "you have to play dirty" to be the best. Soarin and the others don't buy it, stating a real Wonderbolt looks out for their teammates.

* NotHelpingYourCase: When Rainbow Dash is questioned about where she was, she goes into detail over her dream of flying with the Wonderbolts and Wind Rider. Naturally, this makes her look more guilty in the eyes of the Wonderbolts.

* {{Gaslighting}}: A somewhat unintentional example. We know by the end of the episode that Wind Rider implicated Rainbow Dash of trying to get rid for Spitfire, but in one point of the episode, Rainbow Dash starts to believe that she really is to blame, even citing the implausible event of her writing the letter in her sleep.

* {{Gaslighting}}: A somewhat unintentional example. We know by the end of the episode that Wind Rider implicated Rainbow Dash of trying to get rid of Spitfire, but in one point of the episode, Rainbow Dash starts to believe that she really is to blame, even citing the implausible event of her writing the letter in her sleep.

%% * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* RealityEnsues:
** While most of the Wonderbolts think Rainbow Dash is the one who tricked Spitfire from the getgo, Soarin as the second-in-command steps in and gives Rainbow the chance to prove herself innocent, since there's no evidence to prove or disprove her innocence until the investigation begins.
** As Rarity points out, multicolored hair like Rainbow's would have to be in a chunk in order to be immediately recognizable, and some of it has been obviously cut off. This is the first clue Rainbow really was framed.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* FacePalm: Rainbow facehooves twice, both in response to Rarity. First, she does it when Rarity fails to recognize Wind Rider in spite of him being a celebrity. Later, she does it again when Rarity accuses Wind Rider of the crime, though it turns out the accusation is correct.

* LiteralMetaphor: "Rainbow Dash was obviously upset, but I had all my ducks in a row!" (''an orderly trio of ducklings crosses the screen'') "...except one." (''a fourth duckling rushes to catch up with the others, trips, and falls into a rain puddle'')

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Rarity getting increasingly frisky with both the delivery pony and the guards.

* {{Adorkable}}: Rainbow going full fangirl over Wind Rider as well as her victory dances.

* JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife: For the relatively minor offense of [[GoLookAtTheDistraction sending Spitfire off so she'd miss the show]], Rainbow Dash would have been banned from the Wonderbolts ''forever'', crushing her lifelong dream.

** ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]'' established that Soarin [[TrademarkFavoriteFood really enjoys pie]]; he's shown eating one just before the performance.
** Rarity's eye for detail was mentioned way back in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E15TheSuperSpeedyCiderSqueezy6000 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000]]'', where it was the reason Twilight Sparkle enlisted her with assisting in quality control during the cider-making race.

** Rarity's eye for detail was mentioned way back in ''Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E15TheSuperSpeedyCiderSqueezy6000 The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000]]'', where it was the reason Twilight Sparkle enlisted her with assisting in quality control during the cider-making race.

** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]]" established that Soarin [[TrademarkFavoriteFood really enjoys pie]]; he's shown eating one just before the performance.

* UnfortunateImplications: The efficiency with which Wind Rider threw together and implemented a scheme to discredit Rainbow Dash implies that she's not the first promising rookie that he's sabotaged. Also, his lack of remorse and conviction that "you have to play dirty" may say some unsavory things about the conduct of earlier generations of Wonderbolts.

* CoolOldGuy: Wind Rider appears at first to be this genteel, modest and amazing veteran. He decidedly ''not'' cool when the truth comes out.

** At the party when Spitfire tells Wind that Rainbow is close to breaking the flying record, Wind chuckles to himself, "Heh-heh." This was something Rarity brought up when she reveals the culprit.

* OrgyOfEvidence: The envelope containing the note also contained a chunk of rainbow hair. Unfortunately for the real villain, the amount of hair needed to show all the rainbow colors was also enough to reveal that one end was cut off cleanly. Not to mention that nopony would lose hair in a chunk like that.

* ProductPromotionParade: In-universe, Rarity took the investigation opportunity to not only save Dash's reputation, but her frequent costume changes allowed her to show off her new line inspired by Shadow Spade.

** As Rarity points out, multicolored hair like Rainbow's would have to be in a chunk in order to be immediately recognizable, and some of it's been obviously cut off. This is the first clue Rainbow really was framed.

* RewatchBonus: Everything learned about Wind takes on a whole new meaning since the audience knows how the fake letter came to be from the start.

** When Rarity launches into rapid fire questioning, she puts an inflection on her voice that makes her sound very similar to Hildy Johnson from ''Film/HisGirlFriday''.
-->'''Sassy Saddles:''' Rarity, you could sweet-talk a filly out of candy.

** Rainbow also shows no hard feelings towards the Wonderbolts for suspecting her, and gladly flew alongside them for the Garden Show.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Wind Rider is seen as the ultimate Wonderbolt when he is not manipulating ponies around him. This got dropped after they discovered that he was the one responsible for the FrameUp.

* KickTheDog: Rainbow Dash is the biggest fangirl of Wind Rider, but despite her {{hero worship}} he frames her for a crime to save his popularity.

* AbsenteeActor: Rarity and Rainbow Dash are the only members of the Mane Six to be in this episode.

* KarmaHoudini: The guards, despite abandoning their post to eat cake, and therefore giving Wind Rider the time he needed for his scheme, never get punished or even reprimanded for their irresponsibility onscreen.