Whilst in Canterlot, Rarity makes the mistake of killing time by browsing through Barneigh's Exclusive Garments And Saddlebags, a "fashion" company that Rarity sneeringly describes as producing awful clothes that get bought only due to brand name recognition. Shortly after leaving, she is forcibly detained by a guard who accuses her of being a thief, obviously responding to a "favor" from the store's owner. Rarity proceeds to handle the situation with her usual decorum and tact.
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Tropes found in this story include:
- Always a Bigger Fish: In a socio-political sense; Cropski's bullying comes back to bite him when he meets Rarity's friend: Princess Luna.
- Based on a True Story: Barney's, at the time this was published, famously had a police officer arrest someone for credit card fraud...purely for racial profiling. May also be Very Loosely Based on a True Story, as it focuses on the officer instead of the more verifiable elements.
- Bittersweet Ending: Cropski gets punished, launching an investigation into the bureau. However, Rarity's left questioning what happens to all the ponies who don't have friends in high places that can help them deal with miscarriages of justice and systematic abuse.
- Dirty Cop: Cropski, the story's primary antagonist.
- Frame-Up: Rarity finds herself falsely accused of thievery by a clerk, and has to deal with an officer who doesn't care one whit about her innocence. The intent is to humiliate her to the point where she'll never enter the store again.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Cropski assumes otherwise when Rarity convinces Luna to let the matter drop, only for Rarity to correct him after he's had a chance to hang himself.Rarity: "Generous does not mean stupid."
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Rarity's generous sparing of Cropski just gives him a chance to immediately hang himself by turning around and harassing another poor pony, a colt he presumes doesn't have the same connections as Rarity.
- Ignored Epiphany: The only thing Cropski takes away from his initial encounter with Rarity and Luna is that he needs to be more careful about who he harasses, targeting ponies who aren't likely to have any powerful contacts.
- Nepotism: Cropski is noted in the epilogue to have been a 'legacy hire', which let him skip past the general vetting process.
- Police Brutality: Barneigh's security team roughed up Rarity when first 'detaining' her (a group tackle which injured her right hip enough to produce a visible limp), and Cropski stalks her afterwards, openly taunting her with implied threats — added to Rarity's knowledge that he can theoretically arrest her at the moment she accidentally breaks even the most minor of laws.
- Shout-Out: Police officer Cropski seems to be one for Officer Krupke
