Green Isn't Your Color

Lore & Background

In the episode, Rarity and Fluttershy meet at the Ponyville spa for their weekly get-together. Rarity mentions that fashion photographer Photo Finish will be taking pictures of her outfits at Carousel Boutique and asks Fluttershy to model them. During the photo shoot, Photo Finish disapproves of Rarity's directed poses but becomes interested every time Fluttershy draws back in disappointment. The session ends abruptly, and Photo Finish declares she has found her next fashion star, rejecting Rarity's designs and revealing Fluttershy as her new star. Fluttershy is featured in a fashion show that brings her instant stardom, appearing in advertisements and fashion magazines across Equestria. Rarity grows increasingly jealous, while Fluttershy secretly loathes the modeling career and tries to evade constant attention. Both ponies confide their true feelings to Twilight separately at the spa: Rarity admits her jealousy and desire to see Fluttershy's career fail, and Fluttershy reveals she hates modeling but continues because she believes Rarity wants her to succeed. Twilight promises to keep both secrets but becomes frustrated by the conflicting information. Hoping to help, Twilight devises a plan to use magic during Fluttershy's next fashion show to make her perform clumsy behaviors that will ruin her reputation. However, when Rarity witnesses Fluttershy's seemingly awkward performance, she praises it as a revolutionary new modeling style that wins over the audience and makes Fluttershy even more popular. In the dressing room after the show, Rarity confesses her jealousy but explains she couldn't watch her friend fail at something she loved, and Fluttershy reveals her hatred of modeling and her assumption that quitting would disappoint Rarity. The friends reconcile, and Fluttershy refuses Photo Finish's upcoming photo shoots, walking out with Rarity to return to their normal lives. Having kept her friends' secrets throughout, Twilight accidentally blurts out Spike's crush on Rarity when the pressure overwhelms her.

Reader's Guide

The episode has been noted for its exploration of jealousy and the importance of honest communication between friends. Sherilyn Connelly, author of Ponyville Confidential, gave the episode an "A-" rating and defended Rarity's character against criticisms of reinforcing negative female stereotypes, arguing that Rarity's interest in fashion represents her career as a designer and praising her strong work ethic as an example of encouraging young girls to be "creative, hard-working, and career-minded." Connelly remarked that Rarity is the one who breaks the silence between the friends and observed the episode's moral lesson about the importance of telling good friends how you feel. Author Jen A. Blue praised the character development achieved through exploring three previously underutilized pairings: Rarity–Fluttershy, Twilight–Fluttershy, and Rarity–Twilight. Blue wrote that keeping Fluttershy consistently shy and reluctant to express feelings was "an excellent call" that avoided making her anxiety appear inauthentic. She compared Twilight to her in "Look Before You Sleep," in which she blindly followed rules while ignoring evidence, and commented that determining which promises should be broken requires social nuance "beyond any of the Mane Six at this point." Regarding Rarity, Blue observed that while the character "can be awful" based on previous episodes, this episode revealed "a much more appealing side" through her believable jealousy and ambition. Jamie Kingston of WomenWriteAboutComics praised how the episode dealt with the theme of jealousy. The episode is part of the Season 1 DVD set, released by Shout Factory, on December 4, 2012.

Did You Know?

• The episode was written by Meghan McCarthy.
• It originally aired on The Hub on March 11, 2011.
• Sherilyn Connelly gave the episode an 'A-' rating in her book Ponyville Confidential.
• The episode is included in the Season 1 DVD set released by Shout Factory on December 4, 2012.