History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E24MysteryOnTheFriendshipExpress

* BreatherEpisode: A fun, Pinkie-as-Sherlock-Holmes episode that comes after the infamous "Ponyville Confidential" and one that before the "A Canterlot Wedding" two-part Season Finale.

* BreatherEpisode: A fun, Pinkie-as-Sherlock-Holmes episode before the epic two-part Season Finale.

** Also notice how Rarity's right eye [[PeekABangs is never shown]] after the cake incident.

->'''Pinkie Pie:''' ''It's the [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness]]! It's been... '''[[UpToEleven mutilated]]!'''''

* NiceHat: Pinkie's deerstalker and Twilight's bowler, which they trade back and forth whenever they switch roles as Holmes and Watson.

As the night drags on and Pinkie nearly nods off, she's jolted awake by shadowy figures darting through the cars. She chases them from one end of the train to the other, but somehow loses them both. Pinkie returns to the dessert car to check on the Cakes' cake when the curtains descend, leaving Pinkie Pie in the dark. Once the curtains are re-opened, Pinkie resumes her vigil convinced that her paranoia was justified... only to immediately nod off.

Morning comes, and Pinkie awakens to find the MMMM intact... or not, as Twilight Sparkle points out. Pinkie resolves to find out whodunnit by dressing up in a deerstalker cap and bubble pipe and dragooning Twilight Sparkle into playing TheWatson to her Franchise/SherlockHolmes. Pinkie Pie wastes no time in accusing each of the other bakers of being the guilty party, complete with ludicrous flashbacks to how they did it:

Pinkie Pie is forced to conclude that there's no evidence the other bakers were behind the sabotage of the MMMM and not only that, but she starts to wonder why the other desserts, as tempting and delicious as they look, were completely untouched. Then the train passes through a tunnel, plunging the room into darkness again... and upon the train leaving the tunnel, ''all'' the desserts are in ruins and Detective Pinkie is completely stumped.

* EverybodyDidIt: Of the passengers on the train, the only innocent parties are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight; Applejack is included in [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the original script]].

** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver The Best Night Ever]], it's revealed Rarity wears fake eyelashes, which prove to be a clue to implicate her in eating Pinkie's cake.
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E16ReadItAndWeep Read It And Weep]], Pinkie Pie reveals that she likes reading as much as the next pony. In this episode, Twilight Sparkle claims that she knows how to solve real-world mysteries due to having read mystery novels. Immediately after, Pinkie starts thinking in terms of mystery tropes, revealing that she must have been reading mystery novels as well.

* LegCling: [[AllThereInTheScript Golden Harvest]] and [[FanNickname Berry Punch]] come out of nowhere and do this with Joe at the end of Pinkie's ImagineSpot for him.

* BlingOfWar: The compartment aboard the Friendship Express where the desserts were stored is decorated with a portrait of a pony wearing a Napoleonic-style uniform bedecked with brush epaulets, medals and a sash. For good measure, he also has a BadassMustache.

* She first accuses Gustave Le Grand, in the style of a silent movie, of [[ChainedToARailway tying Pinkie to the railroad tracks]] and chopping up the cake with a saw blade ([[DastardlyWhiplash complete with mustache twirling]]). Twilight is quick to point out that Pinkie is clearly ''not'' tied to the train tracks and that the cake was bitten, not sliced.

* ChainedToARailway: Pinkie's SilentMovie ImagineSpot for Gustave includes him tying her to the railroad.

* DastardlyWhiplash: Gustave is portrayed as this in Pinkie's imagination. They nail the trope down to the very. last. detail. In reality, he twirls his mustache during his hammy moments.

* She first accuses Gustave Le Grand, in the style of a silent movie, of tying Pinkie to the railroad tracks and chopping up the cake with a saw blade. Twilight is quick to point out that Pinkie is clearly ''not'' tied to the train tracks and that the cake was bitten, not sliced.

Morning comes, and Pinkie awakens to find the MMMM intact... or not, as Twilight Sparkle points out. Pinkie resolves to find out whodunnit by dressing up in a deerstalker cap and bubble pipe and dragooning Twilight Sparkle into playing Watson to her Franchise/SherlockHolmes. Pinkie Pie wastes no time in accusing each of the other bakers of being the guilty party, complete with ludicrous flashbacks to how they did it:

** You could tell who ate which baker's dessert by looking at who had the most craving expression on their face when each one was being described.

* SingleStrokeBattle: Ninja Mulia vs the cake in one of Pinkie's Imagine Spots. [[CaptainObvious The cake loses.]]

* AbsenteeActor: Spike

** When the others leave Pinkie alone with the cake, Applejack tells her "Yeah, those chefs aren't going to do your cake any harm." She's correct, because [[ExactWords Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy aren't bakers.]]