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Recap / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S2 E24 "MMMystery on the Friendship Express"

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Pinkie Pie: It's the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness! It's been... mutilated!

Written by Amy Keating Rogers

It's a big day for the Cakes: they're entering their newest cake recipe, the "Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness" (or MMMM), in Equestria's National Dessert Competition, and Pinkie Pie is going to make sure that the cake gets there in one piece... even if she has to enlist Big MacIntosh and the rest of the Mane Six into getting it aboard the Friendship Express.

Once aboard, the gang meet some of the other competitors: Gustave Le Grand, a snooty French griffon who thinks his "Exceptionally Exquisite Eclairs" are a shoo-in for first prize; Canterlot's own Doughnut Joe, who's looking to make his doughnut shop world-famous with a scale-model city made out of pastry which he calls "Doughnutopia"; and Mulia Mild, who thinks she deserves the top prize with her intricately sculpted Chocolate Mousse Moose. Rivalries flare, but Twilight manages to calm everypony down and convince them to get to bed early... except Pinkie Pie, who insists on standing watch out of fear that one of the other chefs will sabotage the MMMM.

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 as someone is heard munching on something. 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 by turning the MMMM around to reveal a bite mark in each of its layers, meaning somepony must have eaten it when the lights went out. Pinkie resolves to find out whodunnit by dressing up in a deerstalker cap and bubble pipe and dragooning Twilight Sparkle into playing The Watson to her Sherlock Holmes ("Who asks silly questions with obvious answers!", she puts). 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:

  • 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.
  • Next, Pinkie accuses Joe... or rather, notorious super-spy "Con Mane", who knocked out Pinkie Pie and destroyed the cake with an arsenal of spy gadgets. Twilight shoots this theory down, too, citing the lack of a laser beam security system and Joe's non-spy physique.
  • Pinkie decides that must mean Mulia Mild is the culprit behind the destruction of the cake, and a Ninja for some reason. Twilight points out the brow-beaten Mulia is probably not a secret master of the martial arts.

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 as some munching noises are heard... and upon the train leaving the tunnel, all the desserts are in ruins and Detective Pinkie is completely stumped.

Pinkie Pie: Now I have no idea who-do-dunned it!

Twilight takes charge of the investigation and sends everyone back to their rooms while she and Pinkie Pie look for clues. The first order of business is to retrace Pinkie Pie's steps from when she was chasing the shadowy figures the other night. Through her thorough investigation, Twilight finds enough clues to figure out the culprit and tells Pinkie Pie to gather everypony together.

Once the other passengers are assembled, Twilight reveals her clues one by one. The first is a blue feather left behind in the caboose. The second is a lock of pink hair found in the conductor's hat. The third and final clue is a false eyelash stuck to the portrait! This means that Pinkie's friends Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity were all responsible for taking bites out of the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness! The two pegasi and the false-eyelash-wearing unicorn ask for forgiveness, which Pinkie cannot refuse.

That still leaves the question of who ate the other bakers' desserts... a question that Pinkie Pie is eager to answer, now that she knows to look for clues. Mousse in Gustave's mustache, eclair in Doughnut Joe's hair, and sprinkles in Mulia's wrinkles reveals the truth — they each devoured each other's entries! The bakers confess to being unable to resist eating each other's desserts after Pinkie Pie's vivid descriptions. The mystery has been solved but now no one has an entry for the contest... or do they?

At the competition, we witness Pinkie narrating a letter to Celestia about not jumping to conclusions...before a massive cake made from the remnants of the damaged desserts is revealed to the the judges. It instantly wins the blue ribbon and after wrapping up her letter, Pinkie Pie promptly consumes the whole dessert in one gulp! As everyone joins in laughing with the super stuffed and mighty messy Pinkie Pie, the episode ends with the fourth wall being promptly 'eaten'.


Tropes:

  • Added Alliterative Appeal: About a third of the episode's dialogue.
    • The cake Pinkie is guarding is called the "Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness", which has been "mutilated".
    • "Clearly this dastardly deed was done by the baker who knew their dessert could not measure up to the mastery of the Marzipan Marscarpone Meringue Madness!"
    • "Get your claws off that cake, you cur!"
    • "I was so sure that it was one of the other bitter bakers..."
    • "It's a spectacular city of donuty delight topped temptingly in sprinklicious sprinkles."
    • "Gustav's eclairs look incredibly edible with glistening glaziness!"
    • "Then there's Mulia Mild's Mousse Moose. Why, this mouth-wateringly marvelous mousse moose tempts the taste buds with its silky smooth yummy nummy chocolatiness."
    • "...while leaving this trio of tasty treats untouched?"
    • "This mystery gets more mysterious every minute!"
    • "We have a cake culprit to catch!"
    • "...this cake carnage!"
    • "When committing a crime, it's crucial that one never leaves behind clues."
    • "Did you find the devourer of the desserts?"
  • An Aesop: Don't immediately accuse someone or jump to conclusions until you gather all the information first.
  • Aesop Amnesia: The ponies learned in "Lesson Zero" and promised Celestia they would not accuse a friend of overreacting and would take her concerns seriously even if they didn't understand their friend's reasoning — but nopony wanted to help Pinkie guard the cake because they thought her concerns of sabotage were over the top. One might think it justified due to Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, but they also learned in "Swarm of the Century" that even when Pinkie Pie appears to make no sense, there is a sensible reason that isn't necessarily obvious at a glance.
    • Of course, this may not be the case with at least Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy, since they would want everypony out of the way so they could sneak a taste of the MMMM as soon as possible. Why AJ and Twilight got like this is a little harder to justify, except maybe wanting to just go with the majority.
  • Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Twilight to Joe while insulting him unintentionally.
  • All Animals Are Dogs:
    • Pinkie scratches herself like a dog when she wakes up the next morning. This is something some ponies and foals can do, though full-grown, normal-sized horses are incapable of it. She also growls like a dog while pursuing the thief.
    • Applejack pants and drools while Pinkie is describing the MMMM. Pavlov would be proud.
  • All Your Powers Combined: The confection at the end is the Cake's cake, decorated/repaired with Gustav's eclairs, Joe's donuts, and the head of Mulia's chocolate moose. The judges clap eyes on it and award it 1st prize then and there.
  • Balloon Belly: Pinkie Pie gets a very noticeable one (with accompanying chubby cheeks and double chin) at the very end of this episode, after devouring the huge cake in one bite.
  • Behind the Black: There are several times where Pinkie is at the same angle Twilight was at when she saw the damage to the cake, and yet she didn't notice it until it was in frame; a downside of Pinkie's Fourth-Wall-Breaking abilities?
  • Big Eater:
    • It's easy to miss that, in a Pinkie Pie episode, the three chefs reduced the baked goodies to leftovers in the less-than-a-minute the train spent in that tunnel!
    • Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and even Rarity of all ponies also deserve a special mention as they all ate some hefty portions out of the MMMM the night before.
    • And Pinkie Pie forever cements her Big Eater credentials by devouring a cake bigger than her entire body in one gulp by jumping into the air and diving down on it, mouth wide open, triggering her stomach's size to triple as well.
  • Bling of War: 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 mustache.
  • Bond Gun Barrel: As demonstrated in Donut Joe's clip. Naturally it uses doughnuts instead.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Pinkie Pie's case, eating the fourth wall!
  • Breather Episode: A fun, Pinkie-as-Sherlock-Holmes episode that comes after the infamous "Ponyville Confidential" and one that before the "A Canterlot Wedding" two-parter.
  • Bubble Pipe: Used by Detective Pinkie, and later Twilight when she takes over her role. Twilight wipes the pipe stem before putting it into her mouth — a callback to her anti-germ fastidiousness.
  • Call-Back:
    • In the past the Cakes have been hesitant to trust Pinkie to be responsible and were impressed when she proved herself. Now they are entrusting her with a big responsibility and she is determined not to disappoint them.
    • In "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 "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.
  • Carrying a Cake: How they get the "Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness" to the train. Averted in that they manage to get it to the train safely (despite several near mishaps), if not to its ultimate destination. Pinkie made sure of that.
  • Chained to a Railway: Pinkie's Silent Movie Imagine Spot for Gustave includes him tying her to the railroad, complete with mustache twirling.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • That painting of a mustached stallion looks pretty normal, doesn't it? Except he has long eyelashes.
    • Also notice how Rarity's right eye is never shown after the cake incident.
    • Though there are no post-cake-munching visual clues for the viewer, the two shadowy figures that Pinkie chases down from the exterior train shown are drawn with the distinctive features of Rainbow and Fluttershy, respectively.
  • Clueless Mystery:
    • Averted in the first one. Much is made of Twilight picking up clues that aren't shown but there were already clues before that, and the last item picked up is shown but it's subtle.
    • The second mystery gives us no clues at all before being solved.
  • Comically Missing the Point:
    • All Pinkie's Imagine Spots all have the cake being sliced to pieces, even after Twilight outright tells her after the first one that the cake wasn't cut at all. Also everything else she "deducts" until she solves the second mystery, especially her interpretations of Twilight's evidence.
    • "Fine, I'm guilty! I wear false eyelashes! Oh, and I took a bite of the cake."
  • Continuity Nod:
  • Cosmetic Horror: Rarity considers her false eyelashes a dark secret, and pulls her mane over her lashless right eye in shame.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Pinkie's Holmes-ian hats could be attributed to Rule of Funny, but why did Twilight bring evidence bags with her to a dessert contest?
  • Dastardly Whiplash: 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.
  • Deliberately Monochrome: This is how Pinkie describes Gustave's scheme in her imagination.
  • Delicious Distraction: Princess Celestia seems a lot more interested in that cake than any lesson Pinkie Pie has to report.
  • Double-Meaning Title: The title is both a play on the murder mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express and has the sound of "Mmm", the name of the cake.
  • Easily Forgiven: Fluttershy, Rarity, and Dash ruin a cake that took the Cakes months of planning and hard work to make... and are forgiven the instant they say sorry.
  • Eat the Camera: Inverted at the beginning of the second act when Pinkie is screaming after the cake has been eaten.
  • Everybody Did It: Of the passengers on the train, the only innocent parties are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight.
  • Evil Laugh: Parodied with Donut Joe when he talks about his donut creation like he was about to take over the world, and with Gustave in Pinkie's Imagine Spot. The latter has to be spelled out in the intertitle, since it's a Silent Movie.
  • Evil Plan: Pinkie is positive that the other pastry producers have a fiendish plot to pulverize the MMMM while everypony is asleep so they can win the contest. This is why she stands guard.
  • "Everybody Laughs" Ending: because of Pinkie and her big... Can you guess?
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Rarity wears her hair differently throughout much of the episode. This hides the fact she lost one of her false eyelashes.
  • Fainting: It's Mr. Cake who pulls this trope in the Cold Open. Three times!
  • Fair-Play Whodunnit: The MMMM mystery, though you have to look very quickly and carefully:
    • When Pinkie runs down to the caboose, Rainbow Dash's mane style is visible in silhouette.
    • Next, in the engine car, the "conductor" uses a female pony model and a yellow ear is seen. These put together mean Fluttershy.
    • Finally, much easier to spot is after the blinds are shut, the picture gains an eyelash and Rarity starts wearing her mane to cover one eye.
    • The shades were also closed simultaneously, with no visible figure, indicating magic and thus a unicorn.
  • Feather Fingers: Gustave le Grand initially holds his eclairs in one of his wings as he walks into the train car.
  • Felony Misdemeanor: Rarity wears false eyelashes! Oh, and she took a bite of the cake.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • You could tell who is going to eat which baker's dessert by looking at who had the most craving expression on their face when each one was being described.
    • You could also hear galloping while Pinkie was chasing down the thieves in the night.
    • Also during the chase scene, you can briefly make out Rainbow Dash's silhouette.
    • 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 Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy aren't chefs.
  • Food Porn:
    • The Cakes' cake, or "MMMM" is this. Just describing it makes everypony's mouth water. This was the motive for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity for eating the cake.
    • The competitors' desserts are also described as this. That's why they ate each others'!
    • Both of the above examples also qualify from an out-of-universe level too. Several fans were salivating.
  • French Cuisine Is Haughty: Gustave looks down on Donut Joe for his low class dounuts.
  • French Jerk: Gustave Le Grand comes off as this in the beginning, but the "French" part is downplayed because all three of the bakers are jerks.
  • Frying Pan of Doom: Ninja Mulia takes out Pinkie with one during her Imagine Spot.
  • Fun with Acronyms: The Marzipan Mascapone Meringue Madness cake is called the "MMMM" for short.
  • Gasp!: Pinkie Pie when the damage to the cake is revealed.
  • Genre Savvy: Both Twilight and Pinkie exhibit this trope. Twilight claims to have read "many mystery novels," and therefore knows what to do, while Pinkie wastes no time crowning Twilight The Watson; going so far as to explain her role.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Spoofed in Pinkie's Imagine Spot for Gustave, in which the sliced cake's icing splatters his face.
  • Grammar Nazi: Twilight, correcting Pinkie's "whodunit" to "who did it" (which just confuses her further: "who did dun dood it").
  • Gratuitous French: Gustave delivers several French words.
  • Hair Reboot: Rainbow Dash grazes the top of Pinkie Pie's hair as she flies out of the wagon, leaving a crease in it. The hair puff back in shape almost immediately.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Pinkie's accusations towards the other bakers are particularly outlandish, as pointed out by Twilight. Even if Gustave le Grand could be a moustache-twirling Silent Film Villain, Doughnut Joe is NOT an international Super-Spy, and Mulia Mild is an elderly donkey who is shaking and on the verge of tears at the end of Pinkie's accusation towards her.
  • Hyperspace Holmes Hat: Pinkie pulls a bubble pipe and a pair of appropriate hats from Hammerspace.
  • I Take Offense to That Last One: Twilight's insult at Doughnut Joe. She calls him "big, gruff, and messy" and he only reacts after the last adjective.
  • Imagine Spot: Secret agents, ninjas, laser security systems.... That's a really wild imagination you've got there, Pinkie.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Twilight clears Joe of suspicion by pointing out that he's not suave super-spy material, but rather "big, gruff, and messy". Joe isn't thrilled by the description.
    Joe: Hey!!
    Rarity: (conciliating) Although he would look rather dapper in a tuxedo.
    Joe: (says nothing, but looks remarkably flattered)
  • Insane Troll Logic: Pinkie's zany conclusions as to how each of the bakers destroyed the cake. They involve Mulia being a ninja, Joe being a James Bond secret agent, and both of them slicing a cake that has clearly been bitten.
  • Knockout Gas: Used by Joe on Pinkie during Pinkie's Imagine Spot for him.
  • Large Ham: Gustave, Mulia, and Joe are all passionate and dramatic about the merits of their desserts.
  • Leg Cling: Golden Harvest and Berry Punch come out of nowhere and do this with Joe at the end of Pinkie's Imagine Spot for him.
  • Lights Off, Somebody Dies: Or in this case, "Lights Off, Cake Gets Eaten". Done twice, in fitting with the episode's Affectionate Parody of mystery tropes.
  • Literal-Minded: When Twilight asks Pinkie to retrace her steps, Pinkie starts walking backwards. Twilight is not amused.
  • Meaningful Name: When taking the initials of the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, it sounds like "Mmmm!"
  • The Name Is Bond, James Bond: The beginning of Pinkie's Imagine Spot for Joe introduces him as "Mane, Con Mane."
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Pinkie Pie's constant descriptions of the MMMM and the other chefs' creations was the reason why they were eaten in the first place.
  • Ninja: Mulia Mild is depicted as this in Pinkie's imagination; black outfit, sneaky, katana, etc.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Mulia Mild is a lot like Julia Child.
  • No Peripheral Vision: Rainbow Dash escapes from Pinkie by flying close to the ceiling in the last train cabin.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: Pinkie — who else — literally climbs over every one of her suspects while looking for clues to who ate the other desserts.
  • Not So Above It All: Let's face it. No-one expected Fluttershy to have taken a bite out of the cake. Also used in a deleted scene where Applejack would have also been guilty.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played for laughs. The MMMM is apparently so good that three members of the Mane Six went against their Elements of Harmony just to taste it. Rainbow Dash (Element of Loyalty) betrays a friend's trust, Fluttershy (Element of Kindness) goes behind said friend's back and takes something from her without asking and Rarity (Element of Generosity) steals something for selfish reasons. In a deleted scene, we'd also have learned that Applejack (Element of Honesty) also took a bite out of it and lied to cover her tracks.
  • Pun: Pinkie pulls this trope multiple times. For example, "I have no idea who done dood it," and "Pegassistance".
  • Properly Paranoid: Pinkie expects that someone will try to eat the cake and later on wonders why no one went after the other bakers' pastries, but it's due to Pinkie's predictions and vivid descriptions that the pastries get eaten in the first place.
  • Punny Name: Con Mane; just drop the final e.
  • Red Herring: Early on, several of the other ponies are clearly enraptured by Pinkie's description of the MMMM, especially Applejack, who turns out to be one of the only ponies who isn't guilty of any cake-eating, and she's the first one who tried to take a piece off of it.
  • Rivals Team Up: In the end, Pinkie and all of the other chefs combine their creations and enter it as one dessert. It wins a blue ribbon.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: Pinkie with "Eclair in his hair" and "Sprinkles in her wrinkles"
  • Rule of Funny: Explains why Big Mac has trouble with a cake well within his weight class (though he might just be being excruciatingly careful rather than having difficulty with the weight) and why no one thinks of using a cart, or better yet, why Twilight didn't just carry the cake with her magic.
  • Schizo Tech: Pinkie's Imagine Spot for Joe turns him into a James Bond parody ("Con Mane"), complete with nifty spy-gadgets. Also, Twilight points out that there's no laser beam security system for the MMMM (as depicted in the aforementioned Imagine Spot), implying that lasers do exist, just not here.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Silent Movie: Pinkie's Imagine Spot for Gustave is in the style of one.
  • Single-Stroke Battle: Ninja Mulia vs the cake in one of Pinkie's Imagine Spots. The cake loses.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Pinkie in the role of the detective. Despite thinking that she is the best choice for the main investigator and Twilight (the smartest character on the show) should get the lowly, not-as-smart assistant job. Though she does redeem herself in the end with who ate the other three deserts, even after Twilight figures out who ate the MMMM by relegating Pinkie to the "lowly assistant" role.
  • Stock Sound Effect: When Pinkie gasps in shock at the bitten MMMM, her gasp is her overly long one in the pilot when she first saw Twilight.
  • Sudden Name Change: In his previous appearance, Doughnut Joe was called Pony Joe by Spike.
  • Summation Gathering: Twilight calls one after gathering three clues.
  • Supreme Chef: The Cakes, Gustave le Grand, Doughnut Joe, and Mulia Mild. Their irresistible creations don't make it to the competition whole, as various people can't resist pigging out on them, and the joint entry that they cobble together at the last minute easily wins the Blue Ribbon.
  • Toothy Bird: Or Griffin... Gustave le Grand. Although only for expressiveness's sake, since bite marks on the cake are treated as a proof of his innocence, though the beak would figure far more prominently if he did take a bite out of it.
  • Traveling at the Speed of Plot: We know that the Friendship Express can get from Ponyville to Canterlot within a day, yet we have a full night cycle and hit one of the mountain tunnels at the most convenient time. It wouldn't be a good MMMystery without the night setting.
  • Unmoving Plaid: The plaid on Pinkie's deerstalker does not follow the corner of the hat.
  • Varying Competency Alibi: Pinkie Pie accuse several rival bakers of doing the deed and invents bizarre fantasies to explain how they supposedly did it. She claims Donut Joe is actually the suave super-spy Con Mane, and destroyed her cake with a laser security system; Twilight Sparkle shoots this down by pointing out that Joe is too "big, gruff, and messy" to possibly be the "sleek, stealthy Con Mane". Then Pinkie claims Mulia Mild is actually a ninja who sliced the cake up with her sword; Twilight just points out that Mulia is far too old and timid to be a ninja.
  • Visual Pun: Mulia Mild's chocolate mousse moose.
  • With Friends Like These...: Three of Pinkie's best friends (Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity) ruin the cake. In a sequence that was cut out of the final script, Applejack admits to taking a bite as well; she only avoided being caught because she didn't leave any clues.
  • Written Sound Effect: In the title.
  • The Watson: Pinkie makes Twilight play the part, much to her chagrin. They switch places later.
    Pinkie: And Twilight will be my lowly assistant who asks silly questions with obvious answers.
  • You Are Already Dead: In Pinkie's Imagine Spot, Ninja Mulia does the lightning-fast sword slash variant against the cake, causing it to fall apart moments later.
  • You Are Fat: While criticizing Pinkie's "Con Mane" Imagine Spot, Twilight slips in a jab at Doughnut Joe's bulky appearance.

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