MMMystery on the Friendship Express

MMMystery on the Friendship Express is the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the fiftieth episode overall. After a cake Pinkie had been guarding for a contest is partially eaten on the way to Canterlot, she starts out an investigation to find out the culprit. The title is a reference to the 1934 crime novel Murder on the Orient Express, written by Agatha Christie.

Production
On Twitter, the episode's writer Amy Keating Rogers revealed that she wrote a scene in which Twilight commends Applejack for her self-control, and Applejack confesses to taking a bite while Pinkie was asleep and leaving no clues. However, it was cut for time.

The cake and its transport
The episode begins with Pinkie Pie commenting on a large cake that Mr. and Mrs. Cake made for the National Dessert Competition in Canterlot. Pinkie Pie is in charge of transporting it to Canterlot. Applejack interrupts Pinkie Pie's excitement about the responsibility, pointing out that Big McIntosh is getting exhausted from holding the cake on his back.

Pinkie puts on a hardhat with a red, flashing light, and guides Big McIntosh out the door, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Outside, the street has been blocked off so that the cake can be moved safely. Big McIntosh falters under the weight of the cake, causing Mr. Cake to faint, but manages to keep it upright. Pinkie Pie calls on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to help Big McIntosh by holding the cake's tray up with ropes. After the cake nearly falls once again, and Mr. Cake faints once again, Pinkie recruits Twilight's help. Twilight casts a magical, protective bubble around the cake. Pinkie Pie asks Applejack and Rarity to help by holding a trampoline behind the cake.

All aboard!
Big McIntosh replaces the coach's side panel (having had to remove it to get the cake, which wouldn't fit through the door, inside the coach), and starts hammering it back on. Pinkie Pie thanks her friends for helping to get the cake to and aboard the train, and Twilight Sparkle thanks her for letting the group come to the National Dessert Competition. Rarity states how much fun the festivities will be while Applejack states how good all the treats will taste and reaches her hoof out to the Marzipan cake, which Pinkie Pie smacks aside. Pinkie then gushes about the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness (or as she nicknames it: the "MMMM"), describing its deliciousness and believing that it will win first prize.

A Griffon with a French accent named Gustave le Grand boards the train, declaring that he will win first prize with his éclairs. He is interrupted by another competitor, Donut Joe, the unicorn stallion with a Brooklyn accent that operates Twilight and Spike's favorite donut shop in Canterlot. Joe enters with his "Donutopia", a small city made out of donuts and sprinkles. A mule named Mulia Mild boards the train with a large chocolate mousse moose and brags how winning will make her the greatest chef in Equestria. The four entrants argue amongst themselves as the train starts moving. Twilight then recommends that everyone gets rest, and Gustave, Joe, and Mulia head to their rooms. The ponies head to their rooms only to be stopped by Pinkie, who states that the group needs to guard "MMMM" from the other chefs, who, she claims, want to sabotage it. Saying that Pinkie Pie is overreacting, Twilight and the others go into their rooms. Pinkie Pie, however, decides to spend the night guarding "MMMM".

Midnight watch
Pinkie Pie stays awake to keep a close eye on the cake, and almost falls asleep while doing so. A shadowy figure zooms behind her, and Pinkie Pie chases the figure through the train cars. When Pinkie reaches the back of the train, she cannot find the culprit. Pinkie Pie heads back to the car with the desserts and notices the shadowy figure again. She once again chases it until she reaches the engine, where she finds someone is shoveling coal into the furnace. Pinkie Pie returns to the dessert room to resume guarding the cake, but the shades are suddenly closed. In the dark the 'thief' hits a painting by the door while leaving the room, leaving it askew. After straightening the picture, Pinkie Pie tries to continue her vigil but falls asleep.

The investigation
Pinkie Pie wakes up and sees that the cake appears fine. Twilight Sparkle comes in the room and notices large bite marks on the back side of the cake. Pinkie Pie screams that the cake has been half-eaten, waking up the rest of the train. Pinkie dons a deerstalker hat and pipe and gives Twilight a bowler hat (a homage to Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, respectively). Pinkie declares that she knows who "dun' did it" and accuses Gustave of ruining the "MMMM". The scene cuts to a fantasy reminiscent of an old, black and white silent film. In the fantasy, Gustave is a mustachioed villain who grabs Pinkie and ties her to train tracks with an oncoming train coming towards her. The scene flashes to a conveyor belt where "MMMM" is placed in-front of a buzz saw which cuts the cake clean in half. Snapping back to reality, Twilight points out the flaws in Pinkie's story, mainly that Pinkie is present and not tied to train tracks and that the cake was eaten instead of cut.

Pinkie then proclaims that Donut Joe is the culprit. The scene cuts to another fantasy: a James Bond parody with Donut Joe as a spy called Con Mane. Con Mane gases Pinkie, knocking her unconscious, and uses another gas to uncover lasers guarding "MMMM". He uses a mirror to make the lasers cut the cake into pieces. Ending the fantasy, Twilight points out the flaws in her second story, namely that the cake was not cut. Pinkie then blames everything on Mulia Mild. In a third fantasy, Mulia Mild is a ninja on top of the train. Mild sneaks behind Pinkie and knocks her out with a frying pan. Mild pulls out a sword and slices the cake into pieces. Twilight, again, ends the fantasy by reiterating that the cake was not cut. Defeated, Pinkie gushes about how good the other chefs' desserts look. The train goes into a pitch dark tunnel and people start to scream. The other chefs' desserts are now also destroyed. Twilight sends everyone but Pinkie to their cars as they perform an investigation.

Solving the crime
Twilight swaps hats with Pinkie Pie and the two then retrace Pinkie's steps when she was watching the cake. When they reach the caboose, Twilight finds a clue (but it is hidden from view). Further retracing, the two go to the engine where Twilight inspects the driver's hat and finds a second clue. Back in the car with the desserts, Twilight discovers a third clue on the bumped painting. Everyone then meets in the dessert car and Twilight reveals the first clue: a blue feather belonging to Rainbow Dash. Twilight explains that Rainbow Dash was the first shadowy figure who zipped past her. When Pinkie reached the caboose, Rainbow Dash hovered close to the ceiling to avoid being seen.

Twilight then reveals the second clue: a strand of pink hair that belongs to Fluttershy. The second shadowy figure was Fluttershy, who donned the driver's hat and started shoveling coal to avoid Pinkie. The third clue is a set of false eyelashes that belong to Rarity. Rarity used her magic to shut the shades and darken the room. When she left, she slammed her head into the painting, leaving a set of fake eyelashes on it. Rarity then admits that she wears fake eyelashes and that she took a bite of the cake. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash also admit they ate some of the cake. They use the excuse that Pinkie Pie's earlier description on the cake enticed them into trying it. The three culprits apologise to Pinkie, to which she forgives them.

With the mystery of the cake solved, Twilight gives Pinkie the deerstalker, and she uses what she's learned to look for the clues to solve who devoured the other bakers' desserts. Pinkie quickly reveals that the bakers all have pieces of another baker's confections on them, and deduces that they ate each others' desserts. (Joe had eclair in his hair, Gustave had mousse in his mustache, and Mulia had sprinkles in her wrinkles.)The bakers confess to the crimes, stating (once again) that Pinkie's earlier description of each of the desserts enticed them into eating the others' desserts. Equally guilty, the bakers all forgive each other. The train reaches Canterlot with all the desserts destroyed. However, Pinkie has an idea how they can all enter with their goods.

The resolution
Pinkie Pie and the group head up to the competition with their newly made dessert: a combination of all the bakers' confections and learns that you mustn't accuse someone of a wrongdoing, without any proof, as it can hurt their feelings and make her look silly. They celebrate their success and teamwork with Princess Celestia and a piece of cake, which Pinkie turns down and devours the rest of the entire cake, leaving her incredibly bloated.

The dishes
Four dishes are made to travel to Canterlot for the National Dessert Competition. The four dishes are the plot device for this episode.

Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness
The Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, called by Pinkie as the "MMMM", is the dish created by the Cakes. It is a 4 tiered pink pound cake with cream of meringue sandwiched between the layers, covered with a lemon yellow mascarpone with whipped cream on the top, and the marzipan of red flowers, apples, oranges, and grapes on the side.

Gustave's Exquisite Éclairs
Gustave's Exquisite Éclairs is the dish created by the griffon Gustave Le Grand. It contains a baker's dozen of Chou pastries with creamy vanilla filling, chocolate glaze, and laced with gloss cream.

Donutopia
Donutopia is the dish created by Donut Joe. It contains various donuts of shapes and sizes in a form of what appears to be a New York city block, all covered in yellow, pink and purple fillings and super sprinkles.

Chocolate Mousse Moose
The Chocolate Mousse Moose is the dish created by Mulia Mild. It is a life size moose made out of chocolate mousse.

Quotes

 * Pinkie Pie: Well the tastiest treat of all is sure to be the Cakes' Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness. All that rich, creamy goodness of the marzipan combined with the tart and tanginess of the mascarpone, blended perfectly with the smooth silky sweetness of the meringue. That's why I call the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness the MMMM!
 * All: MMMM!


 * Pinkie Pie: Oh. Are you okay thief?


 * Pinkie Pie: Now I just need to find who done it.
 * Twilight Sparkle: You mean, who did it.
 * Pinkie Pie: Exactly! Who did-done-dood it.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Pinkie! There is no laser beam security system. And Joe is not sleek, stealthy Con Mane! He's big, gruff, and messy!
 * Donut Joe: Hey!
 * Rarity: Although, you would look rather dapper in a tuxedo.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Pinkie, stop! This is ridiculous! Look at her!
 * Mulia Mild: [shivering]
 * Pinkie Pie: [sigh] I guess you're right.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Thank you.
 * Pinkie Pie: But I was so sure it was one of the other bitter bakers that destroyed the MMMM. That way, their delicious dessert would reign supreme. I mean, just look at Joe's Donutopia! It's a spectacular city of donutty delight topped temptingly with sprinklelicious sprinkles. And Gustav's eclairs look incredibly edible, glistening glaziness. But then there's Mulia Mild's mousse moose. Huh. Why this mouth-wateringly marvelous mousse moose tempts the taste buds with the silky smooth yummy nummy chocolatiness. So why did this criminal devour the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness while leaving this trio of tasty treats untouched?
 * [screaming]
 * Pinkie Pie: Huh? Now I have no idea who do doned it!


 * Pinkie Pie: This mystery gets more mysterious every minute.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Has anypony else noticed that Rarity is wearing her hair rather differently today?
 * Rarity: [gasp] What? Is it a crime to change one's style every now and again? Why, I think it's a crime not to.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Really?
 * Rarity: Fine, I'm guilty! [crying] I wear false eyelashes. Oh, and I took a bite of the cake.


 * Twilight Sparkle: Well, Pinkie, did you find the devourer of the desserts?
 * Pinkie Pie: I most certainly did. It was none other than...the bakers! First of all, Gustav has mousse in his moustache! And Joe has eclair in his hair! And Mulia has sprinkles in her wrinkles!

Gallery

 * MMMystery on the Friendship Express image gallery