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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MMMystery-Friendship-Express_6347.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:It's like an Creator/AgathaChristie novel, [[{{Dissimile}} but with no corpses and more marzipan]].]]


->'''Pinkie Pie:''' ''It's the [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal 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 TheWatson to her Franchise/SherlockHolmes ("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 [[EverybodyLaughsEnding everyone joins in laughing with the]] [[BalloonBelly super stuffed and mighty messy Pinkie Pie]], [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall the episode ends with the fourth wall being promptly 'eaten']].

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!!Tropes:

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: 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?"
* AnAesop: Don't immediately accuse someone or jump to conclusions until you gather all the information first.
* AesopAmnesia: 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.
* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Twilight to Joe while [[InnocentlyInsensitive insulting him unintentionally]].
* AllAnimalsAreDogs:
** 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.
* AllYourPowersCombined: 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.
* BalloonBelly: 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.
* BehindTheBlack: 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 [[BreakingTheFourthWall Fourth-Wall-Breaking]] abilities?
* BigEater:
** 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 ''[[GirlyGirl 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.
* 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 mustache.
* BondGunBarrel: As demonstrated in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R03w13Jkaw Donut Joe's clip]]. Naturally it uses doughnuts instead.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In Pinkie Pie's case, ''eating'' the fourth wall!
* BreatherEpisode: A fun, Pinkie-as-Sherlock-Holmes episode that comes after the infamous "Ponyville Confidential" and one that before the "A Canterlot Wedding" two-parter.
* BubblePipe: 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.
* CallBack:
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E12BabyCakes 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 "[[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.
* CarryingACake: 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 [[DefiedTrope made sure of that.]]
* ChainedToARailway: Pinkie's SilentMovie ImagineSpot for Gustave includes him tying her to the railroad, [[DastardlyWhiplash complete with mustache twirling]].
* ChekhovsGun:
** That painting of a mustached stallion looks pretty normal, doesn't it? Except he has long eyelashes.
** Also notice how Rarity's right eye [[HidingBehindYourBangs 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.
* CluelessMystery:
** 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.
%%* CockADoodleDawn
* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
** All Pinkie's {{Imagine Spot}}s 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."
* ContinuityNod:
** Among the suspects on the train are characters and species from previous episodes, including [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Mulia Mild]] the mule, ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason "Applebuck Season"]], [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E22HurricaneFluttershy "Hurricane Fluttershy"]]), Gustave le Grand the griffon ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff "Griffon the Brush-Off"]]), and Joe ([[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver "The Best Night Ever"]]).
** And of course, the same Friendship Express Train and stations are used as the settings.
** On a meta level, this is not the first time [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne we've had a Pinkie Pie-centered episode]] just before the season finale.
** Princess Celestia seemed pretty eager to eat a slice of that cake near the end. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E23PonyvilleConfidential Considering a certain rumor that was going around last episode...]]
** Pinkie's distinctive gasp from the pilot is recycled when she sees the damaged cake.
** Back in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff "Griffon the Brush-Off"]], Pinkie proclaimed that she was sure that other griffons would not be as mean as Gilda, even though she hadn't met any. First impressions aside, the griffon in this episode indeed turns out to be much more civilized.
* CosmeticHorror: Rarity considers her false eyelashes a dark secret, and pulls her mane over her lashless right eye in shame.
* CrazyPrepared: Pinkie's Holmes-ian hats could be attributed to RuleOfFunny, but why did Twilight bring ''evidence bags'' with her to a dessert contest?
* 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.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: This is how Pinkie describes Gustave's scheme in her imagination.
* DeliciousDistraction: Princess Celestia seems a lot more interested in that cake than any lesson Pinkie Pie has to report.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title is both a play on the murder mystery novel ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' and has the sound of "Mmm", the name of the cake.
* EasilyForgiven: 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.
* EatTheCamera: Inverted at the beginning of the second act when Pinkie is screaming after the cake has been eaten.
* EverybodyDidIt: Of the passengers on the train, the only innocent parties are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight.
* EvilLaugh: 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 ImagineSpot. The latter has to be spelled out in the intertitle, since it's a SilentMovie.
* EvilPlan: 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.
* EverybodyLaughsEnding: because of Pinkie and her big... Can you guess?
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: 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 ColdOpen. [[RuleOfThree Three times!]]
* FairPlayWhodunnit: 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.
* FeatherFingers: Gustave le Grand initially holds his eclairs in one of his wings as he walks into the train car.
* FelonyMisdemeanor: 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 [[ExactWords Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy aren't chefs.]]
* FoodPorn:
** 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.
* FrenchCuisineIsHaughty: Gustave looks down on Donut Joe for his low class dounuts.
* FrenchJerk: Gustave Le Grand comes off as this in the beginning, but the "French" part is downplayed because all three of the bakers are jerks.
* FryingPanOfDoom: Ninja Mulia takes out Pinkie with one during her ImagineSpot.
* FunWithAcronyms: The Marzipan Mascapone Meringue Madness cake is called the "MMMM" for short.
* {{GASP}}: Pinkie Pie when the damage to the cake is revealed.
* GenreSavvy: 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 TheWatson; going so far as to explain her role.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Spoofed in Pinkie's ImagineSpot for Gustave, in which the sliced cake's icing splatters his face.
* GrammarNazi: Twilight, correcting Pinkie's "whodunit" to "who did it" (which just confuses her further: "who did dun dood it").
* GratuitousFrench: Gustave delivers several French words.
* HairReboot: 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.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Pinkie's accusations towards the other bakers are particularly outlandish, as [[LampshadeHanging 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.
* HyperspaceHolmesHat: Pinkie pulls a bubble pipe and a pair of appropriate hats from {{Hammerspace}}.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: Twilight's insult at Doughnut Joe. She calls him "big, gruff, and messy" and he only reacts after the last adjective.
* ImagineSpot: Secret agents, ninjas, laser security systems.... That's a ''really'' wild imagination you've got there, Pinkie.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: 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'')
* InsaneTrollLogic: Pinkie's zany conclusions as to how each of the bakers destroyed the cake. They involve Mulia being a ninja, Joe being a ''Film/JamesBond'' secret agent, and both of them slicing a cake that has clearly been bitten.
* KnockoutGas: Used by Joe on Pinkie during Pinkie's ImagineSpot for him.
* LargeHam: Gustave, Mulia, and Joe are all passionate and dramatic about the merits of their desserts.
* LegCling: [[AllThereInTheScript Golden Harvest]] and Berry Punch come out of nowhere and do this with Joe at the end of Pinkie's ImagineSpot for him.
* LightsOffSomebodyDies: Or in this case, "Lights Off, Cake Gets Eaten". Done twice, in fitting with the episode's AffectionateParody of mystery tropes.
* LiteralMinded: When Twilight asks Pinkie to retrace her steps, Pinkie starts walking backwards. Twilight is not amused.
* MeaningfulName: When taking the initials of the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, it sounds like "Mmmm!"
* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: The beginning of Pinkie's ImagineSpot for Joe introduces him as "Mane, Con Mane."
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: 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.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mulia Mild is a lot like Julia Child.
* NoPeripheralVision: Rainbow Dash escapes from Pinkie by flying close to the ceiling in the last train cabin.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Pinkie -- who else -- literally climbs over every one of her suspects while looking for clues to who ate the other desserts.
* NotSoAboveItAll: 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.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: 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".
* ProperlyParanoid: 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.
* PunnyName: Con Mane; just drop the final ''e''.
* RedHerring: 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.
* RivalsTeamUp: In the end, Pinkie and all of the other chefs combine their creations and enter it as one dessert. It wins a blue ribbon.
* RhymesOnADime: Pinkie with "Eclair in his hair" and "Sprinkles in her wrinkles"
* RuleOfFunny: 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.
* SchizoTech: Pinkie's ImagineSpot for Joe turns him into a ''Film/JamesBond'' 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 ImagineSpot), implying that lasers ''do'' exist, just not here.
* ShoutOut:
** The title and theme allude to the [[ParentalBonus classic murder mystery]] ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'', including the [[EverybodyDidIt ending,]] for which ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is both TropeMaker and UrExample.
** We have a train, a mystery, and stolen food; [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor Hmm...]]
** Pinkie and Twilight don the appropriate hats and pipe for a full-on Franchise/SherlockHolmes take.
** Each of Pinkie's {{Imagine Spot}}s for the three chefs is a take on classic films: Gustave's as a SilentMovie; Pony Joe's as Con Mane, a parody of Film/JamesBond; and Mulia's as an old ninja film.
** Pinkie Pie's {{Animesque}} Ninja Imagine Spot of Mulia Mild uses art style very similar to ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'''s. Also, Ninja Mulia's jumping from train car to train car is very similar to that of Ryu Hayabusa from the NES series ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''.
** Twilight's evidence bags are manila envelopes like the ones used in ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}''. The tacked-on crimes and zany plot are also reminiscent of the [[Film/{{Clue}} film version]].
** When Pinkie Pie chases Rainbow Dash to the end of the train, she exclaims [[Franchise/StarWars "I have you now!", followed by a surprised "What?!"]] when she finds no-one at the exit of the caboose.
** Pinkie Pie mentions of the competition being to determine whose cake will [[Series/IronChef reign supreme]].
* SilentMovie: Pinkie's ImagineSpot for Gustave is in the style of one.
* SingleStrokeBattle: Ninja Mulia vs the cake in one of Pinkie's Imagine Spots. The cake loses.
* SmallNameBigEgo: 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.
* StockSoundEffect: When Pinkie gasps in shock at the bitten MMMM, her gasp is her overly long one in the pilot when she first saw Twilight.
* SuddenNameChange: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E26TheBestNightEver In his previous appearance]], Doughnut Joe was called Pony Joe by Spike.
* SummationGathering: Twilight calls one after gathering three clues.
* SupremeChef: The Cakes, Gustave le Grand, Doughnut Joe, and Mulia Mild. Their [[FoodPorn 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.
* ToothyBird: 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.
* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: 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.
* UnmovingPlaid: The plaid on Pinkie's deerstalker does not follow the corner of the hat.
* VaryingCompetencyAlibi: 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 [[TuxedoAndMartini 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.
* VisualPun: Mulia Mild's chocolate mousse moose.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: 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.
* WrittenSoundEffect: In the title.
* TheWatson: Pinkie makes Twilight play the part, much to her chagrin. They switch places later.
-->'''Pinkie:''' And Twilight will be my lowly assistant [[LampshadeHanging who asks silly questions with obvious answers]].
* YouAreAlreadyDead: In Pinkie's ImagineSpot, Ninja Mulia does the [[SingleStrokeBattle lightning-fast sword slash variant]] against the cake, causing it to fall apart moments later.
* YouAreFat: While criticizing Pinkie's "Con Mane" ImagineSpot, Twilight slips in a jab at Doughnut Joe's bulky appearance.
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