S02:E24 - MMMystery on the Friendship Express

[FlutterDerpy582 89]

Loved this episode. Probably the most well put together episode in a while IMO. As they did last week, the creators took an unoriginal plot (not saying it's a bad thing, just stating a fact), and made it their own in an enteraining fashion. Also loved all the references involved, made the episode overall so much better! On a side note we can officially add "Pegisistance" to our Pony vocabulary! xD

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

Ok, I was wrong. I was so sure Pinkie did it! Oh well... at least I guessed one of the culprits before the reveal. Noponyelse moves that fast afterall..

 

This entire episode kinda reminds me of the sixth chapter in Paper Mario TTYD, were there's a semi-mystery to be solved aboard a moving train. Also, did anyone else notice in the last scene, as Pinkie finishes her letter, that Celestia's mouth move likes she's speaking, but she never says anything? (Before the piece of cake was floated over to her.) Animation goof?

 

"Bond. Joe Bond."

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I think probably right now the most intriguing aspects were the lasers in the Pony Joe Bond parody, and the fact that the griffon was a French stereotype.

 

The lasers because I like noticing technology, and the French stereotype because now it makes me want to associate the griffons with French culture in general.

 

Guess griffons would be the only sapient species of Equestria other than dragons that would come up with something like foie gras.

[Key Gear 6,663]

10/10... No... Wait....

 

∞/10

 

This is my favorite episode so far! When I first started watching, I had very low expectations for any actual acknowledgement of Agatha Christie's book Murder on The Orient Express. I also had low expectations for the mystery being able to keep me entertained.

 

I was completely and totally wrong. Just like in Christie's book, the crime had been committed by multiple people! And as far as entertainment goes... The episode had me in tears from laughing so completely hard.

 

Ninjas, secret agents, and silent movie villains (twirling their mustaches).... Oh my!

 

I love a good mystery. Something that keeps you guessing until the very end. I thought that the writer's were going to avoid having so many guilty parties, so I had managed to convince myself that perhaps Pinkie was the guilty party and those things that she saw were figments of her imagination.

 

It was an easy jump for me to make, because I had seen how imaginative she had been when accusing the other chefs. Of course, I was wrong. (Along with everypony else in the Synchtube room.) That was a good thing though. It made the surprise at the end even more surprising.

 

This is officially the best classic detective parody that I have actually ever seen in an animated episode-length cartoon. I can't wait to watch this episode a few more times!

Edited April 7, 2012 by Scootacool

[Steamgamer27 170]

Notice Applejack was the only one who kept restraint throughout the whole deal. And yeah I did assume it was Rainbow Dash as the culprit judging by the silhouette from the previews. But never thought of Fluttershy or even Rarity, by Glob!

[hironakamura 126]

I liked the references. The lesson at the end kind of made it corny for me, though. The developers of the show all seem to still not have free reign to just have fun with the characters.

 

I wonder what's the lesson gonna be about in the royal wedding two parter.

[DJ MUFF1N D3RP 322]

This was a great episode! So many references! The best one was probably Pony Joe as James Bond. That was pure epic! I was pretty shocked that Fluttershy took a bite though. I never would have expected that from her. Edited April 7, 2012 by DJ MUFF1N D3RP

[fatdog12300 0]

How did Fluttershy get the conductor's hat? She doesn't really seem the type to just steal it, and I think you could see it on her silhouette when she was running down the train, which if true means it wasn't in the boiler room for her to just find. (Or whatever that room is called. I don't know train terminology.)

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

The lasers because I like noticing technology, and the French stereotype because now it makes me want to associate the griffons with French culture in general.

 

The only exception is Gilda. She's too fly (cool) to have a French accent.

[FlutterDerpy582 89]

Of course, I was wrong. (Along with everypony else in the Synchtube room.) That was a good thing though. It made the surprise at the end even more surprising.

 

 

I wish somepony took a screen cap of that moment, would have been epic picture! xD

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

The only exception is Gilda. She's too fly (cool) to have a French accent.

 

She worked on eliminating her accent during flight school. She had help from Dashie.

 

Someone needs to write this as a fanfic now. Gilda, the exchange student, sounding as French as can be, working out her accent issues.

[Key Gear 6,663]

Well, if it is a nod to Christie's Orient Express mystery then it may be the case that everyone played a part in the cake's death....

 

They ALL did it!

 

Well, the details may have been a bit off but.....

 

Called it!

 

Pinkie has been climbing up my favourite pony ranks at an alarming rate, and by the looks of this episode, she's likely going to continue her rise. Noir Pinkie detective? A parody of the 1974 classic 'Murder on the Orient Express'? God I love this show.

 

This is exactly it. Wow. How many cartoons of any vintage could have done an episode like this so well? I am constantly amazed by this show!

 

Now I am totally and completely hyped for the finale!

 

Though... At the same time.... I wish I didn't have to wait two weeks.

[Beth Sycamore 28]

. And yeah I did assume it was Rainbow Dash as the culprit judging by the silhouette from the previews. But never thought of Fluttershy or even Rarity, by Glob!

 

Yeah,me too I did guess RD by the window shadow and how fast the unseen suspect was. But I sure was not expecting Rarity or FS. They didn't seem to be the type. If that were Fluttershy in the train engine at night,were was the real engineer?

 

And isn;t Matilda in this episode a mule,and not a donkey? So it is problably not Cranky's Matilda.

[hironakamura 126]

The episode was based on Murder on the Orient Express and I read somewhere that all the passengers in that movie were all partially to blame for the murder so I wasn't really surprised they'd do the same and have most of the characters as culprits.

 

It wasn't fair that they left AJ out from helping to commit a crime, though.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

The episode was based on Murder on the Orient Express and I read somewhere that all the passengers in that movie were all partially to blame for the murder so I wasn't really surprised they'd do the same and have most of the characters as culprits.

 

It wasn't fair that they left AJ out from helping to commit a crime, though.

 

It did seem like AJ was mostly there for window dressing, as it were. I'm honestly not sure I could see Fluttershy actually stealing a bite of cake either. Rainbow Dash and Rarity, sure. Fluttershy? Not really.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

It did seem like AJ was mostly there for window dressing, as it were. I'm honestly not sure I could see Fluttershy actually stealing a bite of cake either. Rainbow Dash and Rarity, sure. Fluttershy? Not really.

 

I believe the idea of Fluttershy blatantly taking bites from the cake isn't so far-fetched. After "Putting Your Hoof Down", she has a much better idea of "taking what she wants", and in this case, because the cake was so appealing, she managed to secretly trick Pinkie and received her prize. By no means was it nice, but everybody can get swept up in the hype of a material goods' charm.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I believe the idea of Fluttershy blatantly taking bites from the cake isn't so far-fetched. After "Putting Your Hoof Down", she has a much better idea of "taking what she wants", and in this case, because the cake was so appealing, she managed to secretly trick Pinkie and received her prize. By no means was it nice, but everybody can get swept up in the hype of a material goods' charm.

 

True, true...it wasn't so much the kindness aspect that I was objecting to though. It's more that I can't see Fluttershy actually stealing much of anything, even if she wants it.

 

I dunno, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt like there should have been a bit more of a reason than "it sounded delicious" for her to want to take a bite. Wait until the contest, then sample it there. I mean that's how a dessert content is judged anyway, and there was so much of each dessert that there's no reason anyone had to try to eat it before it arrived in Canterlot.

 

That reminds me: why the heck did it take over twelve hours for the train to pull into Canterlot? We can see the castle from Ponyville. Unless Canterlot is much further away from Ponyville than any of us ever suspected, it doesn't make any sense.

[FlutterDerpy582 89]

 

It wasn't fair that they left AJ out from helping to commit a crime, though.

 

Just watched the episode over and realized that. Why no love for AJ :'(

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

That reminds me: why the heck did it take over twelve hours for the train to pull into Canterlot? We can see the castle from Ponyville. Unless Canterlot is much further away from Ponyville than any of us ever suspected, it doesn't make any sense.

 

I think I have the answer to that. In some of the episodes, you can see Canterlot situated on mountains. Here's the thing, though. When I lived in Vancouver, I could see mountains that were actually in near the borders of Alberta (this was directly from my schoolyard). The distance from Vancouver to the borders are almost vast, but because of the mountains' large heights, it makes your brain believe that they're closer to you than they actually are.

 

Also, Ponyville and Canterlot may be located in two separate countries (I'm going by the sayings that Equestria is a planet, not a country), which would explain the large distance between the two. Assuming Ponyville is in the same country as in say, Baltimare and Fillydelphia (obviously, I'm referencing a country based off the United States), it would also explain why Canterlot always seems so... British.

[Chigens and Kay 3,832]

I didn't think this episode was so great...I mean the references were funny and whatnot but, maybe it's just me...

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I think I have the answer to that. In some of the episodes, you can see Canterlot situated on mountains. Here's the thing, though. When I lived in Vancouver, I could see mountains that were actually in near the borders of Alberta (this was directly from my schoolyard). The distance from Vancouver to the borders are almost vast, but because of the mountains' large heights, it makes your brain believe that they're closer to you than they actually are.

 

Also, Ponyville and Canterlot may be located in two separate countries (I'm going by the sayings that Equestria is a planet, not a country), which would explain the large distance between the two. Assuming Ponyville is in the same country as in say, Baltimare and Fillydelphia (obviously, I'm referencing a country based off the United States), it would also explain why Canterlot always seems so... British.

 

While you do make a good point, I'm still not sure that Canterlot is that far away from Ponyville...up until now, with the level of detail we could see of the castle from Ponyville, I'd always figured Canterlot was fiffteen to twenty kilometers away tops, because otherwise the castle is far, FAR larger than I thought it was.

 

Though now I have to wonder what speed the train was moving at...if we could analyze the animation of the train moving, maybe we can figure out its usual traveling speed. I'm willing to guess it's about 70 kilometers per hour, if my memory of typical train speeds is anything to go by.

[Starshine 16,333]

This episode... Looked like a little bit rushed :/

 

Pinkie, you and your wonder logic

 

At least there's a Tia at the end

[Key Gear 6,663]

True, true...it wasn't so much the kindness aspect that I was objecting to though. It's more that I can't see Fluttershy actually stealing much of anything, even if she wants it.

 

I dunno, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt like there should have been a bit more of a reason than "it sounded delicious" for her to want to take a bite. Wait until the contest, then sample it there. I mean that's how a dessert content is judged anyway, and there was so much of each dessert that there's no reason anyone had to try to eat it before it arrived in Canterlot.

 

Maybe her friendship with Rainbow Dash is possibly an additional explanation for Fluttershy's taking a bite out of the cake?

 

From what we have seen in the show so far, Fluttershy and RD have a tendency to stick together. This tendency seems to result in Fluttershy sometimes doing things that are somewhat unexpected:

• May the Best Pet Win - Agreeing to allow her pets to participate in a race where one of the could have been injured
• Sonic Rainboom - A brief moment of Fluttersertiveness when RD was challenged by the resident "jocks" in Cloudsdale
• Party of One - Collaborating with RD to deceive Pinkie Pie (using a completely weak cover story)

Taking a bite out of the cake seems like a very Rainbow Dash thing to think of doing. It is not the kind of thing that Fluttershy would probably normally agree too. However, I think that peer pressure from RD and Rarity would probably have been sufficient to motivate Fluttershy into participating. Most likely Fluttershy was just caught up in the moment...

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

While you do make a good point, I'm still not sure that Canterlot is that far away from Ponyville...up until now, with the level of detail we could see of the castle from Ponyville, I'd always figured Canterlot was fiffteen to twenty kilometers away tops, because otherwise the castle is far, FAR larger than I thought it was.

 

Yes, that's my point. You (even myself) think that it's 15-20 km away from Ponyville, but it's only because of the mountains' large heights does it make you believe in this.

 

However... we should take note in the fact that Canterlot is a city located within a mountain. I would assume that trains would take longer to reach Canterlot as a result, in contrast to reaching some other location such as Baltimare or Las Pegasas. I would also assume that it took Twilight and Spike a good 2 or 3 hours to reach Ponyville in the first episode (when they were given the task to make friends), and this was through a royal flying carriage.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Tom Da Diamond

[Champion RD92 8,658]

Why, Rainbow Dash?!?! Why?!?!?!?!