INTERLUDE:

Inside Ponyville Mental Institution, in a small, white room, at a metal table, sat Pinkie Pie and a brownish brony with a magnifying glass cutie mark. Pinkie was strapped to her chair with leather straps around her arms and chest, but she didn't seem to notice as she looked around the room, aimlessly.

"Alright, Pinkie." the brony said. "My name is Gumshoe and I'm here to help you. You just need to answer some questions. Ok?"

"Ok." replied Pinkie Pie, still talking through her mouth wires.

"Now, for the record, your name is Pinkamena Diane Pie. Correct?"

"My friends call me Pinkie Pie." she said, still not focusing on the investigator.

"Ok..." Gumshoe muttered, writing on a notepad. "What do you do here in Ponyville?"

"Oh, you know, throw parties, play with my friends, go on adventures. Things like that."

"I mean, what are you good at? What's your job?"

"Oh, I bake cupcakes. Sometimes, I make muffins and pies as well. Everyone loves Pinkie's baking, especially with my special ingredients!"

"And what are these 'special ingredients', exactly?"

"Whatever my friends are nice enough to spare. I have to put most of them in the blender though. They're too big for a normal cupcake, unless my customer has a big appetite." She giggled, like it was a funny joke.

The investigator wasn't amused.

"Pinkie. You have been killing other ponies and stealing their organs, most of them when the pony was still alive and conscious. Are you aware of this?"

"Of course, silly! It's hard to play a game when your friend keeps falling asleep! Some wake-up juice is needed sometimes. I mean, you don't want your friends to miss out on the time spent with you, do you?"

"...Pinkie. How long have you been doing this?"

"Let's see... ...Nope. Can't remember. Sorry."

"Let me rephrase: Did you start six months ago?"

"...Maybe..."

"Did you start a year ago?"

"...Could be..."

"Do you remember the first pony you killed?"

"Not really. I've had so many friends over, they all seem to look the same after a while. Seem to taste the same too..."

Gumshoe dropped his pencil in disgust and annoyance. "Pinkie. I can't help you unless you give me some straight answers. Why did you start putting these 'special ingredients' in your cupcakes?"

"Well, it started one day when I was making a batch of cupcakes. They had just finished baking, so I took them out of the oven, bit into one, and spit it out. It didn't taste good at all! So I started talking to myself. I said 'Pinkie, your cupcakes are boring now. How are you going to make them taste good again?' Then I answered 'I dunno. Maybe my friends can help?' That's when it hit me! My friends CAN help! Everyone in Ponyville can help! So I found a friend, one who was lonely and wouldn't be missed by any other pony, and she helped me make the best cupcakes I made in a long time! So then I said to myself 'Pinkie, these are delicious. You need to make more. In fact, you need to make more and share them with everyone else, so everyone will know just how good they are!' So i did! ...And I would still be making cupcakes if Applejack didn't interrupt playtime with Rainbow Dash!"

"The bones in your basement show you've murdered plenty of ponies. Do you feel anything towards them? Any pity? Any sorrow? Any regrets?"

"Well, duh! Of course I feel sorry for them. ...I'm sorry they couldn't taste the great cupcakes they helped me make!"

Gumshow picked up his notepad and paper and stood up. "I'm not going to get any more out of her. Lock her back up." Gumshoe left the room.

The orderlies administered a sedative to Pinkie Pie and slowly undid the restraints. As the drug took effect, Pinkie sang:

"Baking these treats is such a cinch

Add a teaspoon of vanilla

Add a little more, and you count to four

And you never get your fill of…"