I thought Pinkie Pie said to get here right away.
She sure had a burr in her britches about somethin'.
So where is she?
Yeah. What is taking her so long?
Just kidding.
You guys really need to look behind you once in a while.
Uh, Pinkie? You said you had something important to tell us.
Not telling so much as showing.
In fact,
what you're about to see
may shake the very foundations of your perception for all time!
Um... a cupcake?
Yes!
But wait, there's more!
It's an invitation to visit the Cheese Sandwich Amusement Factory!
Cheese Sandwich opened a factory?
What do they make there?
Rubber chickens?
That's ridiculous!
They make way more there than just rubber chickens!
Gosh, Cheese hardly seems the factory type.
I just assumed he'd continue to wander Equestria throwing parties.
Still, you must be excited to see him.
I am!
I can't wait to tour his factory, catch up,
have him tell me my life's purpose, swap gag tips—
What did you say?
Uh, catch up? I mean, it has been a while.
I think Applejack's asking about the part
about Cheese Sandwich and your life's purpose.
Oh, that. Yeah.
It's just... All of you have found your thing.
You're gonna rule all of Equestria,
Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt,
Fluttershy has her animal sanctuary,
Rarity has her boutiques,
Applejack has the hat...
And the farm! So that's like... two things!
I don't even have one.
When I first got Cheese's invite, I was a little jealous.
It felt like even he was moving on to bigger and better things.
And everypony was leaving me behind.
But then I realized Cheese Sandwich is a party pony just like me.
If he figured out his purpose, he can help me figure out mine.
I think talking to Cheese Sandwich is a great idea.
But the only pony who can really find your life's purpose is you.
I know, silly.
That's why I'm going to visit Cheese Sandwich's factory
so I can ask him to help me.
Uh, Pinkie?
Are you sure this is edible?
I am not!
Yup!
Anypony with a smile like that is exactly
the kind of pony I want helping me!
Oh, hey, guys!
Pardon me?
Just gonna... squeeze by?
Can we help you?
You sure can!
I'm here to see Cheese Sandwich!
Cheese Sandwich doesn't "see" anypony.
This factory's shut tight.
Nopony ever comes out, and nopony ever goes in.
Including you.
So move along.
Aw, that's a shame.
To think I came all this way because of this
personal invitation from Cheese Sandwich himself.
You... You have an invitation?
Well, why didn't you say so?
Next time, I get to push the button.
Desolate-y!
Hello?
Anypony there?
Cheese! I'm so happy to see you!
This should have gotten a big laugh.
I wonder if we need to add more carpet rolls.
I suppose it could be the mask.
Let's try taking the nostril flare down ten percent.
Thoughts?
I have a thought.
Who are you?
So sorry. Sans Smirk, vice-president of amusement integration.
Mr. Sandwich is very excited you're here.
If you'll just follow me,
it's a short trip through the factory to Cheese's office.
A whole factory dedicated to gags!
I bet this is the funnest place ever!
Maybe the fun is behind all this boring-looking factory stuff.
The fun is the factory stuff.
We take a fairly serious approach to comedy here.
Observe.
Oh, look. A pretty flower.
The squirting flower's a classic.
What if the flower was part of a shirt,
but the flower didn't squirt – the shirt did?!
That is literally the funniest thing I've ever heard.
Oh, come on.
That's just off the top of my head.
You probably get, like,
seventeen thousand ideas like that from Cheese every minute.
We'd have to use a series of interconnected tubes in the fabric.
What do you think of this?
I think it's a whoopee cushion.
Yes...?
But what if you made the embarrassing sound come from somepony else?!
I sit on it, but the sound comes from you...
We could call it the "ventriloquoopee cushion".
So... which way is Cheese's office again?
Right. Of course.
It's been quite a while since we've had
the opportunity to work with true comic inspiration like this.
What about Cheese?
One more thing.
Our super-slip banana peel.
Still in development, but we think it's pretty special.
So? Too slippery?
What if, instead of slipping, you were sticking?
One step on this banana peel, and you can't get it off!
That's funny!
Wow. Just... wow.
You're exactly the pony Cheese Sandwich needs to see.
Great!
Because he's exactly the pony I need to see!
Uh... hello?
Pinkie, I'm... I'm glad you came.
Of course I did. Your factory's... big.
It really seems like you found your purpose.
Which is perfect, since I came here for help.
That is perfect. I knew I could count on you to help me.
Well, that's triple-perfect, because...
uh, wait. Why do you need my help?
Because, Pinkie, I...
...I completely lost my laugh!
You lost your laugh?
Is that some kind of joke?
Because it's not a funny one.
It's not a joke. And even if it was, I...
I wouldn't be able to laugh at it.
Riiiiight...
Why don't we continue this discussion
over some delicious canned peanut brittle, hmm?
You did lose your laugh.
That's horrible!
Sorry to interrupt,
but it occurs to me that a seven percent tighter wind
on the snake springs would yield a
twelve percent increase in giggle output.
This is why we're a team.
Sans here has always been able to eke every last laugh out of my gags.
W-Which is a help, since I haven't come up with any good ones in a while.
Wait. So you can tell if a gag is funny or not –
you just can't laugh at it?
Yes!
And it's torture!
How did this happen?
I don't know.
Back when I was a party pony, I... I laughed at everything.
I spread my party cheer wherever it was needed.
I even started making individual,
one-of-a-kind novelty gags
for each and every one of my parties.
Soon, it seemed like everypony in Equestria wanted one.
It was more work than my hooves could handle,
but I didn't want to disappoint all those smiling faces.
Luckily, Sans Smirk came to me with the idea for a factory.
A gag factory.
I could finally keep up with demand and make everypony happy.
Soon we were sending gags all over Equestria.
But then, one day, my laugh was just... gone.
I haven't left the factory since.
I-I don't want anypony to see me like this.
I-I mean, look at me! Boneless 2 doesn't even recognize me anymore!
So, can you help me, Pinkie? W-What do you think?
I think I've got two words for you.
Knock... knock.
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don't cry, because I'm gonna get you your laugh back!
Let's start with something small.
Excuse me, Mr. Smirk.
But is there something in my... eye?!
Top notch eye-googling, Ms. Pie.
Why, thanks, Sans, ol' pal. Put her there!
Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you.
How about some... pie?
Googly eye to hoof buzzer to pie-face pratfall.
Masterful.
Come on!
Those classic bits put Rainbow Dash's funny bone in a cast for a week!
Don't blame yourself, Pinkie.
Whatever I got, I got it bad.
Maybe we need to start even smaller.
You can't run before you can walk,
and you can't laugh before you can smile.
And your smiler's all out of whack.
Now let's see what we're working with.
Give me your biggest, bestest smile!
Am I doing it?
Am I smiling?
I feel like I'm smiling.
Almost...
Maybe I just need to spot you for a rep or two.
Okay!
You got this!
It's all you! Ready?
Anything?
I'm not giving up on you yet, Cheese.
I know there's something somewhere that'll make you laugh.
I just have to figure out where to look.
I would like to take this opportunity
to point out that we are in a gag factory.
This is where the magic happens – research and development.
It's where we figure out the science of funny.
How do you science funny?
Of course there's no one-size-fits-all joke.
No grand unified gag theory.
But if we figure out the funny of one gag,
we can combine it with the funny
of another gag and make a third funnier gag.
I... guess that makes sense.
Rule of threes.
One, two, three.
Yup. That math checks out.
At this point, we'll need to give anything a try.
I don't understand!
We've tried everything!
Stand-up, classic gag, physical humor, prop comedy,
vaudeville, surrealist alt-scene character pieces
nothing's worked!
It seems we've exhausted every avenue
that even the science of comedy can provide.
That's it then.
What do you mean?
I appreciate everything you've done, Pinkie,
but if you can't make me laugh, nopony can.
But, sir, you can't just surrender.
It doesn't look like I have a choice.
I need to figure out how to live without a laugh.
I know you tried your best, but it's time you went home.
I, too, am horrified.
So that's it? You're all just giving up?
I'm afraid Mr. Sandwich is right.
You are the funniest pony in Equestria.
And if you can't bring back his laugh, it is surely gone forever.
But... Cheese was just as funny as me.
I-I can't believe that's all gone.
None of us can. I shudder to think what'll become of the factory.
You're not gonna close down, are you?
I thought this place was Cheese's life's purpose!
It certainly was mine.
But if Mr. Sandwich has finally given up,
there's only so long we can retool
his old ideas before we run out of gags to produce.
I don't suppose...
you'd consider working here?
Your fresh take on our classic gags rivals Mr. Sandwich in his prime.
I need to find my life's purpose, but I don't think that's it.
I'm a party pony! I need to make ponies happy in real-time!
Ah, yes.
In our early days, nothing brought Mr. Sandwich more pleasure
than seeing the laughter his gags brought to ponies firsthoof.
Guess it's back to the drawing board.
Well, there will always be a place for you here if you change your mind.
Hold on. What did you just say?
There'll always be a place for you here?
No-no-no-no. Before that.
Back to the drawing board.
That was me!
Nothing brought Mr. Sandwich more pleasure
than seeing the laughter his gags brought to ponies firsthoof?
Yes! That!
We've been going about this all wrong!
We don't need to make Cheese laugh.
He needs to make us laugh!
Cheese!
I figured it out! I know why you can't laugh!
What? Why?
You started this factory because
you didn't want to disappoint smiling faces.
But in here, you can't see any.
It does make a certain sense, sir.
Spreading laughter has always brought you joy.
But spreading laughter is what this factory does.
Except you don't see it.
You're a party pony like me.
You need to make ponies smile in-person!
Here. Just try it.
Okay...
Why did Boneless 2 cross the road?
To prove to Boneless 1 he wasn't a chicken.
Very funny, sir. Excellent joke.
Oh! I mean...
Really?
Sorry. Not much of a laugher.
Here. Try me. I promise I'll laugh.
Pinkie, you laugh at everything.
I appreciate what you're doing, but I think it's a "cost lause".
A lost cause.
What... was... that?!
I'm sorry.
When you swapped the letters of those words, it was just a bit...
Funny?
♫ So you're saying it's a mixup ♫
♫ Of the sounds that I just made ♫
♫ That coaxed the snicker from your throat ♫
♫ In a delicate cascade? ♫
♫ If I did it one more time ♫
♫ If I reproduced that feat ♫
♫ Mixed up some letters here and there ♫
♫ You'd "lelly-baugh" tout suite? ♫
♫ Then that's all I need to do ♫
♫ That's who I need to be ♫
♫ I thought I needed laughter ♫
♫ But it has to come from me ♫
♫ Squirting flowers and knobby knees ♫
♫ Rubber chickens my expertise ♫
♫ If you want laughter, then stick with Cheese ♫
Yeah!
♫ I s'pose now I should amp things up ♫
♫ To get the thing I'm after ♫
♫ Move whole syl-lables around ♫
♫ And change emPHAsis to get laughter ♫
♫ Can't stop now, I'm on a roll ♫
♫ I've almost got it back ♫
♫ Bright folks like you aren't subject to ♫
♫ My play-on-words attack! ♫
♫ With something else, I'll have to play ♫
♫ To get me where I'm going ♫
Whatcha gonna do?
♫ Some Commedia dell'arte ♫
♫ To get the laughter flowing ♫
♫ And it's what I need to do ♫
♫ It's who I need to be ♫
♫ I thought I needed laughter ♫
♫ But it has to come from me ♫
♫ Follow right behind, if you please ♫
♫ Walk this way and I guarantee ♫
♫ If you want laughter, then stick with Cheese ♫
Accordion solo!
Shred it, Cheese!
♫ And it's what I need to do ♫
♫ It's who I need to be ♫
♫ I thought I needed laughter ♫
♫ But it has to come from me ♫
♫ Whoopee cushions and Dungarees ♫
♫ I know jokes like my A-B-C's ♫
♫ If you want laughter, then stick with Cheese ♫
♫ And now my biggest test ♫
♫ The hardest fish to fry ♫
♫ A mind so analytical ♫
♫ A sense of humor dry ♫
♫ So dry! ♫
♫ To make you laugh would prove to me ♫
♫ That this experiment's done ♫
♫ Something ridiculous and not too smart ♫
♫ Something like a pun ♫
Hey, Sans! How did the laughing bird's eggs hatch?
They cracked up!
Sir...
that is so...
ridiculous!
♫ Then that's all I need to do ♫
♫ That's all I need to see ♫
♫ I thought I needed laughter ♫
♫ But it had to come from me ♫
♫ Squirting flowers and knobby knees ♫
♫ Rubber chickens and Dungarees ♫
♫ If you want laughter, then stick with Cheese! ♫
It's so good to have you back, sir.
Finally we can get the factory back to how things used to be.
Sans, my good pony, I don't think I could run this factory anymore.
But you can!
Without you?
I-I don't understand.
Pinkie was right. This is what I need.
I just can't have funny ideas.
I need to wander the land and see ponies laughing at them.
You can run the factory, but I need to liiiiiive!
And don't think I've forgotten about you, little buddy.
I knew you'd be onboard.
Don't worry. Out in Equestria, I'll have more great ideas for gags,
and I'll send them all to you.
Sir, are you sure this is what you want to do?
Of course. It's my life's purpose!
Hey! That's what I came here looking for!
You did? Well, come on! Let's figure it out!
Actually, I think I'm good.
...And then I said goodbye, and then I came here!
...And then I gathered you all together and started telling you about it.
First, I said—
Well, that sounds like quite a trip!
And Cheese Sandwich just left his own factory?
Yup.
But I think Sans Smirk's hooves were the perfect ones to leave it in.
As much as Cheese was born
to wander Equestria and make ponies laugh in-person,
Sans was born to run that factory.
And you don't sound so worried about findin' your life's purpose anymore.
Nope! I figured out Cheese and I are pretty much the same.
We both need to see ponies laughing to feel fulfilled.
And I already do that.
My life is purposing itself all over the place!
I agree completely.
Thanks.
I almost forgot!
I got you all a little something from my trip.
Who likes peanut brittle?
Subtitles: MLPSubtitles
http://mlpsubtitles.org/
Transcript: OmegaBowser
Sync: Sunnysubs, OmegaBowser