So here we are again, and it's coming up on time for another episode!

This week, we've got a new episode from a writer I've never heard of named F. M. DeMarco, who is the writer for a story that was by Meghan Macarthy. DeMarco hasn't actually done My Little Pony before, but wrote 5 episodes of Littlest Pet Shop. In fact, looking in the list of writers for that show, there are some pretty familiar names, which was interesting.

I've managed to avoid most of the spoilers so far on this episode. I just hope it's better then the last one. If I was to guess, the title kinda reminds me of the way Griffin the Brush Off had Pinkie and Rainbow Dash pranking the whole town at the beginning. It sounds like a prank spree that goes too far. I'd be surprised if Pinkie Pie wasn't involved.

The next two episodes after this sound more interesting, honestly, and I'm sorta looking forward to "Dungeons & Discords", but we'll see what this one brings!

--Sweetie Belle

If I had to guess, I'd say that Rainbow Dash goes overboard with the pranks and her friends decide to teach her a lesson. Based on the title reference and some pics I've seen, I'm guessing that the prank is making her think that there's a zombie pony apocalypse. Of course, with this type of prank, things usually get way out of hand.

From the preview all I can say right now is this

When there is no more room in Tartarus: The Dead Shall Walk Equestria

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I'm guessing that this will be like The Mysterious Mare Do Well: Part 2, in which Rainbow Dash gets a little too overbearing for the liking of her friends. You know, like getting a little bit too big-headed or pulling too epic a prank, so they decide to teach her a lesson by scarring her for life. Again. By making her believe that everypony in town is a soulless undead monster and it's all her fault. Truly, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy Rarity and AJ are the best darned friends you could ask for. I wouldn't be surprised if the episode ends with the aforementioned five screaming, "IT'S JUST A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT BRO" and pointing to their hidden cameras as Rainbow Dash shuffles into a corner and cries. What will be next, I wonder? Will they take a page from Sam Pepper's book and do a "killing your best friend" prank?

Unless we're all wrong and there really are zombies and MLP has taken a very dark and unexpected turn. Not like that hasn't happened in the past.

More than anything, I feel as though the writers just really wanted a zombie apocalypse episode. Heck, I'd probably do the same thing if I worked on a cartoon pony show.

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More than anything, I feel as though the writers just really wanted a zombie apocalypse episode. Heck, I'd probably do the same thing if I worked on a cartoon pony show.

I'd kinda thought they'd gotten that out of their system, tho'...

--Sweetie Belle

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Okay, maybe just that once, but...

Huh. Never mind.

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What will be next, I wonder? Will they take a page from Sam Pepper's book and do a "killing your best friend" prank?

KIDNAPPING FLUTTERSHY PRANK!!! (GONE WRONG) (GONE RIGHT) (GONE LEFT) (GONE CUDDLING) (ALMOST DIED OF LAUGHTER)

5423205 And the moral of this episode is to have empathy for others. Something humanity as a whole really oughta learn.

5423205 So it was a bit like the Mysterious Mare Do Well, but I think it was better. It was a more specific lesson, and it was more about a boomerang effect and turning the tables on Dash than crushing her ego into dust.

I enjoyed it that Prankster Pinkie was involved:she's got a way better idea of what's funny and what isn't, and how to pull it off. I'm not a person for zombie movies, but this was fun.

I hope FimFiction isn't awash in fix fics and punishment fics. I remember what happened the last time a pony scared Fluttershy--and Pinkie didn't even do it on purpose.

Ah, I loved this episode. It had a real season 2 feel to it; on-the-nose characterization, sharp dialogue, a situation that escalates naturally, and plenty to enjoy even if you've already figured out what's going on. A great Ponyville episode after last week's mediocre outing.

Oh, and Cutie Mark Crusader Filly Scouts. +1000 bonus.

What makes this episode work is in doing what MMDW didn't: ponies attempt to reason with Dash.
They try to tell her at least three times in no uncertain terms that they are not having fun and they don't find it funny. Every time it's clear Rainbow is ignoring them--even when Pinkie goes out of her way to talk with Dash about it, and when she does so it's not in the aftermath of a prank. That means when Pinkie, a pony who's more on Rainbow's side than anyone else tells Rainbow to stop; it's not a reaction from somepony who "is too sensitive" about pranking, it's someone trying to get through to her.
When that still doesn't work, the show's made it clear: it's time to turn tables

5423614 Yes, I agree. Pinkie talking to Dash about it when Pinkie loves a good prank was good. And they did stage an intervention with Dash and it went nowhere. Mare Do Well was vague, and turned Dash into a social pariah. This just scared the shit out of her.

What was nice about it was that it was clearly orchestrated by a master prankster, and turned Dash's own prank on her. Clearly the joke cookies were made in Griffonstone or somewhere with bad industrial standards. They are probably subject to a recall.

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This was kinda "Mysterious Mare-Do-Well done right". Well, the lesson, anyways. The actual superhero part of that episode was fine, and I wouldn't mind having that part come back. (Can I wear the costume this time?)

Rainbow Dash was going way too far in this episode. I mean, if sabotaging the Filly Guide cookies hadn't been caught, it could've caused everypony in town to be going after the ones who sold them the cookies.

Getting everypony in town to pull off the prank was pretty impressive, but if anypony in town could do it, it would be Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash had irritated everypony in town.

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It's sort of surprising, too, with a new writer, but the base story was from Meghan Maccarthy, and the new writer was an experienced one from Littlest Pet Shop, which shares several writers with mlp. I'm glad to see a good classic mlp feel to this episode, especially after the lousy last one.

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I totally agree. They did a good job, and it felt like somepony looked at what went wrong with the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well and tried to figure out what went wrong with it.

Also, I'd really like to know how you turn sewing machines into cake. I feel this could be useful knowledge to have for the future.

--Sweetie Belle

(SPOILERS!)

I love the horror genre. An episode like 28 Pranks Later certainly gains appreciation from me for its dark atmosphere. Unfortunately, everything else about it is painfully mundane.

Rainbow goes on a prank spree. She scares Fluttershy, swaps Rarity's sewing machine with a cake replica, switches Cranky's toupee with a skunk, etc. The townsfolk are understandably fed up. They confront the town's #2 prankster, Pinkie, to tell Rainbow to stop. But not before Rainbow enacts her latest trick: replacing Fillyguide cookies with joke ones that give eaters rainbow colored mouths.

The CMC and their sisters sell the cookies all over town until dark. Rainbow cannot wait to see the results, but finds that the pastries have had an undesired effect: making ponies sick, then transforming them into cookie-obsessed zombies. Horrified, she finds that the only ones who haven't tasted the tampered food are Rarity, AJ, and the CMC. They find shelter in a barn, only to reveal to Rainbow that they, too, are transformed. Dash cowers as the townsfolk break in, surrounding her.

Of course the whole thing is a trick, orchestrated by Pinkie. Rainbow tells them how unfair it was scaring her like that, then realizes she had been doing the same thing to them. She learns that while pranks can be fun, they should be done with care, and only to others who will find them funny.

It's an episode about a group of characters teaching another one a lesson. The concept, as a rule, needs rock solid writing or a unique flair to really work. Less than great efforts turn out tiresome or bad. 28 Pranks Later follows the former, repeating beats.

Take, for example, various characters during the invasion. Each face away from Rainbow, only to turn around and reveal they are zombies. This happens at least three times. Not once is their a surprise moment where one turns around and is normal. Such could make for a cool scene, perhaps with the regular pony joining to get help, or getting ambushed by zombies. With the second option, they could appear later on as a zombie.

But no such luck. Most of the invasion is Rainbow being chased around and going from building to building. Things get more interesting once she meets up with her two friends, but that is 2/3's into the episode.

At least the settings are creepy. I especially like the gray skies, and the episode's use of shadows. I appreciate the effort put into the atmosphere.

As for the characterization of the Mane 6, there are two notable examples to compare: Season 2's The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well, and season 1's Griffon the Brush Off. The first has the Mane 6 pull a trick to teach Rainbow a lesson. The second has Rainbow and Pinkie doing pranks. Though Pinkie in Brush Off would never prank Fluttershy, or laugh about a prank pulled on her, she would likely use a whoopee cushion on Twilight. So that feels right.

Despite Pinkie's slight mischaracterization, 28 Pranks feels closer to Brush Off than Mare-Do-Well. Sadly it is not as good as season 1's example, but is better than season 2's.

Extras:
*If the episode does one thing better than Brush Off, it is the gag of Celestia being bombarded with scrolls.
*I actually don't mind the title. 28 Days Later is not a series most children will see, but I feel the pun is clever enough.
*I believe this is the first time the Fillyguide organization has been named. I may be wrong.
*Rainbow is a butt munch. After scaring the life out of Fluttershy in the woods, she asks “How can you not appreciate that?” It's Fluttershy, the mare who locks herself away on Nightmare Night to avoid spooky decorations. It should be obvious.
*Dash somehow moves a sleeping Applejack and her bed out into a pigpen. AJ wakes up with a pig next to her, I assume a Godfather reference.
*Some of the pranks are okay. I like the sewing machine cake. The brick burger is mean, but at least it does not harm any teeth.
*I do not like her replacing Cranky's wig with a skunk. Hasn't the poor guy suffered enough?
*I chuckled when the CMC knock on Fluttershy's door and are greeted by the bear.
*Animation error as the zombies amble towards a building: one of the stallions has no tail.

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Can I wear the costume this time?

Hush, you get the super-cute uniform. :)

I must admit, I laughed at the Celestia prank.

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As other people have said, it was basically MMDW but where Rainbow Dash actually deserved what they did to her.

With zombies.

I can't say this is one of my favorites, but it's decent enough for a first-time MLP writer. I do wish there were more RD-centered episodes where she isn't acting like either a sociopath or an idiot, but nyeh.

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Obviously Dash ordered from the Zoko Baked Goods and Pharmaceutical Supply Company:

I haven't seen the episode yet, but am I to believe that my synopsis guess was right?

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Sweetie, do you care to explain what happened here?

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Well, you see how there are missing apples on the left pillow that should have been there if it was the same as the right one? That's because somepony took this picture and edited out the pig, but didn't copy in the apples that should've been there.

Then they just copied in a picture of my head, like this one:

I could easily see this one being used:

Or maybe this one:

But they seem to have gone with the other one. There are also pictures out there of Applejack in bed with Pinkie and the Twilight cane by now. I'm sure every character in the series will have their own edit of that picture before long...

--Sweetie Belle

5424500 The question is: How did Rainbow Dash end up making AJ out of her barn?

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Through the window, probably. There were a lot of traps, but not too much between the bed and window.

--Sweetie Belle

Well BillBooks, you have brought shame upon me and my ancestors. I am sorry, but I must end your life now.

STARE AT THIS PICTURE UNTIL YOU HAVE A HNNNNNNNNNG ATTACK!

!

Oh right, the episode.

I wanted a Left 4 Dead joke. "Maybe the helicopter is made of chocolate!"
I wanted a Zombieland reference. "Time to nut up or shut up."
Hell, I wanted the music to be a rip off/callback to some zombie movie.

This island stinks...

5423205 Not bad once we get to the second half, which includes the actual zombie outbreak. The first half is just a steep hill to climb to get there, and it's not helped by how it started off.

5423205 Well, something very good happened because of this episode.

I have a new favorite scene now.

I don't know why it amused me so much, but it did. Gave me quite the laugh.

The episode was probably one of my favorites (mainly cause it was a Rainbow Dash episode) but what I disliked however was the fact that when Pinkie was sick (well pretending to be) Rainbow Dash didn't care. All that was in her mind was pranking and although that was the scheme of the episode, I wouldn't think she would just leave pinkie there in that state. Wouldn't that mean she's not being loyal to her friend or sommat like that?

5423205 This episode was OK to me. It was definitely creepy I'll give it that. But I thought it could've been creepier if the zombie ponies just moaned or hissed instead of groaning "cookies". That was the part that gave away that it was a prank. At least it was for me.

You know, I've heard that fans are split down the middle: Something think that the prank was a little too harsh and others are thinking that Rainbow Dash had it coming. When you think about it, there was actually a third option that the show could've used to keep the ponies hooves' clean and still have Rainbow learn her lesson.

What is it you ask? Why they could've just called in our favorite reality-warping mischief-loving chaos-causing draconequus, of course! I mean, think about it: Throwing in Discord would've made sense, crazy enough. Discord is all about mean-spirited fun, so who better to give Rainbow a taste of her own medicine than the master? Oh, I'm sure he would've gotten a kick out of Rainbow's pranks at first...but then he probably would've gotten all crazy after what happened to Fluttershy. Speaking of which, what was the prank Rainbow pulled on her? As a FD shipper, I don't like the idea, but I'm just curious.