S4:E4 Review "Daring Don't" (Spoilers) · 4:42am Dec 8th, 2013
When I first heard that My Little Pony would be revisiting the world of Daring Do, I was excited. That being said, is anyone else disturbed by the fact that we still haven't seen the return of Gilda? Griffon the Brush Off Premiered November 12, 2010. Gilda hasn't had a second appearance in nearly three years. She's long overdue.
Anyways, onto the episode!
When I saw Ahuizotl on top of the pyramid, I got traumatic Transformers 2 flashbacks. 
I half expected a John Turturro pony to mention how he was "directly below the enemy scrotum."
It would be easy to design the character, considering that John Turturro has already appeared in the series as a pony.
He's probably the only sex offender to appear in a game for children.
If you add Jesus Pezuna to your town, he goes door-to-door and informs his neighbors that he's a pederast. Or maybe I just imagined that last part...
Rainbow Dash's compulsive reading made a strong comeback in this episode and I couldn't be happier! However, I was disturbed with how quickly she transformed from an eager fan into an obsessive stalker. 
Rainbow Dash's desire to remove all distractions from her favorite author so that she can spend "every living, breathing second writing" was a little troubling. I could relate to A.K. Yearling, because I've recently been unable to write as much as I would like. Working extra hours and spending time with my family and friends has drastically reduced my story output. I haven't given up on writing, the stories are just going to take longer to finish. While I can understand Rainbow Dash wanting to help, she needs to learn more respect for the privacy of others.
This episode also saw the return of the Dash face.
Daring Do is real?! I avoided any spoilers for this episode, so needless to say, this was a big reveal. So, all her adventures actually happened? I don't think Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash were treating this revelation with the awe that it deserves. This would be like discovering that J.K. Rowling was the pseudonym for Hermione Granger. Or finding out that the Indiana Jones movies were actually well-made documentaries about a real explorer.
This bring up the notion of fiction within this universe. My Little Pony is a fantasy setting. There are dragons, unicorns, pegasi and other mythical creatures. Fiction allows one to break from the bonds of reality into a realm of fantasy, but what happens when fantasy is the norm? Does escapist fiction have any place in such a world? I think I would've preferred it if Daring Do's universe had remained fictional. It was comforting to know that even in the magical land of Equestria, ponies still used literary fiction as escapist fantasy.
Also, it seems like it would be difficult to hide the fact that Ahuizotl has acted like a super villain on multiple occasions. How is it that the characters from the Daring Do novels are considered fictional throughout Equestria? Wouldn't Ahuizotl be upset that A.K. Yearling is using his name and likeness to sell Daring Do books? What about the henchponies? Are you saying nopony mentioned in the Daring Do books ever tried to inform the world that the stories were real? None of Ahuizotl's crimes were ever reported to the authorities? I'm guessing Princess Celestia didn't know the stories were actual events. If she did, she would've sent Twilight Sparkle and her friends to stop Ahuizotl from destroying the world. What's A.K. Yearling/Daring Do's motivation for perpetuating this massive lie? She prefers to work alone, so I could see her not wanting to involve the authorities, but when the world's in jeopardy, that's when she needs to set aside her selfish pride and ask for help.
As Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were arguing over the Daring Do books, I wondered how they knew that everything was true. Are they assuming every aspect of the Daring Do books are historical records? They both thought Daring Do's adventures were fictional until today. If that really is Daring Do, who's to say she didn't embellish her stories? Why would they automatically assume she's good? Maybe the reason Daring Do never reported Ahuizotl's crimes was because she didn't want to implicate herself. Maybe Ahuizotl, Dr. Caballeron and Daring Do are all unscrupulous tomb raiders who compete at stealing valuable treasures and sell them off to the highest bidder. After all, we've never seen Daring Do give any of the treasures she finds to museums. 
One could argue that A.K. Yearling anonymously donates any relics she finds to museums. She could then claim that the treasures in her stories were inspired by actual relics and thus continue to hide her double life from the world. All Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash know for sure is that A.K. Yearling hasn't been honest with her readers because she passed her life off as a work of fiction. She leads a double life so she shouldn't be trusted. This episode just raises too many questions.
Putting aside any ulterior motives, let's assume that Daring Do is as heroic as depicted in her books. Daring Do mentions several times that she doesn't want any help from Rainbow Dash or anypony else. 
"Fly home, Buddy. I work alone."
Daring Do doesn't know who she can trust, so she prefers isolation. At this point, Rainbow Dash should say she's the Element of Loyalty. She's featured on a stain glass window in Canterlot Castle, for crying out loud! She can perform the Sonic Rainboom! If you can't trust the Element of Loyalty, who can you trust? You'd think Daring Do would be grateful for her help and we'd get an awesome team up adventure! Instead, Rainbow Dash is too starstruck with hero worship to be any help to anyone.
Daring Do flirting with Ahuizotl? 
Rainbow Dash's shipfic sensors are tingling.
Maybe there's more to Daring Do's flirting than we realize. Maybe Ahuizotl isn't evil. Maybe he and Daring Do just enjoy extreme roleplaying sex and Rainbow Dash wandered into the middle of it. It would explain all the bondage...
I think Daring Do is an Autassassinophiliac, which surprisingly has nothing to do with asses. Autassassinophilia is a fetish in which someone is sexually aroused by being placed in life-threatening situations. Daring Do and Ahuizotl have a typical sadomasochistic relationship. Based on his desire to acquire ancient artifacts, Ahuizotl is also a Kleptolagniac, which is someone who derives sexual pleasure from theft. It's also safe to assume from those previous pictures that Daring Do enjoys zoophilia; specifically ophiophilia, which is a sexual attraction to snakes and Formicophilia, which is a sexual attraction to being crawled upon by insects; or in this case, spiders. She also has ammophilia, which is a fetish for sand.
This would explain why Daring Do has tried to keep the exploits of her books hidden from the world. She and Ahuizotl journey to abandoned ruins for the express purpose of enacting sexual roleplays. The Daring Do books details their fetishes, but omits all the explicit sex so that they can be presented to the public as wholesome works of fiction. The money A.K. Yearling receives as a successful author allows her to continue her extreme fetishes. It's taken Daring Do and Ahuizotl a long time to find enough like-minded voyeurs who were willing to keep a secret and work as extras in their erotic fantasies. This episode raised a lot of questions. The answer to all of them is kinky roleplaying.
Uh, Daring Do can fly in this story, right? Her wing isn't broken. When she's gotten the ring, why not just fly away? Why does she stay and battle Ahuizotl's cats?
I mean, it's not like Auizotl has a hostage which would give Daring Do a reason to stick around.
Oh wait. Hmmm... maybe Daring Do should've flown away when she had the chance and not given Ahuizotl time to take a hostage. To the episode's credit, Daring Do later reveals that she wanted to get captured so Ahuizotl would take her inside his fortress.
Between the long spears and rings sliding down the length of an obelisk, there was a lot of phallic imagery in this episode. 
It wouldn't be hard to translate it into a clopfic. Possibly a golden cock ring which gives the wearer unmatched member size and sexual stamina? Any stallion would want to possess it. Ahuizotl could slip it on and try out his enchanted erection on a captive Daring Do and Rainbow Dash.
The shipping is strong with this one. 
That hug lasted a little too long to be purely platonic. Just look at the way they nuzzle each other with their faces.
The moral was also a little sketchy.
"I almost forgot about how awesome I was. Good thing I didn't."
They were trying to emphasize the importance of trusting others. I would've rather seen a lesson about Rainbow Dash learning not to be a creepy stalker by respecting the privacy and personal space of those you admire.
Actually, the biggest thing for me was Chiara Zanni, who voiced Daring Do. 
This isn't the first time she's voiced a pony. Chiara was also the voice of Bon Bon.
No. Not that Bon Bon. The one from My Little Pony Tales.
Other noteable roles for Chiara include voicing the English dub of Hamtaro.
After thinking it over, I enjoyed Daring Don't more than when I initially watched it. I can't wait for the next episode!
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My words tends to have that effect on people.
Dude! Have you never heard of fucking, Misery?
Stephen King bro. I'm sure its a reference.
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I know Misery loves company.
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Edit: I should probably put this here...
Is it weird if I actually think this is true? And it was all roleplay?
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Daring Do and Ahuizotl being kinky lovers would explain a lot of questions raised in this episode...
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Are you going to write that or...
Because I really like the smirking Human!Dash
I don't know ... it's never said that the books are fiction or that they are thought of that way. I always thought they were leaving that open-ended for such a sequel as this one. So the fact that they're only surprised by her identity isn't that surprising. The first thing they said was the she was Daring Do the pony, implying that they already knew that Daring Do existed.
Dude. I fucking love this headcanon.
And I am more than happy to completely disregard those questions. Not something I want to think about.
This is pretty much what I was thinking while watching the episode. I blame/credit you.
Ahhhh...
This season is BY FAR one the best to arrive.
~Skeeter The Lurker
I'd argue that the moral in this story is to remember to have confidence in yourself. And don't meet your heroes cause they're most likely going to act like dicks.
I really can't get over how Daring nuzzles Dash. All Dash does is hug her, but Daring takes the extra step. I expected this story to end in a dream sequence, where Dash wakes up from having hurt herself during the beginning of this episode. But no, she gets to live the dream, and everything an obsessive fan would hope for comes true. It's a curious choice to make.
This season is so full of clop material! If this trend continues with the power pony episode, I will have such a raging boner...
Am I the only person who heard what Daring said as "until I've properly proposed"? As in Daring would be the one proposing? Which would make sense, since she would be the one giving the ring to him?
i.imgur.com/QY6aRrJ.jpg
This face will be the stuff of my nightmares.
Edit: I don't know about anyone else, but I really enjoyed seeing Ahuizotl. He's just so...heh, loud. He's a berserker if I ever did see one. I would have loved to see Ahuizotl and Daring Do duke it out.
Heh, after reading your take on it, Bronystories, I couldn't help but think the reason Ahuizotl was screaming and yelling all the time was because he was horny and couldn't wait to start this 800 years of heat.
~Have a good one.
1584850 It was just playful banter.
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Bronystories, I've come to realize that you always go on these random tangents before getting back on track, like in this post with John Turturro. Speaking of which, am I the only one asking myself why the hell an Aztec creature is in a My Little Pony show? It explains his tribal-like henchmen, but does that mean this show also uses the creatures from other ancient cultures?
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I shudder to think.
On a side note, one thing I'm getting sick of from people in general (not singling you out Bronystories) is that two characters cannot share a hug, caring words, or have a strong, strong bond of friendship without people screaming "SHIPPING!" It's like Frodo and Sam all over again; seriously.
Cannon accepted
Yeah, that didn't sit well with me either. I mean even with the Wonderbolts RD was half-way normal and they had been her stars since she was a little filly and are her dream and all that. Daring was a ficitonal character just minutes ago and yet RD acted as if nothing would be better than licking Daring's dirty hooves. Even Twily had limits with her Princess Celestia worshiping. ^^;
True that, same for Daring not seeing them as the EoH or that Twi is a princess (helloooo, Alicorn?). Come to think of it; Rainbow never introduced herself yet Daring knew her name at the end to thank her?
Which also didn't sit right with me as the others had helped just as much yet DD only thanked RD and stuff like the nuzzle and the book cover. But I put that into the "things that happened offscreen" like the apologizes of Shiny, Celly, etc after the ACW episode where only AJ apologized.
Like why didn't Twi ever used her stop momentum spell from the last episode? Surely would have been helpful in those fights.
Or why Twi was so adapt to NOT help Daring into SAVING the world, or at least a part of it?
Or why ALL of the Mane6 came with them though they hardly had anything to do/say during the entire episode? Heck, Rarity wasn't even shown in that fight with the henchponies. >.<
This would have worked so better in my opinion if it had only been three ponies going to Daring's home. More screentime to focus on Daring, RD, Twi and Pony X. <.<
Don't forget about the other element bearers or that one of them is a princess who should be able to call guards to put the mafia ponies and others under arrest for their crimes.
Which doesn't make sense as it was said that as long as one ring was missing Ahuizotl couldn't use the dick statue's evil powers. Plus how did she know he would come just the moment she was about to buy back the ring? Or that he would take her right away to the very place where he has the other rings and the statue so that DD can destroy it after freeing herself?
Then the golden rings are penisrings which increases your stamina, cum inflation, member size, etc. XDDD
I did too, though I would rank it a bit weaker than Castlevania episode from last week. I just really didn't liked how the "lesson" was worded. it sounded less than a lesson and more of a Rainbow polishes her ego, again- type of "lesson": :/
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Yes, I realize that it was playful banter. However, it generally helps if playful banter makes sense. The words that I heard make sense, the words that other people have heard (at least the people who are making the comics that Bronystories posted) don't make sense and are grammatically incorrect.
I'm not actually trying to say Daring Do loves Ahuizotl or something like that.
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another clop idea, the rings would make many years of heat. just not the heat Auizotl was expecting
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That's what I heard too. It's depressingly common I've found for misheard lines to end up repeated more frequently than what the characters were actually saying. I've been guilty of it myself from time to time, so much so that whenever I can I try to make it a habit to check the source of something before quoting it. I think it's related to the often underestimated unreliability of memory, which is being made more and more apparent through recent research.
That human Dash rape face you got was awsm! Props to the artist.
Also that picture of Chiara reminded me that my species are still kinda attractive. To the Fap Cave!!!
As usual, rather interesting. See you went rather bland and one sided in terms of hypothesis, or whatever the term is, and suggestions, as usual. Haven't had time to check out the r34 yet, but having hopeful, yet low expectations in terms of it. Considering most people tend to seem too half-assed, and/or unimaginative to break the norm.
I approve of the DarZotl shipping analysis! *is gonna write a shipfic*