Daring Do is totally George Lucas, guys! · 5:22am Aug 3rd, 2016
Chris posited on his blog an interesting bit of headcanon about Stranger Than Fanfiction: That the first three Daring Do books felt different because they were ghostwritten by someone that was brought on to smarten up the plot – who should be Twilight's Mom, in order to revive an old bit of fanon. That is a fun angle, but it doesn't go deep enough.
You see, the whole explanation given by Quibble Pants on the show about the installments after the original trilogy being terrible is taken verbatim from common criticisms of Star Wars and Indiana Jones – saying that only the original trilogy actually exists, that the first ones were smart and sincere nods to older serials, and how they devolved into a series of impossible action set pieces. This would mean that A.K. Yearling is an analogue to George, but there is something more: Daring Do was always meant to mirror Rainbow Dash, particularly in how much she is headstrong and an action junkie.
Well, it is often said that much of the reason for why Star Wars and Indiana Jones lost their charm is because George Lucas got too much free reign, as people wouldn't have the courage to say no to his worst ideas. And, given what we know about Dash's personality, wouldn't that make sense for Daring Do too? By this logic A.K. Yearling used to accept the ideas of an editor, who would try to pull her away from the pure "awesomeness" that she wanted, and towards something more controlled and cerebral.
Now, remember that the Daring Do series really appealed to two ponies of the mane 6: Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. And, just like Rainbow has a personality close to the writer, wouldn't it make sense if this mysterious editor was likewise similar to Twilight – somepony like her mother? This then finally ties the little thing from the comic which always propped the "Twilight Velvet = A.K. Yearling" theory: That she has a plaque for the series. This wouldn't make sense if she was a ghostwriter, who you wouldn't want to take credit for the creation, but would certainly fit with her role as the editor.
WOAH MAN!
I find myself suddenly wishing Twilight had gotten to go to that con. Maybe she gets roped into doing princess stuff and can't enjoy most of it, but I just want a scene where she encounters Quibble, finds out what happened, and is like, "Well, I got into the series for the puzzle-solving, but I find I enjoy the action just as much anymore." Like, for the third type of fan, who likes everything because they just genuinely do.
Interesting theory. The fact that Quibble hammered how "unrealistic" the later books were made me suspect the difference is that Daring Do actually got an editor/co-writer for her later books, and that author exaggerated Daring Do's action sequences to appeal to a broader audience. I could see Twilight Velvet making Daring Do's wings be broken in a lot of action sequences.