# Daring Don't > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daring_Don't > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daring_Don't.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daring_Don't > Source revision: 1333975941 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 4th episode of the 4th season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic "Daring Don't" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode Rainbow Dash (left) watches helplessly as Ahuizotl carries Daring Do into his fortress. Episode no. Season 4 Episode 4 Written by Dave Polsky Original air date December 7, 2013 (2013-12-07) Running time 22 minutes Episode chronology ← Previous "Castle Mane-ia" Next → "Flight to the Finish" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 4 List of episodes "**Daring Don't**" is the fourth episode of the [fourth season](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_season_4) of the [animated television series](/source/Animated_series) *[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic](/source/My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic)*. The episode was written by [Dave Polsky](/source/Dave_Polsky). It originally aired on [The Hub](/source/Discovery_Family#As_Hub_Network_(2010–2014)) on December 7, 2013. In this episode, [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) and her friends discover that A.K. Yearling (a nod to author [J.K. Rowling](/source/J.K._Rowling)[1]), the author of the [Daring Do](/source/Daring_Do) books, is actually Daring Do herself. ## Plot External videos Daring Don't (full episode) — Official upload of the episode onto YouTube My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Equestria Toyline Cutie mark Elements of Harmony Pony Spin-offs My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013–2020)(List of animations) My Little Pony: Pony Life (2020–2021)(List of episodes) Characters Mane Six Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie Applejack Fluttershy Rarity Supporting Spike Princess Celestia Princess Luna Princess Cadance Shining Armor Discord Starlight Glimmer Trixie Zecora Antagonists Queen Chrysalis Lord Tirek Cozy Glow Minor Derpy Hooves Background Six Cheese Sandwich Quibble Pants The Wonderbolts Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer Seasons & episodes Season 1 (2010–2011) "Friendship Is Magic" "The Ticket Master" "Applebuck Season" "Griffon the Brush Off" "Boast Busters" "Dragonshy" "Look Before You Sleep" "Bridle Gossip" "Swarm of the Century" "Winter Wrap Up" "Call of the Cutie" "Fall Weather Friends" "Suited for Success" "Feeling Pinkie Keen" "Sonic Rainboom" "Stare Master" "The Show Stoppers" "A Dog and Pony Show" "Green Isn't Your Color" "Over a Barrel" "A Bird in the Hoof" "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" "Owl's Well That Ends Well" "Party of One" "The Best Night Ever" Season 2 (2011–2012) "The Return of Harmony" "Lesson Zero" "Luna Eclipsed" "Sisterhooves Social" "The Cutie Pox" "May the Best Pet Win!" "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" "Sweet and Elite" "Secret of My Excess" "Hearth's Warming Eve" "Family Appreciation Day" "Baby Cakes" "The Last Roundup" "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" "Read It and Weep" "Hearts and Hooves Day" "A Friend in Deed" "Putting Your Hoof Down" "It's About Time" "Dragon Quest" "Hurricane Fluttershy" "Ponyville Confidential" "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" "A Canterlot Wedding" Season 3 (2012–2013) "The Crystal Empire" "Too Many Pinkie Pies" "One Bad Apple" "Magic Duel" "Sleepless in Ponyville" "Wonderbolts Academy" "Apple Family Reunion" "Spike at Your Service" "Keep Calm and Flutter On" "Just for Sidekicks" "Games Ponies Play" "Magical Mystery Cure" Season 4 (2013–2014) "Princess Twilight Sparkle" "Castle Mane-ia" "Daring Don't" "Flight to the Finish" "Power Ponies" "Bats!" "Rarity Takes Manehattan" "Pinkie Apple Pie" "Rainbow Falls" "Three's a Crowd" "Pinkie Pride" "Simple Ways" "Filli Vanilli" "Twilight Time" "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" "Somepony to Watch Over Me" "Maud Pie" "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" "Leap of Faith" "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" "Trade Ya!" "Inspiration Manifestation" "Equestria Games" "Twilight's Kingdom" Season 5 (2015) "The Cutie Map" "Castle Sweet Castle" "Tanks for the Memories" "Slice of Life" "Amending Fences" "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" "Made in Manehattan" "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" "The Hooffields and McColts" "The Cutie Re-Mark" Season 6 (2016) "A Hearth's Warming Tail" "The Times They Are a Changeling" Season 7 (2017) "The Perfect Pear" Season 8 (2018) "Grannies Gone Wild" Season 9 (2019) "The Last Crusade" Series finale Media Films & specials My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever (2018) My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip (2019) Music Theme song "This Day Aria" Movie Soundtrack "Rainbow" "Off to See the World" Games My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day Gameloft video game Collectible card game Other media Home video releases IDW comics Issues My Little Pony/Transformers Brony fandom Fan works (list) 15.ai Voiceverse NFT plagiarism scandal A Brony Tale Bronies (documentary) Derpibooru Equestria Daily Fimfiction Fallout: Equestria Friendship Is Witchcraft Legends of Equestria Love & Ponystep Ponysona PONY.MOV Them's Fightin' Herds Fandom people 15 hotdiggedydemon Jenny Nicholson Odyssey Eurobeat Sethisto The Living Tombstone Vylet Pony Fan culture Analysis Brony music Bronyspeak Charity Criticism Fan art Clop Ponysona Fan fiction Military bronies /mlp/ Online communities My Little Pony conventions BABSCon BronyCAN BronyCon Czequestria Everfree Northwest GalaCon Ponyville Ciderfest RuBronyCon TrotCon UK PonyCon Vanhoover Pony Expo v t e [Rainbow Dash](/source/Rainbow_Dash) becomes devastated when [Twilight](/source/Twilight_Sparkle) informs her that the next [Daring Do](/source/Daring_Do) novel has been delayed by two additional months, pushing the release date back to six months total. Convinced that author A.K. Yearling must be too busy with mundane tasks to focus on writing, Rainbow decides to track her down and offer assistance with daily chores so she can concentrate on completing the book. Despite Twilight's initial reluctance, she agrees to help locate the author's residence, and the [Mane Six](/source/Mane_Six) travel to find A.K. Yearling. When they arrive at A.K. Yearling's home, they find it ransacked and apparently abandoned, but the author soon returns and begins searching through the debris while ignoring her unexpected visitors. The Mane Six watch in shock as three stallions break into the cottage and surround A.K. Yearling, who throws off her disguise to reveal that she is actually Daring Do herself, the protagonist of her own novels. Dr. Caballeron appears and steals a golden ring from Daring Do before escaping with his henchmen, leaving the Mane Six stunned. Rainbow Dash eagerly volunteers to help Daring Do retrieve the stolen artifact, but her nervous excitement and tendency to call out at crucial moments repeatedly sabotages the mission. During a nighttime confrontation at Caballeron's camp, Rainbow inadvertently alerts the villain Ahuizotl to Daring's presence when she tries to return a dropped helmet. Ahuizotl captures both the ring and Daring Do as a result and carries his prisoner into the jungle. Rainbow Dash joins her friends in following Ahuizotl to his fortress, where they discover him preparing to use the golden ring in a ritual that will bring oppressive heat to the region. The Mane Six work together to disrupt the ceremony while Rainbow rescues Daring Do from a [piranha](/source/Piranha)-filled death trap. In the fortress's central chamber, Rainbow and Daring remove a stack of the ring's counterparts from an altar, and Daring admits that she intentionally got captured to access the location but needed Rainbow's help to lift the heavy artifacts. After the rings are successfully removed, the fortress collapses, thwarting Ahuizotl. Daring Do thanks Rainbow for her assistance before departing to finish her delayed novel. Some time later, Rainbow receives a package containing the completed book, which features cover art depicting both Daring Do and Rainbow Dash together. ## Development According to Brian Lenard of [Hasbro Studios](/source/Hasbro_Studios), DHX expanding on the lighting effects of Season 4 (particularly in "Daring Don't") was a "spectacular surprise". Phil Caesar of [DHX Media](/source/DHX_Media) stated that he tried to base the episode on an "*[Indiana Jones](/source/Indiana_Jones)* kind of feel in lighting and color."[2] ## Reception Sherilyn Connelly, the author of *Ponyville Confidential*, gave the episode a "D" rating.[3] She wrote that some viewers criticized show creator [Lauren Faust](/source/Lauren_Faust) for the racial undertones of the episode, though Faust had been long unaffiliated with the show by then.[4] In a critical analysis of the episode, author Jen A. Blue described "Daring Don't" as "frankly, bizarre" and criticized the decision to make Daring Do a real character rather than remaining fictional, calling it "utterly baffling." Blue argued that there is a fundamental incompatibility between *Friendship Is Magic* and Daring Do adventures, noting that Daring Do's insistence that she works alone conflicts with the show's core theme that "[Equestria](/source/Equestria) is a world that runs on the magic of friendship." Blue criticized the episode's structure as awkwardly stitching a complete Daring Do story onto an incomplete *Friendship Is Magic* story, arguing that it "starts as a slightly-off episode of *Friendship Is Magic*, but then transforms jarringly into an episode of some action-heavy other show." Blue expressed concern that the episode represented part of a troubling trend where the show was moving away from its character-focused roots toward action and adventure elements.[5] Daniel Alvarez of *Unleash The Fanboy* gave the episode a rating of 4 out of 5 and called it "a fun adventure story with great action," praising how Daring Do easily steals the show with her personality. Alvarez noted that while Rainbow Dash was rather annoying with her constant whining, the fantastic Daring Do made up for it and the episode featured plenty of action that fans would be happy about.[6] Sofie Liv of *The Agony Booth* gave the episode a rating of 2 out of 5 and called it "below average," criticizing that the episode's message has been done before and better on the show. Liv wrote it was odd that Rainbow Dash was rewarded for imposing on Daring Do rather than learning about respect and decency, since Rainbow Dash "was clearly the one in the wrong" and should have been the one to learn a lesson.[7] In an article arguing that *Friendship Is Magic* is a work of [high fantasy](/source/High_fantasy), Megan Crouse of *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)* described "Daring Don't" as "an earnest, upbeat episode" but also wrote that the episode is "one of the less magical events in the season," functioning more as a [detective story](/source/Detective_story) about Yearling keeping her [alter ego](/source/Alter_ego) secret rather than involving mystical powers.[8] ## See also - [List of *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* episodes](/source/List_of_My_Little_Pony%3A_Friendship_Is_Magic_episodes) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Nguyen, Hanh (2013-12-06). ["Exclusive Video: My Little Pony Pays Tribute to Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling"](https://www.tvguide.com/news/my-little-pony-video-harry-potter-jk-rowling-1074301/). *[TV Guide](/source/TV_Guide)*. Retrieved 2025-07-02. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Begin, Mary Jane (2015). *My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria*. New York: Abrams. pp. 189–192. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4197-1577-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4197-1577-8). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 80 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Connelly (2017)](#CITEREFConnelly2017), p. 94 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Blue-S4_5-0)** Blue, Jen A. (2021-12-27). "Another day, another dungeon! (Daring Don't)". *My Little Po-Mo: Unauthorized Critical Essays on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season Four and Beyond*. pp. 31–35. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Alvarez, Daniel (2013-12-07). ["My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 'Daring Don't' Review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200428192308/http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-daring-dont-review). *Unleash The Fanboy*. Archived from [the original](http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/little-pony-friendship-magic-daring-dont-review) on 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2025-07-02. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Liv, Sofie (2013-12-16). ["My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic "Daring Don't""](https://web.archive.org/web/20201020031322/https://www.agonybooth.com/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-daring-dont-s04e04-19203). *The Agony Booth*. Archived from [the original](https://www.agonybooth.com/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-daring-dont-s04e04-19203) on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2025-07-03. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Crouse, Megan (2014-12-21). ["Why My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is "Serious" Fantasy"](https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/why-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-is-serious-fantasy/). *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)*. Retrieved 2025-07-07. ### Bibliography - Connelly, Sherilyn (2017-04-01). [*Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ponyville_Confidential/E3VPDgAAQBAJ). McFarland. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4766-6209-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4766-6209-1). ## External links - ["Daring Don't"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3099918/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Season 4 "Princess Twilight Sparkle" "Castle Mane-ia" "Daring Don't" "Flight to the Finish" "Power Ponies" "Bats!" "Rarity Takes Manehattan" "Pinkie Apple Pie" "Rainbow Falls" "Three's a Crowd" "Pinkie Pride" "Simple Ways" "Filli Vanilli" "Twilight Time" "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" "Somepony to Watch Over Me" "Maud Pie" "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils" "Leap of Faith" "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3" "Trade Ya!" "Inspiration Manifestation" "Equestria Games" "Twilight's Kingdom" --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daring Don't](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daring_Don't) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daring_Don't?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.