Daring Do

Daring Do, or Daring Do Dazzle,The name "Daring Do Dazzle" is used for pony and human counterparts in some merchandise. also known as A.K. Yearling,When asked on Twitter whether Daring Do or A.K. Yearling was the character's real name, Daring Don't writer Dave Polsky replied "My head just exploded a little." When asked on DeviantArt if A.K. Yearling was Daring Do's real name, Amy Keating Rogers replied "I believe A.K. Yearling is her real name within the pony world, not an alias." is a female Pegasus pony, the titular character and the author of the Daring Do book series, based on her adventures. She first appears in storybook form in the season two episode Read It and Weep and physically debuts in the season four episode Daring Don't.__TOC__
==Development and design==
Daring Do's name is a play on the phrase derring-do, meaning "brave and adventurous, often reckless actions". She shares the same mane, tail, and eye design as Rainbow Dash, and their personality is similar. They differ in cutie mark (a compass rose), coat color, and Daring Do's "rainbow" hair which is grayscale; when she snatches the Sapphire Statue from Ahuizotl's hands, she leaves a grayscale rainbow trail behind her, like Rainbow Dash does in several episodes. She also shares the same design as Skywishes, Sugar Grape, Lucky Dreams, Sweetsong, Breezie, Feathermay, Periwinkle, Star Dasher, and sometimes Ploomette and Banana Bliss, the same tail style and eye color as WCE Unnamed Mare - Jouster, the same mane and tail style as Holly Dash, "Doseydotes", "Ballad", Léon, and Roku-chan, the same mane style as Andrea, and the same tail style as "Sunstone".
A.K. Yearling is a nod to and pun on British author J.K. Rowling. The name "Yearling" also refers to a horse between one and two years of age. In early December 2013, Dave Polsky was asked whether A. K. Yearling is a reference to Amy Keating Rogers and answered "Consciously, no. But subconsciously? Wow, I am so totally busted."
 Writer Cindy Morrow said that Daring Do's name was "Bravely Blue" in her pre-script, first outline. This name was eventually used for an alternate universe counterpart of Daring Do mentioned in the IDW comics' .
A layout artist for the show explained the similarity between Daring Do's outfit and Berryshine's Nightmare Night costume in Luna Eclipsed. In order to fill out the crowd scenes and due to time constraints, Daring Do's shirt was recolored and the outfit was then used as a costume. The shirt was recolored so that there were no future episode spoilers. Archived locally.
When asked why Rainbow and Daring are practically similar, Jim Miller responded "when we were starting DD's first appearance, we didn't know she'd ever come back. So it's just a recolored RD model."
==Depiction in the series==
===Season two===
 Daring Do and her books are introduced in Read It and Weep, when Twilight Sparkle brings Rainbow Dash the first book in the series, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Twilight says she owns all the books in the series and mentions to Dash that "You'd like Daring. She's a lot like you. Adventurous, fierce, and undeniably, unquestionably, unstoppable."
Later in the episode, Twilight calls the book Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue instead of Sapphire Stone and goes uncorrected.
 The book series depicts Daring Do as an adventurer and treasure hunter, exploring long lost temples and ruins for ancient artifacts. The aforementioned first book in the series sees her discovering a temple she'd searched for over two months. She surpasses the booby traps within and liberates a sapphire statuette shaped like a two-headed Anubis, all with an injured wing. Her search for this treasure puts her at odds with a dog-like creature named Ahuizotl. Through various trials and tribulations, Daring Do secures the sapphire statue from Ahuizotl's clutches and, in doing so, saves the world.
At the end of the episode, Rainbow Dash reads another book in the series, Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet.
In A Friend in Deed, Rainbow Dash reads a Daring Do book in Twilight's library. The book has a similar spine and cover as The Griffon's Goblet, but the title on the cover is Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone.
===Season three===
In Too Many Pinkie Pies, Rainbow Dash is seen reading The Sapphire Stone again.
===Season four===
 In Daring Don't, it is revealed that the author of the Daring Do books, A.K. Yearling, is Daring Do herself. It is established that the adventures recounted in the books are actually based on Daring Do's real adventures against treasure hunters and the series' villains, including the creature Ahuizotl.
In Testing Testing 1, 2, 3, Twilight Sparkle tells Rainbow Dash, "I don't know anypony that's read more Daring Do books than you."
In Trade Ya!, Rainbow Dash goes to the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange seeking a first-edition copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Like in Read It and Weep, the book is referred to as Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue several times. The two versions of the book shown in Trade Ya! present no distinction. However, they do differ from the version seen in Read It and Weep in that the back covers also contain a few darker lines in Trade Ya!
===Season five===
In Castle Sweet Castle, Daring Do appears on a poster labeled Daring Do: Riddle of the Sphinx.
In Tanks for the Memories, Rainbow suspects the reason for Tank's hibernation is reading too many Daring Do stories. She also reads him a Daring Do book at the end of the episode.
===Season six===
 In Flutter Brutter, Rainbow Dash reads Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny at the Shy residence to avoid talking to Zephyr Breeze, and A. K. Yearling appears depicted in a photograph in Pinkie Pie's wallet.
In Stranger Than Fan Fiction, Daring Do attends the Daring Do Convention under the guise of A. K. Yearling while eluding Dr. Caballeron, intent on keeping an artifact called the Amulet of Culiacan out of his possession and hiding amongst Daring Do cosplayers. When Dr. Caballeron abducts Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants in order to lure Daring Do out, Daring comes to their rescue.
With Rainbow and Quibble's help, Daring Do secures a treasure called the Seven-Sided Chest of Chicomoztoc and delivers it to a museum.
===Season seven===
In A Royal Problem, Daring Do appears in a dream bubble as Princess Celestia views the dreams of everyone in Equestria.
In Fame and Misfortune, when Twilight's friends make remarks about the friendship lessons written in their friendship journal, Rainbow Dash mentions about the lesson she learned when first meeting Daring Do in person. After copies of the journal get published all over Equestria, Princess Erroria, among other foals, asks Rainbow Dash to tell them her story of Daring Do again despite the fact they heard the story from her multiple times.
 In Daring Done?, Daring Do unexpectedly announces A. K. Yearling's retirement from writing books, which she reveals is the result of her bad reputation in Southern Equestria for causing damage wherever she goes. Through Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie's urging, Daring discovers that her bad reputation is part of Dr. Caballeron's evil scheme to steal a collection of priceless glowpaz from the villagers of Somnambula. With Rainbow and Pinkie's help, Daring gets her confidence and hope back and decides to continue writing books.
In Shadow Play - Part 1, Daring Do helps Pinkie Pie recover Somnambula's blindfold from a pit of green slime.
===Season eight===
In The End in Friend, Starlight Glimmer attempts to resolve a conflict between Rainbow Dash and Rarity by having them read each other's favorite books, with Dash reading Shadow Spade and Rarity reading Daring Do. This does not turn out as well as planned, with the two finding fault in each others' books.
===Best Gift Ever===
In the holiday special My Little Pony Best Gift Ever, Fluttershy plans to purchase a copy of Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny from Teddie Safari at the Rainbow Falls Hearth's Warming Craft Fair for Rainbow Dash, but her attention then gets drawn by Flim and Flam.
===Season nine===
 Daring gets mentioned twice by Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants in Common Ground. She also gets mentioned in A Trivial Pursuit in the question of how many holes there are in her hat, to which Rainbow Dash correctly answers twenty.
In Daring Doubt, Daring Do's character (and A. K. Yearling's writing) is called into question when Dr. Caballeron publishes his own book exposing Daring Do's mistakes and secrets. When Fluttershy is recruited by Caballeron to find the Truth Talisman of Tonatiuh, Daring Do helps Rainbow Dash save her. At Tonatiuh's temple, she learns that Caballeron and Fluttershy have become friends, that Ahuizotl is actually the guardian of the Tenochtitlan Basin, and that she has been unwittingly robbing his land of its artifacts for years. In the end, Daring promises to stop stealing artifacts from the Tenochtitlan Basin, and she and Caballeron co-write the next Daring Do book (which is upstaged by Ahuizotl's own book release, to A.K.'s amusement).
In The Last Problem, A. K. Yearling attends Twilight Sparkle's coronation ceremony. Daring Do also briefly appears in Rainbow Dash's group shot during The Magic of Friendship Grows.
===Clip show===
Daring Do gets mentioned by Twilight in Rainbow Dash's flashback of Read It and Weep in Deep Tissue Memories.
===Appearances===
==Depiction in Equestria Girls==
===Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks===
In Rainbow Rocks, Spike is seen reading a Daring Do novel in Equestria.
===Equestria Girls: Dance Magic===
In Dance Magic, Rainbow Dash comes up with a music video concept that Twilight Sparkle points out appears to have been lifted from the latest Daring Do book.
===Equestria Girls: Movie Magic===
In Movie Magic, the Equestria Girls are invited by A. K. Yearling onto the set of the Daring Do movie. A. K. Yearling does not make a physical appearance, but it is mentioned that she personally designed and approved all of the props used in the movie. Actress Chestnut Magnifico is also cast to play Daring Do in the film.
===Equestria Girls: Mirror Magic===
The special Mirror Magic is set on the premiere of the Daring Do movie. Chestnut Magnifico appears as Daring Do on posters in the Canterlot Mall movie theater, and she is mentioned throughout the special.
===Equestria Girls: Summertime Shorts===
In Leaping Off the Page, Rainbow Dash reads Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds and imagines herself living her adventures. In The Canterlot Movie Club, Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders go to the Canterlot Mall movie theater for a viewing of the Daring Do movie. Chestnut Magnifico again appears as Daring Do on posters.
===Better Together/Choose Your Own Ending===
In The Last Day of School, Miss Cheerilee plays Daring Do vs. the Swamp Monster for Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash's final class. She is again played by Chestnut Magnifico in the film.
In the second season, Chestnut Magnifico appears as Daring Do in a poster in Rainbow Dash's locker in Run to Break Free and Sock It to Me.
===Equestria Girls: Holidays Unwrapped===
A stand-up cardboard cutout of Chestnut Magnifico as Daring Do appears on display in the "Trend of the Line" store at the Canterlot Mall store where Zephyr Breeze works in the "Dashing Through the Mall" short.
==Depiction in My Little Pony: Pony Life==
In The Tiara of Truth, Rainbow Dash (while under the tiara's influence) admits that she was late for Pinkie Pie's cupcake taste test because she was reading the new Daring Do book.
==Depiction in comics==
 On page 22 of the story The Return of Queen Chrysalis, Rainbow Dash says "I feel like Daring Do! A pony of adventure! We're off on a quest!" On page 6 of , Twilight Sparkle mentions having "read Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue". An outfit with the same design and color scheme as Daring Do's outfit is worn by Rainbow Dash on the Hot Topic cover of . On page 10 of the story, Daring Do appears with another pony in Rainbow Dash's imagination, and Rainbow Dash says "Aw, man! Daring Do would, like, make a crazy explosion out of, like, ducktape and Applejack's hair and boom! We'd be free!" in response to Applejack saying "I wish Daring Do was here to help us now."
On page 18 of , a pony resembling Daring Do appears at the Ponyville Flea Market wearing a hat similar to Daring Do's pith helmet. A parade balloon of Daring Do appears on page 6 of the story. On page 8 of the story, a plaque reading "Daring Do" appears on a wall with other awards in Shining Armor's flashback; this unscripted detail was added by artist Andy Price, who has stated that it "could be 'the Daring Do Award', or something like that... Imagination comes into play :)" and that "it could be a Daring Do Award for Authors... or an award for a book about the character rather than the DD series..." A comic book featuring Daring Do appears being read by Spike on pages 1, 2, and 3 of .
Daring Do appears in book pictures in cover B and the Hot Topic cover of , and she herself appears in the issue's story. As Rainbow Dash assumes the role of Daring Do in the world of one of her books, the fictional Daring Do appears in Ponyville. Of , an outfit with a similar design to and the same color scheme as Daring Do's outfit is worn by Rainbow Dash on a cover, Daring Do appears on cover RI, and the fictional Daring Do in Ponyville helps Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike before she is sent back. In , a note in an alternate universe reads "Daring Do over here is Bravely Blue?" A picture of Daring Do appears in Phoenix Comics & Games (and Everfree Northwest) exclusive cover RE of .
Daring Do appears on page 3 of . A book titled Daring Do and the Secret of the High Cholesterol Test appears on page 5 of . A book titled Daring Do and the Legend of the Lost Art appears on pages 1, 2, 17, 18, and 22 of . Daring Do is alluded to throughout , with multiple book titles mentioned on page 18.
In , Daring Do enlists Fluttershy's help in uncovering the ancient treasure of Queen Parabola. Since their quest requires finding a Callobius cartographica, or "map spider", Daring needs Fluttershy's help because she is allergic to spiders. It is later revealed that Daring is not allergic to spiders but afraid of them, and Fluttershy helps her overcome her fear. On page 2, an airship-docking sign reads "Daring Do Lot" and bears Daring Do's image. On , Daring Do appears in Ponyville during Nightmare Night on page 3.
A.K. Yearling appears in the second story of My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Canterlot High: March Radness, holding a signing session for her newest book. Afterwards, she signs a book for Rainbow Dash at Applejack's request.
In , Quibble Pants reads a comic titled Daring Do Meets the Power Ponies.
In , Rainbw Dash mentions reading a new Daring Do book. A Daring Do doll is also one of many items returned to their owners by the kraken.
In , the book Daring Do and the Curse of the Basaltic Caves is featured.
==Other depictions==
===Chapter books===
In the first chapter of Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, "A Crown Achievement", Spike shows Twilight a Daring Do book in her library: Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower (also called Terrifying Towers in Stranger Than Fan Fiction). He uses the book to explain to Twilight that she should seek guidance about her new role as a princess from others with similar experience, as Daring Do seeks tips from "Professor A. B. Ravenhoof" about overcoming her fears.
In Rainbow Dash and the Daring Do Double Dare, "Rainbow Dash has always been a huge fan of the Daring Do series, but when the newest book comes out, it's Daring Do madness! The pony wants to prove she can be just a brave and 'daring' as her hero. Before she knows it, she becomes 'Daring Dash.' and is doing all sorts of crazy things—tightrope walking (no wings!), hot chili pepper eating, and even sneaking inside a spooky old barn. But when Rainbow Dash offers to help Zecora by entering a scary, haunted forest alone, her friends worry she's jumping into too much danger. Just how daring should one pony be?"
A collection of three novels starring Daring Do entitled The Daring Do Adventure Collection was released on October 7, 2014. The novels are credited to being written by A.K. Yearling but in reality are written by G.M. Berrow. The book even includes an "about the author" about Yearling:
A.K. Yearling's adventure novels starring the fearless Daring Do have been recognized as the best-selling series in Equestria history. Yearling holds a degree in Literature from Pranceton University. After college, she briefly worked as a researcher at the National Archives for Equestrian Artifacts and Ponthropology in Canterlot. During that time, she wrote an essay based on her findings on the Griffon territories entitled "What was the Name of that Griffon Again? Or Beak and Roaming Studies Recalled." It was published last year by the University of Equexeter's journal, Pegasus. She enjoys quiet time at home alone and long trots on the beach.
In Beyond Equestria: Rainbow Dash Rights the Ship, Daring Do helps Rainbow Dash and Captain Celaeno search for a magical object called the Good Fortune Garnet.
===Baby Flurry Heart's Heartfelt Scrapbook===
Daring Do appears in a photograph in All About Alicorns, Land of Harmony, and The Magic of Friendship.
===Fundamentals of Magic===
Daring Do appears in Types of Magic and Magical Objects.
===HubNetwork.com description===
Brave, adventurous Daring Do is the mane character in Rainbow Dash's favorite books. She travels Equestria and faces untold dangers while exploring ancient temples in search of treasure. Rainbow Dash is thrilled to discover that Daring Do is a real Pegasus who poses as reclusive author A.K. Yearling to write about her own real adventures.
===My Little Pony mobile game descriptions===
A Pegasus pony who hunts for treasure, Daring Do is adventurous, fierce, and undeniably, unquestionably unstoppable.
One of Equestria's most famous novelists, A. K. Yearling is the author of the best-selling "Daring Do" book series which includes such classics as "The Quest for the Sapphire Stone" and "The Griffon's Goblet".
===The Elements of Harmony Vol. II guidebook===
DARING DO, also known as A. K. YEARLING, is the title character and author of the Daring Do books. She sometimes attends the Daring Do Conventions as her author alter ego as a cover for new daring adventures.
==Merchandise==
A Daring Do Dazzle miniature collectible is included in the Daring Pony Story Set with Princess Twilight Sparkle and rainbowfied Rainbow Dash. A Ponymania Fashion Style brushable toy of Daring Do Dazzle was leaked in April 2015. Daring Do/A.K. Yearling respectively appears on the Season 2 and season 4 posters.
Series 1 of Enterplay's trading cards includes a Mare Do Well & Daring Do card, #28. The back of the card shows their names both with trademark symbols. They are listed as a unicorn and pegasus, respectively. The description is divided into two paragraphs, one for each character, with Daring Do's reading "Daring Do is a treasure-hunting pony and the star of Rainbow Dash's favorite book series. Whether escaping crushing walls, a pit of snakes, or a giant rolling boulder, Daring Do is undeniably, unquestionably unstoppable!"
In Enterplay's collectible card game, α #152 R and α #ƒ40, cards of Ahuizotl, attribute to A.K. Yearling the quote "When writing a villain it's important that he comes to life as vividly in the reader's imagination as he does for the author." In the game's expansion set Canterlot Nights, , a card of A. K. Yearling, gives her the description "A.K. Yearling was once asked if she would ever write an autobiography. No one understood why she started laughing." In the game's expansion set The Crystal Games, and #ƒ5, cards of Daring Do, list the quote "Medusas... Why did it have to be medusas?", and , a card of Biff attributes to him and Daring Do the respective quotes "Running away, Daring Do? What are you, chicken?" and "Nopony calls me chicken..."
On August 19, 2014, Funko released a vinyl figure of Daring Do Dazzle.
An Equestria Girls Minis doll of Daring Do Dazzle is scheduled for release in Fall 2017.
===Magazines===
In the Signature My Little Pony magazine issue 69 comic Daring friends and the missing story!, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer visit A.K. Yearling in her jungle cottage as part of Starlight's friendship lessons. They help A.K. clean up her messy home and track down one of her long-lost Daring Do manuscripts.
==Personality==
 Daring Do is depicted as a very cunning, fierce, and determined explorer. She has been shown to be incredibly intelligent, using her wits to solve puzzles, pull off disguises, and escape many of Ahuizotl's death traps. However, it is revealed in Daring Don't that she is a loner, often rejecting company and help whenever it is offered to her, as seen when she turns down Rainbow Dash's, and in an earlier adventure Dr. Caballeron's, offers to help her. It is revealed that through all of the secrecy that comes with her dangerous adventures, Daring Do taught herself not to trust anyone at all. Yet during the climax of the episode, she does open up a little after Rainbow Dash rescues her from Ahuizotl's trap and asserts her friendship towards Daring, and she later admits that sometimes even she could use a little help. At the very end, Daring seems to have lost some of her introverted nature as she develops a bond with Rainbow Dash, to the point where she writes about her in her latest book.
 While she tends to be reckless and irresponsible (unknowingly causing destruction while on her adventures), she is genuinely regretful when she realizes the damage her actions have caused for the village of Somnambula. She also shows regret when she discovers that Ahuizotl is actually a guardian, and that she has been stealing relics he was charged with protecting.
Despite her longstanding rivalry with Dr. Caballeron, she is perfecty willing to work with him to defeat the guardiangoyles and try to escape Ahuizotl. She even collaborates with him on a book after they both promise not to take relics from Ahuizotl's home, showing a level of forgiveness.
==Design and identity==
Daring Do is very similar in appearance to Rainbow Dash. Her body color is somewhere between dark khaki and arylide yellow. For most of Read it and Weep, she has one wing wrapped up in a series of white bandages. Her manestyle is identical to Rainbow Dash's, and consists of six shades of grey that correspond to the six colors in Rainbow Dash's mane; this color combination is often referred to as a grayscale rainbow. Her eyes are raspberry red, with straight eyelashes, exactly the same as Rainbow Dash's. Her cutie mark is a compass rose, which probably represents a talent for exploration and a strong sense for adventure, as would befit her name. Daring's outfit consists of a dark olivine vest and a tan pith helmet with a dark olive band.
Daring Don't reveals that Daring Do and author A.K. Yearling are actually the same pony. In her guise as the reclusive author, she disguises her appearance with a purple shawl, a grey cloche and heavy red-framed spectacles. She also evidently hides that she is a Pegasus.
==Homage to Indiana Jones==
:See also the section for Read It and Weep on the list of allusions in season two
There are several allusions to the Indiana Jones franchise in Read It and Weep and Daring Don't:
*The harp plucking that plays when Daring Do first enters the temple bears a strong resemblance to the music that plays in the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indiana Jones casually brushes spiders off of his back.
*The sunlight shining into the chamber is a reference to the map room scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the sunlight shines on a crystal at the center of the room.
*The way Daring Do makes her way to the Sapphire Stone's pedestal mirrors a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where the titular hero navigates a trap floor by only stepping on the correct tiles.
*The scene where Daring Do retrieves the Sapphire Stone mirrors a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indiana Jones retrieves an idol statue from a pedestal.
*In Daring Don't, Daring Do briefly makes use of a whip, the signature tool of Indiana Jones.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
==See also==
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==Notes==
==References==
de:Daring Do
es:Daring Do
gl:Daring Do
id:Daring Do
it:Daring Do
ja:Daring Do
ko:대어링 두
pl:Dzielna Do
ru:Дэринг Ду
th:Daring Do
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