Season 7 Episode 18: Daring Done?
The episode starts out with Pinkie and Rainbow purchasing a newspaper from a local crier. While Pinkie seems genuinely interested in the articles, Rainbow is unenthusiastic. That's until one story catches her attention; it would seem as though A. K. Yearling is retiring, much to Rainbow's amazement. Roll opening credits!
After the opening, the scene cuts straight to Pinkie and Rainbow off to confront A. K. Yearling directly. Pinkie conjectures that she may not want visitors, though Rainbow insists that if A. K. Yearling is retiring, it means that something is seriously wrong, and that she may be in danger. They spot her through the window, and Pinkie points out that she appears to be visibly distressed.
The pair burst in, and question A.K. as to why she's retiring. A.K. reveals that on her last excursion, she started seeing flyers from Southern Equestria that cast Daring Do in an unfavourable light, destroying numerous buildings in her frantic encounters. She complains that everyone is mad at her, and Pinkie raises the point that they're mad at Daring Do, not A. K. Yearling herself. Considering A. K. Yearling looks nothing like Daring Do, she has nothing to worry about. The trio agree to head to Somnambula to inquire about Daring Do's name.
As they travel to Somnambula, A. K. mentions how she based one of her books off of her experiences there. Pinkie asks what happened in the book, and Rainbow revels in Daring's exploits. Encountering a salespony, Rainbow inquires as to the notoriety of Daring Do. The salespony reveals that Daring Do has destroyed numerous parts of the town, and a hooded figure agrees with him. Rainbow insists that they picked a bad example of someone to ask, though A. K. thinks that they should just head home. Pinkie spots a nearby inn that Daring Do used to stay at all the time, so conjectures that the ponies there must love Daring Do.
Entering the inn and noticing the clerk's elegant attire, Pinkie attempts to talk in an upper-class manner to her. The clerk responds in a common manner, questioning what Pinkie is even talking about. She goes on to say that Daring Do left in such a hurry on her last stay that she didn't even pay her bill. Rainbow tries to explain that Daring Do only left in a rush because she had to return an artifact before a curse took effect, though this isn't really appreciated. The clerk additionally brings up how Daring Do also apparently stole a necklace from a patron, who she points to off screen. The patron is revealed to be the hooded figure from earlier, who tries to entice further anger towards Daring Do, encouraging several others to meet him at the town statue in the morning.
In the morning, Rainbow and Pinkie head to the statue to confront the hooded figure. The figure is busy inciting hatred, as Rainbow exclaims that Daring Do would never steal from anyone. She goes on to explain that although Daring Do destroyed the statue, it was only because she was trying to save the villagers from Ahuizotl. Surprisingly, none of the villagers have heard of Ahuizotl, so Rainbow tries to characterise him to them. They still don't recall him, so Pinkie claims to remember him, attempting to incite herd mentality. The others start to worry about Ahuizotl, as Rainbow states that the statue was a small loss compared to what *could* have happened.
An elderly local disagrees, and explains just *why* the statue was so important to the village, through means of a flashback. In the past, the village fell prey to an evil sphinx. The sphinx kidnapped the son of the pharaoh, and the only pony who would stand up to the sphinx was Somnambula. As is the stereotypical Archillie's heel of sphinxes, this one offered to release the prince if Somnambula could answer a simple riddle. Although Somnambula answered correctly, she was worried about the sphinx's anger at her doing so, so offered to solve a second task. This second task involved walking across a rickety bridge above slime blindfolded. Considering how wide the bridge was, and Somnambula's ability to simply walk in a straight line, this was also easily accomplished. As such, the sphinx relinquished the prince's captivity. As a reward, the prince offered Somnambula a string of glowpaz, which became the symbol of hope throughout the town.
As the resident finishes telling the story, Rainbow exclaims that she had no idea of the significance of the statue. She thinks that if Somnambula were still around, she would support Daring Do, as they both fought to protect the town. The hooded figure disagrees with this, and Rainbow asks what his problem with Daring Do is. He takes off his hood to reveal that he's actually Caballeron (despite it being incredibly obvious even while hooded). He proceeds to thank Daring Do for coming to the town, as in doing so she's lead Daring Do right to him. He then somehow proceeds to kidnap Rainbow Dash, in broad daylight, with dozens of witnesses.
Pinkie and A. K. Yearling (now as Daring Do) race off to rescue Rainbow Dash, somehow knowing exactly where Caballeron would have taken her. Contrivedly, Rainbow is being held in the pyramid, tied to the exact same support as the prince was. Caballeron exclaims that if his previous remarks didn't ruin Daring Do's reputation, then her losing Rainbow Dash to the slime would. Again stereotypically, Caballeron then leaves before ensuring that they actually fail to rescue Rainbow Dash. Considering there's no bridge this time, Pinkie and A. K. have to come up with a new plan, and this involves hopping over conveniently-placed steam vents. What? Rainbow thanks them for rescuing her, the trio hop back across the vents and they all leave the pyramid.
Back at the village, the villagers confront Caballeron, and quickly realise that *he* is actually the one who stole their glowpaz. Daring Do comes to the conclusion that he sullied her name in order to allow himself to be free to steal whatever he wanted. Considering the trail of destruction Daring Do leaves in her wake, Caballeron emphasises how easy it was to label her as the villain. As he flees, Caballeron reminds the villagers that Daring Do destroyed their statue, and that they're fools to believe in her. The villagers forgive her for this though, and Daring Do thanks Pinkie and Rainbow for helping her come to her senses. Apparently the moral of the story is a two parter; even if you're fighting for good, you're still responsible for your actions, but if something bad happens that you didn't intend, you shouldn't lose faith in yourself. The trio share a laugh, as the credits roll.
Overall, this was a great episode. Daring Do excursions are always handled incredibly well, and this was no exception. Both Pinkie and Rainbow were in-character and hilarious. Even Caballeron was well-portrayed, and it was particularly nice to play on the Assassin's Creed feel with regards to his premise. The environments were vivid and believable, and several new 'themed' characters were introduced. Just about the only thing I can complain about is the fact that although the episode felt well-paced, it didn't feel as though much planning went into the ending. Hopping across the vents made *no* sense, and after the rescue, the trio were immediately outside the temple. Aside from this slight incongruency, the rest of the episode constituted one of the best in a long time.
Back To My List Of Reviews