History Recap / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E21DaringDoubt

* BlatantLies: Caballeron. He tells Fluttershy that he only wants to find artefacts to put in a museum, and sells them to reopen his own after Daring Do's interference caused it to close. He also feigns ignorance over the Truth talisman requiring a Pegasus to retrieve.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Dr. Caballeron is clearly running a smear campaign on Daring Do again so he can ruin her chances of thwarting his thefts but he is telling the truth that her actions destroy a lot of ancient sites while she hoards their artifacts in her home. However, when Daring Do touches the truth amulet in the final act of the episode, she reveals she takes the items because she feels compelled to protect them from falling into the wrong hands, that and Dr. Caballeron is possibly no better at keeping a historical site in place.

** Dr. Caballeron's group are attacked by a group of cats, which astute viewers will rcall as the ones working for Ahuizotl.
* GlowingEyes: The indicator that the truth amulet is working is that a character's eyes glow bright green.

** Rogue, one of Caballeron's henchponies, admits while under the truth talisman's power that he wants to become an opera star.

* ItMakesSenseInContext: Mild example. In "Daring Don't," Ahuizotl tried to buy one of the Rings of Scorchero from Caballeron in order to unleash 800 years of sweltering heat on the Tenochtitlan Basin. He was seemingly operating from an evil purpose then, but this episode reveals that he was just doing it in order to keep anypony from plundering the ruins in the basin and stealing artifacts.

* PlayingTheVictimCard: Dr. Caballeron tells Fluttershy that he does what he does because Daring Do is always getting to artefacts before he can, and refused to team up with him.
* PursueTheDreamJob: Pow, the large orange-maned henchpony, admits while holding the amulet that he wants to quit being a henchman and become an opera singer.
* RealityEnsues: Once Azuihotl tells his side of the story, it becomes clear that, when you look past Daring Do's status as an AdventurerArchaeologist, she's essentially a thief much like Dr. Caballeron -- she may not have ''intended'' to be such, and had noble goals, but she was still taking away other people's rightful property.

* SayingTooMuch: A few times, thanks to the truth amulet. Dr. Caballeron has to admit he stole a diamond, and that he was just taking artifacts for money. Rainbow Dash says she wants a massage after the adventure is over, which she says [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain that doesn't leave the temple]]. One of Caballeron's henchponies reveals that he wants to be an opera singer. One example not due to the amulet is when Daring Do says she will write about not stealing artifacts anymore in her next book, which leads to Dr. Caballeron realizing she is actually A. K. Yearling.

* SuddenlyVoiced: After being TheVoiceless in their previous appearances, Caballeron's henchponies finally speak. One spoke in "Stranger Than Fanfiction", but he was absent here like in their first appearance.

* VocalDissonance: Pow's voice is higher than his appearance would suggest.

** Withers unknowingly finds himelf directly beneath a [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E16CampfireTales Flyder]] hive.

* WeaksauceWeakness: The guardiangoyles are vulnerable to bright light, which turns them back to stone.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Ahuizotl, in a retroactive case of this trope, is a heroic guardian chiefly concerned with protecting his jungle and the artifacts and temples under his watch, whereas all ExpandedUniverse materials portrayed him as an unrepentant monster, with his trading card describing him as a straight up OmnicidalManiac.

Rainbow Dash is eagerly waiting for Fluttershy so they can go off to an A.K. Yearling book signing. Fluttershy, who got into the ''Daring Do'' books thanks for Rainbow, is late as she is reading the latest title in the series, but one that Rainbow hasn't heard of. Taking a look, she finds it is an unauthorized version of ''Daring Do'', written by a pony named Groom Q.Q. Martingale, that seems highly critical of what Daring Do has done.

* AffectionateNickname: Fluttershy takes to calling Caballeron "Dr. C".

* BadBoss: Dr. Caballeron tends to talk down to his henchponies, and not listen to their advice.

* TheBusCameBack: After being absent for five seasons since "Daring Don't" (and being mentioned in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E17DaringDone "Daring Done"]]), Ahuizotl returns in this episode.
* ButHeSoundsHandsome: In his own version of the Daring Do stories, Dr. Caballeron calls himself "mild-mannered".

%%* ContinuityNod

* {{Foreshadowing}}: One of the actual truths in Dr. Caballeron's book is that she hoards a lot of artifacts while destroying the temples that housed them, in one flashback Ahuizotl is seen shaking his fist at her from the rubble of one. The conflict at the climax involves addressing and resolving that.

* SeriesContinuityError: It's a big deal in this episode when it is revealed that Daring Do is real and not a fictional character, but this has already been mentioned in public in previous episodes, like it being mentioned in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E14FameAndMisfortune the friendship journal]] or Rainbow mentioning it in a conversation with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E6CommonGround Clear Sky]].

* AnAesop: There are two sides to every story. You shouldn't label someone as a bad guy just because of the way they act or refuse to give them a chance to explain themselves.
* Helping yourself to other cultures' heritage and breaking into their sacred sites to do so is a very shady thing to do.

* SayingTooMuch: A few times, thanks to the truth amulet. Dr. Caballeron has to admit he stole a diamond, and that he was just taking artifacts for money. Rainbow Dash says she wants a massage after the adventure is over, to which she says [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain that doesn't leave the temple]]. And one of Caballeron's henchponies reveals that he wants to be an opera singer. One example not due to the amulet is when Daring Do says she will write about not stealing artifacts anymore in her next book, which leads to Dr. Caballeron realizing she is actually A. K. Yearling.

* GoodAllAlong: It is revealed that Ahuizotl is the guardian of the jungle and is in-charge of keeping the artifacts safe, rather than trying to use them for some EvilPlan as was originally thought. Because artifacts keep getting stolen by Daring Do and Caballeron on his watch, he is in trouble with the other guardians and could lose his job if anymore go missing.

* AbsenteeActor: Pickpocket, the new henchpony introduced in "Stranger than Fanfiction", is not with Dr. Caballeron this time. Same thing with the tiger among Ahuizotl's cats.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Ahuizotl is a heroic guardian, whereas all ExpandedUniverse materials portrayed him as an unrepentant monster, with his trading card describing him as a straight up OmnicidalManiac.

* HeelFaceTurn: Both of Daring Do's recurring enemies become allies in this episode. Though in Ahuizotl's case, [[GoodAllAlong he didn't have to reform that much in the first place]].

* OurGargoylesRock: The guardian-goyles are stone statues in the general shape of a pegasus, but with bat-like wings, fangs and claws, that come to life by magic and are petrified by light.

* PursueTheDreamJob: Pow, the large orange-maned stallion among the henchponies, when holding the amulet, admits he wants to quit being a henchman and become an opera singer.
* RealityEnsues: Once Azuihotl tells his side of the story, it becomes clear that when you look past Daring Do's status as an AdventurerArchaeologist, she's just a thief not much better than Dr. Caballeron.

* SeriesContinuityError: It is a big deal in this episode when it is revealed that Daring Do is real and not a fictional character, but this has already been mentioned in public in previous episodes, like it being mentioned in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E14FameAndMisfortune the friendship journal]] or Rainbow mentioning it in a conversation with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E6CommonGround Clear Sky]].

* SayingTooMuch: A few times, thanks to the truth amulet. Dr. Caballeron has to admit he stole a diamond, and that he was just taking artifacts for money. Rainbow Dash says she wants a massage after the adventure is over, to which she says [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain that doesn't leave the temple]]. And one of Caballeron's henchponies reveals that he wants to be an opera singer.

* AbsenteeActor: Pickpocket, the new henchpony introduced in "Stranger than Fanfiction", is not with Dr. Caballeron this time.

* PursueTheDreamJob: One of Caballeron's mooks, when holding the amulet, admits he wants to quit being a henchman and become an opera singer.

* SuddenlyVoiced: After being TheVoiceless in their previous appearances, Caballeron's henchponies finally speak. One spoke in "Stranger Than Fanfiction", but he was absent like in their first appearance.

* SuddenlyVoiced: After being TheVoiceless in their previous appearances, Caballeron's henchponies finally speak.

* HeelFaceTurn: Both of Daring Do's recurring enemies become allies in this episode.

* CallBack: Several to the other episodes that feature Daring Do.
** Rainbow Dash brings up how Dr. Caballeron [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E17DaringDone spread false rumors]] about Daring Do in Somnambula.

* PaperThinDisguise: Zigzagged. Dr. Caballeron's disguise as Groom Q.Q. Martingale is a hat and a beard. Rainbow Dash doesn't buy the disguise for a second, but everypony else does.

%%* RealityEnsues

* BecomingTheMask: Dr. Caballeron and his henchmen pretend to be nice and misunderstood to trick Fluttershy into helping them retrieve another artifact but her kindness on the journey there really endear them to turning over a new leaf.

%%* EasilyCondemned

* TruthSerum: The MacGuffin of the episode is a talisman necklace that forces whoever holds it to tell the truth. Naturally Dr. Caballeron's deception unravels when he gets it and puts it on.

* PaperThinDisguise: Dr. Caballeron's disguise as Groom Q.Q. Martingale is a hat and a beard. Rainbow Dash doesn't buy the disguise for a second.

Rainbow Dash is eagerly waiting for Fluttershy so they can go off to an A.K. Yearling book signing. Fluttershy, who got into the ''Daring Do'' books thanks for Rainbow, is late as she is reading the latest title in the series, but one that Rainbow hasn't heard of. Taking a look, she finds it is an unauthorized version of ''Daring Do'', written by a pony named Martingale, that seems highly critical of what Daring Do has done.

With Fluttershy in tow, Rainbow goes to see A.K. Yearling at her book signing, but finds that the crowds there are trying to ask A.K. about Martingale's book, and walk off when she can't provide counter-answers. A.K. admits she has no idea who Martingale is or how he knows so much about her, but does know he is having his own book signing across the street. Rainbow and Fluttershy goes to the other store and see Martingale and the crowd gathered for him, who they immediately recognize through the disguise as Doctor Caballeron. Rainbow immediately accosts Caballeron, but he remains aloof to being discovered, and Rainbow storms off. Fluttershy however tries to learn more, and as the crowd dissipates, he explains he wants to set the record right about what happened on Daring's adventures, asserting that he and his goons were only trying to recover important artifacts but Daring stole them first for her own safekeeping, and that Daring continually destroys important archaeological sites in these ventures. As Fluttershy continues to be attentive, Caballeron coerces her to help them recover a special artifact before Daring Do can. Fluttershy agrees to join their expedition, shocking Rainbow.

->Written by Nicole Dubuc