DARING DO AND THE COMPASS OF DISCORD

by De Writer

Chapter 18 In the Discordian Camp

Holding aside a hanging over the dooway to his abode, the eland invited them into his dwelling. Daring Do noticed that not only was the entrance upheld by unequal supports, the hanging was not centered either. The fire ring was only nearly round and carefully cemented in its uneven shape. With that observation, it became clear that their seating should be equally uneven. She unobtrusively assisted her group to a slightly disordered seating.

Seeing that, the eland said gently, “It is a pleasure to see such fine manners in one from realms that prize order. I am Honorly Homesort. You, I believe are the world famous antiquarian Doctor Daring Do.”

Smiling, she doffed her pith helmet and replied, “I do have that honor. Meridian Courser has made me aware that your peoples do watch and study the ways of Discord’s chaos. That must be a huge undertaking. How far into the past does your knowledge go?”

He chuckled as he bobbed his horns. “It is indeed a large undertaking. Why did you ask of our knowledge, rather than records? Is it because we live this austere life style or some other thing?”

Daring Do spread her wings a little as she bowed to him. “It is the other thing, as you say it. Without records of some sort, you cannot study the chaos of Discord to find what it has done and understand it. However, records can get lost in far too many ways. For those who study deeply, as you must, carefully trained memory can carry much knowledge that was in lost records. Thus, I ask how far into the past your knowledge goes.

“If that knowledge has become legend, it may still harbor truth within it, and thus must not be simply cast aside.

“What I seek is the truth, above all else. I have chosen to dedicate my life to finding the truth of what ponies and other civilized kinds have done in the past and making that forgotten truth known again.”

“That was well said, Miss Do. Why have you come here?”

With direct honesty, she replied, “I have two reasons for being here. Over the divide, in the other half of the canyon are ruins of an ancient folk. They were found by the Diamond Dogs of the Spinel Drift who want them surveyed and documented properly. Amber, Supreme Matriarch of the Diamond Dogs wants it done enough that she is financing much of our expedition and has loaned us the help of her personal adjutant, Morail Ruby Drift.

“The second reason is that Eris, Discord in her female form, personally requested that I investigate this very same area. In that, I am serving her chaos in some fashion. I hope that the two tasks are connected, but do not know that for certain.”

He shifted uncomfortably on his cushion, lips quirked in curiosity. “Did Lady Amber’s assistant come with you?”

Morail’s lips lifted in a smile as she held out her Diamond Dog ID. “I am here and appearances are deceiving. I am a Diamond Dog. Adopted, it is true, but a Diamond Dog nonetheless.”

Honorly nearly toppled from his cushion for the giggles that brought! “Dear Discord! What a lovely Path of Chaos has brought you here. We must have a record of your life to learn from! A Zebra who is a Diamond Dog must have a life marvelously twisted by the Claw of Discord!”

Morail nodded, “I shall be most happy to tell you of my life but for now, our purpose is to be sure that in recording the ruin just over the way we do not offend you or your your religious ways. Most or all of what we do will be quite orderly.”

Honorly regained his dignity as he replied, “That can in no way bother us or our bretheren. Of a necessity, beneath all of your order lies a basic Chaos created by the passage of ages. Any order that you follow or create will be based thereon and thus serve the Chaos of Discord. If it be practical, we would appreciate copies of your findings for our archives. Doctor Do has already contributed much, even to a previous direct service to Eris which occurred in X'ibia.”

Daring Do quietly vowed, “Honorly, it will be a pleasure to share our expedition’s direct finding notes and images as well as a copy of my report based on those notes.

“One thing does worry me, though. Even though the Blum Fauntin Farm and Granite Hills raids were blamed on Discordians, they were actually carried out by Zebras of the Confederation’s military. However, there ARE Discordians who do use violence. They have located places where Eris is doing her vital work and rush in to 'Spread Chaos.’ Those Discordians and you seem to be very different. Do you know of any like that hereabouts?”

Honorly drew a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, “I know of such. They are based in the Hidden Temple. All that I can tell you of them is that they are dangerously ignorant fools. We do see some of them occasionally, here at this end of the mountains. You must be most careful of them. They have even tried to do us harm on occasion.”

Looking downcast, Daring Do shook her monochrome grey locks as she replied, “I feared that there might be some in the area. We shall make a practice of being armed at all times, a thing that I hate but have had to do before.”

Honorly also looked downcast as he made the offer, “Your work must be vital to Discord as Eris or she would not have sent you to this remote place. Meridian must stay with you. He knows how to contact us quickly. Should you be beset, we will do our best to aid you.”

Daring Do flared her wings wide as she bowed to Honorly. “I know how hard that decision was for you to make, Sir. We can all hope that such a sacrifice will not be asked of you. While we are here, such aid as you may need, we will try to provide.”

He smiled with good humor as he replied, “Go then, and start getting us those notes on your work for our archive!”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Celestia and Luna are not the only Immortals plagued by worshipers trying to put them on pedestals as gods. Discord has the same problem.
The real issue is that such worshipers can get in the way of the real work of Celestia, Luna or even Discord.
Discord has real work? Indeed he/she does. It is vital to the safety of the world.

Do the Mane Six know about this?

[De Writer]

After Twilight became a Princess it became necessary for her to know exactly what and very importantly WHY Discord/Eris' work must be allowed to go forward. The rest of the Mane Six remain ignorant out of necessity. Eris, Discord's preferred form, has a vital role to play in the world but if what she does is known too widely, her vital work would be severely compromised. At least in my AU, she has been friends to the Twins for about 1500 years or so. You can find a copy of my AU's canon by digging in my blog.
I started it after the Hearthwarming Pageant in Season 1. I saw GLARING holes in the story of the pageant, For instance, where were the Immortal Twins, Celestia and Luna? I then realized that many other problems were the SAME holes that I was raised with from the late 1940s through the 1960s. Later, I found the REAL history of the settlement of the Colonies and later the westward expansion of the USA. The land was RICH, yes. EMPTY? NO! I started with that and as a result, my canon became VERY DIFFERENT from the show's.
I hope that this helps you with understanding my stories.