#got corrected for trying to cross-reference because ''we only stick to our one passage'' and nearly fucking cried about it

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

frickin shite that was the worst small group I've ever been to in my life

#the eisegesis made me want to rattle out of my bones in frustration #got corrected for trying to cross-reference because ''we only stick to our one passage'' and nearly fucking cried about it #I PHYSICALLY CANNOT NOT CROSS-REFERENCE SCRIPTURE #not only is it a shitty hermeneutical process but it's also just Not How My Brain Works!! #y'all have seen me crossreference on this blog it isn't just the Bible! I can't Not crossreference things to save my life #and I basically got (admittedly she was trying to be kind about it) corrected in front of the entire group of 20somethings #and the couple that leads it are so PARTICULAR and nitpicky and it has to be done their way or you're gonna get corrected #my first introduction to her was her coming up to me while I was working the sound booth and telling me about something #wrong with my production setup that I KNEW ABOUT and WAS AND STILL AM NOT ABLE TO CHANGE #(our camera for livestreams doesn't have a high enough mount and I don't have space to extend it higher so we catch the tops #of people's heads in the camera shot) #and the girl I went bc I want to get to know her better WASNT EVEN THERE #I spent the entire time trying not to cry or look at anyone #I need to find a different small group... sorry all the kids my age were nice but I can't handle the structure or leaders #Lu rambles #adulthood woes

[ask-de-writer]

DARING DO and the ADVENTURE of the X'IBIAN VASE! : MLP Fan Fiction : Part 16 of 21

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Daring Do

and the Adventure of the X'ibian Vase!

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

And

Carmen Pondiego

Cover Art by

Doctor Dimension

52630 words

© 2015 by Glen Ten-Eyck

Writing begun 08/26/15

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge.  I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.  

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fictions is actively encouraged.

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The dromedaries of Sang He’s herd were amazed at Jeremy’s ability to keep up by maintaining a steady canter to their walking.  They shifted the walking order to put the double colloquium at the center, where they could all hear. Most of what Sehang Shu was telling and responding to was material that was interesting but pretty well known to them.

What Jeremy was explaining about small unit military operations was both new and fascinating.  Sehang Shu spoke for them all as she offered, “So that is how to advance against a superior force?  I would not have expected that we would have any option but retreat.”

Nodding, Jeremy cantered alongside his friend and pointed out, “Retreat makes perfect sense sometimes.  When you must, do not simply flee.  A well done retreat in force makes it too costly for the enemy to follow.  Another option often overlooked in active situations is harassment.  That goes far beyond simply being irritating if properly done.”

The whole group nodded understanding.

The questions came thick and fast as they continued on toward Hong Wa.  It was time for noon rice all too soon, as Jeremy counted it.

While they gathered about the stove, fixing the meal, Soree said softly, “You are an excellent teacher, Jeremy.  The horses of Saddle Arabia could use your knowledge and skills.”

Daring Do acknowledged, “It is easy to see how you could be deserving of a Hurricane Fellowship, Jeremy.  I have to say, though, that I am glad that you chose Antiquities instead.”

Sehang Shu nodded, “In only a few hours, I have learned more of these matters than in my whole life before this.  I have lived in these deserts and faced these situations many times.”  She shuddered a little, emotion getting the better of her as she went on, “I have lost too many friends to the ignorance of what you spoke of so clearly this morning.

“Jeremy, why are you crying?”

He looked up from his rice, vegetables and tea.  “I am not used to this, Shu.  My family never treated me with much respect at all.  My older brother and sister both went to the Equestrian Military Academy.  The family was proud of them, even if they did not qualify for the College.

“When I did, they tried to drive me unmercifully to be the best.  No respect, though.  Always called me dummy or stupid if I made any mistake at all.  Never said anything of praise when I was right because if I was going to E.M. College, being right was expected.  I hated it.”

To his surprise, Sehang Shu gave him a hug.  “These are not bad tears, Jeremy.  Let them out.  Let the old venom flow out with them.  We here, not only respect you, we are in your debit.  You have saved lives yesterday and likely more this morning.  Ignorance is the deadliest of enemies.”

Daring Do watched in thoughtful silence and then offered, “Jeremy, continue your colloquium of Ethnological Geography.  I have been auditing your progress.  If you continue to learn as well as what I have been hearing, I will correct your grade when we return to the Royal University.”

The party continued to work their way through the vast X'ibian Highlands toward the ancient and long abandoned Imperial Capital city of Hong Wa.

Cresting a low pass in a sharp sided defile of stone, they got their first view of their goal. Jeremy took one look and dived for cover.  Without waiting to ask why, the whole party went for shelter.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Some days previous, in Cantrot, the partners examined what their 385 gold cash had bought in the way of repairs.

Robber philosophically observed, “At least both trucks are now fully operational and all systems required by law are working correctly.”

Tyranny snarled, “Why didn’t they fix that door?”

Overthrow retorted, “You know why!  Besides insulting the Shop Master, you got it hit by a water buffalo!  They had no parts that would fit!  At least it is secure and weather tight!”

“Drat it, Overthrow, all that I did was bribe the Shop Master to put our trucks ahead of those other vehicles!  Mere farm working things!”

Robber shook his head sadly, “That is not how bribes here work, Tyranny.  I have explained that to you before.  They are to the person as a recognition of his importance to you.  They are NEVER to get your work or things put ahead of other work.  We had already taken care of the problem and had only to wait our turn until you breached all social etiquette here by trying to get him to rearrange his shop schedules for us.”

Overthrow, trying to get a developing argument derailed, inquired with real interest, “How are the ancient X'ibian translations going, Tyranny?”

Frustrated, he snapped, “I can find NOTHING about the Heart of Discord, no matter how old the manuscript!  I have found some that date to the reign of Im Farst and the Dragon Queen, but NOTHING about the Heart of Discord!

“We have OLDER references to it in Old Middle Equestrian from shortly after the Nightmare Wars than any from here!”

While mulling that over, they got into the trucks.  Overthrow grunted sourly, “I wish that our drivers had not abandoned us.  At least the desert should not offer much difficulty to our travel!”

Robber, mounting the driver’s seat of his truck, replied, “All that we need is to take the cross river barge and we will be headed to Hong Wa.”  

He shoved Tyranny into the back of the cab.  “Just stay there and let us deal with the barge. The last thing that we need is you sticking a hoof up the rump of our passage!”

Sullen, Tyranny settled back and busied himself pretending to study old manuscripts.

Cantrot was covered by the dust raised by the trucks heading out into the desert.  Tyranny watched from the passenger seat of the lead truck as they came to the end of the road that they had been following.

“I thought that you said that this was the way to Hong Wa, Robber!  This is the end of the road.  Where is Hong Wa?”

Robber shrugged, his frustration with Tyranny utterly expressive of total contempt. “Sometimes I wonder if you listen to anything but your own voice, Tyranny.

“I said that this road will take us closest to Hong Wa!  From here on, we will be driving across the desert.  I do have good maps.”

Robber got out and began to scout the best way for the trucks to leave the road’s end.

Overthrow joined him. “Tyranny has gone completely mad, Overthrow.  He seems to think that there is a regular road going to a city abandoned a thousand years ago.  After I got it into his head that there was no road, he spouted garbage about just driving across the desert at night, steering by the stars!  He seems to think that the desert is FLAT!”

Overthrow nodded glumly. “Last meal break he told me to be watching out for the dust of Daring Do’s expedition.  I tried to tell him that they are taking an ancient dromedary route, completely different from ours.  

“I tried to cash a credit letter in Cantrot before we left.  It was refused.  The firm’s capital is gone.  If this plan does not work, we do not have enough money to get home.”

Robber stopped, stunned. “Broke?  What has happened to it?”

Overthrow aimed a hoof at the truck with Tyranny in it.  “He  did.  Those new manuscripts that he has been studying?  Over two million golden bits by themselves.  Add in our expedition costs, which are simply enormous, and there is not enough capital left to even pay the staff at home.”

Robber accepted the news glumly.  “Look, a vulture circling up there!  Not an omen, I hope!”

Both chuckled at the feeble jest.  After locating the best way to get the trucks off the road, they returned to the vehicles and backed down the road to the chosen spot.  They bumped and bounced across the margin and set out, following landmarks shown on Robber’s map.

Tyranny was fretting, “We are going too slow!  We need to be swift!  We must get there first!”

Robber, as they hit a big bump, slamming Tyranny’s head to the ceiling, replied offhandedly, “Why?  If Daring Do gets there first, we let her find the tomb and do the heavy digging for us.

“If we get there first, we can still use HER and her cohorts to do the digging for us.  That tomb is not in any of the fourteen necropoli shown in the site map. Only she knows where it is, so we will let her find it for us.”

He waited, grinning that Tyranny had not fastened his safety harness, and deliberately hit another series of bumps, jouncing Tyranny about like a dried pea in a can.  “Are you sure that we need to go faster?  We are already making over four times the best walking pace of a dromedary.  We are nearly certain to be there first, ready and waiting for Daring Do’s expedition to show itself.”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Jeremy signaled for them all to keep their heads down and retreat back into the pass.  When they were all safely back, he recovered his hooves and led them further back yet.  Satisfied, he told them all, “Wait here until I get back.”

He rummaged a pair of binoculars out of his saddle bag and sneaked back, going from cover to cover.  Watching him go, Soree made a few swift sketches and many notes.  

She observed, “I think that Jeremy believes that somepony is there before us.”

Daring Do nodded and offered, “Any bets about WHO it might be?”  Silence greeted her offer.  “I thought not.”

Jeremy returned silently. “ROT got here first, with two trucks.  There seem to only be three of them, all Equestrians by the look of them.  Our problem is simple.

“They have a pair of obsolete MT81 quick fire guns and what appears to be two ammo cases for them.

“Those guns nearly caused the overthrow the Empress of the Gryphon Empire back during their Civil War, years ago.  Luckily for us, Doctor Do gave you those new semi automatic rifles.  The 81s still have the range on us and may have either solid or explosive rounds.

“Doctor Do, how accurate is your map of this area?”

“Perhaps main features could be off by as much as two meters.  Nothing worse.  Is it good enough?”

Jeremy nodded and gestured them close to study the map, remarking, “A good map is more deadly than a cannon.

“See this tongue of rock going down into the valley of Hong Wa?  If we can get behind it, they will not see our advance if we are careful.  From here on, we will be in rifle range of the guns.  Do not worry about the ponies.  We need to stop those guns.  Out in the open like that, their ammo cases are a weakness.”

Corba Jai suggested, “I have been from this pass to the blind canyon the leads to that ridge of stone. I scouted it for Doctor Do during the search for cave burials.”

Jeremy nodded acceptance at once.  “That is good, Corba Jai.  Would you please guide us all through to it?”

Nodding silently, Corba Jai led them further back up the defile.  She pointed to a steep but climbable slope.  “We need to go up here.  Bear to the right of that rock needle.  Getting down into the canyon will not be easy either but we can do it.”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  

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#DARING DO AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE X'IBIAN VASE #Part 16 of 21 #MLP Fan Fiction #Written by De Writer and Carmen Pondiego