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// 254 - Battle Plan 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
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Nefertari's eyes returned to the chief. "Speed is not on our side."

"In a direct conflict, no." She clacked two of her claws together. "However, that is but one of them. Only she has that advantage. The rest move normally, for their ancestry." With an outstretched claw, she drew in the dirt of the floor. "We should focus on those that side with her, allowing Nefertari and her pony to--"

Silver raised a hoof as if in a class about halfway through the words, but he wasn't being looked at by the chief, let alone called on. When he wasn't, he snorted as only a horse could. "I am not 'her pony', and why are we planning an attack? I thought we'd at least try ta--"

Nefertari slid a hand over Silver's snout, bidding him to silence without speaking to him. "We will speak, and prepare for battle. This is the latter. Continue."

Silver opened his mouth just wide enough to try for a nip at his frustrating wife, but she was far faster. He could feel her movement, but it was too short of a burst to hope to react to. By the time he could respond, her pointer was in his snout, her claw pressed against his tongue. He could feel it piercing his tender flesh, but could tell exactly how far, or how much it'd hurt when she pulled her finger back.

He went still as the planning continued.

"We will gather in a circle." She carved out a curved line as she spoke, "You engage her. If you can talk her down, all the better. We will celebrate your pony's silvered tongue. If not, we act, together." Her eyes looked to Silver at last. "Will you be ready?"

Nefertari's hand was in her lap. He could feel the sting that came with her claw being removed. That would hurt for a little while, but he felt certain he would recover. "I will try to talk to her, and see what it is she really wants. What she thinks she wants and how she thinks she has to get it may not line up, and there we can find a peaceful answer."

The chief smiled in the dim light. "That is well and good, and we do hope for the best, but should that fail...?"

"I will not abandon you, or my wife." He squeezed his magic gently around Nefertari in a short-distance hug. "Can we handle her? She sounds like quite... a challenge, physically speaking."

"Be clever," cut in Nefertari suddenly. "Make up a new spell or two, you love doing that."

"But wh... Hmm..."

Nefertari's grin spread as Silver began to look thoughtful. "That is an expression I know. He will be ready."

The chief nodded as she examined his pensive face. "Not the savage warcry I would hope from a warrior, but he is a curious fighter, from all that has been whispered to me." She rose smoothly from crossed legs to standing as if simply unfolding herself. "I will dispatch word, to her, to our allies, few as they are. All will know the time of reckoning. We end this, one way or the other."

The noise of jackals giving a communal cheer to the battle that would come, win or lose, echoed off the stone of the walls. They dispersed, most lacking the lightning speed of Nefertari and the chief. 

Wagging Tail stood up as the others did, but she didn't sprint away. Instead she turned around to face Silver. "Are you going to blast her with magic? You can do that, right?" She made little laser sounds as she thrust her pointers ahead. "Pew, zoom! You'll get her good!"

Silver reached to pat Wagging Tail on the head with a hoof. "It is easier to turn an enemy's power against themselves. I need to prepare." He turned away, but Wagging Tail raced to be in front of him. "Excuse me. I need to be in the light. I have magic to write."

"I'll come with you."

Nefertari was beside her suddenly, placing a hand on her scalp, fingers curled to hold her skull firmly. "You will remember that this pony is mine."

Wagging squirmed in her clawed grasp. "Let me go, Shaman. He can choose who he wants to be with!"

Nefertari hiked a brow at Silver. "Mmm, do you desire the company of this young female?"

Silver colored swiftly at the way that was phrased. "If she wants to watch me write and read, she's free to do that."

Wagging pulled free with a snort, slipping free of Nefertari's grip. "If you're so worried, you can come too and keep an eye on your pony." She patted Silver on the chest. "He is a warrior, he doesn't belong to anyone anyway. He makes his own decisions and is ready to fight, and win."

Nefertari crooked a smirk at the two. "I have preparations of my own. Go on, Silver. Do you know the way to the library?"

Silver almost asked  her how she knew he wanted one of those before he aborted the thought and looked to Wagging. "Can you show the way?"

"I can and will, on one condition!" She thrust a finger up, pointing at Silver. "I ride there. Can we fly? Those wings work, right? Let me ride and I'll show the way."

Nefertari left with an echo of laughter, abandoning Silver to his adorable fate.

He pulled his magic back in, absorbing it rather than letting it disperse out into the world. It wasn't a 100% conversion, what was? But it was a far sight better than abandoning that power when he moved quickly. He gently took hold of the young jackal and set her on his back. "Let's go." Even as she squeaked with delight, he got to trotting for where he thought the exit was.

He emerged into the dim, but brighter, light of the alleyway that concealed the way into their home. "Which way?"

"We have to get out of here first," complained Wagging. She pointed to the narrow alleyway he had been ambushed in. "Past the guard, then... You're not looking."

Silver had his eyes turned skywards, getting a peek of it through where the buildings almost touched, but not quite. "Let's skip that." With a rush of magic, he and Wagging ceased to be, and promptly reappeared above it all, dizzyingly high above the city.

Wagging clutched tightly to his neck from behind, screaming. Her noise was one part terror, two parts utter excitement. It turned into a sharp series of elated giggles. She began pointing out buildings, rattling off their names in a clip too rapid to be useful.

Silver turned an ear back to her as his wings carried them in lazy circles around the city, riding the updrafts rom the heated ground that kept them easily airborne without much effort from him. "Where is that library?"

She thrust a finger perhaps too strongly, ruining her balance and half tossing herself free of Silver. Her yelp of terror was cut off as he caught her in his magic and lifted her back into position. "You are the best battle mount, I'm just saying."

Silver kept a light grip on her, in case she lost her footing again. "Let's go." He tipped to the side gently and began to descend at an easy peace, circling to keep the pace casual as opposed to diving at the building with his young cargo. "Do you like to read?"

"Ehhh..." She stuck out her tongue, a fact he would have missed if not for holding her in his magic. "I can read though!"

"I'm glad to hear it." Silver smiled, but didn't look back at her, focused on their flight over the dense city. There were some other flyers, most of them lower to the ground. Few were pegasi. "I learned to enjoy reading from a very young age. I learned to enjoy writing only after I was an adult."

"Thank the sands," she sighed out. "I thought you were going to try to tell me to learn to like writing, ugh. Not my thing, thank you." She tickled his neck suddenly. "You can do that. It's just another talent. What kind of spell are you going to make?"

Silver squirmed a little, resisting the urge to laugh with limited success. "I... was..." He went quiet. "I'm not sure I should say. Our enemy has proven capable, but I don't know all her abilities. It may be para--"

"--No! No, you're right. She could be listening maybe, and if she is, she'll know I think she's a boogerface with jagged teeth for how awful she's been."

Silver snorted softly at the immature insult. It was a good reminder that his passenger was truly a child, to be protected and cared for. "Hopefully we can reach an understanding, and you can stop hiding underground. You don't like that, right?"

"No!" she spat out as if it should be as clear as the sky they flew under. "I'm missing school... I might not like writing, but there are good things to learn there, and I'm falling behind."

Silver felt a frown forming as he came in for a landing. His hooves touched upon the sandy cobbles in front of the sizable library she had pointed him towards. "Let's get some studying done, for the both of us."

"What?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Wagging. "You can get some schoolwork done while I work on my spell."

She wriggled her nose. "You can't force me."

He began to ascend the stairs, weaving around the others that came and went from it. Most of the others were biped, which seemed the norm so far away from Equestria. "No, I can't. I can only offer you a chance, and hope you take the opportunity while it is present."

Silver slipped through the open door before it could close again and the atmosphere changed immediately. The noise of the city fell away and the musty scent of aging books reached his nose. The sound of quiet steps and the turning of pages were the 'noise' of that place. He walked forward, his hooves sounding loud against the stone floor with a pronounced clip-clop.

"Shhh," spoke the matronly feline behind the front counter. "Shoes required." She hiked a thumb at a small sign that showed a hoof wrapped in what looked to be some kind of sock.

Silver veered towards her with a hopeful smile. "Hello," he spoke softly, trying to not make more noise. "I don't have one of those. How do I get them?"

The feline rolled her eyes even as she stood. "We can lend a set, once. Stop by the gift store just outside and buy a set of your own for next time." She pulled out one of those socks and tapped his left foreleg. "Up." As soon as he lifted hoof, she grabbed it like a trained farrier and slipped the sock into place before releasing it and moving to the next. "Do you even have a library card?"

"I do!" squeaked Wagging, her tail swaying back and forth eagerly. She dug out a slender card and offered it towards the feline.

She finished getting Silver's other hoof before reaching to snatch the card away. "Mmm, valid. She can borrow one book at a time. That doesn't help you, pony." She moved on towards his back hooves. "Let's finish shutting you up."

Wagging snatched her card back and stuffed it away. "That's alright. I don't think he wants to take any of the books."

Silver nodded in quick agreement. "I just need to reference the materials. I will not remove any book from this building, but thank you. Oh." He lifted his book of spells in his magic. "Just so you know, I'm bringing this in and I'll be writing in it. That's alright, yeah?"

"Not a crime," replied the library attendant. She slapped Silver on a rump. "There you are, no more noisy stomping."

Silver nodded at her and gave a silent in-place shuffle. "Great. Thank you. Let's get to studying." He carried his passenger into the stacks in pursuit of arcane tips and insight.