//------------------------------//
// 260 - Final Word 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

They were walked through the palace. It was no hurried hustle, but a slow walk, even as walks went. The feline guard seemed to specifically go slow, to even slow further when they passed anything that could catch the eye. Silver peered at fine statues of glittering metals and jewels. He admired hanging tapestries that could have been centuries old. His eyes roamed over stained glass and ran along storied artifacts that decorated the entire way.

He was being showed off to. That much felt obvious to him. Of course, Equestria had its own share of treasures, but these were new and subtly different. Feline hints replaced equine ones, to start, though he did see one statue of a feline warrior standing with crossed dual blades, a cowering kitten and a foal behind the warrior. "Who is that?" he asked curiously, gesturing at it with a toss of his head which sent his new curls bobbing about.

The she-cat waved towards the statue, fingers wiggling as if to emphasize. "That mighty warrior was, and remains, one of the greatest heroes of the land. People celebrate him still, protector of the innocents, and the first of the same dynasty that the sultan hails from."

Sheba rolled her eyes, but bit back her words. Silver took notice of the quiet defiance as they moved past the warrior's statue.

"His Royal Highness," spoke the guard as she opened the doors into a new room. It was a long one, with an equally sizable table dominating it with all manner of fine foods. Even the cutlery and plates were clearly meticulously placed and priced. "Sultan of Anugypt. I present His Royal Highness, Prince of Equestria." She gestured back at Silver. "Accompanying him is his bodyguard." No name or title was offered, a clear noting of her importance or lack thereof.

The sultan sat across from Nefertari, just moving a piece across the chess board that sat between them. "Do come in. Your wife remains a fastidiously strategic player, though she has lost her delightful flirting on winning your hand."

Nefer smiled gently, leaning forward as she placed the ends of her fingers on a piece. "Would you respect me were I to continue that, knowing I have a husband closeby? What is polite for a maiden is not unchanging once one accepts a ring on their finger."

Sheba was suddenly at Nefer's side, looking down at the chess board. "He will soon have you," she warned, pointing at one of the figures and trailing a line of motion through the air.

The sultan purred softly, turning his eyes to Silver as he bade the visiting prince come closer. "She is allowing me to win, just once. I know when she is trying or not, much as she may think she is being subtle in it."

Silver approached on the sultan's side, passing the delectable scents of the food along the way. "Pardon me if this is a rude question, but I haven't  heard your name, Sultan...?"

"Have I hidden that?" He pat his knee with the pad of his palm. "I am Sultan Asim Bomani, of the Bomani line, of course." He inclined his head faintly. "As you are Prince Silver Watch, first of your line, first of your kind. You are a curious one by definition, are you not?"

Silver considered the sultan, Asim. He was almost humble, if one compared him to what he was surrounded by. He wore modest amounts of jewelry and seemed relaxed in his seat. It was as if he were addressing a friendly peer, rather than a potential rival for resources or source of strife, both of which Silver could be. "Your attendants were wonderful, do tell them I said as much." A kind word from the sultan would make all of their days, he decided.

"Had you but come and told me formally," Asim spoke, turning his palms upwards. "I would have invited you to the palace far sooner. For what reason does a visiting prince skulk in the alleyways of my city?"

Nefertari raised a claw, though several others were hooked on the figure still in her grasp. "I accept the fault of that. We were chasing a most delicate trail, one that ended with your arrival, Asim."

Asim grinned a little too widely. "A married woman should not call me by my first name. That sends the wrong signals, oh companion." He waved a hand at the board. "Go on. You may cease pretending to consider your move."

Sheba's hand came down on the board, fingers splayed to miss all the pieces and thump it without destroying the game. "I believe you had business with me?"

Asim's brows raised as one. "Your 'bodyguard' lacks in tact. I trust she is ready to begin answering questions then?"

Nefertari lifted her piece slowly. "She had better be. I presume my husband's kindness will only shield her from so much."

The moment Sheba's hand drew free of the board, Nefertari slapped down her piece into position. Asim slapped his own hands down on either side of the board. "You minx! You've turned things around. It is now a true shame that we must set this aside."

His attention slid on Sheba fully. "Now, speak. Your words determine your fate." He smiled slowly, his fangs barely showing. "Do not think to win mercy by merit of your species. I'd sooner have mercy on our polite equine visitor or his enchanting jackal wife."

Sheba's lips pulled back with a low growl. "Enchanting? They are--"

"--I have asked you a question," he boomed, clenched fist coming down on the arm of his chair. "Do not make a sultan repeat himself, unless you truly believe me a fool. The prince will be upset if I do as I must, but he will forgive me, it is in his nature. What has brought you this far will not shield you further. Speak, final request."

Silver felt an ear twitch without being asked to. He didn't like being called soft, which he basically had been. It wasn't entirely wrong though, and he stewed in silence. He wanted those answers too.

Nefertari glanced at him, perhaps noticing his discomfort. "Go on. You're embarrassing your new employer after he offered you a way out of your predicament. Treat him well and he will return the favor." She twirled a lone finger. "Share your story."

Sheba rolled her shoulders softly, the growl in her voice not quite going away. "They have built magic places. I know of two, there are more than that." Her claws sprang free, but only to tick against one another. "When it's all ready, all the jackals go away, and peace is returned."

Asim set his hands on the table lightly. "An interesting notion. Now who is the one who told you any of this? You did not start this, I feel certain."

"Of course not." She crossed her arms under her chest, peering at the monarch of the land. "I was invited to help build, support, and teach anyone pressing where they shouldn't how bad of an idea that was." She glanced at Nefertari. "You never did come back. I suppose it worked."

Nefertari's snarl was near instant, but Asim held up a hand. "You are speaking to me, not her. You have said the what, but not the who."

"Does even the sultan speak directly if he can avoid it?" Sheba asked with a cocked brow. "Messengers from top to bottom, carrying word both good and foul. I can show you the two I know of, that's a start, hmm?"

"And you will do that." He produced a book from a deep pocket and set it on the table. "Begin scribing." A quill was set beside it, his eyes never leaving her. "Provided you speak the truth, I may not have to trouble my guests today."

When she reached for the quill, he looked towards Nefertari and Silver. "Now then, Honored Guests, tell me what tidings you bring from Equestria aside from this dirty affair."

Silver dipped his head. "It is a pleasure to visit a fellow ruler."

He snorted softly. "You do not fool me, Foreign Prince. You rule little, but you have secured the hoof of Celestia. For how long, we wonder... That is a different topic. Did you come here for this?"

Nefertari took the lead on that, "yes. I had received word from concerned kinsfolk that my presence was required. My husband was kind enough to accompany me on this task."

"Your kinsfolk have good taste." He pushed to his feet, rising tall. "Now, Prince Watch, I would learn more of you. You rule little, but this may change. The most interesting rumors reach me. Leave your bodyguard to her current duties." He waved towards a door on the far end of the room. "Come, let us retire."

Silver hesitated a moment, but a nod from Nefertari got him moving, catching up with the strides of Asim quickly. "I am a diplomat, as I am certain you heard. I try to smooth the friction between Equestria and other nations."

"For both creatures we know, and those we do not," Asim added with a wry smile, stepping to the side once he was through the door. "I'd like to know more about the ones we do not. What manner of strange creatures has Equestria made allies of?"

Silver turned back, seeing Nefertari speaking with Sheba. The cat was still writing something. He willed the door shut, getting the idea the sultan wanted a private conversation. They had stepped out onto a balcony, the manicured lawn spread out beneath them in a defiant display of wealth in the desert. "Have you heard of the umbrum?"

Asim crossed his arms, turning to face Silver with a nod. "Word of them has reached me, but little in the way of specifics. Care to illuminate me? How long before we should expect them to visit our fair country?"

Silver sank to his haunches, watching a gardener groom at a hedge to keep it neat and trimmed. "They are still sorting themselves out, but they will grow curious in time and leave the safety of Equestria, at least for a time. They feed on fear, but that fear can be that of delight or terror. False fears, like a carnival ride, is enough to sate them."

Asim's brow rose at the report. "That sounds mildly troublesome, Prince. Why should I not turn them away at the border and docks, if they are demons of the mind?"

Silver leaned back, raising his hooves, frogs facing Asim flat. "They're harmless, now. It took some doing, but they only wish for peace and a fulfilled life, like any other creature."

"You look frightened." Asim leaned against the railing of the balcony, the wind making the fur of his that wasn't clothed waft lightly. "Surely they are not ponies, or you would have said so already. Are they not visitors, or even an impedance on your nation?"

Silver frowned softly. "I hope that is not how you see everyone who is not a cat. They are living people and can help towards the greater good, given a chance."

He waved Silver closer. "Good, then you may understand the basic situation.  To many of my own people, the jackals are  just as frightening, with perhaps even better reason, as they have lifted their claws against people before."

Silver rose to step closer, catching sight of a small contingent of guards marching out the large gates of the palace. "It's hard, but I think it's worth it. No matter how different they seem at first glance, they will one day repay basic decency in ways that are hard to predict now."

"Hmm?" Asim reached out and tapped Silver on the nose, depressing the soft leathery flesh there. "You speak of the long game, do you not? There will be no reward immediately, and perhaps my great grandkittens will have a chance to see the wisdom of it, long after I am put below the earth."