Advent Of A Gunslinger

Meanwhile, in Abyssinia…

The leopard messenger would soon arrive back at the king and queen’s parliament building to relay what he had been told.

“...And that’s the long and short of it. They’re currently unable to provide support to us due to the turmoil they’re currently going through.”

King Mau sighed from behind his desk as he flipped through a document that he had in front of him. “Alright. Guess it’s time to make a difficult decision, Sith.”

“What’ll it be sir?” Sith--the leopard man asked.

“Watch and learn, boy,” Mau said as he got up from his desk and started walking down the hall of the building, “You might learn a thing or two.”

“I don’t quite understand…” the messenger replied as he followed the king, “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“You’re aware of Bombay’s special division, yes?”

Sith nodded. “The Yewushas, correct?”

“That’s right. They’re perfect for a situation like this. If we can earn the support of the diamond dogs through actions in their time of need…”

Sith rubbed his chin and purred with excitement. “Then we can get them to support us. Quite the shrewd idea, sir.”

Mau shook his head in denial. “Nah. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s motivated mostly through our own safety. That’s just how it is when you’re the king. If only there was something more…”

“...Maybe now would be a good time to inform him.” The leopard man suddenly thought of something else--something important that could provide an even greater use to them. “...This is merely conjecture, but I’ve heard mumblings of a certain gunslinger that was spotted near that region.”

The king scoffed with a hiss. “Hhgh. Gunslinger? There’s loads of those across the South. What makes this particular one so special?”

“Well…if the witness accounts are to be believed…then it’s probably Remington,” Sith explained, “It would explain why I was attacked by a hostile abyssinian near that region. He was after him too, no doubt about it.”

“Hm…” Mau weighed the odds as well as the options presented to him. Could the gunslinger provide them with even more firepower and morale? Was it worth the effort? The only way to find out for sure… “Give me a moment to speak with my wife about this. You’re dismissed.”

The leopard man purred and replied, “Understood. Take care sir.” And with that, he left the king alone to decide his next order of operations.

When Mau turned the next corner, something caught his attention. “Hm…hm? Ah, good to see him active.”

Mio was speaking to one of the Abyssinian nurses in the middle of the next hallway. As soon as she left, the king approached--to which he obliged with a greeting. “Oh. Ahem. Good day to you, Mau. How’s everything?”

“Fine on my end,” he replied, “How about you? And Spitha for that matter?”

“She’s been fine. Catching up with her mother over the last few days. I’ve been spending time working out how I’ll deal with Klugetown once this is all over.”

The young tom’s ambition put a smile on the king’s face. “Ah…good to see someone your age with such a well-formed mind. You seem to already know what you’re doing, eh?”

Mio flicked his tail, and scoffed back. “Rrrch. No way. If I knew what I was doing then I wouldn’t need any help with my goals. First off, I wanted to ensure that all of the ponies that were being put to slavery were well off. Next…I’m already calculating how to perform a complete takeover of that place.”

Takeover. Such a thing resonated with the king on an emotional level. Though, he didn’t express it--instead, he kept his expression as neutral as possible. “Oh? How do you intend to accomplish that, son?”

“It’s going to be quite the longshot--akin to the most skillful yarnball plays of the last season,” he pushed up his glasses and purred, “And admittedly, I’m banking on quite a few things. Such as rumor mills I’ve heard churning in various areas across the continents. Some of which include the minotaur village in the middle of the desert.”

Mau raised an eyebrow. “Minot--wait. You mean to tell me that place is real?”

“Of course it is,” the young tom replied, “You had to have noticed that the milk you all drink tends to be fresher than normal, right? You know it comes from them.”

The king’s muzzle turned neutral as his ears flopped. “Naturally, son. But what I want to know is how you managed to find that out--and how this factors into your little scheme.”

“Long story short, I used the information on the label and the type of glass the bottle was made of…” He pulled out a small map of the region from within his suit, and tapped on a specific location--due West of Abyssinia. “And they’re likely located here. I bring them up because minotaurs, well--they’re goddamn unstoppable and would prove to be a valuable asset in reclaiming the region of Klugetown. After all, their proximity makes them quite the target…”

Mau flicked his tail, and put a paw on Mio’s shoulder. “So you wanna show your support for the minotaurs before anything can even bring them harm, hm? You’re playing a dangerous game, you know. They’re not exactly the most…sociable of races?”

“Oh don’t you worry about that,” Mio brushed aside his concerns, “If everything goes as planned, we’ll already have a messenger planted within the village of cows soon enough.” He began to walk away, and shot the king a confident smirk over his shoulder. “If you meet the gunslinger, tell him I said hello.”

And as the tom in the blue suit rounded the corner, the king chuckled to himself. “I’ll be damned…just how did he know…”

“It’s quite obvious, isn’t it?” a familiar she-cat’s voice suddenly spoke up from beside him, “He’s obviously counting on your plan to work so that his can work.”

Mau turned his head to see the face of his loving wife--leaning against his shoulder. “Of course…I can’t decide if that boy is a mastermind or a fool.”

Bombay snickered with a purr. “Rrrrm…probably both~”