Advent Of A Gunslinger

The Gunslinger.

The next morning, Axel rose out of the inn bed. Last night before he went to sleep, he had taken his gear off so that he could sleep soundly without damaging his possessions. He sat up, and took a good look at himself in the full-body sized mirror that sat against the wall.

“Hm…”

Without all of his gear, his appearance was far less than intimidating. He was a slender stallion thanks to the genes from his hippogriff father, but he was about the same size as the average pony thanks to his pegasus mother. His body was a pale beige color--matching that of the desert sand to be exact. His eyes were a shade of sea green, and both his mane and tail were a matching shade of dull ruby red. While he lacked the beaks of most hippogriffs, he instead had a regular pony face and snout. His wings were puffier with two sets of feathers in total thanks to both of his parents. His face also had a scar that went down the left side.

Axel spread his wings apart, and started to preen them with a few nibbles to keep them straight and in line. He expanded and contracted his wings in order to stretch them to make sure he had no cramps. “Alright.” After that, he concluded that he was properly rested, and was prepared to head out as he intended.

However, there was a bit of a problem in his way.

“What the hell?”

The vanity that he placed his gear upon was missing his hat and mask. By process of elimination, he was able to deduce just where those items had gone off to.

He exited the room and stepped out into the inn’s hallway. To his left, at the very end of the hallway, he would spot the same griffon woman he had met the night before.

“Excuse me,” he called out to her, “do ya happen to know where--”

“Oh!” As soon as she spotted Axel, the griffon flew down towards him to offer back his hat and mask. “I decided to go ahead and wash these items. They looked absolutely dirty and I wouldn’t want you to catch an illness, child.”

The stallion was unimpressed--a flat, neutral expression adorned his face as he swiped back his articles of clothing. “Listen, lady. Don’t go snoopin’ ‘round people’s things. You do that to the wrong person, and you’ll get a bullet between the eyes.”

“I’m sorry, sonny. I just wanted to help you in any way that I could. You see, I also--”

Unfortunately for her, Axel wasn’t in the mood to hold a conversation. “With all due diligence to your age, I ain’t got time to dawdle.” With that, he shut the door.

The griffon let out a sigh, but wasn’t completely deterred. She walked downstairs to the main tavern where she started to mull over her thoughts to herself. “Ah...that boy’s headed for trouble. Now just when is my son arriving? I told him to be here bright and early.”

Back upstairs, Axel had gotten himself together. His gear, his guns, his clothes--everything. Looking the exact same as when he first arrived at the tavern the night before. His wings were also covered in the same leathery armor to keep them protected from gunfire and other attacks. Once he had all of his stuff in place, he started to trot downstairs and silently made his way towards the exit.

And as soon as he got outside towards the dirt path that led away from any form of civilization, he saw a small airship land in front of him. It kicked up so much dust that Axel had to shield himself with his hoof. “...What’s this about?” he thought to himself.

It shut down, and slowly came to a stop. Moments later, a young griffon would exit the vehicle. He wore a pilot’s helmet, goggles, a brown bomber jacket, and a black scarf to go along with it. “Hey! Are you Mr. Remington?”

The stallion’s claw instinctively twitched towards his holster. “...Who wants to know?”

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Hey--chill! Easy, hombre!” the griffon shouted, and dropped to his knees with his claws wide open to show that he had no weapons. “I ain’t got no beef with you! My mother called me down here.”

Axel relaxed his stance--no longer ready to strike. Instead, he was now confused more than anything. “...Your mother? Would you happen to be related to--”

A few seconds passed, and right on cue, the griffon from before exited the tavern to meet them both outside. “Ah. Good. You’re here. Now, Mr. Remington, before you cut me off and go on another tangent about how you don’t want any help…”

At this point, Axel was fed up. His eyes dropped, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he simply stayed silent and listened to what the griffon ahd to say.

“...I want my son to accompany you,” she went on, “He’s travelled all around these parts and can take ya to Klugetown. They don’t mess with us griffons, so it’s extra safe.”

“And…” the young bird-man added, “It’s much more practical. Calculating the wind speed along with the constantly rising temperatures and likelihood of dust storms…” He took out a map, and looked it over for a second as he spoke. “You’d likely drop from exhaustion halfway there if you went on foot.”

“Kid is a braniac, huh? Guess it won’t be too terrible to ride with him. Still, feels hella awkward knowing these folks without their names.” Axel weighed his options on his head for a second, and decided to bite the bullet. “...Hold up now. Just who are ya’ll? And why are ya so keen on helpin’ me?”

“Erm…Vido, why don’t you go get your ship started? I’ll make sure our guest follows.” The older griffon requested her son to go back.

“Understood, madre.” The one named ‘Vido’ caught the hint, and returned to his machine.

Now alone with the stallion, the griffon started to explain herself. First with an introduction. “My name is Gabriella Castille Magpie, but you can refer to me as Cassy. Alright?”

The Buisnesswoman.

She was the one who managed the inn and tavern, and kept an inviting, lively atmosphere for the patrons. Individuals from far and wide would often come by just to see what she and her colleagues had to serve.

“Ms. Cassy. Alright then--and you said that’s your kid over there?” he pointed to the airship, “Vido?”

“That’s right, sugar--Vido Montaña Magpie. It’s his dream to be a tour guide of the world and show everyone the wonders of the various cultures on display…” She gazed at her son with a set of hopeful, doting eyes. An expression that only a parent could feel for their child.

There was a loose thread in the conversation. Axel wasted no time to pick at it. “Where’s your husband? Is he cool with lettin’ his son do all this?”

Cassy’s response was delayed. “...he’s not exactly around. That’s all I can tell you.”

“This is going nowhere. I can’t worry about that right now.” With this in mind, he would come to accept her offer, albeit begrudgingly. “...Guess I can’t exactly shake your stance. So I may as well take ya up on this.”

She turned to him with a slightly more hopeful expression on her face. “Are you sure?”

He responded with an exasperated roll of his eyes. “Cut the crap. Your boy’s got a point. I may as well take the high road and gain an advantage.”

Cassy went through a stage of relief as she took a deep breath. “Whew…” She was happy that this traveller would not force himself to go at it alone. The confidence she had in her son was unparalleled. “...Thank you. That puts me at ease knowing you have someone with you to back you up.”

Axel quickly denied that statement. “I ain’t gonna use yer boy as backup. This is somethin’ I need to accomplish on my lonesome. Ya hear?” He turned and walked towards the airship so as to not let her respond.

As he walked away, Cassy would smile and let out a happy trill. “Have fun out there!”

“Blech…” The stallion muttered under his breath as he entered the vehicle.

The young griffon was already at the wheel of the ship, ready to take off at a moment’s notice. “Alright, sir. Everything’s ready. Sorry about my mom. She can be kinda overbearing when it comes to folks who generally aren’t from around here. It’s like she fears for their safety out of habit.”

“Yeah. I can see that,” Axel shut the door, and stepped towards the middle of the airship’s deck. “I heard your name from your mother. But for the record, mind telling me who you are?”

“Vido Montaña Magpie,” he replied as he pushed his goggles down over his face. “At your service, mi hombre.”

The Wingman.

A tour guide who frequently travels, taking people wherever they want to go. Vido’s focus is mainly on southern Equestria and beyond, all the way towards places such as Austailia, Puerto Caballo, Shire Lanka, and many other locations. On occasion, he would also venture to places such as Klugetown and Abyssinia. The ship itself was a bit different from most others. The main deck was fitted with a massive glass dome to keep the elements out, and the balloon used to power it ran on steam energy.

Over the course of the airship ride, things were rather quiet between the two. Axel wasn’t very much for conversation, so it was up to Vido kick things off.

So he did.

“Hey, uh--so, mind telling me about yourself, sir?” he asked with a nervous laugh, “I uh, tend to chat with my passengers to keep things from being awkward. But it’s fine if you don’t wanna--I’d understand.”

From Axel’s perspective, he figured that it would be worth it to at least humor the griffon. “...What would you wanna know?”

“Oh, well for starters--what’s your name? Mom didn’t mention you by name in the carrier letter she sent me.”

The hippogriff stallion had walked over to the left side of the flying vessel in order to get a look at the horizon below. “Axel Remington,” he answered.

“No way!” Vido gasped with an excited chirp. “You’re--dude, you’re famous!”

Axel scoffed in response. “Really? Am I now?”

The griffon wanted to know more, so he pressed a button to engage the autopilot on his airship. Then, he turned around to continue the conversation proper. “Hell yeah! You’re the one who’s famous for taking down Billygoat The Kid, Chess E. James, and the Colton Gang!” he gushed, “You’re the talk of the town down South of the border.”

“I see,” he replied flatly, “Kid, don’t believe everything you hear. I didn’t handle those alone.”

“But you certainly had a claw in their takedowns, yeah? Come on, you know you’re amazing! Can I get your autograph?”

Axel sighed mentally. “This is gonna be a long ride.”