In the darkness that surrounded Kluge Town, many creatures did their best to stay out of the Umbrum’s way, not wanting to anger the creatures known for their sheer brutality and cruelty.

It wasn’t the first time they had witnessed it either. Sometimes, they had been forced to watch as their friends and acquaintances have been ripped apart for not being useful enough to the Umbrums.

Many had tried time and time again to fight against them but it was futile. The Umbrums were the strongest, fastest, and deadliest warriors alive.

They had been hearing rumours that there was a warrior in Equestria who had been liberating the land of Umbrums. They did not know whether it was true or just a story to make the young ones have hope or if it was truly a hero that was fighting for them.

Maybe it was a little bit of both.

However, three creatures within Kluge Town knew the truth. And they were preparing for liberation. One that would shake the Umbrum spirits.

Inside Capper’s house, they were preparing the weapons and going over the best strategic places to attack. They had been going it over quite a few times at that point but it was good to make sure the plan got glued in their memory.

“Okay, so if we strike the Umbrum stronghold that would mean that they would have no choice but to go there to defend their weapons that they no doubt have in store there,” Capper explained with a blank look as he made his swords sharper.

“What kind of weapons are we talking about?” Fluttershy asked while looking at the map they were looking over.

“Could be anything,” Capper regretfully informed. “So it’s best to be prepared for anything. I highly doubt they have been keeping it there as souvenirs.”

Fluttershy grimaced at the lack of information but she didn’t say anything. Spike had a far-away look as he heard the information.

“What will we do when we capture the stronghold? I doubt every Umbrum will just magically run there and fight us.” Fluttershy stated while narrowing her eyes at the outlines of the Umbrum stronghold as if to judge it.

Capper nodded. “There is one building in town that is a ‘ruling’ building of sorts. When the Umbrums weren’t able to control the Town by brute force alone, they took that building,” Capper pointed to a large castle-like building on the map that was in the heart of the town. “That is where the other Umbrums no doubt will be preparing when they hear the attack, I also believe that a warlord is there.”

That grabbed Spike’s attention.

“Whose the warlord?” He asked making Capper think.

“He is a Yak,” Capper began carefully. “He was raised outside of Yakyakistan because of sickness. He speaks fluently in the Umbrum language but has shown that he is capable of understanding Equestrian and the language of the Yaks. They have never given him a proper name to speak of because he has never given his name to any creature as far as I’m aware,”

While Spike was thinking things over, Fluttershy felt her heart freeze.

“A Warlord is here?! Oh my! What will I do?! After what I saw in Manehattan …” Her line of thinking stopped as she remembered the city. It had once been a beautiful city, coming close to Canterlot in that regard with Canterlot being slightly higher in the rank when it came to beauty and the expenses of living in those places. But she would forget all of that … she would only remember the warlord she had to face when she was fighting in the second part of the city. While she may have changed because of the war, she would never get away from the fear that nags in her heart.

Capper glanced over to the yellow-coated mare and saw her facial expression.

“But you won’t need to worry too much. It’s only a rumour, nothing has been confirmed yet. But there is no doubt a good chunk of leaders here that runs different parts of this town.” He tried to reassure Fluttershy but the more he had spoken, the more it sounded like he was trying to comfort himself.

Fluttershy didn’t pay him any mind as she was still thinking about the horrible things that no doubt would occur when they strike.

War is no walk in the park, the Umbrums have repeatedly shown that. Not just to her, but to Spike as well that had the most experience with Umbrum combat. She had heard the stories in the Crystal Empire about the battles Spike had won.

She smiled slightly as she remembered the pony telling one such story and was convinced that Spike was a God that was sent down from the heavens to protect them from all forms of evil. For some reason, Fluttershy couldn’t help but agree, when she had spoken to Spike he had told her in further detail how he had been raised and trained. It was gruelling work on his part, but he succeeded and now he was back, seeking vengeance on King Sombra for destroying his beloved home.

In a way, he was a Ghost seeking vengeance …

She chuckled slightly at the thought. She had seen the paintings in Yakyakistan, depicting his battle when he was liberating the nation from the Umbrums. Glancing towards Spike, she saw him sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed.

Meditation.

She smiled at him. The few times that he could relax and think things through. She looked around to find Capper as she just realised that he was out of her line of sight until she found him on the other side of the room.

Capper was sitting in a chair with his paw around a mug that contained water. He looked to be contemplating something. He didn’t look troubled per se, but he did look as though he needed help. With nothing else to do, she walked over to him, taking a seat next to him.

For what seemed like an eternity, Capper finally looked up, catching the eyes of Fluttershy who looked at him cautiously, unsure if he wanted to talk or be left alone. He didn’t say anything. He raised to mug to pour some water into his dry mouth which washes away the desert that had built up in his mouth.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked when she knew he wouldn’t be the first to speak.

He sighed. “Nothing to worry about,” He dismissively spoke which made Fluttershy frown.

“I can see something is wrong,” She insisted with her eyes narrowing slightly at Capper who looked to the table.

“I’m sure you do,” He agreed with no emotion on his face or voice making Fluttershy unsure of how she should proceed.

She knew that it was never good to bottle something up over time because, in the end, it could not just hurt others but the creature in question as well. At the same time, however, she didn’t want to force him to say what was on his mind if he didn’t want to talk about it.

Feeling thirsty, she got off the chair and went to the fridge to get some cold water and poured herself a mug. Walking back to the chair, she sat down and wondered further how she would be able to proceed.

Capper didn’t seem like the creature who openly spoke about his problems and was the type to solve them before they became a bigger issue to deal with.

Could she use this to her advantage?

“How do you usually solve your problems?” She curtly asked while sipping her water while at the same time, keeping an eye on him.

She saw the surprised look on his face, his mask temporarily falling off before it was plastered back on his face. In her mind, she smirked in victory.

Capper didn’t want to answer. He knew what she was trying to do but it would be rude to not answer her question.

“I deal with them the second I get them.” He replied with honesty. It was true when you live a life of crime, the second you have a problem, it needs to be dealt with the minute you have the time. It will otherwise infest itself, being something you have to worry about all day and even night.

“So, why aren’t you trying to deal with it now when you have free time?” Her question was quite fair. If he had time, why didn’t he deal with the problem?

For a long while, he didn’t respond. What could he say? He didn’t have an answer at the top of his head.

“Because there is nothing to be fixed.” He revealed with a sigh.

Fluttershy was surprised by the answer. Why was he so—

“The thing I cannot fix is my home.” He revealed further, knowing that his yellow-coated friend would be dumbfounded by the revelation. “Klugetown … has always been broken beyond repair. Like I’ve told you; Klugetown is unfathomable and hard to take over, so when the Umbrums came and did just that in what felt like a day, I was surprised but also …”

He stopped mid-sentence, unsure if he should reveal a small bit of information that he kept to himself. Fluttershy looked at him, trying to make him finish the sentence he’d begun.

“ … relieved.”

Fluttershy wasn’t expecting that.

“Relieved how?” She asked with extreme caution with hints of curiosity and hostility. Capper saw the hostile eyes and felt slight guilt. Did he just reveal his darkest secret?

“I was relieved because they brought with them, laws, rules, punishments, and medicine.” Capper continued. “Of course, the medicine was tough to negotiate with them because it is very expensive. But if you know where to steal it from it’s not so bad.”

Fluttershy had to admit, that she could never understand how someone could live in a lawless kingdom and still be alive. Living in Equestria had made her secure from almost all kinds of criminality that are common in the Badlands that every creature knew about. The lawless land is ruled by criminal kingpins that have their hooves or claws in serious dirt. And not the good kind. Medicine is something Fluttershy could also understand why many creatures in Klugetown would be fascinated with. She’d seen many creatures in the marketplace where they have only bandages over their wounds, no actual potion or any other form of medicine that could help them further.

“I guess I can see why it was tempting to want them to rule.” She allowed with a nod. “But … didn’t you fight against them when they first came here?”

Capper looked down in embarrassment. He occasionally took a sip of his water before he responded.

“Yeah, I … I did.” He admitted.

“Then, why were you glad they brought ‘structure’ to your home?” She was getting more curious the more he responded to her questions.

“Because … I believe it’s a wake-up call for every creature here that it’s time we build our own home. Our own kingdom to live and thrive in. Not just be some wasteland where criminals are committing crimes daily to earn some quick bits. Maybe it’s a silly dream of mine, but I believe they’ll wake up after this, they’ll have to.” Fluttershy admitted that it was a very good idea. She doubted the creatures would have listened when they had their freedom, so perhaps losing it while having a form of structure would help them create a kingdom with formidable defence.

“I agree,” Spoke a familiar voice. They turned and saw that it was Spike who looked at both of them with a small smile behind his mask. “I cannot begin to claim to understand what it’s like to live here or even grow up here for that matter. But you do. You have seen what your home needs, right?”

Capper nodded.

“Then why not show them that you can all thrive together? Show them that they aren’t just outcasts from their former kingdoms,” Spike motivated with a warm smile. “Show them, that they can do good. That they aren’t just criminals that don’t want any form of law and structure. Who knows … maybe you’ll become the most powerful kingdom within a few years depending on how hard you all want it.”

The heartwarming moment made Capper feel special. The resonation and motivation that Spike showed made him realise, that not every creature in the Badlands wanted this. Most of them came because they were banished from their former kingdoms and believed that they could do no good other than criminality. And so, they continue with the one thing that made them end up in the Badlands.

Klugetown wasn’t a place for those with a faint heart.

Capper glanced up at his two guests and … comrades. They looked at him with a smile, knowing his doubts before he even thought about them.

“They’ll listen to you, Capper,” Fluttershy reasoned.

Spike nodded. “I believe so. You may not be some big-shot mafia boss, but they’ll listen to you.”

Capper wanted to smile. But he couldn’t. How could he? He had wronged many creatures in the past and many of them wanted him dead. Some of them even joined the Umbrums but he highly doubted that they remembered anything from their past other than to serve their ‘King’.

Just when he thought about it, he remembered the first day.

The flames washed over them like heavenly fire. Only, it wasn’t heavenly, it was torturous. After the battle, he remembered the clear smell of burned flesh and rotting corpses with flies all over them with visible wounds and torn flesh where weapons had sliced them.

He clenched his paw.

He remembered the mothers who cried as their children’s heads were …

His anger spiked a fury that he had never felt before. He wanted to slaughter the Umbrums from taking his home, for killing civilians who simply wanted a better life and wanted to try their luck in one of the most dangerous wastelands there is.

He would avenge them.

He had been in such deep thought that he didn’t realise he had closed his eyes. When he opened them he saw that Fluttershy and Spike were looking at him. He couldn’t tell what they were feeling since their facial expression was neutral.

“The Umbrums will pay.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the very long wait! Here’s the chapter.