Next morning, Princess Luna called a town meeting. Everypony (and also every ferret) came. Luna was standing up on the stage with Twilight.

"Silence, please. Stay where you are, everypony. I have something to say to you all, and to one in particular. A terrible thing has happened. Never, in the history of Equestria has anything like this ever occurred. Last night, my sister Princess Celestia, along with many others, was very close to death. They were poisoned, but not by any accident. It is my opinion that Celestia was poisioned by somebeast standing here in our midst this morning!"

An uproar and clamor arose until Twilight pounded her hoof down on the stage. "Order! Give order an' let the Princess have her say!"

Luna continued in a loud clear voice. "There is a poisoner among us, but whoever did this awful deed will not escape justice." She passed the mic to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight said, "I analyzed the contents of the poisonous muffins last night and discovered that the poisoner used wolfbane, a plant that I know much about. Luckily I know how to mix an antidote, so our princess will be fine. But if you hold wolfbane with bare hooves, it will leave a mark on them. A red stain will appear within two days of holding the plant. The only way to get rid of it is to wash your hands in a special herbal mixture, the same mixture that cures the poison. So by the end of the day, Celestia and the rest will all be back up on their hooves. And we'll also know who our poisoner is."

Everypony cheered. Then they all separated to go about their day's chores and pastimes. Except for Veil, who remained where he was, stiff as a statue, sweat beading upon his nose. He wished he could raise his paws to wipe the sweat away, but he was afraid that his paws would already be red and somepony would see. He felt stunned. This time he would not be able to deny his guilt. Unless he could somehow sneak into Twilight Sparkle's house and wash his paws in the special herbal bath.

"Come on, Veil!" Fluttershy called to him. "Applejack said we could help her pick apples today, though she doesn't like us to eat 'em all."

The young ferret was gazing at his paws as he replied, "You go, I'll catch you up later."

By midafternoon, Veil was convinced that his paws were beginning to redden. He had rubbed them hard on the grass, scrubbed them more than a dozen times, and at one point even used a piece of sandstone to scour at them. His paws were sore, and the more he looked at them, the more he believed they were turning red. All day he wandered around town in a daze, avoiding Fluttershy. More than once he had wandered over to Twilight's house, only to find Spike the dragon sitting on the stairs every time. He showed no signs of moving, and the young ferret had to make himself scarce, or Spike might get suspicious.

When night fell, Veil made his way back to Fluttershy's house, where he slunk into his room and crawled into bed. Soon Fluttershy came and knocked at his door, calling, "Veil, it's me, Fluttershy. Can I come in? I feel like I haven't seen you all day."

The reply was loud and surly. "No you can't. Go away- I'm trying to sleep!"

"Are you feeling all right, Veily?"

"Go away, I said. Go away! Why can't you leave me alone?" The ferret's voice was shrill with temper.

Pressing her face to the door, Fluttershy spoke softly. "Poor Veil, I'm sorry I disturbed you. Have a nice sleep if you don't feel well; see you in the morning. Good night."

But when she leaned against the door, she pushed it open. Suddenly she gasped. Veil's bed was empty! There was only a cassette player in there. And the window was open!

"Go away, I said. Go away! Why can't you leave alone?" Veil's prerecorded voice said again on the tape.

Meanwhile, Veil was running across town, silent as a fleeting shadow, a length of rope over his shoulder. The sky was cloudy and moonless, giving him perfect cover for his flight.

At last he reached his destination, Twilight's house. He looked up and saw that a window was half open. Veil was strong and agile, and he found that he did not need the rope. He had been climbing trees all his life. There was no lack of pawholds, and soon he was up on the windowsill. Holding his breath, the ferret inched the window open wider. It creaked slightly, but not very loud; he slipped inside.

Twilight lay on a bed inside, completely covered by a blanket. Veil could hear her snoring gently. He stood on the window seat and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. He saw a faint strip of light coming under the door, and slowly, softly, he made his way to it, taking care not to knock against any object he felt in his path. Then he was outside in the hall, where he saw a table. A glint of copper told him that the basin of herbal solution stood on the tabletop. Placing one footpaw carefully in front of the other, Veil made his way slowly to the table. With a deep sigh of relief, he let his paws sink into the dark, cool herbal mixture; now he was safe.

Suddenly…

"Veil! What are you doing?"

It was… Fluttershy!

Startled, Veil dropped the basin to the ground with a crash. Red liquid spilled all over the floor.

"F-f-fluttershy! How did you know I was here?"

"Well, I followed you. I noticed your window was open, and then I saw you sneaking down the street. Why did you break into Twilight's house?"

Then the light turned on and Twilight came into the hall. She did not look happy. "Caught red pawed. I suspected it was you all along, Veil."

Veil's paws were indeed red. The herbal mixture was red too. In fact, it was the mixture that had turned Veil's paws red!

"Oh my gosh, I'm so, so, sorry, Twilight," Fluttershy panted. "Now your antidote is ruined."

"Oh, that wasn't the real antidote," Twilight said. "The real antidote has already been administered at the hospital. This is just beet juice. Not very herbal, but it dyes red."

Veil glared at Fluttershy. "Stupid, blundering fool! I would have gotten away with this if it weren't for you!" Fluttershy's eyes started to well up with tears.

Then Princess Luna, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie came up from downstairs.

"So, the trick worked," Luna said. "Our culprit fell into your trap, Twilight. Well done!"

"Celestia's fine and expected to live, by the way," Pinkie Pie said, nodding at Veil. "Just so you know."

"That poison was meant for you!" Veil snarled, and launched himself at her, teeth bared. Applejack moved like a blur; one swift hard kick from her hoof connected with the ferret's chin, knocking him spark out.

Fluttershy let out a long shuddering sigh. "Oh, why, oh, why did he do it? How could he? He must have known that he'd be caught sooner or later."

"What'll we do with 'im?" Applejack asked.

"I've got a spare room I can keep him in for tonight," Twilight said. "I guess in the morning Princess Luna will have to decide what his punishment should be."

"You won't be too hard on him, will you?" Fluttershy begged.

Princess Luna just looked at her, not saying a word.