Matthias, Mattimeo, and the rest fought their way up to the room with the Malkariss statue, pushing, shoving, thrusting and whipping out left and right with everything available. Matthias, Twilight, and Rarity were stabbing and thrusting with swords and horns, all the time moving in a clockwise direction. Yona went into the rats like a battering ram, shouting, "Yak smash!" Ocellus had transformed into a yak and was doing the same thing. Rainbow Dash had partially regained the use of her wings. She was flapping around in the air, her long flailing limbs laying rats senseless, to be trampled under the masses of their own horde. Applejack and Pinkie Pie lifted a door that had been broken down, using it as a large flattener on the Blackrobe rats. Jabez Stump and his son were unassailable. They rolled into one tight ball, hurtling madly about, spiking rats and deflecting spearthrusts with their needled armor casing. Smolder was breathing fire at rats and burning them. She knew this was her chance to avenge her fallen friend Gallus. All the others, even gentle Fluttershy, struck out at the enemy with flailing manacles and spears from fallen rats, knowing their lives depended on the outcome.

All the while, Malkariss was shouting "DIE, DIE, YOU WILL ALL DIE HERE! YOUR BONES WILL ROT IN THE KINGDOM OF MALKARISS!"

"He is a chap of one idea, isn't he?" Basil commented as he leaped in the air and kicked a rat in the head.

"Wish I could get my paws on him!" Mattimeo muttered as he turned a rat's own spear upon him.

Discord was observing the statue intently. When he first saw it, he thought Malkariss had been turned to stone by a spell, like Discord once was himself. But if that were the case, he wouldn't be able to talk. No, there must be somebeast inside there.

He flew up behind the statue and gave it a push. It toppled over and broke into a thousand pieces. I say a thousand, but it may have only been nine hundred. Nobeast counted them.

Sitting in the midst of the rubble was a white polecat, but he bore little resemblance to the statue. The real Malkariss was old and hideous. His fur was matted. His mouth was filled with blackened stumps of teeth. His claws were mottled.

"You have looked upon Malkariss. You must die," he said. But his voice came out as a piteous whine, not being projected by the chamber within the statue.

A chunk of rock struck him on the back and he arched in pain. It was Cozy Glow who had thrown it. "Die, evil one, die!"

Smolder threw another rock which hit Malkariss on the paw. "That's for Gallus!"

Cheek the otter pelted another one. "Your silly old statue wasn't worth a crushed acorn!"

Eventually nearly everybeast got in on the act. Malkariss was being buried with pieces of his own kingdom. Soon he could no longer be seen, buried beneath the mound of rocks.

Suddenly the ground started rumbling. "It's an earthquake!" Jabez yelled.

"The whole place is collapsing! We must get out!" Matthias roared above the noise.

The friends dashed up the tunnel with the entire underground collapsing behind them like a temple in a Daring Do story. The remaining rats didn't bother trying to stop them now. They were too busy trying to get out themselves.

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"Is that everybeast?" Twilight asked.

"I think so," Matthias said. They were all standing outside the entrance to Malkariss's former kingdom. The few rats that had made it out were running away in all directions, powerless without their leader.

"Look!" Mattimeo pointed to the top of a hill, where Slagar was standing.

"A fox that fights and runs away, lives to fight another day!" Slagar chanted crazily.

He was about to turn and run when something flew at him and hit him like a lightning bolt. It was Cozy Glow. She had murder in her red eyes. "Screwing me over was the worst mistake you ever made!"

Slagar and Cozy rolled over and over, disappearing over the crest of the hill. There followed a terrific bang.

Everybeast hurried to see what had happened. When they got to the top of the hill, they peered over and saw the dead bodies of Slagar and Cozy lying at the bottom of a deep hole.

"I swore to slay that silken hooded thief," Mattimeo sighed with regret.

Matthias leaned upon his sword. "So did I. This has saved us any argument. Evil destroyed evil, and good triumphed. I'm proud of you, son. You've proven yourself a true Warrior."

"I'm proud of you too, Dad. Now let's go home."

Joshy and Basil approached Discord. "I say, can I call you Gramps now?" Basil asked.

"You can call me whatever you want," Discord said.

Joshy held out a paw to Discord. "It seems I was wrong about you, wot? You truly did care about me after all. Without you none of us would have escaped. I owe you an apology. If you want, you can come back to Redwall an' live with us… Father."

Discord beamed. That was the first time Joshy had ever called him that. "I'd be happy to stay with you at Redwall, at least for a while."

Cheek came up. Basil took his paw. "And this young otter chap is going to live with us too. He needs a home."

"Just call me Cheek Stag Otter!" Cheek said proudly.

Twilight had heard everything. She looked at her pony friends and smiled. All the fathers had been reunited with their sons.

THE END