Still tied to the tree, Ragear was beginning to regain consciousness. He was about to start biting through the rope when he heard a hissing sound.

Swaying hypnotically a foot from his face was the biggest, strongest, most evil looking adder that had ever been born! "Asmodeus, Asmodeus," it hissed. "Comes withs me. I's wills shows you eternities. Asmodeus."

"Why do you keep saying Asmodeus?" Ragear asked.

"That's my names," the snake said as he began to eat Ragear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cluny the Scourge brought his troops to the gates of Redwall Abbey. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were standing on the walltops, along with a column of mouse archers.

Cluny held the tapestry of Martin high above his head. "You have refused my terms. Now you will suffer the punishment of Cluny. You will beg on your knees for death to come swiftly, but I shall make your torment long and loud before you die!"

"Big words," said Twilight. "But you're not gonna find it that easy. As long as we have breath in our bodies to fight and resist you, neither you or your army will set a paw inside Redwall."

They started to battle. The rats were shooting arrows up at the mice and the mice were shooting arrows back down at them.

"That's the stuff to give 'em, mice!" Applejack encouraged. "Keep them bows twangin'!"

Constance and Basil appeared on the walltop, carrying something big and heavy between them.

"What's this?" Twilight asked.

"It's a seesaw that the Abbey Dibbuns used to play on," said Constance. "I thought we could use it as a catapult."

Two moles climbed up, carrying an enormous rock. "Arr, purrum thurr, that's a noice bowlder, my beauties," said one of them.

They put the boulder on one end of the seesaw. Constance slammed her huge paw down on the other end, and the rock catapulted over the top of the parapet. Screams of pain and shock could be heard from the rats below.

Rainbow Dash noticed a rat trying to sneak up to the wall with a ladder. She watched him prop it against the wall. She let him climb up until he was almost to the top. Then she pushed the ladder over, sending him falling to the ground.

Basil chuckled. "I say, that rat chappie's trying to fly. He must think he's a Pegasus like you!"

"Here comes another one!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the opposite wall. Another rat with a ladder was approaching from that side. Twilight quickly ran over and pushed that ladder down too.

The mousemaid Cornflower came up and passed out more arrows to the defenders. "Has anybeast seen Matthias?" she asked. "It's not like him to miss out on a battle like this."

"I haven't seen Pinkie Pie or Rarity since breakfast either," said Fluttershy. "I hope they're all right."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Matthias, Pinkie and Rarity emerged from the woods. They stopped at the edge of the battle. Rats and other vermin surrounded the Abbey on all sides.

"How are we going to get back inside?" Matthias wondered.

Some of the rats at the back of the army saw them and started running towards them.

"Uh-oh!" Pinkie panicked.

Rarity remained calm. "Hold my hooves, you two." The other two each grabbed one of her front hooves. She did a teleportation spell that transported them up to the top of the wall, right next to Twilight Sparkle.

"Where did you guys run off to?" Twilight asked.

"We were trying to save Martin's tapestry, darling," Rarity said.

"But we couldn't find it anywhere!" Pinkie squeaked, bouncing up and down.

Applejack pointed down at the rat army below. "Ya coulda saved yoreselves all that lookin' an' searchin'. It's right there!"

Cornflower hugged Matthias. "Thank goodness you're back safe!"

"I'm like an old bad penny, I always come back," he whispered.

Rainbow Dash was surveying the enemy down below. She put a hoof up to her forehead and squinted. "Something's wrong. I don't see Cluny anywhere."

"Pardon me for saying so, but isn't that a good thing, wot?" Basil asked.

"If we can't see him, we don't know what he might be up to," Twilight said.

Matthias pointed at a swaying elm tree by the east wall of the Abbey. "Look!"

"I just see a tree blowing in the wind," said Pinkie. "What's so unusual about that?"

"The wind is coming from the south, so the tree should be blowing in a northerly direction," Matthias said. "But instead it's swaying from east to west. Somebeast is up there!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cluny and a few other vermin had sneaked around to the back of the Abbey. They had climbed up the elm tree and were stretching a plank across from the tree to the wall.

"Steady now, Cheesethief, you moron," Cluny whispered. "Keep your end up! Keep it going upwards, not down!"

Finally, they got it across and Cluny stepped onto it. He was halfway between the tree and the wall when Matthias appeared.

"You!" Cluny snarled.

Matthias gave the end of the plank a push. He didn't have to knock it all the way off; he just had to touch it to send Cluny flying. The rat warlord crashed to the forest floor with an earsplitting scream! He lay motionless on the ground, with his single eye closed.

Twilight and the other ponies gathered around Matthias. They all watched as Cluny's rats lifted him onto a stretcher and carried him away. The foe was retreating!

But just before Cluny was out of sight, Matthias saw his eye snap open. He knew that meant the Scourge would be back for round two.