Come evening, Twilight and them arrived at Madd's cave.

The squirrel gave an insane chuckle. "This is the place! This's where the scum-mouthed vermin attacked me! Now you track 'em, so we can bring 'em back an' make 'em die, nice an' slow."

"I like this squirrel," said Cregga. "She reminds me of myself in my younger seasons." She turned to Deyna. "I brought you here to be my eyes. Can you see any tracks?"

Deyna bent down and inspected the ground. "I see pony and fox footprints, but lots of others too. Ferrets, stoats, maybe a rat or two, and a weasel. The smell of weasel is very strong."

Joshy said to Madd, "You told me there was only two of them that attacked you."

Madd nodded. "There was. The rest must have joined them later. But don't fret, just lead me to 'em an' I'll kill 'em all, every murderin' vermin mother's son of 'em!"

"Do you think the foxes we met on the way to Redwall were part of this Nightmare Moon's band?" Fahari asked Twilight.

"I don't know," said Twilight. "To tell you the truth, I'm starting to get scared. I wish we had Celestia with us."

"Well, there's only one thing to do," Cregga said. "Just keep following the tracks until we catch up with the beasts that made them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Moon and Felch were walking through the woods, looking for a place to spend the night. They came upon another house that looked much like Krobzy and Prethil's.

"I wonder who lives there?" said Felch.

"I dunno," said Moon. "But we better be careful. We don't want a repeat of what happened wid Madd. I t'ink youse'd better wait here while I go knock on da door. If a woodlander lives dere, dey might freak out if dey see a fox."

"Won't they freak out if they see you, too?" said Felch. "Since you have Juska tattoos, too."

"Maybe," said Moon. "But since I'm a pony, hopefully dere's less odds o' dat. You stay here- I'll be back in a minute. So long, Bo!"

She walked up to the house and knocked on the door with her hoof.

An old shrew answered it. He sucked his toothless gums, looking Moon up and down. "Well, a pony creature. Ponies are the nicest an' wisest beasts alive. Hola, amiga. Do you need shelter for the night?"

This was a better reception than Moon had dared to hope for. She had just been hoping the beast who lived here would let them cadge a few scraps of food, but here this shrew was, offering a night's lodging. "T'anks, mister," she said gratefully. "Dat'd be fantastic."

"De nada," the shrew said. "This place ain't much, but it's all mine, an' it's dry too."

"Dere's just one t'ing," Moon went on. "I ain't alone, see? I got a friend wit' me."

"Well, one more person won't make much difference. I got plenty of room in my casa."

"Well, ya see," Moon said nervously. "Dis friend o' mine is a fox. But don't worry, he won't hoit you. He's nice, just like me."

"If you say I can trust him, I believe you. You can always trust the word of a pony."

"Okay," Moon said and she called Felch over.

The shrew led them inside his house and sat them down at a table. Moon looked around and saw a turf fire glowing in a stone hearth, an armchair, a bed, and thick rugs of woven moss and reeds carpeting the floor. "Dis ain't such a bad place," she said.

Felch agreed. "I've definitely slept in worse spots."

"My name's Ruskem," said the shrew.

"Well, my name's Moon an' dis is Felch," said Moon. She didn't add the "Nightmare" part this time, since that hadn't seemed to go over too well with Madd.

Ruskem put two bowls of stew on the table for Felch and Moon. "What's this?" asked Felch.

"Shrewburgoo, that's what it is, an' don't ask me what's in it, por favor. That pot ain't been empty since I don't know when. I just adds to it anything I can find, berries, fruit, roots, an' all manner of things. One for you, Belch, an' the big bowl for Noon."

Moon thought the shrewburgoo tasted wholesome and filling, though some parts of it tasted sweet and other bits were definitely savory. But Felch lost his appetite after he found an entire taco shell floating in his bowl. Who knew what year that thing was from.

As they ate, Ruskem chatted to them. "I never heard a pony that talked like you do, Loom. You sound almost like a ferret. But then again, I've never met a pony who had a horn and wings. I've seen 'em with horns, and I've seen 'em with wings, but never both."

Moon dropped her spoon in shock. "Does dat mean you've met lotsa other ponies?"

The shrew nodded. "Oh, si. There's a shrew village not too far from here, and the ponies from Equestria often come there to sell things. I could take you there tomorrow, if you want."

"Would ya really?" Moon exclaimed. "I've never met another pony before!"

Ruskem looked at her curiously. "A pony who's never met another pony? How's that possible?"

Moon wasn't sure what to say. Should she tell him she'd been raised by vermin?

She started to stammer a few words, but Ruskem held up his paw to cut her off. "Don't tell me your story, Mood. It'll tire my ole brain out."

Moon relaxed. "Don't worry, I won't tell ya my story. It bores me listenin' to it."

Felch yawned. "You're in need of slumber time, Welch," said Ruskem. "I'll sleep in my chair; you take the bed. Doom, you're too big for either. You can sleep on the rugs, they're nice an' soft."