That night, an immense feeling of joy and relief reigned over the cliffs and cave, which the small party of hares and otters had used as their hiding place. The center of it all was Lord Brocktree. The big badger radiated quiet strength and confidence. Creatures passed close to him, so that they could reach out and touch his huge form, or admire his massive sword. Now they could sit out in the open, feeling safe and reassured by his presence. Stiffener Meddick summed it all up in a single phrase.

"At last we've got a leader, a real Badger Lord!"

Celestia had gone out to spy on the vermin. Now she came back with good news. "I saw a band of about a hundred vermin heading to the shore. They were led by the ferret called the Grand Fragorl."

"Oh no! Are they gonna attack us?" Puddinghead cried. "That doesn't sound like good news to me!"

"Now hold yer horses," said Smart Cookie. "Let 'er finish talkin'."

"Thank you, Cookie," Celesia said. "Doubtlessly their master Ungatt Trunn sent them to attack us, but instead they headed for the cat's ship, the Trunn Princess. I watched them sail away out of sight. I don't think they'll be back."

"Good oh!" Dotti cried.

"Yeah, it looks like they know better than to mess with a Badger Lord," Hurricane said. "They were probably intimidated by my show of strength earlier too."

Brocktree remained serious. "Let's not get too cocky," he cautioned his friends. "Many of the Blue Hordebeasts may have deserted, but there are still plenty left. We still have a battle ahead of us."

"I really don't wanna have to fight in a battle," Pansy whispered. "I don't like killing things!"

"Well, we don't have to slay every last one of the vermin," Brocktree said. "Remember, our goal is simply to regain the mountain."

"And the Elements of Harmony," Luna reminded him.

"Can't we just convert the Blue Hordes with the magic of friendship?" Pansy wanted to know.

Brogalaw shook his head. "You don't know what yore talkin' about, missy. You can't simply convert vermin. Rats, weasels, ferrets, and foxes have been causing trouble in Mossflower since the time of our earliest ancestors. They live only for plunder an' killin'. In prehistoric times, those kinds of animals used ter eat other animals. Now we have no need to feed off each other anymore, but vermin still feel a compulsion to kill other beasts, because of their predator instincts."

"But aren't otters and badgers predators too?" Clover the Clever asked.

"Hold on," Luna said. "Maybe there's a simple solution to this problem. A snake dies when you cut off its head, right?"

"I think anything dies when you cut off its head, wot?" said Dotti.

"Yes," Luna said impatiently, "but my point is, if we can just kill Ungatt Trunn, the leader, the rest of the troops will become demoralized and give us no more trouble."

Brocktree liked this idea. "Yes, that could work," he said, nodding. "I'll challenge Ungatt Trunn to a single combat, like when Dotti fought Bucko for the crown."

"That's the ticket, sah!" Fleetscut cried. "You can defeat him easily, a big strong badger like you, wot!"

"I'll write up a challenge and send it to him," Brocktree said.

He got a piece of paper and wrote:

UNGATT TRUNN

YOU HAVE TAKEN SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU AND I WANT IT BACK. MY ARMY COULD PROBABLY DEFEAT YOURS, BUT I DO NOT WANT UNNECESSARY KILLING. INSTEAD, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A ONE ON ONE COMBAT TO THE DEATH. THE WINNER GETS SALMANDASTRON.

-LORD BROCKTREE

He walked out of the cave and up to the mountain with Celestia and Luna. Celestia took the message and flew into the sky. She threw it through a window and then swooped back down before anybeast could see her and maybe shoot her with an arrow.

"Success?" Luna asked.

"Success," Celestia replied.

In less time than you could think, WHOP! A big black thing came down, as big as the stone of a cheese press. It landed right at Brocktree's feet.

"Oh, that's nice," he said. "Trunn wrapped his return message around a great whacking rock. Probably trying to brain me with it."

Luna picked it up and read it. "The fool can barely spell!"

It said this:

DEER STRIPEDOG

I DO NOT KNEAD TO FIGHT FOUR THIS MOUNTAIN. IT IS ALREADY MINE BY WRITE OF CONQUEST. I CAN STAY IN HEAR FOREVER WHILE YOU STARVE TO DEARTH OUT ON THE BEACH. SOONER OR LATTER, YOU WILL HALF TO LEAVE.

Brocktree did not know what to do. "Ever since I saw that cat's face in my dream, I have been worrying about what would happen when I finally had to face him," he confided in his friends. "But it never occurred to me that Ungatt Trunn just wouldn't fight me."

"Well, why don't we go back and show this note to our other friends?" Celestia suggested. "Surely one of them will have an idea."

They trudged back to the cave gloomily. They didn't notice the pair of yellow eyes observing them from a window.