The windigo shuddered as it was forced from the cart and out into the warm spring night. The heat and magic had burned away a lot of its form. Currently, the creature was nothing more than a small cloud. As it floated in the air, it shifted and moved, working to re-take the equine shape. Once re-formed, the once mighty windigo was now the size of a foal.

The creature tried to lift up, but was too weak. Instead of flying up into the sky, it could only float a few feet from the ground, leaving a trail of frost below it. Doing the best it could, it began to move north, searching for a cold place to rest and recover. Preferably some place that was frozen with some sort of fighting.

Beyond the edges of town, the windigo continued to make its way. As it flew, inky blackness formed in the air around it. Glowing green eyes formed to glare down at it, as a wide, sharp-tooth grin appeared. A black tendril reached out to grab the windigo, a thin layer of frost forming where the dark surface touched the icy cold form.

"Well, well," Sombra said as he brought the windigo closer to him, "what do we have here? Looks like a windigo. I haven't seen one since The Crystal Empire."

The windigo continued to squirm and whinny, trying to break free. The black tendrils wrapped around it more as it was pulled closer to King Sombra. His eyes narrowed as he studied the small spirit of ice and anger closely.

"Not very strong. Looks like you've been through a lot." His grin grew wider. "I might still have a use for you though. Maybe even help you get some power back.

"Now..." Sombra's gaze shifted as he looked back toward town, "where did you come from?"

The explosion of the windigo cage sent Flam flying back, slamming into one of the walls. There was a burst of pain as his shoulder hit, creating a loud pop.

With a wince of pain, he pushed himself back up onto his hooves. There was pain, but it felt like nothing was broken.

"Sorry, oh brother of mine," he said aloud, "but it seems like this is a moment of 'everypony for themselves.'"

Following the wall, he made his way along until he felt the door knob. Flam's horn glowed as he gripped the knob to pull the door open. Despite giving it a hard yank, the door did not move. With a growl, Flam increased the magic going through his horn and pulled harder. Slowly, fighting against the cold wind, he was able to start pulling it open.

For reasons unknown to him (the opening of the door by Applejack), there was a sudden change in the air pressure causing the door to fly open. The ease threw Flam off-balance, stumbling a second. Catching himself, the stallion ran out, shutting the door behind him.

After quickly glancing around, Flam started to walk calmly away. At the moment -- hopefully -- nopony would be looking for him specifically. So the best way to get away was to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Admittedly, the hat, shirt, and mustached did make him stick out, but nothing could be done about it at the moment (and he was never parting with the mustache, even if his life depended on it).

Despite himself, Flam could not keep a casual pace. The further he got from the center of town, the quicker he started to move. By the time he was past the buildings, he was running at a full gallop. It did not bother him. After all, now that he was pretty sure nopony would see him, he wanted to get as much space between him and Ponyville as possible before they caught up with him. Maybe if he was lucky, he would be able to keep moving all night and get a massive head start.

The thought was lost as something grabbed a hold of Flam's hoof, causing him to fall. Pushing himself back up, he looked back, but saw nothing.

"Excuse me," a deep voice called out, causing Flam to jump. A shadowy black form now stood in front of him. Sombra's glowing green eyes narrowed as he made a sharp-tooth grin.

"Does this," he held up the windigo, "belong to you?"

Flam's eyes went wide as his retinas shrank down to pinpricks. He opened his mouth, but nothing coherent came out.

"Wel-nah-mi-mean-..."

"SILENCE!" Sombra bellowed, "before you have me considering if your lack of intellect is actually contagious."

Closing his mouth, Flam swallowed and nodded.

"How disappointing," Sombra said with a sigh. "I was hoping that you may have been of use to me. It seems I was wrong."

The equine features of Sombra started to fade, turning back into shadows before dissipating.

"Wait!" Flam called out. "I can be of use."

He pushed himself back up into a standing position.

"You like that thing? I can get you more! Others. My brother and I have been tracking down and catching creatures all across Equestria."

"Have you now?" Sombra's voice asked, echoing through the night.

"Indeed we have," Flam replied. "I'm certain I can get whatever you want..." he smirked. "For a price, of course."

The smile slowly faded as their was no response. He shifted on his hooves, looking around.

"And what might that be?"

"Some bits," Flam answered, "and you help me get my brother out of prison."

"...interesting..."

Flam turned around, looking for the source of the voice.

"If you can prove you are as capable on your own as you claim," Sombra's voice stated, "then I shall see about helping your brother escape incarceration.

"In the meantime, I want you to head to Canterlot."

"Ca-ca-Canterlot?" Flam cried out. "Bu-but that's the capital of Equestria. The royal guard and the princess are-"

"If you are unable," Sombra cut in, "to get there and do as I need, then I have no use for you. From here on, it is up to you."

Flam opened his mouth, and stopped. He was uncertain how he knew, but he was aware that he was alone. With a sigh, he looked around. After figuring out where he was, he adjusted his direction and started heading for Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash sat outside the cart, next to Gilda and Iron Will. The three of them watched as the rest of the town guard worked to deal with Flim and the rest of the sideshow. Twilight Sparkle was helping the guard move the cages that contained animals, the plan being to release them into The Everfree Forest. Rarity was giving her statement, telling about what happened as she understood it. She was actually the last that needed to. After giving theirs, Pinkie Pie and Applejack went to look for the missing changeling again. After hers, Fluttershy had taken Luna back home.

"You've really changed," Gilda said, looking out the corner of her eye toward Rainbow Dash. "I mean the Rainbow Dash I knew wouldn't have been something as lame as a town guard." She looked out over the scene. "Then again, she probably wouldn't have been able to lead some other ponies into something as stupid as this and get out of it without any pony getting hurt."

"Heh," Rainbow Dash let out with a grin. "Thanks."

"So what's going to happen to the cart?" Iron Will asked.

"The guard has somepony who comes and collects stuff like that," Rainbow Dash replied. "They'll probably sell it off in a week a week or two. If that doesn't work, it'll be torn apart and sold for parts."

She turned to look at him.

"Why? You planning on buying it?"

Iron Will gave a shrug, but said nothing. Rainbow Dash looked at him a moment longer before turning her attention back to Gilda.

"What about you? What are you going to do now?"

Gilda shifted, rubbing at her chin. Her long feline tail gave a flick.

"I don't know," she finally answered with a shrug. "Not completely anyways. Not sticking around here though."

"Can't say I blame you," Rainbow mumbled.

"I think I might spend some time on the open road though." Her eyes narrowed as she looked away from Dash. "Maybe spend some time getting to learn more about..."

"Oh?" Rainbow said with a smirk. "Does the big bad griffon have a crush?"

"Don't be such a dweeb," Gilda snapped back. Despite herself, her face was turning a deep shade of pink. "Besides, I don't know enough about him to feel that way... yet."

With a flap of her wings, she took off and flew over to Iron Will. Gilda landed on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck and tail around his waist.

"Come on, beefcake," she said with a grin. "Let's get out of here."

In The Everfree Forest, a lone changeling wandered. Its eyes -- normally a blue, but currently purple and tinged red -- were glassy and unfocused. There was a crack on the carapace covering the changeling's head, a glowing green liquid leaking from it. The changeling continued to stumble through the forest, passing through all sorts of plants it did not bother to notice, much less recognize.

The changeling stopped as it felt something wet against its hooves. Looking down, it saw its own reflection in a pond. Except for ripples from the changeling's hooves that were quickly fading, the water was still. Once it faded, the surface reflected the creature's features like a mirror.

Leaning down, the changeling got a better look at itself, its eyes blinking slowly. A glowing green light spread out from the tip of its muzzle, spreading out. The mystical energy spread further and further, moving across its body before dissipating.

In place of the black insect-like pony appearance, stood a pink pony mare. She looked similar in build to Pinkie Pie. Her coat was a darker shade of pink. The same was true for her mane, which fell straight to one side of her head and covered half her face. On her flank was the outline of a cupcake, filled with a deep blood red color.

"P...Pu... Pi... Pin... Pinka..."

She tilted her head, looking at herself still.

"M... My... My n... My na.... My nay... My name..."

Her eyes narrowed as she smirked.

"My name is Pinka...."

She narrowed her eyes as she grinned, revealing sharp predatory teeth instead of the regular pony kind.

"...and... I... like..."

She licked her lips.

"CUPCAKES!"