"Behold," Flim called out to the crowd as Flam slipped out of sight, "the mighty griffon! Part eagle, part lion, all predator. These creatures are ferocious carnivores..."

Flim continued to talk about the captive creature held on stage, trying to make it sound as frightening as possible ("And it's favorite food... is pegasus ponies!"). Not all the ponies assembled were listening at the moment.

"Gilda?" Fluttershy asked. "You mean the griffon you told us about in Cloudsdale?"

Rainbow Dash nodded still staring up at the stage.

"Are you certain it's her?" Twilight asked, looking between the griffon and the pegasus.

"Mostly. It has been a couple years since I've seen her last, but she looks pretty much the same."

The six mares and two fillies turned their attention back to the stage as the curtains closed, leaving Flim out in front of it alone.

"While one of the most predatory," he proclaimed, "the griffon is not the only hybrid in our collection. Our next display is a combination of something you are very familiar with, and supposedly of something that has only been heard of in myths and legends. Citizens of Ponyville, we present to you... the minotaur!"

Once again the curtains parted. This time it revealed the mustachioed Flam and the creature mentioned. It stood up on two legs, nearly as tall as three ponies. It had the head, back legs, and hooves of a bull, but the upper body and limbs were not. It was broad chested and well muscled. It was also chained up with blinders placed around its eyes to only let it look forward.

"Oh," Fluttershy whispered, "that poor thing."

"That's it," Rainbow Dash growled, wings flicking open. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this." With a flap of her wings, she started to lift off the ground, only to feel something stop her. Turning around she found herself being held in place by Twilight's magic.

"What the hay, Twi?"

"I know you want to check this out," Twilight said, "but... I think you should wait a moment."

"What?!" Rainbow Dash cried out in surprise, staring at her friend.

A hoof pressed against her shoulder, patting gently.

"Rainbow, dear," Rarity stated. "I'm inclined to agree. If you will listen for a moment, I shall explain."

Rainbow Dash landed and let out a huff of frustration. Her ears pulled back as she glared at her friends, but waited.

"Now," Rarity continued, "I believe that your plan is to fly up there, announce yourself as a member of the town guard, and confront them directly, correct?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash responded.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that -- in this particular case -- it would be a bad idea." Rarity motioned toward the stage. "If you were to confront them as it is, then the group would flee immediately and most likely escape before reinforcements were able to arrive and assist you."

"I guess so," Rainbow conceded with a huff. "So, what do you think I should do then?"

"Well for now," Rarity continued, "I think you should wait." She turned to look up at the stage again. "Let's see what they have in this... show... before we do anything else first."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she looked at the white unicorn.

"Seriously?"

"I know patience isn't exactly one of your strongest virtues, but just wait and see. If they have abducted your griffon friend like you think, then they have likely done so with other creatures as well."

"Huh..." Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin, letting that statement sink in. "That's actually a good point." Her eyes narrow as she stares at the stage. "Zecora disappeared a few days ago, and these two show up...."

"Do you really think that they would do that?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know yet," Rainbow Dash replied, "but considering what we've seen, it is a possibility.

"In the mean time," she turned to Scootaloo, "I want you to go to the town guard offices and have them check to see if there is any information on The Flim Flam Brothers, or their show."

"I'm on it," Scootaloo said with a salute. Quick as she could, she slipped through the crowd. Once out, she hopped onto her scooter and took off like a rocket, wings buzzing as they flapped as fast as they could to propel her forward.

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash stated, "I want you to make a list of everything they show."

Twilight Sparkle let out a gasp of excitement. Her horn lit up as she pulled out a quill, ink and parchment.

"Hold on," Applejack said, looking at Twilight. "You mean to tell me... that you just happen to have those on you?"

"Don't be silly," Twilight replied with a wave of her hoof. "I always carry them around with me. You never know when you need to make a list, note a new discovery, write down a new magical theory, write down some information you want to research-"

"Okay, okay," Applejack interrupted. "I get your point."

Grinning, Twilight returned her attention to her parchment, writing down what they had seen so far: a griffon, a minotaur, and -- currently being brought out onto the stage -- a manticore. On this last one, the audience was not very impressed. After all, there were families of manticores living in The Everfree Forest.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she looked up at the stage.

"Now, please tell us that you've been in The Everfree recently..."