"Prepare yourselves!" Flam [Flim? Whichever had the mustache (the two had been switching so much, most ponies lost track)] shouted. "Because our next one is something that nopony has seen before. Our next creature is one that could be among you... without you even knowing it."

There was a collection of gasps from the audience. Eyes were wide as the crowd moved closer, their interest piqued.

"What you are about to see," the stallion on stage continued, "is a sneaky, cruel, malicious creature that wants nothing more than to take the place of somepony you care about and steal your very life force.

"Mares and stallions, hold your foals close and brace yourselves as we present to you...the changeling!"

The audience gasped as the curtain pulled open, with Pinkie Pie being one of the loudest. Flim stood beside a cage where a insect looking pony shaped creature stood, and it did not look well. Under the stage lights, the creature's carapace looked dull and rough. There was even a noticeable able crack on its head that was oozing a green liquid. It looked out toward the audience, its eyes looking a dull purple color with tinges of red around the edges.

"It... it's hurt..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she stared at the trapped changeling on the stage. Her ears dropped as tears started to well from her eyes. "It's hurt and scared. I can feel it."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy each reached out with a wing to wrap them around their friend. Rarity and Applejack moved closer, pressing their shoulders to her. Twilight reached out a hoof, giving Pinkie's flank a gentle pat. Moved closer to Pinkie as well, giving one of the mare's front legs a hug.

"It may look a lot like a pony," Flim called out, "but don't be fooled. These parasites desire nothing more than to feed off your love and-"

The rest of his statement was cut off by the audience. They were booing and hissing. The unicorn stallion on stage stared wide-eyed at the audience that was not glaring at him.

"Somepony get me a rotten tomato!" one of the members shouted.

Flim eyes went wide and he let out a cough.

"Now, now," he called out, his voice cracking. "No reason to resort to violence." He stepped forward, horn glowing to shut the curtain behind him. "We are simple here to inform and entertain."

The crowd continued to glare, but said nothing more. None of them wanted to be the one to tell about Pinkie Pie since she was a friend to most of them. The fact that it was a strange pony from out of town that seemed to make money off exploiting other creatures for profit also encouraged them to keep quiet about it.

"Don't worry," Flim continued. "We have one more creature for you all to see. First, I feel that I should warn you all."

Out in the audience, Pinkie Pie took a step back from the stage, pulling her friends with her. A faint chatter could be heard from her teeth, and her body began to twitch and shake.

"Bad," she mumbled. "Bad, bad, bad..."

"The creature you are about to see," Flim announced, "is something of myth and legend. It is a creature that most have heard of every year, but few have ever seen -- until now. I am talking about something that feeds off the very chaos created between ponies. A creature that -- in the right circumstances -- could plunge all of Equestria into a cold, frozen, wasteland.

"Behold!"

The curtains flew open to reveal the creature in question. In the center of the stage was a cube that looked like it was made out of glass. The corners were covered in frost, and the surfaces were fogged up. Still, there was something that was moving and shifting inside. The details were hard to see, but it looked to be some sort of white horse shaped creature.

"The Windigo!" The Flim Flam Brothers announced together.

The very air seemed to grow colder. An icy wind blew across the audience, letting out a chilling howl. The audience moved closer to each other for warmth, most of them having their ears pinned back against the sound as they shivered.

"You have nothing to worry about," Flam called out.

"The one we have before you can make it cold," Flim added, "but can't harm you."

"Between the warmth of your hearts," Flam continued, "and the fact there is only one-"

"-plus the fact it's springtime-"

"-mean that you are all perfectly safe from this thing." He grinned as he gave the wall of the glass box a gentle pat with his hoof.

"Most of you-"

"-if not all-"

"-have heard of these creatures before."

"Since they are a part of the tale both of Hearth's Warming and the founding of Equestria."

"Few-"

"-if any-"

"-have seen them alive before."

"The ferocious windigo lives in the coldest-"

"-darkest-"

"-furthest-"

"-most isolated portions of Equestria-"

"-where it always snows-"

"-and is said to be the home of what was once The Crystal Empire-"

"-where the mythical King of Shadows once ruled."

There was a murmur among the ponies at that. After the events at the Spring Equinox Celebration, all of Ponyville now knew that The King of Shadows was real. They did not talk about it much, wanting to get on with their normal lives. Still it had been a major event. The sun was even blocked by the moon for over a week. Such a story should have reached most of the ponies in Equestria. So how did these two not seem to know of the "mythical" king's actual return?

"That's incredible," Twilight Sparkle said, eyes wide as she stared at the glass cage.

"That's dangerous," Applejack grumbled. "Having something like that cooped up..." she shook her head. "Ain't nothing good gonna come from this..."

"I think we've seen enough," Rainbow Dash stated. "Come on. Let's go get a look at their trailer. Maybe we can find a way in or something useful."