“Carmine “Pink” Lemonade was born in the small village of Bridlestone but moved to the bustling city of Manehatten when she was a teenager. In Bridlestone, she lived on a citrus farm with her large family. She grew up with five older brothers: Cerise, Ruddy, Verdure, Prime, and Vermilion. Her mother, Roseate Lymon, was the head of the household, often working the long hours in the fields. Carmine’s mother was an inspiration to her - she single-hoofed raised all five children, managed their small farm, and was still the most loving mare Carmine had ever known. Roseate’s hard work was not without consequence however, as she could always be seen with a tired look in her eyes. It wasn’t until she was older that Carmine realized the toll their life had on their mother and the deep depression that was hidden behind those eyes. When hard times hit the farm, Roseate would go days without eating, doing her best to be sure her children were fed. Carmine never knew of this or the days that Roseate considered suicide or the nights she spent crying behind a closed door. In Carmine’s teen years, the farm had been failing and could not compete with the larger, more industrial farms in the area. Roseate had unpaid loans she had taken from the banks to pay for farming equipment and keep up with the grander competitors and due to continued crop failures, the bank was now coming to posses their farm in the next month as collateral. She felt ashamed, as if she had finally failed her family beyond repair. This time… Carmine could hear the crying and went to comfort her mother in the night. Roseate never wanted her daughter to see her like this - she had done everything she could to provide a normal, happy childhood for her little girl. Carmine was shocked, she never knew the pain her mother was going through and felt terrible for not knowing sooner. She assured her mother that whatever that was to come, things would turn out ok if only they have their family. Carmine was afraid of what the future of their family might bring but she did her best not to show it - it was her turn to be strong.
 
Since this encounter, Carmine promised to take over some of the responsibilities her mother previously held such as balancing and budgeting the finances and delegating the chores and tasks that needed to be done to save the farm. But the challenged proved too much - even with the work divided between the family members. It was Carmine’s idea to consider abandoning the farm for a better life in the city. Financially speaking, it seemed the best option available to them. But her mother and four of her brothers refused to leave their family farm - to do so would be to leave their heritage. The land had belonged to the family for generations… but it belonged to the bank now. But as said by her eldest brother, Cerise, “The banks do not know what it is to own land, to feel it beneath your hooves each morning, to work in it’s soil each day, to nurture it and watch it grow each day! They care only for numbers and bits, not of the families they ruin!” The banks would be coming to reclaim the land the following morning. “They can try” Cerise bellowed, reaching for the shot gun on the wall. The family would stand tall against those who would dare try to take their home from them. Carmine believed that their family was worth more than the land and that they should take what they can and leave well enough alone. Her family dismissed her objections. If she loved this family, she would fight with them. But she couldn’t. She felt a sickening pain in her conscious. The ponies from the bank who would come also have families - how could even be an option to take them away? ? She looked to her mother for guidance but was met with the sorrowful stare of a mare who has run out of options.
 
In the end, Carmine - only a young teenager at the time - decided to leave the farm. She couldn’t fight for their land or convince her family to abandon it. She, too, had run out of options. But as she was packing her saddlebag with what she could, her youngest brother, Vermilion, crept into her room. He wanted to leave too. He felt too fearful to speak out before in front of the whole family. Carmine exclaimed that perhaps between the both of them, they can convince the rest of the family! But Vermilion, a coward, refused. He wouldn’t be able to find the strength to face them. Carmine, angry, lashed out at Vermilion. This was more important than his stage-fright right now! Vermilion, reflecting her frustration, pointed out that she was planning to leave in the night without telling anybody - it shouldn’t make any difference to her if he does the same. At length, Carmine could find no other options but to leave with Vermilion.
 
Vermilion and her went their separate ways when they reached Manehatten. It has been several years since she left her hometown of Bridlestone. When she thinks of her mother, she tries to remember the strength and love she saw in her as a child and forget the anger and defeat she saw in her eyes the night she left. Carmine has developed a bad habit of molding memories to the way she wants to remember them than the way they actually are. At the end of a day, before she goes to sleep, she’ll lay in her bed, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling of her one-bedroom apartment. She’ll review in her mind all the moments that day she wish something could have gone better. The little slip-ups, the uncouth words, those little moments that could use a little touch up to alleviate her guilt. One by one, she’ll imagine her day without those moments, imagine her reacting differently to the world around her, saying and doing exactly what would be most charming and most friendly for each moment. She replays this revised day to herself over and over as she falls asleep. The next day, she awakens with a positive attitude and a genuine smile. As the day progresses, whenever she might say the wrong thing, cause an awkward silence, or act in a way that seems to bother those around her - it gnaws at her heart. She feels immense guilt over the slightest fault and it affects her behavior as her “I’m sorry!“s echo through the day until at last she can go home and remember things differently. It started out as just a way for her to imagine what she could have done differently in a situation but she has gradually come to rely on it as a way to alleviate her often irrational guilt. This practice, however, has reached the point to where Carmine can genuinely forget her faults by the next day. She can’t understand why her friends are upset when they have somehow been slighted by her actions the previous day. She doesn’t remember what she does wrong anymore… and as nice as it might first seem to forget your mistakes, it’s beginning to worry her. She’s lost friends over this. Her friends that remain tell her about her reoccurring mistakes such as being insensitive, or being too excitable, or overlooking details. But she doesn’t remember those mistakes enough to learn how to correct them!
 
She’s started a job as a barista in a coffee shop to save up money for therapy she thinks might help her with her little problem. Hypnotic therapy sounds cool, she thinks. She likes to imagine they can just wave a watch in front of her face and like magic she’s cured! Her unrelenting optimism can sometimes get in the way of her accounting for what might be realistic. It’s going to be a process for her to learn that it’s ok to not be perfect and it’s better to accept and account for your mistakes as they come rather than pretend they didn’t happen.  
When life gives you lemons, you know?”