Pinkie is a master of charms, able to enchant objects and influence them to do her bidding– she can make a teapot tap-dance, or a suit of armor spring to life to attack an adversary. She channels her charms through a small, velveted baton. Needless to say, she was an invaluable member of the Harmony Guild, back in the day.

However, since the big split, Pinkie has fallen on hard times. There wasn’t much she knew how or wished to do outside of guild activities and missions… she had invested so much of herself, her very soul, really, in their work. Once the guild was no more, it was as if Pinkie’s identity had broken apart with it. She floundered on her own for a while, trying to keep her spirits (and funds) up by performing small, amusing charms in parks, squares, and public gardens. However, her earnings couldn’t keep her afloat, and she ultimately found herself evicted from the tiny water-closet of an apartment she’d been renting– out on the street, with no one to call on for help. She couldn’t go home… her parents had been the first landlords to kick her out, many years before, when they discovered she’d been practicing charms (the Pie family was, historically, very conservative and viewed magical arts as worldly, idle, and potentially destructive). As for her ex-guildmates, she couldn’t bring herself to contact any of them– not only were they probably all still angry, but she knew they all had their own lives to lead. The last thing Pinkie Pie had ever wanted to be was a burden to somepony else.

By chance, just a few days after losing her apartment, Pinkie was putting on a little show in a forested park, making a china plate and a blunt, copper knife dance a lively pas de deux on the edge of a stone fountain; and was spotted by none other than Flim and Flam, founders and joint ringmasters of the FlimFlam Bros. Travelling Circus… suave and smooth-talking businessponies as they were, out scouting for exciting new acts to feature in their show. The twins were impressed by Pinkie’s magic, and her credentials, and made her a business offer she couldn’t fathom refusing.

So, long story short, Pinkie Pie has been on the road with the circus for some years now. Pay is meager, but she has a gypsy-cart all to herself, a soft bed, a roof, and hearty meals guaranteed every day. AND she gets to continue working with charms, playing to a full tent in nearly every town the circus visits. She’s not the richest performer in Equestria; nor the most popular. But she’s secure.

But, Pinkie isn’t the only one with tribulation to deal with. Equestria itself is fading, continually smudged and trod upon by the dictatorial regime of Blueblood. His factories are everywhere, choking the air, and as he exercises more and more control over the ponies of Equestria, their spirits sink lower and lower. Even Pinkie cannot get a smile from everypony. This breaks her heart. Outside of fighting for justice with the guild, Pinkie’s greatest joy and purpose in life was to see her charms make somepony smile. The less the ponies around Pinkie can smile, the less she, herself, can smile.

She can put on a good show, and be bouncy and filled with laughter for a crowd, whether they are laughing or not; but, once the tent is taken down and the clowns are removing their makeup, Pinkie is a dismal shadow of her former, bubbly self. The sketch in the corner is the truer representation of who Pinkie has become. The bigger drawing is just a facade.