Pinkie Pie, professionally billed as “the Rose Wonder”, gets another post-show lecture in her wagon from her boss, Flam (well, one of her two bosses).

“You’re not playin’ like you used to, Rosie,” the mustachioed unicorn glowers. “Your velvet bunnies aren’t hoppin’ too high; your teapot keeps spillin’ all over the ring, and your rubber chickens are dancin’ like… well, like chickens with their heads cut off. The crowds are groanin’ with boredom and laughin’ at your expense more than they’re throwin’ bits away on overpriced bags of peanuts. There’s no kindly way to say it, missie… your act’s a mess. Frankly, my brother and I can’t help but wonder if somethin’s awry… somethin’s taken the bloom from the rose, as they say.”

“Oh, no, Boss– don’t you worry about me!” Pinkie summons a few drops of enthusiasm in the hopes of making herself sound as if she believes her own statement. “I promise, I’m all right. I’ve just been a little… ahem… under the weather lately. But I’m doing much better every day, Gilda gave me this cough-medicine, you see, and–”

”‘Better every day’, Rosie?” Flam raises an eyebrow. “Save it, all right? Whatever’s going on, you’re goin’ to have to get through it lickety-split. I won’t have my whole circus fallin’ down because of one performer’s… instability.” His eyes flash crisp apple-green. “Understand, Rosie?”

Pinkie nods silently. There’s no point in making excuses. She’s just got to stop allowing herself to be distracted by these feelings, this strange new nervous giddiness she’s been dealing with… she hasn’t felt this way in all her years with the circus. It’s like something is hanging over her, about to drop… but what?

She sits down on her straw cot and watches as Flam leaves her wagon and shuts the door behind him. Pinkie blinks hard and rubs her eyes. “Also, I should probably stop taking medical advice from Gilda… that gryffin always has seemed a little, well, off. I’m pretty sure she talks to herself. A lot.”

---

Indeedy: another performer billed with the FlimFlam Bros. Travelling Circus is Gilda the Tapestried Gryffin (she’s tattooed almost every inch of her body and is quite the contortionist), along with Bulk Biceps the Strong Man (er, Horse), and the “Sugar Sisters” (conjoined twins Lotus Blossom and Aloe), among others.

Flim and Flam weren’t horrible bosses, overall. Flam was genuinely concerned for Pinkie’s well-being, but he was caught in a juggling act, and he knew one bad apple (pie?) could cause the whole circus to go rotten… naturally he didn’t want to see that happen to the dream he and his brother had worked so long and hard to build. He was being practical when it came to Pinkie; but you can bet, were things to go south with her employment at the circus, Flam would personally see to it that she landed on her hooves elsewhere.

Pinkie wasn’t lying about that cough-medicine. She really was in the dark as to what could possibly be wrong with her, and was willing to try quite a few different remedies, in case one ended up working (which, none did). So, where in Equestria could this terrible unease, nervous energy, and feeling of impending something have been coming from?

Maybe the past was catching up with her… or calling out to her.

OK BUT SERIOUSLY I’M SORRY THIS HAS BEEN SO MELODRAMATIC LATELY XD I’VE BEEN IN A MELODRAMATIC MOOD XD I’LL GET TO MORE FUN STUFF SOON, I PROMISE XD