The bloody show and the mucuous plug are not the same thing!
The mucuos plug literally plugs up the cervix, and it can fall away weeks or hours before labour. Often it has a bloody tinge to it.
The bloody show is caused by the capileries (can't spell!) near the cervix breaking as painless tiny contractions start to dilate your cervix. This is an indication of early labour.
I lost my plug 2-3 weeks before labour started, and the bloody show 1-2 days before real labour (I had a very long pre-labour). I also had spotting after internals.
HTH