Hollywood Gold

It is the day of the first showing of Alice in Wonderland at Marigold's drama club. She smiles as she looks at herself in the mirror, adding a bit of mascara to her already full eyelashes. She smooths down her blue dress and makes sure that her boots and stockings are on tight. Marigold straightens the black bow on the back of her mane with her hooves. She wishes for a moment that she were a unicorn. It would have made things so much easier.

"I'll be fine!" The fourteen-year-old filly whispered to herself. "You've been rehearsing for weeks! You know the lines like the back of your hoof, Goldie!"

She hears the signal. It is show time. She steps out onto the stage and waits for the narrator (played by a colt named Ace) to finish his small monologue. She takes a deep breath, making sure to keep in character as she says her first line.

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense." Marigold stated in a proper accent.

Lacey, the cat who had been trained to play the role of Dinah, let out a meow on cue from her owner backstage.

Marigold smiles, looking pointedly at the feline. "In my world, you wouldn't say 'meow'. You'd say 'Yes, miss Alice'"

The cat let out another mew.

"Oh," She says, "but you would! You'd be just like people, Dinah, and all the other animals too. Why, in my world..."

The audience went hushed as Marigold began to sing. She had a beautiful voice, melodic and soft.

She sang of a magical wonderland where the flowers had special powers, and animals were peculiar and wondrous.

The show goes on, and every time Marigold says a line, the crowd feels her emotions alongside her. Herbal Essence is in the front seat, smiling up at her best friend.

At the very end of the show, the cast bows in front of the audience. When Marigold Valley does a small curtsy, the crowd goes wild. Cheers can be heard from throughout the theater. At that moment, Marigold's flank goes alight with a golden glow. She feels a sudden warmth spread through her, and when she opens her eyes from the sweet feeling, the crowd gasps. Herbal Essence shouts out from the front row.

"Goldie! Your flank! Look at your flank!"

Marigold does so, and tears of liquid pride stream down her cheeks. She has gotten her cutie mark! It appears to be a mini golden statue of some sort, with a pony rearing up on a stand. Marigold knows what it is immediately. It is the Oscars Award, the highest achievement of an actor or actress's career. She had learned about it in her drama club. And even though she had not won such an award, she knows that this cutie mark can only mean great things.

"Thank you, everyone, really! I've gotta go now..." Marigold smiles and waves as she gallops towards her home.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She whinnies in glee. "I got my cutie mark! I got my-" She stops when she sees the sight. Her father is laying on the floor, dead, bullet holes piercing his chest and blood trickling down his head.