If you had asked her as a pup, Porsha Crystal would have told you she was the luckiest girl in the world. She was the beautiful and talented only child of big-time entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal and she got anything she wanted. If she made her father look good.

Of course, as she got older, she realized all that glittered was in fact not gold. One moment in particular had been when her father had destroyed her cake on her third birthday in a fit of rage because the design hadn't been made to his specifications. Little Porsha had loved the edible glitter and princess-themed cake and had been looking forward to blowing out her candles, only to be forced to watch as her father had raked his claws over the surface, completely destroying the icing work. After that, he had swiped at the cake stand, sending the entire cake toppling to the ground, where he then stomped on the bottom over and over again, splattering cake, frosting, and the gooey chocolatey filling all over the floor.

Porsha remembered how she had sobbed and pleaded for her daddy to stop. When he didn't, Suki had ushered her out of the room while Jimmy shouted at the cake's creators, asking them if the cake had been their idea of a joke and if they were trying to embarrass him.

He had never once attempted to comfort his crying daughter. He hadn't even spared her a passing glance.

…

Porsha, now eighteen, tried to push the unpleasant memories from her mind as she once again slipped into her green alien costume.

Ever since the New Moon Theater had begun performing at the Majestic Theater, Porsha had found herself becoming happier on and off the stage. She loved performing. And she was really good at it. She loved the way her heart beat faster as she was launched onstage by the trapdoor before she began her number for the Out Of This World show. And she never tired of hearing the cheers and applause from the audience as she glanced around, seeing thousands of animals cheering and clapping for her.

She should have been happy. But, in truth she wasn't completely.

For one thing, she had left behind a lot of things back in Redshore City. One of them had been the fractured remains of her relationship with her father. She wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him for what he had done, especially when he'd tried to kill Mr. Moon in front of her.

For another, while the rest of the theater gang had accepted her as one of them, sometimes she still felt like an outsider. Especially when it came to the younger cast members: Ash, Meena, and Johnny.

She knew the three had known each other longer, so it only made sense that they would be closer. Still, she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt when she would hear Ash and Johnny playfully teasing Meena whenever she finished a video call with Alfonso, or if he happened to be in one of the seats that had been set aside for special guests of the gang. She also felt a ache in her chest whenever she saw Johnny's family.

Like Porsha herself, the gorilla had had a broken family, one that also dealt in illegal activities. But ever since they completed their community service, Mr. Moon had actually hired Johnny's father and two uncles on as security guards for the group. It wasn't a surprise given that it had been those three that protected the troupe when they had put on the show behind Porsha's father's back.

But what hurt her was how close Johnny was to his family when she and her father hadn't even spoken a word to each other since he had ordered her to get off the stage during her performance.

Johnny wasn't trying to rub it in her face, she knew that. But how else could she feel when he finished his song and dance number and was greeted by his father hugging him, his uncles patting him on the back, and all three praising his work onstage and telling him how proud they were.

In one month of the show's tenure, Porsha noticed Johnny's family never failed to express their pride for the youngest member of their pack. Meanwhile, in all of eighteen years, Porsha couldn't remember one time her father ever expressed pride that didn't direct the praise toward himself. Even when he'd gotten angry when he believed Mr. Moon fired her, it had been more about the damage to his own fragile ego rather than any concern for his daughter's hurt feelings.

The young wolf sighed dolefully as she moved on to the makeup table, suddenly not feeling as excited to rehearse as she had moments before.

"Porsha, is everything alright?"

Porsha was pulled from her thoughts by none other than Rosita, the female pig that was like a mother to the rest of the troupe. But in truth, Porsha could never truly feel a connection to her like the others, not when she had all but stolen her role when the show was still in its early stages. Sure, Rosita had let it all go, but Porsha couldn't forgive herself.

"Yeah, fine," the teen she-wolf answered, hoping her voice had its usual pep. "Just tryin' to get in the mood for the show. Wanna make sure it's perfect, right?"

"Porsha sweetie," Rosita gave her a sympathetic smile. "It doesn't have to be perfect, just go out there and have fun with it. You've done this a thousand times, you're a natural."

Porsha shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to believe that. She really did. But even now, she couldn't get her father's words out of her head.

"You screw up once in this business, you'll get eaten alive."

"Don't you ever do nothin' to make Daddy look bad, you understand?"

"Would you be quiet!? You've embarrassed me enough!"

The last one made her bristle so strongly, the fur on her tail began to stand on end.

"Porsha?" Rosita's smile faded into a look of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," Porsha smiled forcefully.

She couldn't let anyone know what she was feeling. They might decide to end rehearsal early. Then they wouldn't be prepared enough for the show. She would let everyone down and they would all hate her.

She couldn't let that happen. She was slowly starting to find a place in this found family. She couldn't jeopardize it all now that she was so close to getting in.

"C'mon, Rosita," Porsha said with more confidence than she felt as she finished applying her green alien makeup. "Let's do this!"

…