Our favorite four turtles sat cross-legged in the lair, peering at their hands of cards.
"Do you have any threes?" Leo asked.
Raph grumbled to himself angrily and put the three of spades on the ground. Leo closed his eyes and put a card face-down next to it. He opened his eyes and flipped it over. It was the two of hearts. He snorted and Raph grinned as he took the cards and put them in his hand.
Donnie tapped his chin thoughtfully and moved the five of hearts from atop the six of spades to the six of clubs. He threw a black poker chip in the air, caught it, and carefully studied the side that had landed up. He placed the chip on top of the five of hearts and examined the cards once more.
Mikey threw a group of cards in the air, shaking one off when it landed on his face. He quickly tossed a rubber ball in the air and frantically picked up the cards on the floor, making panicky noises when he couldn't get his fingers under the card. He caught the ball and examined the cards in his hand, which were the two of clubs, the five of clubs, and the ace of diamonds. "Eight." He muttered. Mikey dropped the cards and threw the ball in the air again, once again proceeding to snatch up cards.
Mrs. Sparkling Hair sat on the floor next to Mikey, a small hand of cards balanced on her hands. The ball hit her in the face and rolled off to who-knows-where. For a moment nothing happened, but then the unicorn toppled backwards, the perfectly poised cards tumbling all over her face.
Leo suddenly looked up from his hand. "What game are we playing?" he asked.
Donnie glanced up at him with a confused expression. "I have no idea." He answered.
For a moment the four looked around in confusion, Mikey holding two blue poker chips before his eyes, when suddenly the scene exploded in a cloud of glittery baby pink smoke.
The glitter clouds dissipated to show a hardwood stage like that of a school auditorium, framed by thick maroon curtains. A spotlight whirled around wildly before focusing on the turtles' faces. The four mutants were in big clunky charcoal gray chairs, their wrists strapped to the armrests.
"Where are we?" Donnie asked, looking around him with wide eyes. He leaned forward as far as the chair would allow and asked, "Are those…cameras?"
"I think so." Leo replied, "Look at the audience."
Donnie followed his instructions and cocked his head in confusion. "Unicorns?" he said.
"Yep. Unicornia unicorns." Leo decreed.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Mikey screamed, thrashing against his bonds, "WHAT IS GOING ONNNNNNNN?!"
Raph grunted and pulled against the straps. "Let us out!" he shouted.
A voice off-stage laughed. "Now why would we do that?" it giggled. Mikey opened his mouth to answer. "Don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question." It clarified.
Mikey made a face that can only be presumed meant confused. A light fluttery giggle emanated from offstage. Loud clopping noises followed it, getting louder and louder until a unicorn cantered onto stage. Its coat was a dazzling gold that reflected the spotlights blindingly. Its mane and tail were forest green with raspberry highlights. Big puce eyes scanned the crowd, twinkling happily.
"Hello fans of My Mr. Turtle!" she exclaimed, "My name is Goldenbloom, and I will be your hostess!" The crowd cheered and clapped wildly until the 'Applause' sign next to Goldenbloom shut off. "Thank you, thank you, I love you all!" she shouted, blowing kisses with her fore-hoof, "Now, I assume these five need no introduction." The crowd whooped and whistled again.
"Five?" Donnie asked, looking around, "There are only four of us, five plus you."
"OH! Silly me, I forgot to wheel her out!" Goldenbloom proclaimed with a giggle. She clapped her front hooves twice quickly before slamming them back on the stage to stop wobbling. "Ooh, dizzy." She said, swaying slightly.
Two dark gray unicorns with scarlet manes nudged forward a metal chair matching the turtles' on top of a wheeled platform with their muzzles. They stopped when it was level with Donnie's. Then they bit the platform and ripped it out from underneath the chair, causing the occupant to scream as the chair freefell momentarily.
"Thanks, guys!" Goldenbloom called, waving at the horses. They nodded brusquely and walked away. "Everybody say 'hi' to Aprrrrriiillll O'Neeeeeiiiilllll!" she declared like a wrestling match announcer.
The crowd applauded happily until the 'Applause' sign shut off. "Umm…hi." April said, waving gently at the wrist, which was all the restraints would allow.
"Why are we here?!" Donnie shouted, suddenly agitated.
"Geez, geez, cool down. Don't get your shell in a twist!" Goldenbloom said, "All in good time. But now, we have to introduce our protagonist." The crowd was silent, staring with intent anticipation.
"Please give a warm Unicornia welcome to the one, the only, Madelyn Dearing!" Goldenbloom shouted, "Bring her out, boys!" Nothing happened. Goldenbloom cleared her throat. "I said, bring her out, boys!" she cried. A cricket chirped. The 'Applause' sign sparked.
Goldenbloom sighed and facehoofed. "Do I have to do everything myself?" she grumbled as she walked off stage. The five hostages looked around, wondering where the eccentric pony went to.
"Actually, we're not wondering where she went, we're just happy she's gone." Raph corrected.
Strained grunts could be heard from offstage. Slowly, another chair on another wheeled platform inched into the light. The wheels screeched each time it moved. Goldenbloom made a whiny grunt with each screech. Finally, she stopped, and made one last noise as she jerked the platform out from under the chair. The chair flew in the air and flipped once before landing upright. The small child trapped within shrieked and whimpered.
The unicorn snorted, blew her mane bangs out of her face (only to have them fall right back where they were), and stalked back over to her spot next to the 'Applause sign. "There." She stated, "Now we have a perfect half-moon." She traced the semi-circle in the air with her hooves rapidly before planting them firmly on the stage. She lifted one and put it to her forehead. "Ooooooh, this must be a merry-go-round stage or something." She said.
"Madelyn!" Leo and April cried simultaneously. April pulled her hands back against her bonds, trying to fit her skinny wrists through. Leo jumped to his feet with a great burst of energy, taking the chair with him. He then yelped as he fell forward, the chair now on top of him.
"Oh, well we can't have that." Goldenbloom cooed. She walked over to Leo. She turned her head to April and proclaimed, "By the way, that won't work. We made the bands extra-small for you and Maddie."
The horse turned around and kicked Leo's chair. It jerked up momentarily, and then fell back down again, smashing his face into the stage. He groaned loudly.
"Stupid gravity." Goldenbloom muttered. She stepped back, and suddenly she went up in a cloud of glittery baby pink smoke. When the smoke cleared, Goldenbloom had morphed. She stood in a humanoid form, with shiny gold ears poking through her long mauve-and-emerald hair. Her hair reached down to the bottom of her ribcage in a side ponytail of ringlets. Her tail hung like a normal horse's, curving gracefully millimeters before it brushed the floor. Her watermelon bangs slanted halfway into her right eye.
"That's better." She proclaimed, shaking her head. Goldenbloom brushed off her skirt and brought her foot up to examine her boot. She wore a puce top with a sweetheart neckline and a white-and-green plaid skirt. It was belted around the waist with a strand of bronzy blossoms, and a gold flower surrounded by vines and leaves was embellished on the skirt's corner. The boots were white-dark green plaid as well, but only the tips showed. From the top of the shin down a baby pink flared pant leg of sorts covered her leg. Goldenbloom's right hand cupped a raspberry pink hibiscus with a white stybus (the rod in the center). A forest green vine with little leaves on it coiled up her arm to her elbow.
"Cute!" she declared. Leo moaned from underneath his chair. "Oh yeah." Goldenbloom said, "I forgot about you."
"I feel so appreciated." Leo mumbled into the floor. The audience laughed until the 'Laugh at Leo's Lame Jokes' sign blinked off.
"Well, I guess the show isn't going to get very far if you keep kissing the floor, now is it?" Goldenbloom joked. The audience laughed until the 'Laugh at Goldenbloom's Lame Jokes' sign shut off.
"Hey! Why do I have a 'Lame Jokes' sign?!" Goldenbloom protested, "We all know why Leo does, but why me?!"
"Would you please stop insulting me and get this chair off my back?" Leo asked.
"Please help Mr. Turtle, Miss Unicorn Lady!" Madelyn begged.
"Oh, don't worry, I will, sweetie." Goldenbloom reassured, "And by the way, the name's Goldenbloom. Goldie if you'd like."
Goldie held up the hand with the flower in it. The stybus glowed, and thin ribbons of pink smoke trailed from it. The ribbons wrapped around Leo's chair, lifted it into the air, righted it, and set it back down.
"There we go. All better." Goldenbloom said.
"Not really." Raph retorted, "Still don't know why we're here."
"Why, you're here for a Truth or Dare show!" Goldenbloom declared with a giggle, "Isn't it obvious?"
"NO!" Raph shouted.
"Well it should be!" Goldenbloom yelled back. She closed her puce eyes, took a deep breath, and mumbled, "Inside voice, Goldie, inside voice." She opened her eyes and proclaimed with an almost-shouting voice, "Before we can get on with the Truth or Dare, we must give thanks to someone very special, without whom there wouldn't be this story."
Goldenbloom threw her arms in the air and exclaimed, "Andrea O'Down!" Rainbow confetti and white balloons rained from the sky. Goldenbloom laughed and twirled, sticking her tongue out to catch confetti. Leo knocked a balloon reading 'Andrea O'Down' away from his head, with his head. Madelyn giggled and head-butted a balloon with a silver tiger portrait to Mikey, who bounced it back. Raph snarled and tried to bite a balloon with a brunette duck photograph on it.
Goldenbloom cheered, "We love ya, Andrea! Creator of My Mr. Turtle, plus Mr. Dearing, Marcus, Billy, and all of them! And without you, Madelyn wouldn't be who she is today!"
"What's with the tigers and ducks and girls?" Donnie asked, watching a balloon with some girl's portrait on it float by.
"Oh, those?" Goldenbloom replied, "Those are Andrea's avatars." She put on a loud voice and announced, "Once again, thank you Andrea, for letting us use your wonderful story and characters! The My Mr. Turtle fanfiction and all characters but our guys, April, and…" Goldenbloom bowed. "…moi belong to Miss Andrea."
Goldenbloom clapped, crushing the flower in her hand. She glared at it in annoyance until it sprang back into place. She hefted the flower into the air, and once more pink smoke emanated from it. It spelled out a long paragraph of words. The smoke vanished with a poof, and bold black letters were left in its place.
"Why is everything backwards?" Mikey asked.
"We're seeing it from behind, Mikey." Donnie declared in an annoyed voice.
"Ohhh." Mikey said in recognition. Donnie facepalmed by bending his head down to his chained hand.
"If the prisoners…oh, I mean guests…would stop jabbering…" Goldenbloom decreed, glaring pointedly at Mikey and Donnie. Donnie drew his head back up and they both quieted. "Thank you." Goldenbloom said, "As I was saying, these are the rules for our Truth or Dare. You can read ahead if you want, but I'm going to explain them out loud for the benefit of the six who can't read backwards."
Rules
Please do note that just because an event occurs within the Truth or dare, this does not guarantee that it will not happen differently in My Mr. Turtle.
"Yeah, I probably should've said that earlier…" Goldenbloom mumbled.
1. Truths or dares can be made out to the six characters present, Goldenbloom, or any other characters that appear in My Mr. Turtle. Truths or dares can be sent to characters from Unicornia and Space Heroes as well. In addition, you can request a certain character's appearance without a dare for them.
Goldenbloom stepped out in front of the words and glared at them. "You're all going to dare me to do horrible stuff, aren't you?" she asked without turning to the audience. Some nodded and raised their hooves. She sighed. "Knew it."
2. Stick to the My Mr. Turtle canon. Be as accurate as possible.
"Alright, that one should be kind of self-explanatory." Goldenbloom proclaimed, "Know your stuff, people."
3. Keep the truths and dares within a K-K+ rating. Remember, there is a seven-year-old present. Nothing more than kissing in a romantic sense, and keep the violence down to a minimum.
"I'm the seven-year-old, aren't I?" Madelyn asked.
"Well, the other five here are in the fifteen-sixteen range and I'm not telling you how old I am, so yeah, that's you." Goldie answered.
4. The mainly supported pairings are Apritello, LeoxApril, Lerai, and MadelynxMarcus. All pairings will be respected and used though. Note that Karai does not actually appear and therefore cannot be questioned, but she is alluded to.
"Wait…Leo and April…what?" April asked, looking at Leo.
He shrugged and answered, "I dunno."
"And Apritello…what is that…me and…?" April wondered aloud.
"Ha ha ha, why are we listening to an insane unicorn mutant anyway?!" Donnie giggled nervously.
"I am not a mutant!" Goldenbloom shrieked, "And I prefer the term 'extremely passionate'!" Donnie and Raph both snorted and rolled their eyes.
"Marcus is here?!" Madelyn asked, looking around her wildly.
Goldenbloom shouted, "LET'S ALL JUST BE QUIET AND READ THE NEXT ONE, ALRIGHT?!"
Raph smirked. "Extremely passionate, alright."
5. No plain questions for Madelyn. She already has her own ask-blog on tumblr.
"I do?" Madelyn asked.
"Yeah." Goldenbloom replied, "It was set up by Andrea O'Down." The audience cheered at her name until the 'Applause' sign blinked off.
"I don't know anyone named Andrea." Madelyn declared, "I know someone named April!" She looked at April, who smiled and waved at the wrist.
Goldenbloom laughed and said, "We all do, Maddie."
6. Sends truths or dares by PM. Guests please encourage an account-owning friend of yours to PM in your dares or create an account.
Goldie giggled nervously, "Yeah, apparently review-submitted dares break The Fifth Fanfiction Commandment, so try and use Private Messaging. Pretty pretty please! Otherwise we can't use your truths or dares.
Mikey shouted, "Okay, everyone send in review dares so we don't have to do them!"
"Oh, please don't!" Goldenbloom begged, "I don't want to go to jail, or worse...back to the padded room! The people in the white jackets are so MEAN! And they have long pointy needles and they take your magic flowers away!" She began to whimper and cry hysterically.
"Why am I not surprised that girlie's been in the nuthouse?" Raph asked.
Goldenbloom's pointed ears suddenly flattened against the top of her head like a cat's would. With a random mood swing, she shrieked, "YOU BE QUIET RAPHAEL! I HAVE A MAGIC HIBISCUS AND I'M NOT AFRIAD TO USE IT!"
April chuckled uncomfortably and asked, "Why don't we move on?" "Before our kidnapper has another mood swing..." she added softly.
Goldenbloom grinned cheerily and exclaimed, "Great idea, April!"
7. Be creative with your dares. Song dares are greatly encouraged!
"Yeah! I was waiting for this one!" Goldenbloom cheered with a fist-pump, "Who wants to hear Raph sing Taylor Swift?!" The crowd whooped without the encouragement of a sign.
"Umm…how do I put this so that a blonde horse will understand…?" Raph muttered, "NO!"
"YES!" Goldie shouted back, "Actually, that applies to this next one."
8. Truths or dares cannot and will not be avoided, upon punishment from the wheel.
"What is, 'The Wheel'?" Leo asked, making air quotes with his tied-down hands.
"I'm glad you asked!" Goldenbloom cheered, "Because now it's time for…" The crowd shouted with her. "The WHEEL! OF! PUNISHMENT!" A large wheel that looked suspiciously like the Wheel of Fortune turned on its side rose up out of the floor.
"So, if anyone of you decides to be a total butt-headed buzz-kill, you will have to endure one of the tasks from upon this wheel. No backsies." Goldenbloom declared, "Each slip has a key word on it. Upon seeing this word, I will connect it to your punishment and then force you to do it. For example…" She plucked a white triangle off the wheel, opened it into a long diamond, and shrieked.
"I told Dragonblooded not to put this one!" she cried.
"What?!" Donnie asked in a panicky tone, "What is it?! What does it say?!"
Goldenbloom sighed and turned the paper around, spinning in a circle to show everyone. The other side was colored like parchment paper, emblazoned with the word 'TURTLE' in big bold letters.
"What the heck does 'turtle' mean?" Raph asked, an angry tone creeping into his voice. Obviously, the goldie pony was getting on his nerves. "You got that right." He grumbled.
"That could mean anything." Donnie said.
"It means…" Goldenbloom started in a squeaky tone. She cleared her throat and continued. "It means…that whoever gets this punishment has to eat…a bucketful of turtle soup." The six upon stage, as well as the audience gasped in horror.
A terrified squeak slipped out of Mikey's throat and through his mouth, which was hanging wide open. Donnie fainted in his chair, and April ignored her disgust to look at him with concern, evidently wishing her hands were unbound so she could help him.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
Leo gulped and stared at his feet. Raph's eyes were replaced by cartoony flames as he struggled against the chair's wristbands. Goldenbloom giggled awkwardly and slid the paper back into its pocket. "Let's put that one back, shall we?" she said.
"People eat turtles?!" Madelyn gasped in repulsion.
Goldenbloom ignored the question and clapped twice. The rules exploded in puffs of sparkly pink dust,and the wheel sank back into the stage. She held up her magical flower and tapped her foot until it snapped back into place. "Alright!" she proclaimed, "Now we have some examples. First, an example truth."
Loopy black print scrolled across the curtains, spawned by the supernatural pink tendrils; up the left side of the stage, across the top, and then down the right side.
Dragonblooded: Tell Madelyn 'Mr. Turtle's real name.
"Alrighty then." Goldenbloom declared, turning to Madelyn. She pointed at Leo. "His name is Leo." She stated, "Leonardo, actually. Hamato Leonardo, actually."
"I think she gets it!" Leo exclaimed.
"Yeah, I get it…" Madelyn, suddenly shy, mumbled under her breath, "I like that name." Leo smiled.
"And that is the demo truth. Now we have an example dare." Goldenbloom decreed. She snickered. "I like this one."
Dragonblooded: Have Madelyn sing 'Let It Go' from 'Frozen'.
"Ooh! I like that song!" Madelyn exclaimed. Her excitement paled into a face of horror as she realized she would have to sing it in front of a huge crowd.
"But not enough to sing it in front of a huge crowd, right?" Goldie said, reading Madelyn's mind. Madelyn nodded. "Well, too bad!" Goldenbloom cried. She held up the mauve flower, and once more pinky glitter oozed from it. A large circle in the center of the stage twisted with a loud squeaky creak. Now, instead of the semicircle of chairs on the left and Goldenbloom on the right, the arch of chairs was in the back and Goldenbloom stood in the front.
The glimmering pink unhooked Madelyn's restraints and shooed her toward where Goldenbloom stood. A microphone appeared in the unicorn's hand. She proffered it to Madelyn, who warily accepted it. "Do you know the words?" Goldie asked. Madelyn nodded again.
Goldenbloom looked to the audience and stated, "Dragonblooded does not own the song 'Let It Go' or the movie 'Frozen'. They belong to Idina Menzel, Demi Lavato, and Disney." She skipped toward the right hand corner of the stage. Goldenbloom passed Madelyn's empty chair and skipped by April, patting her head and proclaiming, "Duck."
She pranced by Donnie and tapped his head, stating, "Duck."
Goldie paraded behind Leo's chair and smacked her palm against his head. "Duck." She decreed.
Next she passed behind Mikey and whacked his head. 'Duck." They said simultaneously.
"Jinx!" Mikey shouted.
Goldenbloomed frolicked up to Raph and moved to pat his head, declaring, "Duck." He dodged her hand. She gave him an irritated look and attempted to hit him again, and again missed. The unicorn wrestled with Raph, finally pinning him by his neck to the chair back with her right forearm. She smacked him hard on the head and shouted, "DUCK!"
Raph rolled his eyes. She smiled, let him up, and cantered over to a baby grand piano that the pink wisps had magically created. Goldenbloom sat on the bench, cracked her fingers, and poised them over the keys. With a giggle, she hit a button on the board behind the ivories and decreed, "Goose!" The music to the song floated out from speakers strategically placed around the auditorium. She spun around on her seat, tucked her knees up, and watched Madelyn intently.
The young girl nervously glanced around the room. She clutched the microphone tight, turning her fingers a pasty ash. The mic head was very close to her lips. She closed her eyes and gripped the microphone even tighter, if that was physically possible. She was slightly late starting the song. Without the microphone held near, she wouldn't have been heard.
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
Madelyn started slightly early the next time, but was closer to her mark. She sang louder, at about a speaking voice's volume.
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the queen
The next phrase she hit perfectly. Her voice rose continuously in volume. Madelyn began to throw in more trills and runs, matching Elsa's singing more closely.
The wind is howling like the swirling storm insi-ide
Couldn't keep it in; heaven knows I tried
The girl's grip on the microphone hilt relaxed. She brought it farther from her face, yet became louder.
Don't let them in
Don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel
Don't let them knoooooow
Well now they knooooooow
Madelyn's eyes flashed open, and a small smile crossed her lips.
Let it go-o
Let it go-o
Can't hold it back anymore
Madelyn started to walk the stage. On the last line, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and threw them outward.
Let it go-oo
Let it go-oo
Turn away and slam the door
She turned on her heel and swiped her skirt out from behind her, as if to keep it from being caught in a door frame. Madelyn planted her feet and held one hand over her arm before throwing her arm out in emphasis.
I don't caaarre
What they're going to say
Let the storm rage oooooon
She grinned mischievously and turned her back to the audience, flipping her hair nonchalantly over her shoulder.
The cold never bothered me anyway
Madelyn walked back to center stage, tapping her foot to the interlude. Her face lit up as she got an idea. She whirled around and walked toward the chairs behind her.
Funny how some distance
She turned around and pinched her thumb and index finger in front of your eye, like you do when you are measuring something far away.
Makes everything seem sma-all
Madelyn reeled back around and plowed on.
And the fears that once controlled me
She swung a hand in front of her, pushing an invisible object out of her way.
Can't get to me at a-all-ll
Madelyn started jogging and singing, a very difficult thing to do for an adult, let alone a child.
It's time to see
What I can do
Madelyn once again shoved at an unseen barrier.
To test the limits and break through
No right
No wrong
No rules for mee-eeee
The child arrived at her destination before the row of chairs. She stepped to the side so that she wasn't standing in front of anyone and turned to face front. She spread her arms wide, forced to bend one to hold the microphone, looking like the freest person who ever lived.
I'm freeeeeee
Madelyn held the microphone out to Leo. He looked bewildered, but didn't have much time to think. Very panicky, he leaned forward slightly and sang the next line, forgetting to hold the last word.
Let it go
Madelyn used the extra time to zip past Donnie to April. She thrust the microphone out to her. She beamed and belted out the line.
Let it goooooo
Madelyn snatched back the mic and twirled to her next target.
I am one with the wind and sky-y-y
She stopped and offered the microphone to Donnie. He picked up the next line with surprising ease for someone who had most likely never heard the song.
Let it goooooo
Madelyn leapt over to Mikey and bowed slightly as she put forward the microphone. He grinned ear to ear and leaned over the mic, singing exuberantly.
Let it goooooo
The girl whipped around and smiled so happily, you could never believe that she had ever wept in her lifetime.
You'll never see me cry-yyyy
She moved away from the chairs and stamped her left foot.
He-ere I sta-and
Madelyn stomped her right foot.
And he-ere I stay
She held out one arm and twirled in a circle.
Let the storm rage ooo-oonnn
Madelyn had obviously gotten into the song. She stalked over to Goldenbloom, perched next to the untouched piano. Madelyn whirled and did pirouettes for the rest of the interlude. In the middle of a pirouette she dramatically stomped and stared straight into a camera lens. She slowly drew an arm through the air above her head, and then below her, gesturing towards the floor.
My power flurries through the air into the ground
Madelyn stomped again in time with the low beat.
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all a-rou-ound
She slammed her foot on the stage. At the end of the statement, she thrust her free hand out and splayed her fingers to show an explosion.
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blaaast
Madelyn stomped one last time.
I'm never goin' back
She tipped back her head, closed her eyes, and spread her arms wide.
The past is in the pa-aaaaaaaaaast
Leo whooped and hollered as she held the long note. April cheered. Donnie whistled loudly. Mikey shouted, "Go Maddie!" Raph said nothing, but he smiled, a revolutionary concept for him. Soon the whole audience was on their feet stamping their hooves and giving a standing ovation, cheering all the while.
Madelyn broke off the note and grinned. She held out the microphone to Goldenbloom, who snatched it up in both hands, once more smashing her blossom, and sang proudly.
Let it go-oooooooo
She quickly returned the microphone to Madelyn, who brought it to Raph. He rolled his eyes at the little girl and sang.
Let us go-oooooo
Madelyn frowned at the lyric change, but otherwise ignored it. Goldenbloom, who had sat back down, smiled mischievously, holding her flowered hand behind her back. As Madelyn sang the line, smoky sparkly pink ribbons crept across the left side (right side to Maddie) of her skirt and the right shoulder (again reversed) of her top, making a crackling sound. When they cleared, listening fingers of frost reached out where they had been.
And I'll rise like the break of daaw-aw-awn
The young girl beamed at the ice on her clothes and twirled so they caught the light while she sang.
Let it gooooooo
Let it gooooooo
Madelyn swept her hand on the last word.
That perfect girl is go-onnnne
She had moved to center stage. She stamped a foot and declared.
Here I sta-aand
A bright spotlight focused on her. The five behind her squinted their eyes, and Goldenbloom ineffectively attempted to cover her radioactively reflective coat with her gleaming arms. Madelyn grinned and closed her eyes, spreading her arms again.
In the light of da-ayyyy-ay-ayyyyyy
The spotlight shut off, but Madelyn didn't move.
Let the storm rage ooonnnnnn
The child stared down the audience and shrugged.
The cold never bothered me anyway
She wheeled around and slowly walked back to her chair. A unicorn in the audience clacked their hoof every time she stepped. The second Madelyn sat down, the entire audience jumped to their feet and applauded, whistling and cheering. Goldenbloom hopped to her feet, too; Mikey attempted to, but his chair jerked him back down, slamming his head into the metal.
"That. Was. A-MA-ZING!" Goldenbloom cried. She snapped, and the microphone vanished. Madelyn's wrist bands snapped back in place. The child started to protest, but Goldie turned around and ignored her.
She exclaimed, "That's all the time we have today! Thank you all for coming! Send in your truths, message your dares, and ALWAYS remember…"
The page went black.