To be a Flyer
"Mom, do you think that Santa will respond to my letter that I sent?" Cloporah asked her mother. Rainbow Dash turned her sky-blue head towards her daughter. "You only sent the thing yesterday; I doubt he'd have gotten to it yet." Cloporah stomped her dark grey hooves in frustration. "Why are you always so pessimistic about everything? Why don't you even try to make me feel just a little better about my future career?" Rainbow Dash turned her attention back towards Cloporah, "Calm down, sweetie, don't be so antagonistic. But are you sure you want to be one of Santa's Flyers? I mean, it's a dangerous job, pulling a sleigh through a snowstorm!"
Cloporah rolled her eyes, and then replied, "It hasn't even snowed yet, in fact it rained yesterday! It was warm!" Cloporah stomped up to her room, and shut the door behind her. She fell onto her bed with a frustrated groan, and started to fume, talking to herself. "Just because I'm not the largest mare doesn't mean that I'm the weakest! What do the Santa Flyers have that I don't?" She looked at the mirror in her room, and admired herself, a trait that she had inherited from her mother. The two red streaks in her mane were bright and matched the stripes on her tail. Her eyes were a darker shade of red. Her dark grey coat was sheen and rippled with her muscles as she flexed. She was in perfect health; Santa just had to pick her.
Cloporah awoke rested, but groggy, struggling to stand up from her warm, comfortable bed. She started walking downstairs when she heard a familiar voice. Derpy Hooves. Derpy was not only one of her best friends, but also the mail-pony. If Derpy were here, that could only mean two things. One, she was here to hang out, or two, she had the reply from Santa. She hoped it was the latter, and rushed down the stairs with excitement coursing through her body.
When she got down, she tackled Derpy and barraged her with questions, "Derpy! My favorite mail-pony, do you have a letter for me? Is it from Santa? When did it arrive at the post office? How did you get it?" Cloporah shot off questions, one after another, hardly waiting for a response.
"Stop it, or I'll eat your muffins, right here, and right now!" Derpy threatened, her eyes attempting to shift side to side.
Cloporah's mind went blank momentarily, but managed a response, "Umm… Derpy? We didn't make any muffins. Sorry." She added, seeing the disappointed look on Derpy's face.
"See you next time then." Derpy said, turning to leave.
"Excuse me, but Derpy? Are you forgetting something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
A surprised light grey mare turned quickly towards the two mares, "Of course not, I was just seeing if you were paying attention." Derpy replied, "Here you go." She added, handing the envelope to Cloporah.
"Thanks Derp! You don't know how much this means to me." Cloporah said, as Derpy Hooves walked out the door.
Once Cloporah got back to the room, she carefully ripped open the envelope to reveal the contents hidden inside. The paper inside read as followed: "Dear Cloporah, come to Santa Cloudium, my humble home, so that I may test you to see if you are up to the task of pulling my sleigh through all sorts of weather. The amount of time it takes you to get here is also a test. Have fun, and remember, be safe. Sincerely yours, Santa Claus.
Cloporah squealed with excitement. Finally! She would finally be able to join the Santa Flyers! She rushed down the stairs, almost tripping over her own hooves. "Mom!" Cloporah yelled, trying to find her mother. "Mom! You'll never believe it! He replied!" Rainbow Dash was asleep on the sofa, amazingly sleeping through her daughter's outbursts of delight. Cloporah backed away from the motionless figure, and went to pack her things. It didn't take long, and was soon flying towards Santa Cloudium. She had left the house in the afternoon, but now it was getting dark.
Cloporah tucked her wings to her side, and plunged down towards the ground. She frantically flapped her wings when she was a couple of yards away from the earth, and lighted down gently on the grass. She pulled out her tent from her bag, and set it up. It was a lot harder to do than it looked in the manual, which she only skimmed through. When it was finally completed, she crawled inside and fell asleep almost the instant her head fell on her pillow.
When Cloporah awoke, her body was on fire. Well, not literally. All her muscles screamed in pain when she got up. She slowly pulled down the tent, and stuffed it back into her bags. When she was about to take off, she heard a monstrous roar behind her. Looking back, she saw a large manticore rushing towards her. She flapped her wings furiously, and sped north. Being the daughter of Rainbow Dash, and taught by her as well, she was a strong flyer. But she was still tired from the flight from home to the campsite.
She finally saw it. Large clouds ahead, with tall, looming towers, and large industrial factories. She unsteadily flew towards the city in the clouds. When she arrived, she stumbled towards the closest pony in sight. He was a magnificent stallion, pure white and heavily muscled. His wings were long and majestic and also as white as white could get. "Excuse me, but do you know where I can find Santa?" Cloporah asked. The white Pegasus was about to respond, when a shadow fell upon them both.
"Heard you were looking for me. It sure took you long enough though." A high-pitched, nasally voice pierced her ears. She looked around her to see a tall, skinny human dressed all in white. He had a wispy white beard, and next to no hair.
"A-are you Santa?" Cloporah asked, stuttering.
"Yes, and I presume that you're Cloporah." Santa stated. Cloporah just nodded, unable to answer verbally. "So, you think you have what it takes to be one of my flyers? Hmm…" Santa seemed deep in thought, pondering over what he was going to say next.
"Y-y-yes, I w-was hoping to b-be a flyer." Cloporah mumbled, unable to overcome her surprise and awe. "Can I be one? I made it here in less than twenty-four hours." She added.
"Hmm…" Santa repeated. "I think I have my answer."
"Yes?" Cloporah asked in suspense.
"No, you can't." Santa said, indifferent.
"Why not?" Cloporah asked, furious.
"Because, you're not white, all of my flyers are white."