User:Dblofive/sandbox

Short Story: Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say. “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight”

Or so that's how the story goes. Now I'm not denying that story’s not true, because it is. After being an outcast, Rudolph single handily saved Christmas for millions of little boys and girls and was the hero of the day. There is another story, however. A story that people won't hear in Christmas songs or watch on television. It's a story much darker but more embedded in the world of morals and right and wrong. It's the story of the fall of a hero. It's the story of Rudolph the ?????.

With sleigh bells jingling that night, Rudolph lead the way through the blanket of thick fog and mist, setting the sleigh down as all the other reindeer congratulated him. Dasher, who was always the first to torment the young Rudolph, assured he was the first. “Rudolph, man, look, I'm so sorry about all those years. I was wrong,” he told Rudolph, who was up until twenty-four hours ago, the butt of all his jokes. “I just want to be the bigger man and tell you I'm sorry.” Rudolph, with his red nose glowing bright as ever, smiled in the only real way a reindeer could smile. “Thank's, Dasher. Look, now that we're all on the same team, it's forgive and forget.” Rudolph gave Dasher a friendly forget about type of slap and turned on his hind legs and walked away, mutter to himself under his breath “but don't you dare forget who the lead reindeer is now.” And so it went that night. All of Santa's reindeer congratulated Rudolph, apologized to Rudolph, and hoisted him up on a proverbial pedistal.

The next day was much of the same. Rudolph was the talk of the town. Every reindeer aspired to one day be one of Santa's eight reindeer, but it never happened. The reindeer of the north pole lived long and healthy lives. As long as anyone could remember it had always been the same eight reindeer that flew Santa's sleigh, and it was always Dasher who lead them