Later that very same day, all the Who’s were back to business, preparing for Christmas day as usual. Many Who’s were in the process of decorating the streets, plenty of Who’s were still shopping for Christmas gifts for others. While all this went on, a certain group of ponies and a teenage dragon were trying their hardest to locate a certain trouble-making filly to no avail. After taking Cindy Lou to school, they spent the remainder of the day searching for Cozy Glow. Thus far, however, their efforts to find the fiendish little Pegasus have been fruitless. Eventually, they all met back in town square, exhausted from hours of searching, for a status report.
“Any luck finding Cozy Glow yet?” Twilight asked the others.
“Not yet Twi,” Applejack answered tiredly.
“This is ridiculous!” Rainbow groaned. “Can’t we just use some spell of sorts to find Cozy Glow and be done already?”
“We ‘would’ use a locater spell if we could,” Starlight explained. “The problem is we need ‘something’ that belongs to the pony we’re trying to find. We use the spell on the item, the magic would take us to who we’re looking for. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone has anything that belongs to Cozy Glow.”
“So we’re stuck running all over until we find her?”
“Pretty much.”
Exhausted and tired, Rainbow finally put her wings to rest and plopped right onto a pile of snow. It was so cold, but at this moment she really didn’t care.
“I don’t see how we’re ever going to catch her like this,” Fluttershy sighed.
It was then, at that moment, the group noticed Lou Who heading down the street toward their direction.
“Well hello there everyone,” He greeted kindly.
“Hi there Mr. Lou Who sir!” Pinkie waved excitedly. “How’s your day going? Is it super-duper, loopty-looper, spectacular today?”
“Just another old day in Whoville,” Lou smiled. “Anyway, I’ve got to go and pick Cindy Lou up from school. Would you all like to join?”
“Well, we might as well,” Applejack shrugged. “Seein’ as we ain’t nowhere near findin’ Cozy Glow at the moment.”
“What Applejack means to say is we’d be delighted to accompany you, Lou,” Rarity said kindly.
With that in mind, the ponies and Spike followed Lou towards the local schoolhouse. Walking through its halls, they eventually found the class Cindy was in. Just then, the final school bell rang and a barrage of Who children raced out the door. They noticed, however, that Cindy was not leaving like the rest of the children. She just sat in her chair, looking toward her father and new friends with sad, puppy-dog eyes. Her teacher, Ms. Rue Who, turned toward Lou with a rather heated glare.
“Uh Ms. Rue Who, I understand that you’re keeping Cindy after school,” Lou spoke nervously.
“Sit down Lou!” Ms. Rue Who demanded sternly.
“Yes ma’am,” Lou said, taking a seat.
Ms. Rue Who turned toward the ponies and Spike, who were currently standing at the door. She couldn’t exactly make heads or tails about them.
“What are you all?” She asked confused. “And what are you doing here?”
Sorry for disrupting anything madame,” Rarity apologized. “We’re just friends of Mr. Lou Who here, coming to bring Cindy back home.”
Ms. Rue Who seemed as though she wished to question the matter further. But ultimately, she was far from a curious mood at the moment.
“Then it seems you all get to join us as well,” She replied, pointing toward the desks. “Have a seat!”
Looking back and forth between one another, every pony (And especially Spike) slowly made their way toward the individual desks and took their seats.
“Sheesh! Like my first day of flight school all over again!” Rainbow grumbled.
“No talking!” Ms. Rue Who spoke sharply.
Rainbow sent a glare at the Who teacher, sticking her tongue at her without her knowing. She folded her hooves and plopped her head against her arms, while Ms. Rue Who looked directly toward Lou.
“Mr. Lou Who, you’re daughter… well… she said… oh my!”
It was then Cindy finally decided to speak up.
“All I said was—”
<>
Earlier that day…
Cindy was addressing her class.
“I plan to write my Wholiday report on a mysterious Christmas figure… the Grinch.”
No sooner she mentioned the name, all the window shudders instantly rolled up quickly and loudly. This startled the entire class, as well as Ms. Rue Who, who gasped loudly. Cindy merely shrugged with a tiny squeak.
<>
Back in the current time…
Ms. Rue Who glared at Cindy, who just sat in her desk looking away.
“That’s what you’re in trouble for?” Starlight spoke up.
“Seems like a mighty small thing tah be in trouble fer if ya ask me,” Applejack added.
“I must agree with Applejack and Starlight,” Twilight agreed.
“Well in Ms. Rue Who’s defense ladies,” Lou told them. “We really shouldn’t be mentioning… the Grinch.”
Once again, the shudders rolled up instantly and loudly causing everyone in the room to jump. Lou stood straight up from the desk only to find it was now stuck to him. Granted, Lou Who was not a particularly thin man. He tried to shake it off, pulling roughly to get it off… but with no success. Every pony else bit their lips, trying to hold back the laughter threatening to spill out over the hilarious sight.
“Now uh Ms. Rue Who, surely we can come to some sort of understanding,” Lou told the teacher. “I mean you can probably remember what a goof off I was in school and now look at me. I’m the postmaster of Whoville.”
“By the way, did you ever find my package?” Ms. Rue Who asked.
“No… no we haven’t.”
Ms. Rue Who rolled her eyes before looking back at Cindy, then back toward Lou before releasing a relenting sigh.
“Very well then, I will let Cindy off with a warning this time,” She said.
“Thank you very much Ms. Rue Who,” Lou thanked her. “I promise you will never hear the name—”
“Don’t push it Lou!”
“Yes ma’am…”
Lou motioned for Cindy and the Equestrians to follow him quickly through the door. They all obliged and practically scurried themselves out the door.
<>
After leaving the school that day, everyone followed Lou to the Whoville post office, where he worked. Not surprisingly, the post office was loaded with people trying to mail off Christmas gifts and cards. Seeing Lou so overwhelmed by all the work, Spike and the girls offered to help out with the mail. Thankfully, they helped Derpy a few times at the post office in Ponyville more than enough to know what they were doing.
“Heck of a rush!” Lou remarked, stamping a box. “Merry Christmas folks! Heck of a rush.”
After stamping the boxes, he’d throw them over his shoulder where Twilight and Rarity would catch them with their magic and pass them off to Spike and Applejack, who’d sort them out before handing them to Fluttershy and Rainbow, so they’d float them over into the correct sorter. Yet even with all the helping, it was still hectic to say the least.
“Lou, I need this there by tomorrow!” A Who said.
“I need this there today!” Another spoke up.
“I need this there yesterday, Lou!” Another added.
“Sheesh! Ah though Derpy had it rough back home!” Applejack shook her head.
“Suddenly, I have a whole new respect for postal ponies,” Rarity added breathlessly.
“Aww come on lazy bones!” Pinkie piped in. “A little manual labor never hurt no pony. If you’d join me every morning for jogging, maybe you’d keep up.”
“Pinkie, since when did ‘you’ start jogging?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh, I’ve been doing it ever since I was an itty-bitty, twinkie Pinkie! Why’d you think I eat so many sweets and still be in great shape?”
“Because you’re… Pinkie Pie?” Spike spoke up.
In the midst of all the discussion, Cindy Lou watched her dad carrying loads of presents up a ladder and having it glide across the room towards the sorting machine.
“But Dad, I just don’t understand something,” Cindy Lou said. “Why won’t anyone talk about the Grinch?”
“It seems the name alone has everyone in this town scared,” Starlight observed. “We can’t help but feel concerned.”
“You kids and the Grinch…” Mr. Lou Who sighed. “You see, Cindy, the Grinch is a ‘Who’, who, well… is actually ‘not’ a Who. He’s… more of a—”
“A what?” Cindy asked.
“Exactly, honey!” Mr. Lou Who replied. “He’s a ‘what’ who doesn’t like Christmas. Take a look at his mailbox, sweetheart.”
Cindy took a peek to see a single mailbox on the shelf filled with cobwebs and looked completely old and rotten.
“Not a single Christmas card, in or out,” Mr. Lou Who continued. “Ever.”
That’s when Starlight came alongside Cindy and noticed the old mailbox.
“Not a single Christmas card?” She asked. “That’s horrible! I remember when I used to be practically the same way. Now I can’t even imagine how not getting a Hearth’s Warming card feels like.”
“But why?” Cindy asked.
“Well—”
Mr. Lou Who was about to explain, only to be interrupted by the impatient, frustrated customers.
“Uh… I’ll be right there!” He smiled nervously. “All right, we’ll straighten this out.”
Starlight rolled her eyes, once again people were avoiding the subject of the Grinch. Nevertheless, for right now, they had other things to worry about.
“Alright, so what do we have to do here?” Starlight asked.
“I usually help Dad sort the mail or place presents where they need to go,” Cindy Lou explained. “Something weird is going on though. I don’t think I’ve seen this many mismatched presents and letters before.”
Starlight looked over to what Cindy was talking about. She noticed that much of the mail in the boxes were either mismatched or completely swiped around. This did not go unnoticed by a certain alicorn Princess.
“Did someone say… the mail is mismatched?” Twilight asked, one eye twitching.
“Somebody’s been messing with the mail alright,” Starlight confirmed suspiciously. “And I think I know who…”
<>
Meanwhile, on the other side of the post office, Cozy Glow and the Grinch laughed as they were in the midst of messing with the mail. To Cozy Glow, it seemed like such a childish sort of prank. But certainly it was one that would drive the citizens of Whoville bonkers.
“It’ll take them years to sort this out,” Grinch chuckled. “This is his and now it’s yours. And this is her and now it’s his—”
“No offense big guy, but doesn’t this seem a little… childish?” Cozy asked honestly.
“Whatdya mean ‘childish’?” Grinch scoffed. “What could cause more chaos than tampering with the mail? Everyone’ll lose their minds trying to figure out who gets what.”
“I know, and it’s a great idea. I just feel it could a little more… flair, you know?”
Cozy Glow started rummaging through an assortment of mail and pulled out a couple envelops. As she looked through them, a devilish wee smile spread across her face.
“How about these to cause some misfortune?” She suggested.
Grinch stopped messing with the mail for a moment to approach and look over what she was referring to. When his beady eyes scanned over what she had in her tiny hooves, the same sort of smile came upon his face.
“Oh… now that’s wicked…” He chuckled.
He quickly snatched a few of the letters from Cozy Glow and they both proceeded back toward the mailboxes.
“And for the rest of you—”
Grinch started to expertly chuck the mail into each individual slot. Even Cozy Glow followed with her own letters, throwing at an accelerated rate.
“Jury duty, jury duty, jury duty—” Grinch listed off.
“Blackmail!” Cozy listed.
“Pink slip!”
“Chain letter!”
“Eviction notice!”
The two mischief makers continued throwing letters into a whole bunch of other compartments, they chuckled and laughed madly over their little prank.
<>
Completely unaware of what was happening in the back room, the Equestrians along with Cindy Lou were busy trying to sort the mail. Due to the antics of a mischievous pair, they found that nearly every slot was in such a disorganized state. It’s like giving the group ‘one’ thing to do and the whole thing went kaboodle.
“If we get through today, I’ll never complain about Derpy mixing up the mail again!” Rarity sighed.
“Totally, I’ll never give her a hard time,” Rainbow agreed.
“She gets an extra-large muffin basket for Hearth’s Warming!” Pinkie declared.
“How are you doing, Twilight?” Fluttershy called out. “Uh… Twilight?”
But before Fluttershy’s very eyes, the expression on the Princess’s face was completely wide-eyed. Twilight was so hyper-focused that her magic violently rearranged all the cards and boxes not in their proper places.
“Must reorganize! Must make efficient!” Twilight rambled. “Must appease the checklist Gods!”
“Um… I think Twilight’s kind of busy,” Starlight muttered.
“Uh, excuse me, Princess!” Lou butted in. “As much as I appreciate help from you and your friends, I should point out it’s a federal offense for anyone but a designated member of the Whoville postal service to handle the mail…”
One glare from Twilight Sparkle, with ‘Lesson Zero’ crazy eyes, and he immediately started to rethink his statement.
“… But the rules never mentioned pony princesses. Please continue!”
“Smart move!” Applejack nodded.
Seeing that a majority of the ponies were preoccupied at the moment, Lou turned his attention toward Cindy and Spike. He held out some envelopes in his hands.
“Would you mind helping me take this to the back room?” He asked, offering the cards. “Be careful of the sorting machine, right?”
“Yeah,” Cindy answered softly.
“No worries, Lou ole buddy!” Spike saluted. “We’ve got this!”
<>
Later, Cindy Lou led Spike toward the backroom of the postal office. Alarms blared as an assortment of gift-wrapped presents slid from a conveyor belt into a large trap door. The trap door itself was piled with an insane amount of presents yet to enter the sorting machine. All around them were other presents that were stacked up high and they seemed to just keep growing and growing. It’s amazing even for Spike how such a slightly small little group of people could obtain so much stuff.
“Sheesh! Talk about overload!” Spike remarked. “No wonder Lou couldn’t find your teacher’s package.”
Just then, a sound resembling something smacking the floor made the pair gasp. Spike and Cindy Lou quickly turned around and spotted what appeared to be an ugly plastic mask, of a face that’s meant to resemble a Who but looks more like a creepy gopher. Curious, Cindy picked up the mask to examine it with Spike following behind.
“Somebody’s definitely late for Nightmare Night,” Spike replied. “Cindy… does anyone else work in the mail room besides you and your dad?”
“No…” Cindy answered.
Little did they know, spying from above, the Grinch held himself in place on a corner of the upper section of the mail room. He held Max tightly with one hand while Cozy Glow clung to the dog’s neck. She growled silently when she saw Spike with that little girl Who. Even though he was slightly taller than she remembered, those purple and green scales were not hard to miss. Course, if he were here… that would only mean the other ponies must’ve followed her too. They kept watch over the pair, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
After a while of examining the mask, Spike and Cindy Lou turned toward one another. With a shrug, they proceeded to go back to where they dropped the envelopes and put them in their proper place before leaving. For a moment, the Grinch and Cozy Glow released a quiet sigh of relief thinking they gave the pair the slip… until Max sneezed.
“Gesundheit!” Grinch spoke.
“Grinch…” Cozy Glow whined silently.
But it was too late. The moment Cindy Lou and Spike turned around, they screamed in unison while the Grinch and Cozy Glow screamed back. Hearing the ruckus, the Equestrians (Minus Twilight Sparkle) rushed into the back room to investigate.
“Wut in tarnation’s goin’ on—” Applejack began.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” Fluttershy squeaked, pointing.
The other ponies looked up and they too screamed their heads off at the ugliest sight they’ve ever seen. While the Grinch just gave some high-pitched screams at the sight of more talking ponies, while Cozy Glow just looked at him with a ‘Really?’ look. Eventually, after they stopped screaming, the Grinch himself soon dropped down and the Equestrians could see how greatly the beast towered over them.
The Grinch, so green, furry, and menacing looking, glared back slightly while Cindy Lou looked scared seeing him up close.
“You’re the-the-the…” Cindy Lou stammered.
“The-the-the…” He mocked. “THE GRINCH!!!”
“Ooh, called it!” Pinkie cheered.
“Called what?!” Rainbow shouted.
The extreme close-up of the beast made Cindy Lou scream and lose her balance. Before the eyes of the girls, and Spike, the little Who ended up falling backward into the pile of presents. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing except… they were leading into the sorting machine!”
“CINDY!!!” The girls and Spike screamed.
“Well… that worked out nicely,” The Grinch smirked.
Cozy Glow tried to hover away, only for Starlight Glimmer to quickly spot her.
“YOUUUU!!!!” Starlight pointed.
“I’m oughtta here!” Cozy called out, flying away.
“WE GOTTA STOP THAT BRAT!!!” Rainbow called out.
“What about Cindy?!” Fluttershy pointed out.
It was then our heroes found themselves in a pickle. As if it wasn’t enough they discovered Cozy Glow in the presence of the legendary Grinch, their new friend Cindy Lou was in her own predicament. The more she struggled to break herself free of all the gifts, the deeper she was sinking through the pile. And right below the bottom was where all the presents were sent to be pressed with a ‘FRAGILE’ notice on the wrapping paper. And if she fell in there, the pressure from that machine will squash her flat.
“Rainbow Dash! You take Fluttershy and Spike after Cozy Glow!” Starlight instructed. “Me, Applejack, and Rarity will free Cindy Lou!”
“You got it Starlight!” Rainbow saluted. “All right you two! Stay on my flank!”
The trio quickly took off into the air after Cozy Glow. The little Pegasus squealed with fright before taking off as fast as her wings could take her. Soon she found herself flying around and around the back room while her enemies were right behind her. Applejack, thinking fast, used her lasso to wrap around Cindy Lou’s legs as she tried to haul her out. But all the packages around the girl made it near impossible to pull her out. So Rarity and Starlight resorted to digging their way through, using their magic to pull the presents aside. But more and more just kept coming at an alarming rate.
“Pinkie Pie! Go get Twilight!” Starlight called out. “Pinkie?!”
Starlight Glimmer looked around rapidly but much to her shock found her talking with the Grinch, who stood perplexed before another talking pony.
“Wow… Jim Carry!” Pinkie smiled. “Such a great casting choice for this role! Can I have your autograph?”
“Kid, I have no idea who this Jim Carrey fellow is… but he sounds amazingly talented!” The Grinch smiled.
“Yeah! And totally hilarious!” Pinkie agreed. “Especially as a pet detective!”
“Right…” The Grinch answered awkwardly. “Max let’s go. Our work here is finished.”
Having had just about enough of this tomfoolery, The Grinch was just about ready to leave… when he scrunched his face in pain. The dog chomped on the Grinch’s butt, trying to force him back. The Grinch merely glared at his dog.
“That is not a chew toy!”
“I think he wants you to pull her out,” Pinkie suspected. “Just speaking from context.”
But the Grinch merely growled at Max, struggling to walk away while trying to shake the dog off. Max, however, stubbornly refused to unclamp his jaws from the Grinch’s… posterior.
“Stop it, Max!” The Grinch ordered. “Get that out of your mouth! You have no idea where it’s been!”
In the midst of all the chaos, while the other ponies were either busily digging out presents or trying to capture their enemy, Cindy Lou’s head just peeked out toward where all the packages go. The moment she saw where she was heading, the little girl screamed in fright. This drew the Grinch’s attention as the machine started to hiss and Cindy Lou was getting closer and closer to getting pressed.
“HELP!!!” Cindy Lou cried out.
“Hang on, Cindy darling!” Rarity cried out, digging faster.
“Please Mr. Grinch sir!” Pinkie begged. “It’s the only way to get Max off you!”
The Grinch sighed with a roll of his eyes as Cindy Lou kept screaming for her dear life.
“Bleeding hearts of the world unite!” Grinch grumbled, marching forward.
“Grinch! What’re you doing?!” Cozy Glow cried out.
“Get back here, you!!!” Rainbow shouted.
Cozy just saw Rainbow coming toward her and quickly zipped to the side… *WHAM!!!* Rainbow crashed face first into a wall and fell back with a moan. Fortunately, Fluttershy and Spike caught her before she could hit the floor as they turned back towards the machine.
“Out of the way!” The Grinch shouted.
The Grinch shoved the ponies aside and stood before the mound of presents. He hurled one hand through the pile until he managed to pull Cindy Lou out to safety. The poor girl stood still before the Grinch, clutching onto that Who mask as the Grinch tore the lasso off, breaking it and hurling it aside.
“Hey! That was my rope!” Applejack shouted.
But the Grinch ignored that remark and grabbed for his mask.
“There! Give me that!” The Grinch shouted, toward Cindy. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you? What’s the matter with you? You some kind of wild animal? Huh?!”
“This coming from a guy who’s freely switching the mail…” Rainbow muttered, her eyes rolling. “Yeah…”
“Well… you did drop that mask first!” Spike pointed out.
Seeing Max had finally let him go once Cindy Lou was saved, the Grinch decides he’s had enough.
“Let’s go!” Grinch ordered, walking away.
“Thanks for saving me!” Cindy Lou piped up.
The Grinch skid to a halt, his furry hand grasping against the window of the exit door. His hands slid against the glass making an ear-wrenching squeaking sound. He slowly turned toward Cindy Lou, whom the Equestrians stood in defense for. He merely stared at the group, squeezing the mask in his hands.
“Saving you?!” The Grinch spoke slowly. “Is that what you think I was doing?”
Fluttershy and Cindy Lou nervously nodded their heads quickly, the pair rather frightened by the ghastly sight. But the Grinch seemed to find the sight rather amusing.
“Wrong-O!” He remarked, waving a finger.
With a mischievous look on his face, the Grinch grabbed for some red wrapping paper close by the door and slowly loomed toward the group. The ponies took a fighting stance, ready for anything.
“I merely noticed that you were improperly packaged, my dears,” The Grinch remarked.
“You wouldn’t dare—HEY!!!” Rainbow yelped.
Suddenly, Cozy Glow zoomed in from nowhere and wrapped some of the paper around the group before the girls or Spike could properly react. Soon she along with the Grinch proceed to wrap the group in wrapping paper and tape at a rapid pace.
“Hold still!” The Grinch shouted. “Max, pick out a bow!”
To which the dog barked in response.
“Can I use your finger for a second?” The Grinch asked.
“Oh sure…” Spike replied.
With the Equestrians and Cindy Lou ‘wrapped up’, the Grinch, along with Max and Cozy Glow proceed to take their leave. But not before Cozy Glow turned back toward the group with a toothy grin and delivered a loud raspberry toward them before fluttering off in a huff. Through the wrapping paper, Rainbow’s eyes barely peeked through.
“I REALLY despise that filly!” Rainbow growled.
“Hello! Hello!” Cindy cried out.
“Twilight!” Spike shouted. “A little help here, please!”
By the time the Grinch and Cozy Glow left, Mr. Lou Who and Twilight Sparkle came in to find them since they’d been gone for some time.
“Cindy?” Lou called out.
“Girls? Spike?!” Twilight called out. “Where are you?!”
“Dad! Twilight!”
The Who and the pony turned to see a rather strange lump covered in wrapping paper. Hands, hooves, and a pair of claws tried to dig their way out of the wrapping paper.
“Twilight!” Starlight gasped. “Mr. Lou!”
“What the hey…?” Mr. Lou gasped.
“Guys?” Twilight remarked, unwrapping her friends. “This is no time to be playing with the wrapping paper!”
“What took you so long?” Spike muttered.
“Dad, it was amazing!” Cindy Lou gasped.
“You’ve been practicing your Christmas wrapping!” Mr. Lou Who smiled. “I am so proud of you!”
“Uh… sure…” Spike shrugged. “You could say that…”
“Now that’s holiday!” Mr. Lou Who beamed.
“Sweet little Cindy and her new friends didn’t know what to do. In their heads, bum-tumbled a conflict or two.”
“Huh… if this Grinch was so bad, why save the little girl? Why not harm the ponies and Spike when he had the chance?”
“Who knows? Maybe he wasn’t so bad. Maybe… just maybe…”
“Come on, let’s go home,” Mr. Lou Who told his daughter.
It was then Lou turned toward the group of ponies and teenage dragon, who were still discarding some wrapping paper off after that frantic experience.
“I don’t suppose you all would like to stay with us in the meantime?” He offered.
“Ooh… that’s very kind of you Mr. Lou Who,” Rarity replied. “But we wouldn’t want to take advantage of your hospitality—”
“Ah nonsense!” Lou brushed off. “We got plenty of room at my house. We’re not going to let you sit out in the cold. Besides, it’ll be getting dark very soon and no sense looking for your little friend at this hour.”
“Not… a friend…” Rainbow corrected, slowly.
“Maybe Lou’s right,” Twilight sighed. “We’ll rest up at their house and we can start the search again by morning. If we’re lucky, maybe Cozy Glow is much closer than we think.”
“Ooh… you have no idea…” Starlight remarked.