The very next morning, at the Lou Who home, Cindy Lou and the Equestrian gang all shared breakfast together. Applejack whipped up a batch of her famous honey apple pancakes for everyone and they all proceeded to chow down. They needed all the energy they could get for they had a very important mission today. They needed all the information they could gather about the Grinch, and hopefully find Cozy Glow if possible.
“Alright… we need to find someone who knows about the Grinch’s past,” Twilight explained. “But who would know about it?”
“I’m wondering that myself,” Rarity nodded in agreement.
“How about the Mayor?” Spike suggested. “The mere mention of the Grinch seemed to get his attention. He must know something.”
“That’s actually a good idea Spike!” Twilight complimented. “Any pony else have any ideas?”
“I heard Martha May might know something about him,” Fluttershy spoke up.
“How’d ya find that out?” Applejack asked curiously.
“Well last night, Rarity and I were helping Betty with her Christmas lights. I mentioned something about the Grinch, and that’s when I noticed that Martha May tensed up.”
“Well duh!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s afraid of that creep, except for me of course.”
“That may be darling but seems like she was tense because she ‘knew’ something,” Rarity added.
“Huh! I don’t remember any of this from last night,” Pinkie replied confused. “Then again, the writers have a knack of adding stuff on the spot and out of nowhere.”
Oh, like you’re one to talk Ms. ‘Does Completely Random Stuff For No Apparent Reason’?
“I’ve done a big of digging around and found out there are two old women in this town that knew the Grinch from long ago,” Starlight piped up. “Apparently they raised him.”
“And how pray tell did you find that out?” Rarity asked.
“I have my sources,” Starlight shrugged.
Pinkie basically stole the script from us, again, and told Starlight…
“Oh, don’t get so worked up Mr. Grumpy Pants!” Pinkie giggled.
Soon as everyone finished their breakfast, Cindy Lou quickly put her coat on, grabbed a recording device, and made her way out the door.
“If we’re going to have any hope of finding anything, we should get to work,” She declared determined.
“You’re right Cindy!” Starlight agreed. “The sooner we get some info on the Grinch and find Cozy Glow, the better.”
“So here’s what I’m thinking,” Twilight suggested. “Starlight, Cindy, and I will speak with those old ladies, Applejack will talk to the Mayor with Rainbow and Spike, and Rarity will meet with Martha May along with Fluttershy and Pinkie. We’ll meet up as soon as we’ve gathered everything we need~”
<>
It took a while, but soon Twilight, Starlight, and Cindy Lou were able to meet with the two sisters, by names Clarnella and Rose Who.
“Yes, we were wondering if you could tell us about the Grinch?” Twilight requested, holding a tape recorder. “We want to know what he was like before he became so… well, mean.”
“Oh, do come inside, dears,” The sisters beckoned, inviting them inside.
“The girls all had questions in their curious hearts.”
“Why does the Grinch hate Christmas?”
“Yeah, and where exactly did it all start?”
“Well thankfully with her dad’s Blab Recorder, Cindy Lou wouldn’t give an inch…”
As the girls sat down and removed their coats, Cindy Lou was already taking a head start with this investigation.
“In your own words, please tell us everything you know about the Grinch,” Cindy Lou began. “Where did he come from?”
“Oh, well… he came the way all Who babies come from,” Clarnella began, smiling in remembrance.
<>
On a cold winter’s night, many Who years ago, as the snow drifted downward across the land past the foreboding Mount Crumpit…
“Hold it!”
*DISC SCRATCH*
<>
“Is this really a conversation for kids?” Starlight asked, gesturing to Cindy.
“Starlight…” Twilight nudged before smiling. “Please continue.”
“Well, as I was saying…” Clarnella continued happily. “On calm nights, baby Who girls and tiny Who fells drift from the sky in their own pumbersellas~”
<>
… across the sky rained tiny little baskets hovering along the air with umbrellas, the Pumbersellas. And inside each Pumbersella, babbling Who babies, boys and girls alike, sat peacefully in their little beds as the wind drifted them off to meet their new families in Whoville. One such Pumbersella landed by the doorstep of one such residence, the one Who home with a stocking sign. As soon as the Pumbersella touched the ground, the door opened and a Who man came to leave an empty milk bottle outside when he spotted the basket.
“Hey honey! Our baby’s here!” He called out, peeking inside. “He looks just like your boss?”
<>
“Oh… so that’s how it works!” Cindy Lou commented.
“Mm-hmm…” Clarnella nodded. “It was Christmas Eve, and a strange wind blew that night~”
<>
Around that same night, Christmas Eve, a strange breeze indeed swept over the horizon. And on that breeze flew the dingiest looking Pumbersella, it’s umbrella nearly in shreds yet miraculously able to sail across the sky. From inside the Pumbersella was a creature that most certainly was no Who indeed… a baby Grinch. So small, so helpless, yet enjoying itself as it made the approach to Whoville along with all the other Who babies.
Suddenly, there was a slight shift in the wind, and it sent the Grinch’s Pumbersella on a collision course with the basket next to him and sent the Who baby crying as it was drifted off course. To which the baby Grinch merely laughed maliciously, as if to suggest the little tike may have done so on purpose. But to this day, since there were no witnesses to catch the act, everyone in Whoville remained blissfully unaware of the mysterious creature drifting down to their humble home…
“Everyone’s got their own way, I suppose…” Starlight commented.
“You mean like with Pinkie and Cheese, and how Lil’ Cheese was born?” Twilight asked her.
“Personally, I saw it as a cheap stunt to bring up the ratings.”
Eventually, the Pumbersella drifted down toward the street until it got caught in a tree. And there the little Grinch stood, babbling while hanging about outside one of the Who’s homes. In which case, it just so happened to be the home of the two Who sisters.
“We were having our annual holiday get-together,” Carnella continued.
Indeed, it was quite a get-together for the sisters… one of the wildest parties they ever hosted. Friends and neighbors coming together, laughing and dancing, having the best time of their lives. Full-grown adults nearly acting like kids and the Grinch had a front row seat right outside their window, all the Who’s completely unaware he’s even there. So busy drinking their punch, playing holiday games, and for some reason storing all their keys in a fish-bowl for some crazy game. The music was so loud, no one could even hear him bawling out in the cold.
“It was morning before anybody realized that he was out there, the poor dear,” Carnella spoke. “But you know what? We knew right away that he was special.”
“Other than the green fur?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, other than the green fur, dear,” Clarnella nodded.
Needless to say, despite certain ‘oddities’, Clarnella and Rose took the Grinch into their home as if it was their own child. And yet as it turns out, raising a Grinch proved not as easy as raising any ole Who child.
“Do you want a Christmas cookie?” Rose asked, holding the plate.
“Yes, which Christmas cookie would you like? Clarnella added.
“Santa…” The Grinch squeaked.
Suffice to say, that the Who ladies were surprised was a ‘huge’ understatement.
“His first words!” Rose gasped.
“Yes, that is a Santa plate!” Clarnella cooed. “Do you want to hold this Santa plate?”
The sisters offered the Grinch the cookie plate, which indeed resembled jolly ole St. Nick himself. The Grinch eyed the plate as if contemplating which cookie to choose all to himself. And then… *CHOMP!* the Grinch took one bite against the plate and tore a piece of Santa’s head clean off. The Who’s looked on in shock as the Grinch chewed the piece of the plate to itty pieces, on one hand astounded by the Grinch’s amazing jaw strength. But at the same time, found it rather…
“Santa, bye-bye!” The Grinch squeaked.
Disturbing…
“Oh, he was a wonderful… whatever he was,” Rose added. “And we raised him like any other Who child with a deep love of Christmas.”
For several years, they did indeed raise the Grinch and he lived amongst the Who’s trying to fit in. Attending their school, wearing the customary uniforms, and every holiday when not doing his studies the Grinch would draw a few pictures in relation to Christmas. And he did enjoy it… though his idea of art was Santa’s sleigh shot by a rocket and the big man falling to his inevitable demise… and he found it funny.
“I guess he had his own way of expressing holiday cheer…” Starlight commented.
“Doesn’t everyone?” Rose replied.
“I suppose that’s true,” Cindy admitted.
And yet this seemed to go a slight unnoticed by the schoolmaster, Mrs. Rue Who, a Who whom at the time had a slightly more ‘cheerful’ attitude.
“Don’t forget, tomorrow is our big Christmas gift exchange,” Mrs. Rue announced. “Everyone bring a special gift for a special someone.”
The young Grinch merely scoffed over the whole idea. Handing a present to some kid in his whole class, gifts that they’re likely only going to use one time. How can the Grinch find anything ‘special’ if he just didn’t get it. Even at his young age, he never understood this whole Christmas thing.
<>
Meanwhile…
Back at Martha May’s house, Rarity and her group shared an interview with Martha over a cup of tea.
“So, what exactly do you know about the Grinch darling?” Rarity asked.
“The… Grinch?” Martha asked. “He had no sense of color coordination. Although, I hardly remember him. I didn’t have time to socialize. I was far too busy with my… studies.”
<>
There was no mistake that years ago Martha May was truly in her ‘studies’ as she claimed. Her eyes locked onto the Grinch, as she licked the lollipop in her hand with a smile over her face. This did not go unnoticed as the Grinch glanced away from his work to catch Martha’s eyes. Needless to say he seemed a bit ‘confused’ over the way Martha was eyeing him. Did he think she was admiring him? Or did he find him funny to look at? Whatever the case, the Grinch found he just couldn’t… look away…
“Now class, is everyone almost finished?” Mrs. Rue asked.
Nearly finished… nope. They were not done staring at each other at any time.
<>
Rarity and her friends glanced toward each other, sharing a sneaking suspicion about Martha’s relationship with the Grinch. As it seemed, there was definitely more to this whole story than Martha was willing to let on.
<>
In another part of town, the Mayor, Augustus, was in the midst of his own interview with the Equestrians. All the while, his personal lackey was polishing the mayor’s shoes to make them so shiny that the brightest Christmas lights in town would sparkle over it. The Mayor too had his own stories to tell… about the Grinch.
“And if the truth be told, he um… he liked Martha,” Mayor Augustus informed. “Martha was my girlfriend~”
<>
As a kid, sitting near the front of the class, May Who did take notice of the way Martha had her eyes locked on the Grinch. And the Grinch himself waved toward the pretty little lady with a smile upon his face. Whether he was going to show it or not, the soon-to-be-mayor found their interaction together rather… sickening.
<>
“I don’t like discussing this Grinch so very close to Christmas,” The Mayor continued. “But maybe if you hear the truth, you’ll understand why—PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!!!”
On command, his lackey rapidly polished the mayor’s shoes at a more accelerated pace. It wasn’t long till the Mayor’s attention returned to the curious ‘kids’.
“I tried to take him under my wing.”
<>
“You don’t have a chance with her,” Young May Who confronted the Grinch. “You’re eight years old and you have a beard!”
Class had barely even ended yet and all the students still in the room were laughing at the Grinch, especially the way he appeared. All the Grinch could do was glare toward May Who and his friend, presumably the Who who’d serve as his assistant. But when the Grinch looked at himself, the way he had hair growing on his cheeks, more so than on his own hands, deep down it seemed the Grinch felt rather ‘insecure’ over the way his classmate spoke to him that way.
<>
“Somehow I doubt that…” Applejack muttered.
Spike seemed to agree with A.J., and he too glared toward the Mayor. Based on appearance alone, it seemed the Mayor was more a bully than a respectable gentleman. Spike knew better than to judge someone based on appearances, but one look toward the Mayor… and the teenage dragon had a ‘feeling’ he couldn’t ignore.
“He had no hair,” Mayor Augustus continued. “Not pleasant. He shed… not right.”
<>
As all the students left the classroom, to return home to their families, the young Grinch approached Martha May Who and she turned to him with that same glowing smile.
“You know, Christmas is my favorite time of year,” Martha May Who replied.
The Grinch didn’t say a word, merely rolled his eyes. He had heard this same song-and-dance before, of how Christmas was everyone Who’s favorite time of the year. And clearly Martha May was no different from the other Who’s… and yet…
“I just love the colors,” Martha May continued. “The red… and the green.”
And before the Grinch knew it, Martha May brushed a single gloved hand over his hairy face, and he was taken aback by surprise. She had no fear of him, no resentment, and she caressed him with no hesitation. She waved goodbye to him with that same smile and the Grinch just stood there, touched in a way he never felt… least not in such a manner. And in a way, even for a boy of only eight years old… it made him feel… ‘warm’.
<>
“Did I have a crush on the Grinch?” Martha chuckled innocently. “Well, of course not.”
“Um, we didn’t ask you that,” Fluttershy replied.
“Oh… right…” Martha spoke.
“Ooh… plot twist!” Pinkie smiled excitedly.
<>
Something sparked within the Grinch that day, something that really got him excited. He had returned home after school and immediately started digging up the garbage in the trash can outside the house. If his legal guardians had taken notice of the Grinch, they would be surprised given this was not a common trait when it came to raising the rambunctious child.
“For some reason, when he came home that day…” Clarnella explained. “He really got into the Christmas spirit for the first time.”
Eventually, the Grinch found what he was looking for. In his hands he held some metal objects which appeared to resemble some discarded horns. To most Who’s, it would be considered junk and completely useless. But the moment the Grinch gazed upon it, in a way he felt… ‘inspired’.
“Perfect!” The Grinch smiled.
“I can imagine why,” Starlight commented.
The Grinch took off into the kitchen and ripped out one of the drawers. He proceeded to spill every form of utensil onto the counter: Forks, knives, spoons, anything metal. His actions certainly left quite a mess in the house.
“Whoopsie!” The Grinch spoke cutely.
In another drawer, he hurled several books aside until he found a tiny little box hidden away. Opening the lid, he found all the jewelry that the Who sisters had kept with them over the years. Many of which having been around since they were kids. Amidst all the treasures, the Grinch took out a necklace with an assortment of jewels.
“What a lovely family heirloom!”
*SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!*
With a hammer in hand, the Grinch started smashing the necklace with a hearty laugh to collect all the pieces he needed. Carefully picking up the jewels, he proceeded to lay them carefully on some grates stuck together as if made to resemble glowing wings. He then ignited the oven and caused flames to spew from the pot sitting there, holding up one of the utensils to mold it down to a specific shape.
“The fires of love!” The Grinch replied.
It was clear that through the Grinch’s rather unorthodox methods of arts and crafts, he was determined to create something special. The conversion of everyday trash into a work of art, to create something beautiful in his own image. If not to fully embrace the spirit of Christmas, but because he wanted to give something special for Martha for the upcoming gift exchange. Not a toy he could simply buy at store for high prices, but rather a homemade ornament made in a slightly spitting image of the one Who, the one little girl who admired him.
“This will be perfect on the top of her tree,” The Grinch spoke to himself. “Oh, Martha! Oh, Christmas!”
Finally, after hours upon hours of hard labor, the Grinch’s masterpiece was finally complete: A handmade angel with wings bedazzled with jewels. A piece of which when hung on top of a Christmas tree, it would glow as brightly as the smile of Martha’s face. After admiring his handiwork, he turned his gaze toward the mirror… and his smile dropped. One look at his face and he was reminded of the few words his teacher and classmates have been saying.
“I want you all to look your best tomorrow,” Mrs. Rue said.
“You don’t have a chance with her,” Augustus May taunted. “You’re eight years old and you have a beard.”
Despite how harsh the boy acted toward him, May Who did make a valid point. Clasping his face with his hands, the Grinch felt the beard all across his face. In a way, that made him feel less like a child but more like a tiny little man in boy’s clothing. How could a girl like Martha May possibly fall for a boy so hideous and ugly? Up till now, he didn’t care so much of his own appearances but now that he suddenly became more aware of himself… he truly did want to look his best, like everyone else. And then… he did something… very desperate…
Grabbing an electric razor off the bathroom counter, the Grinch held it over his face. He took one look back toward his reflection, then at the razor again. He had never shaven before, but he would do ‘anything’ to look clean and proper for school. One flick of the button and the razors began to spin. Slowly, he raised the spinning blades toward his face determined to prove that Martha deserves to admire someone… beautiful…
<>
*POOF!!!*
“WHOA!!!!!!”
Twilight Sparkle and her friends recovered their footing after suddenly being teleported in a flash of light. They took a look around finding themselves somewhere in Whoville. Only, ‘this’ Whoville was slightly different than the one they were just in earlier today.
“Wut in tarnation?” Applejack spoke, looking around. “How’re we here?”
“Technically, we’re ‘not’ here…” Starlight explained. “We’re still in Whoville; it’s a basic spell Twilight taught me.”
“Those were my lines…” Twilight gaped. “You really have been paying attention!”
“Ah yes, I recall this spell…” Rarity realized. “This is practically the same one I used to learn about Erik’s horrid childhood at the fair.”
“Uh, quick question…” Spike spoke up. “If we’re still in ‘Whoville’, why are we ‘here’… in Whoville? Wow I’m so confused.”
“We know for a fact that the Grinch is connected to the whole town, and I think these Who’s know more than they’re letting on,” Starlight began. “All right, what do we know about the Grinch so far?”
“Clearly May Who and Grinch never liked one another,” Applejack noted. “Especially when he was talkin’ over how threatened he felt with Martha payin’ attention to the green feller.”
“That’s a funny coincidence for bringing up Martha,” Pinkie spoke up. “Spoiler alert: It seems Martha has had the hots for the Grinch since he was eight years old. Course, I do find it a little weird given how they are supposed to be children, yet they are flirting like they’re practically pre-young adults. You know what I’m saying Flutters?”
“Uh… I guess so?” Fluttershy answered, uncertainly.
“Something definitely happened that made the Grinch despise Christmas so much,” Twilight pondered. “According to the Who Sisters, he was really looking forward to Christmas that year. So what happened?”
“That is why I brought ‘ourselves’ here in some form,” Starlight explained. “I think I know what’s going to happen… but we need to get to the school. C’mon every pony!”
Soon the Mane Six, with Spike and Starlight Glimmer, ran as fast as they could through the busy streets of Whovilles. The residents were completely unaware of the motley group passing by, but that was all according to the effects of the spell. They were ‘there’… except they were ‘not’ there. Soon they arrived back at the school, and one-by-one they peeked through the window. Inside, they could see all the children (Including the young Augustus and Martha May Who) exchanging gifts with one another, unaware that they were being watched.
“Look at them,” Fluttershy pointed out. “They’re exchanging gifts.”
“Just like we do on every Hearth’s Warming,” Applejack nodded.
“Hearth’s Warming and Christmas really are related to each other, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“You could say that~” Twilight answered.
Meanwhile, Spike looked side to side across the window. But for some strange reason, he couldn’t see a trace of the young Grinch anywhere. Very odd indeed, given how difficult a creature like the Grinch could stand out.
“Where’s the Grinch?” Spike asked. “Are we even at the right school?”
“He’s got to be in there…” Starlight looked in. “This is where it all started…”
“Has everyone given their gifts?” Mrs. Rue Who asked.
All the children answered yes, until…
“I haven’t…”
Confused, all the children turned toward the corner in the back. Pushing his way through the coat rack, the young Grinch appeared with a paper bag over his head. To say that the teacher and students were confused was an understatement. In the Grinch’s hands, he held Martha May’s present: the handmade angel ornament. The ponies and dragon looking on outside were rather stunned by this scene.
“Oh my…” Rarity gasped, stunned.
“Merry Christmas, Martha May,” The Young Grinch greeted.
Martha May gazed toward the gift the Grinch held before her, unsure of how to process the display. All the other students behind her merely laughed, either because of the bag covering the Grinch’s face… or that appeared to be the worst Christmas ornament they’ve ever seen. Mrs. Rue, on the other hand, was more curious.
“Why do you have a bag on your head?” The Teacher asked.
“Probably because he’s embarrassed by that hideodorous gift!” Young Augustus teased.
This made all the children laugh along Augustus’s mean remark, all… except for Martha. She just kept her eyes on the Grinch, who put the present on his desk and made his way to sit down as if slightly ashamed.
“That’s not very nice!” Rainbow Dash frowned. “I oughtta go in there, and give that boy a piece of my—”
“SHH!!!” Starlight hushed, covering Rainbow’s mouth. “We’re supposed to just find out what happened. Listen…”
“Mr. Grinch, please take the bag off,” The teacher requested.
The Grinch quietly pointed toward the bag over his head as if gesturing toward himself.
“Yes, you. Take it off.”
The young Grinch did as the teacher asked, and he did remove the bag from his head. Only, he held an open book in front of him keeping his face hidden from any prying eyes.
“Put the book down…” The teacher ordered.
To which the young Grinch ‘did’ put the book down, only he kept his face hidden with his own foot. The teacher was clearly trying to keep her patience with the boy, but it was wearing rather thinly.
“And your foot…” The teacher emphasized.
The Mane Six, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer watched carefully through the window, looking on with anticipation. Reluctantly, the young Grinch finally put his foot down showing his face to the class. He still had the same face as clear as day, only… it had received a very ‘bad’ shave. While most of the beard was clipped away, several razor cuts were shown all across his face. The group outside the school were rather shocked by what he had done, while the students…
“Look at that hack job!” Augustus pointed out.
Soon, young Augustus and all the other children laughed at the embarrassing display, pointing at the young Grinch’s poorly shaved face. Even the teacher, trying not to laugh, couldn’t help but chuckle over the Grinch’s appearance. While Martha turned back toward the students, glaring over the way her classmates were laughing and saying so many cruel things. It was embarrassing not just for the Grinch… but for her…
“How dreadful…” Rarity gasped.
While all the other ponies shared the same consolation, staring sympathetically toward the young Grinch, they witnessed something terrible. In that very moment, something snapped in his mind and the young Grinch… was raving mad! Getting up from his chair, he grabbed Martha’s present and hurled straight toward the other gifts leaving everyone stunned and shocked.
“Stupid present!” He yelled, lifting the tree. “Stupid tree!”
The whole class stared in horror of the young Grinch’s mighty strength, lifting the tree over his head like it was nothing. The teacher, the children, and especially Martha gasped in shock.
“I… HATE… CHRISTMAS!!!” The young Grinch shouted.
<>
Meanwhile…
In the present day Whoville, the ‘real’ Twilight Sparkle and her friends had started to piece ‘everything’ together (Especially what their other selves have seen). The story of the Grinch seemed to go well at first: A young outcast initially excited about Christmas, trying to impress some girl with a crush on him, and then everything went downhill. According to Mayor May Who’s words, the Grinch shaved himself just look like the other students only ending up the laughingstock which further angered him. Of his classmates, of the winter holiday… everything.
“So let me get this straight,” Spike concluded. “The Grinch hulked out and trashed the school?”
“I’m not sure what ‘Hulking Out’ is, but pretty much,” Mayor May Who replied. “The anger…”
“The fury…” The Mayor’s lackey added.
<>
“The muscles~…” Martha gushed.
<>
The other Twilight and her friends watched as the children made a mad dash out of the classroom. Others had to duck for cover as the Grinch hurled the tree with a fierce grunt. The Grinch raced for the exit only to look back in anger and confusion. Martha May looked toward him, but no longer could she see the happy little Grinch boy… only a humiliated, pathetic creature with hatred stringing on his face. Without another word, he turned away and fled from the school before the authorities could arrive.
Soon Martha was among the few remaining in the classroom, approaching the presents laid out in a mess. But amidst all the gifts, she carefully picked up the pieces of the now broken ornament the Grinch had made himself… his present for her with the nametag to prove it. And now it was completely destroyed, not so much because the Grinch broke himself (Even if that was what happened)… but because ‘why’ he did it. This made the group of friends outside just as sad as young Martha, who looked back toward the open door with tears.
“It was a horrible day when they were so cruel to him,” Martha recalled. “And… I could hardly bear it.”
<>
The real Fluttershy and her group stared at the older Martha May, silently shedding tears after hearing her end of the story. And Martha, sighing softly, felt a tear slowly slip from her own eyes suddenly remembering of a bygone day when she met the most beautiful creature in all of Whoville… and now he was gone.
“Oh Martha… how horrible,” Fluttershy sighed tearfully.
From all across Whoville, amidst all hearing the story of the Grinch, the Equestrians felt terrible. Not so much the horror that have plagued Whoville all those years ago, and years still to come after, but because… they truly got to know the Grinch in some form. And just hearing what made him the monster so feared by all… it was so depressing. Amidst all the friends, Starlight Glimmer looked up toward Mount Crumpit, as a thought of the Grinch echoed in her mind…
<>
A young Grinch, angry and sad, climbing the cliffs of Mount Crumpit with nothing else but the school uniform keeping him warm (Aside from his fur). The young Grinch had no idea how high the mountain goes. He didn’t know what waited for him at the top or what he’d expect to find. All he knew was that he needed to be as far away from Whoville as possible, away from all the Who’s so cruel to him… who pretended to like him and treated him like a joke. He hated the Who’s, all of them, but there was one thing he hated more than anything else in the whole world…
“I hate Christmas! I HATE IT!!!” The Grinch shouted.
“And that was the last time we ever saw him…” Martha sighed. “The very last time…”
“I see…” Rarity sighed. “Thank you for your time…”
<>
Soon Cindy Lou and all her Equestrian friends returned to the very heart of Whoville where they said they would meet. Not a word was spoken between them, but their expressions told the whole story. It was not enough that they heard from the known Who’s most close to the Grinch, but they also witnessed the terrible tragedy that would make the Grinch as he is now. For while everyone else in Whoville galloped off in preparation for their own festivities, to await another joyous Christmas year, they knew not everyone would be enjoying it as they are.
One look toward Mount Crumpit, and it had slowly dawned upon the group. The young Grinch having spent so many years up there, all alone in the cold and isolated from a world that all but forgotten him. No doubt all those years, he had been very sad… perhaps lost… barely able to keep warm or finding enough to eat. A Grinch who would ‘loathe’ all the Who’s, all of whom despising him even when he ‘tried’ to bring his own holiday cheer to this town dedicated so much to the holiday. It gave this group all the time to think, especially a little Who lost in her own way this Christmas…
<>
Meanwhile, as Cindy-Lou and her friends contemplated the tragic origins that was the Grinch, along with his hatred for the holiday and the Who’s, the very subject of the Who-girl’s Wholiday project stood high up on his ledge. Way up on Mount Crumpit, the Grinch glared downwards toward the small Who village, breathing heavily.
“As the Grinch stood on his ledge, way up in the sky,
He was distraught, for he remembered why…
He recalled what happened on that Christmas from then,
He remembered all the pain he felt from way back when…”
Of course, the Grinch was not entirely alone. Cozy Glow stepped outside to check on her new evil cohort. Of course, this morning she learned full well that even someone as rude, crude, and bad-tempered as the Grinch had a daily schedule. And today was Snerzday (Which to her sounded pretty stupid), and the Grinch had it all planned out for the day: Rummaging through the Whoville dump, disorganizing his fridge and pantries, and working on some blueprints for his latest pranking inventions.
And right now, he was doing something the Grinch called, ‘Hateful Affirmations’.
“Still, whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes,
He’d stand outside his cave, hating the Who’s…”
Out of curiosity, Cozy Glow fluttered towards him.
“So… I guess this is your… ‘Hateful Affirmation’, then? Staring down at Whoville all day?”
The Grinch did not break the gaze once. He pulled out a phone book and thumbed through all the pages.
“Hateful gaze is just the start to get the bile flowing,” He replied. “Now I will vocally exclamate my deep-rooted hatred for those wretched Who’s… alphabetically.”
He gazed down his phone book, took a deep breath, and placed his finger upon the first name on the list.
“’Aardvarkian Abakeneezer Who’, I… HATE YOU!!!” He bellowed out.
Through the distance, his echoing roar made several nesting birds fly away in fright. Cozy leapt back from the yell.
“Geez! You do this for ‘every’ Who?”
“Eh… it varies. The louder I yell means the more I hate a certain Who. You’d be surprised how many Who’s are born every year…”
“So why do it, though?”
“Honestly… it makes me feel better from the stagnating mire and muck that is my toxic personality.
“Say…” He thought, presenting the book. “Why don’t ‘you’ give it a try? Beats conventional therapy~”
Cozy was a little unsure of what the point of this was… still she felt it was necessary to give it a try. She took one look toward the next name on the list.
“’Aaron B. Benson Who’… I hate you?” She spoke uncertainly.
Of course, the Grinch simply looked down at the pony with a disappointing ‘Tsk, tsk, tsk’ even for a first attempt. His gazed turned beyond the fourth wall (Again).
“Oh boy… got my work cut out for this one…” He thought, then turned back. “No, no, no! That’s not how you do it! You gotta pull that bile right from your gizzard and push it up your throat. I mean really shove it up there~!”
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Cozy argued. “I can’t physically do that!”
“I was speaking metaphorically, kid. Just get that hate for those Who’s, and just… spew it out! Like you just ate one too many green eggs!”
“But that’s the problem! I don’t hate the Who’s as much as you do. Sure I find them annoying, but I don’t… well, hate them like you do. I barely even know them… least not yet.”
“Hmm…” The Grinch thought. “Seems we’ll need another approach… AHA!”
The Grinch quickly knelt down till his eyes were level with Cozy’s.
“What about those colored nags who’ve been looking for ya?”
Cozy’s eyes widened slightly; a bit of that aforementioned bile started to build up. The Grinch himself could clearly see just what he was looking for.
“Twilight Sparkle and her friends?” Cozy asked slowly. “What about them?”
“You don’t like them at all, right~?”
“Don’t like them? That’s the understatement of the millennium! All I ever wanted, since I was a little filly, was one little thing: To be the supreme Empress of all Equestria! Is that so much to ask? Is it?!”
“Not at all,” The Grinch replied. “Go on…”
“It was my lifelong dream, so much I wrote a letter to Lord Tirek, one of the most evil creatures in all Equestria!” Cozy explained. “And together, he and I came up with the perfect plan: I’d infiltrate Twilight’s School of Friendship, get ‘really’ close to her and her friends. And then, once I got what I needed, I tricked Twilight and the others into trapping themselves in Tartarus. This way I’d have all the time to drain all the magic from Equestria, leaving me to rule ALL! Everything went smoothly as can be… but you know what happened?!”
“Something went wrong?”
“Something went BUCKING wrong! Sandbar and his misfit friends foiled my evil plan and freed all the magic I went through all the trouble of draining! And the moment Twilight and her friends came back, she tried to trick me into believe friendship wasn’t about power! But I knew better! And what do I get for knowing the truth? They lock me away in Tartarus!! BUCKING TARTARUS!!! And they call me insane…”
“Really?” The Grinch stated. “Now that’s not fair~”
“Oh, I haven’t even mentioned the worst part!” Cozy Glow continued. “Eventually, Tirek and I were released from Tartarus from Grogar, supposedly the most powerful evil being in the world. We, along with Chrysalis, formed a pack together believing that if we teamed together we could take what we learned from Twilight’s previous wins and beat her at her own game… also that Sombra guy was with us too, but he ditched us on the very first day!
“It took some getting used to of this idea of being a team, even though I was the ‘perfect’ candidate in using my friendship skills to keep us together. And I’ll admit, for a moment… I felt like we had a thing going on, that we were like the family I always wanted. Together, we succeeded in retrieving Grogar’s bell, which supposedly can absorb ‘any’ powerful magic in Equestria. We were able to trick those stupid little ponies into being suspicious of one another through fear and paranoia, and when we finally had the means to defeat Twilight and her friends, all of Equestria was under my—I mean our control…”
“But…?”
“But…” Cozy Glow hissed. “Everything went wrong from the start. Turned out there was no Grogar, just some klutzy draconequus in some cheap magical disguise. A group of no-ponies convinced every clan in the nation to put their differences aside and be friends again! Somehow Twilight and her friends ended up defeating us with that ‘stupid’ Rainbow Bright junk… and if beating us wasn’t enough, they turn us into stone statues as punishment for bringing Windigos to Equestria!
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a filly locked up in stone for years?!” Cozy asked rhetorically, frustrated. “It… is… BORING!!! Not to mention I’ve been fighting a Charlie Horse since I was finally free…”
While the Grinch allowed the little filly to ramble on, he was starting to like what was coming out from a pony so small.
“So you could say… you hate them?” The Grinch guessed.
“THOSE PONIES ROBBED ME OF MY TRIUMPH!!!” Cozy Glow ranted. “I was destined to be the supreme ruler of the most POWERFUL empire in the universe! Do I hate them?! No… I really hate them! I really, really, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hate them!”
The little filly stomped the very snow under her hooves with each mention of the word ‘really’.
“And now those nasty ponies are down in Whoville, probably having a gay old time with those Christmas creepazoids~!” The Grinch pointed out.
“Yeah… in fact, I didn’t think of it till now!” Cozy realized. “Those Who’s remind me of those ponies WAY too much! In fact, I… I… I…”
“Say it loud and proud, sister! Testify!”
With the deepest breath she ever took in her whole life, Cozy Glow released the biggest yell she could muster.
“I HATE YOU WHO’S! I HATE YOU, AND I HATE CHRISTMAS AND HEARTH’S WARMING AND ALL THOSE OTHER DUMB HOLIDAYS, WITH EVERY BUCKING FIBER IN MY BODY! WHEN I GET MY WAY, I’LL BOIL YOU ALL IN YOUR STINKING WHO-PUDDING, COOK YOU LIKE ROAST BEAST, AND WRAP YOU ALL IN YOUR FAUST-AWFUL GIFT WRAPPING! AND WHILE I’M AT IT, I’LL PUT YOU ALL ON A HOLLY, JOLLY SLEIGH RIDE TO TARTARUS!!!”
The yell alone produced the largest result imaginable. Not only were more birds scattering about, but the snow along the mountain began to rumble. Any longer and the whole town of Whoville would be swallowed up by an avalanche. But… Cozy breathed deeply, all red and shaky from her angry rant. The Grinch stared at her with wide eyes, such dark material she spouted… before giving her a proud smirk.
“That… is what we in the business call a proper ‘hateful affirmation’. How do you feel?”
“I… I feel… great!” Cozy answered, breathing deeply. “Wow! I’ve never felt so empowered in my life!”
“Wanna hate on those Who’s some more?” He asked, offering the book.
“Yeah~!” Cozy answered, with a nasty smirk.
She fluttered over as the two hateful creatures read off all the names of all the Who’s in the yellow pages.
“’Abahim C. Crumovich Who’… I hate you!” The Grinch yelled out.
“’Acrombob D. Drunjubba Who’… I bucking hate you!” Cozy followed.
“Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate—”
“Oh, you forgot that guy.”
“Double-hate, then~”
As the two kept their hatred spewing, the Grinch stopped over a certain name that popped up. One of which really boiled his inner bile.
“Augustus May-Who… I… LOATHE YOU ENTIRELY!” The Grinch growled dramatically.
“Oh, I loathe that guy too!” Cozy agreed. “But we’ll get back at him! We’ll get back at all those stupid Who’s and their stupider Christmas!”
Before the Grinch could add something, he lifted his head as if his ears caught something. His eyes widened in fear… for he knew something was upon them.
“Okay, then. How about this?” Cozy read. “’Averil Neyckerbaumb Who’, I—”
But before she could exclaim her hatred, the Grinch muzzled her mouth with his furry hand. He hushed her swiftly (‘Shh!’), trying to hear whatever sound he was picking up.
“Do you hear what I hear, said the Grinch to the horsey?” He rasped out.
Cozy raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she was supposed to hear.
“What?” She muffled.
“Do you hear what I hear?”
The Grinch released her muzzle and knelt down, grabbing the ledge while peering down the mountain towards Whoville.
“A song… A song, far below the Pontoos… with a joy as insufferable as can be!”
Before Cozy could even ask what craziness compelled the Grinch to think, her ears picked up a faint sound. Leaning closely, she could detect a sound similar to music, faintly coming from Whoville.
“What are those Who’s doing down there?” Cozy asked curiously.
The Grinch stood up, as he grasped his phone book quite firmly, the edge of which between his teeth.
“Nutcrackers!... It’s their Whobilation!” The Grinch realized. “The biggest… loudest… craziest… Christmasiest depravity ever devised by Who-minds…”
“You mean it’s like a big holiday party?” The young filly’s eyes widened. “Yuck! Who’d want to be around that? Well, at least we’re not down there, right?”
“That’s not the worst of it though…” He uttered. “The Whobiliation is always held… on Christmas Eve…”
“He snarled with a sneer…”
“Tomorrow is Christmas…” He remarked fearfully. “Why, it’s practically here!”
He tossed the phone book over the ledge and marched back toward his cave.
“MAX!!! FETCH ME MY SEDATIVE!”
<>
Initially, Cozy Glow thought the Grinch could not get any crazier. But as expected, she was wrong.... as soon as she discovered the Grinch’s ‘sedative’ was merely knocking himself out with a large mallet.
“Now to take care of those pesky memories…” He declared.
The Grinch had poised to strike himself, until—
“Are you crazy?!” Cozy spoke out. “Will hitting yourself really make you feel better?”
The Grinch seemed to register her words, switching his gaze between her and the mallet in his grip.
“You know… you got a point,” He agreed. “This is not a healthy way to solve my misery. I shouldn’t be knocking myself out with this mallet!”
Suddenly, he offered the mallet to Cozy.
“You better do it.”
Cozy had to rub her ears a bit, thinking she misheard him.
“Uh… did I hear that right?” She asked, taking the mallet. “You want me to knock you out with this?”
“Duh! Now, come on. Get on with it!”
He took the mallet end and nudged it at just the right spot.
“There! Right on the old noggin~!”
“You’re serious about this?”
“Do I look like I’m not serious? Actually… don’t answer that. I’m not spending this day listening to those happy-go-looney hoochers hollering their holiday hooplas! Besides, I’ve done this every year, and never had a concussion.”
Cozy raised her eyebrows over that last part. She was about to tell him ‘No!’ before it dawned on her. If the Grinch was knocked out… she’d have more time to peruse the Grinch’s blueprints. Of course she had no doubt the Grinch would be a valuable asset to the Legion. But, just in case, it wouldn’t hurt to have a back-up plan. She fluttered closer toward the Grinch, swinging the mallet like a golf club aiming for the forehead.
“Well… if you’re sure,” She remarked. “Just remember: This will hurt you more than it’ll hurt me.”
“Huh? Don’t you mean it’ll hurt ‘you’ more than it’ll—?”
*WHAM!!!*
Before the Grinch could finish the question, Cozy hit the mark and knocked the Grinch onto the floor unconscious.
“Nope…meant it as I said it,” Cozy remarked. “And it DID look like it hurt you more.”
Taking to the act of bodily harm quite well, Cozy tossed the mallet aside with a clatter and fluttered off toward the Grinch’s invention station.
“In the meantime… it wouldn’t hurt to come up with some ideas to help that guy for ruining this Christmas… maybe ‘borrow’ a few of his designs for the Benefactor. Now let’s see—”
Cozy Glow studied all the blueprints on the counter, which wasn’t easy because the Grinch had them all in such a disorganized mess. Some of them were covered in dust, like they hadn’t been touched in years. And any plans she could find proved to be… a bit of a disappointment, the like of which she tossed over her shoulder one-by-one.
“Boring! Lame! Not evil! Been done! Too… Discord…”
Suddenly, amidst her search, she grabbed one of the many plans… and stopped. Her eyes were drawn to the designs of this one blueprint and an evil smirk started to form.
“Ooh… perfect! Heh-heh-heh…”