Christmas Miracle
Christmas morning had come about, but there was no joyous sounds of merriment from the usually chipper people. Instead, every Who down in Whoville simply walked about the snowy streets, all dressed in their pajamas and all rather depressed. Many of them gave a big ‘Boo-hoo’ as they walked sadly through the streets. Amongst them were the Lou Who family and their Equestrian guests. Cindy Lou looked about in confusion, as did all the ponies and Spike.
“Boy, without the decorations, this place is actually depressing,” Spike spoke honestly.
“I can’t believe this!” Twilight said shocked. “I mean, I knew the Grinch hated Christmas. But I never thought he’d actually take ‘everything’.”
“Why are you so surprised Twilight?” Rainbow asked. “Did you really think that big, green, and ugly would just let bygones be bygones after what happened at the Whobilation?”
“Well… no. But still, I hadn’t expected him to actually come down here in the middle of night and steal everything.”
“All I can say is you probably should’ve seen this coming.”
“You’re one to talk Rainbow,” Rarity spoke up. “After all, you and Applejack seemed a bit ‘preoccupied’ the other night to notice anything.”
Hearing this made both Applejack and Rainbow Dash freeze like deer in headlights. Their faces turned a bright scarlet red.
“Uh—I don’t, uh—what—what do you mean?” Rainbow stuttered nervously.
“Oh, don’t play dumb now darling,” Rarity replied. “I was literally in the room next door and you two certainly didn’t make ‘any’ attempt to keep quiet.”
Rainbow and Applejack both looked at each other rather awkwardly. Then they looked down to avoid any eye contact with every pony else and kept walking.
“I just feel so bad for all these poor Who’s,” Fluttershy said.
“Don’t worry Fluttershy,” Pinkie smiled. “I have a sneaky feeling things are going to turn around any moment. Like good things are bound to come crashing right into town.”
Little did they know, right across town, the Whoville police office raced out from his home and jumped into his police cruiser.
“What an embarrassment!” He muttered. “I’ve been robbed!”
The sirens of his car blared loudly as he pulled away from his home, completely unaware of the winch attached to the bumper. Meanwhile, inside the home of Mayor May-Who, the Mayor himself just opened his eyes when suddenly his bed was pulled with great force right through the wall of his home. May-Who was beyond shocked, scared even, as his bed was pulled behind the police car through the streets of Whoville as many onlookers stared after them. Finally, the police car pulled into the town square before coming to a stop and May-Who was whipped in his bed to a stop.
May-Who looked around in shock, as a whole bunch of Who’s gathered in the center staring at the Mayo, in his bed, right in the middle of the town. The cop leapt from his car and gasped the moment he saw May-Who.
“Mayor May-Who!” He gasped.
“Oh… my…” Fluttershy whimpered nervously.
May-Who turned over and saw Martha May joining the crowd. He quickly jumped from his bed, as Whobris ran right up and helped him into his robe.
Okay seriously, does this guy just sit in May-Who’s house waiting to be called upon or something?
I don’t know man. But it’s really weird, that’s for sure.
No kidding!
“Well, I wonder who could have done this,” May-Who spoke to the Who’s. “I tell you people one thing: Invite the Grinch, destroy Christmas. INVITE THE GRINCH, DESTROY CHRISTMAS!!!”
Everyone backed away in shock over the Mayor’s outburst.
“But did anyone listen to me?” He then asked.
“I did!” Whobris raised his hand.
“No…” May-Who replied, facing Cindy. “You chose to listen to a little, not to be taken seriously, girl, who hasn’t even grown into her nose yet.”
“Hey!” Applejack yelled. “Don’t ya’ll be blamin’ this on Cindy!”
“This is all your fault anyway!” Rainbow added.
“I thought I told all of you to be out of town by morning!” May-Who said disapprovingly.
“Well guess what? We ain’t goin’ nowhere!” Applejack responded.
“You are the most corrupt, hypocritical mayor I’ve ever met in my life!” Rarity spoke appalled. “And I’ve designed outfits for the Mayor of Manehatten!”
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone!” Spike spoke up. “You couldn’t stand the Grinch getting back into the Christmas spirit because he was getting more praise than you were!”
“Oh please!” May-Who scoffed. “Cindy shouldn’t have even suggested the Grinch to even come down here in the first place! Now look at what it caused! Cindy, I hope you’re very proud of what you’ve done.”
Cindy spoke no words, but just looked rather sad. Lou could tell his daughter was already distraught enough and being so criticized was not doing her any favors. Rainbow made to fly over, intent on knocking the living daylights out of May-Who right now. But Lou stepped up before Cindy and even them.
“If she isn’t… I am,” He spoke.
Everyone gasped as May-Who whipped back around, hearing those very words.
“I’m glad he took our presents.”
“What did you say?” May-Who questioned.
Lou looked down at Cindy and the Equestrians before turning back toward the Mayor with a more determined look.
“Well, I’m glad,” He said.
“He’s glad…” May-Who told everyone. “You’re glad. You’re glad that everything is gone. You’re telling me that you’re glad that the Grinch virtually wrecked, no not wrecked pulverizedChristmas. Is that what I’m hearing from you Lou?”
“You can’t hurt Christmas Mr. Mayor,” Lou informed. “You know it isn’t about the gifts of the contests or the fancy lights. That’s what Cindy has been trying to tell everyone. And me, she’s been trying to tell me.”
“Way to see the light Lou,” Spike congratulated.
“He’s absolutely right,” Twilight nodded. “Christmas has never been about gift giving or who has the best Christmas decorations or even who makes the best fruitcake. Its about being with your family and friends, celebrating what brings us all together.”
“And the fact that only Cindy seemed to realize that makes her one of the smartest Who’s in this town,” Starlight smiled.
“What is wrong with you all?” May-Who groaned. “This is a child!”
Lou walked up to the point where he and May-Who were only a few inches apart.
“She’s my child,” He pointed to himself. “And she happens to be right by the way.”
To emphasize, Lou even poked the Mayor right in the chest before stepping back and wrapping his arms around his family.
“In fact, I don’t need anything more for Christmas than what I have right here: My family.”
Lou then turned over toward the Equestrian group and gestured for them to come closer. The ponies and Spike happily obliged, joining the big group hug with everyone as all the other Who’s looked and smiled. Many of them even starting to get the idea as they too embraced their loved ones and friends.
“Merry Christmas everybody!” Lou told everyone.
“Mery Christmas!” The Who’s responded.
“Merry Christmas, you hunk of burnin’ Who!” Betty smiled toward Lou.
And before any Who knew it, Betty planted a big wet one against Lou’s lips with all the other Who’s bearing witness to it all. Drew and Stu felt like they were going to puke and walked off to the side, while Mayor May-Who was less than pleased.
“Give me a break,” Mayor May-Who muttered, walking away.
And while everyone came together to celebrate, Cindy Lou and the Equestrians all snuck off to the side.
“Isn’t this great Cindy?” Pinkie asked her. “Looks like everyone finally sees what you were trying to tell them all this time.”
“Yeah… except one,” Cindy spoke, looking towards Mount Crumpit.
Everyone else followed her gaze before Twilight Sparkle herself smiled.
“Well… maybe it’s not too late,” She said.
The Princess of Friendship gestured towards every pony and soon they all, even Spike and Cindy…
Ahem!
… AND Tubby Nugget… held onto each other closely. Twilight soon lit her horn, an aura building all around her, and they all instantly vanished in a bright flash of purple light. Soon as the light flashed again, they were all back up on top of Mount Crumpit and they fell… right into the pile of Christmas garbage. All eyes turned toward Rarity, who merely gave a deep breath while maintaining what’s left of her composure.
“You know what? It’s happened so many times this doesn’t surprise me…” Rarity sighed.
While they helped each other up from the mound of trash, Cindy Lou’s gaze looked up towards the peak of the cliff itself.
“Mr. Grinch?” She called out. “Mr. Grinch?”
“We’ll go up ahead Cindy,” Starlight advised. “You better wait here while we do the talking.”
“Better keep a firm eye out too!” Applejack advised. “If the Grinch’s here, then surely~”
A slight moan stopped Applejack mid-sentence and the group slowly turned to the side. Emerging from the corner, a certain tiny Pegasus, dressed like a Christmas elf, was stretching out her limbs while walking very slowly. She looked up for one moment and then froze in her tracks, her eyes widen. Like a deer in headlights, she stood there staring right toward the Equestrians and their little Who friend. For several seconds, they just stared at each other in silence.
“Oh…” Cozy muttered.
*WHAM!*
Before Cozy Glow could finish, a bright blue blur pounced on the evil little mastermind forcing her onto the ground. Rainbow Dash planted her full weight atop of the tiny Pegasus, who struggled in vain to crawl herself out of the hold. Soon the other ponies, even Fluttershy, piled atop of Cozy, who only then realized there was no escape this time.
“We finally caught you Cozy Glow!” Rainbow Dash declared. “This time you’ve gone too far!”
“First ya go and burn down our town’s theater, now ya go and try wreckin’ every pony’s holiday?!” Applejack glared. “Have ya no shame, young’un!”
“What’re you talking about?” Cozy Glow muttered.
“No more lies Cozy Glow!” Applejack pointed accusingly. “You ain’t weaslin’ yer way outta this one!”
“Now that we’ve finally caught her, what’ll we do with her?” Fluttershy asked curiously.
“I say we do exactly what she’d have done to us,” Rainbow suggested. “We’d shave her mane with a razor! Dye her coat with blue spray-paint maybe~”
“I say we ‘smash’ her face with an iron!” Pinkie added excitedly. “Shove some ornaments up her flank; maybe pull out her little feathers one at a time!”
“PINKIE PIE!!!” The group shouted.
“We’re just supposed to take her back to Equestria!” Starlight corrected. “We’re not doing any of that stuff!”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes blinked before she turned back toward Cozy Glow, who’s eyes went wide, and she was practically shivering as if she were suddenly more scared than she ever felt.
“Ooh… heh-heh, sorry about that,” Pinkie smiled sheepishly. “Almost went ‘Smile HD’ for a moment. Didn’t mean to scare you little filly.”
“Scared?!” Cozy forced a chuckle. “C’mon, don’t make me laugh! Ha… ha… ha…”
“Before we leave, where’s your boss?” Twilight asked Cozy Glow. “We know you’ve been with him this whole time; what is he up to now?”
“Hah! Nice try princess!” Cozy smirked. “I don’t work for no-pony; I’d never tell you anything!”
“That’s fine, you don’t have to talk,” Starlight nodded, looking up. “Because I have a rough idea as to where he is.”
All eyes looked up and sure enough the large sack of stolen goods was sitting right in plain view of the group. A grunt emerged from Cozy’s lips, as her face plopped in the snow.
“Told ‘em we should’ve just blown it all up while we had the chance~” Cozy muttered.
“I heard that!” Rainbow called out.
“We better make sure that this little rascal doesn’t try to get away,” Spike suggested. “Care to do the honors Rarity?”
“Ooh… I might have a few ideas in mind,” Rarity feigned pondering.
The aura on her horn glowed brightly white, as several garlands and even Christmas ties hovered over the wintry air. The moment Cozy’s eyes saw what she were up to, a squeak escaped her lips and her eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks.
<>
Up near the uppermost part of Mount Crumpit, the Grinch stood upon the ledge waiting impatiently. On one hand, he was still hoping that the Who’s were up by now bawling their eyes out over losing their Christmas. On the other, it had been several minutes since Cozy Glow took a walk and she still hadn’t returned. He raised his wrist over to his eyes, as if checking the time until finally he refused to wait any longer.
“Ah forget this!” The Grinch muttered. “I’ve waited ‘years’ for this moment and I won’t stand to sit out another minute.”
The Grinch swiftly turned toward the sleigh and the enlarged sack sitting right atop it. His expression turned to glee knowing what sick pleasure he had in mind, his one final hurrah before he can bid all of Whoville, soon to be ‘Spewville’, behind forever.
“Now for the final note in my symphony of downright nasty not-niceness!” The Grinch declared. “The crescendo of my odious opus!”
With a great heave, the Grinch pushed his whole weight against the sleigh ready to send the whole thing rolling down the edge of the mountain. He could just envision it now: The sleigh barreling down the rocky surface, ornaments shattering into pieces as they fly off into the air. And by the time the sleigh hits a hard stone, they’ll all explode into a fiery blaze and burn away into smoldering ash. More importantly, he could just imagine how ‘all’ the Who’s will act when they discover what happened.
“The wailing and the gnashing of teeth,” The Grinch grumbled to himself. “The bellowing of the bitterly bummed out! It’ll be like music to my ears!”
“THAT’S ENOUGH, GRINCH!!!”
The Grinch stopped midway when he heard an all-too familiar shout. He stared ahead and sure enough Twilight Sparkle and her friends appeared in a flash. Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle had their horns a-glowin’. Fluttershy, Spike, and Rainbow Dash hovered high in the air. Applejack and Pinkie Pie stood pawing the snow with Tubby Nugget waving it’s stubby arms fisticuffs style on the latter’s back.
“Step away from the sleigh, Grinch!” Twilight instructed. “It’s all over!”
“Curses! You meddlesome ponies are so persistent!” The Grinch grumbled.
“Yeah… that’s ‘kind of’ our schtick Mr. Carrey,” Pinkie smiled innocently. “It’s become a running gag at this point.”
“My name is not CARREY!!!” The Grinch shouted. “And where’s the littler one?! She’s my maniacal sidekick, not you… average-heighted ones.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble Grinchy, but Cozy Glow’s not available,” Pinkie replied. “Let’s just say she’s all… ‘wrapped up’ with other things.”
<>
True to Pinkie Pie’s word, Rarity had just completed wrapping a certain pony elf-minion back in the garbage pile. The little Pegasus found herself similarly wrapped in the same manner as she helped the Grinch back at the Whoville Post Office. Only Rarity made absolutely certain that the little filly had no chance of breaking free.
“And perfect!” Rarity declared. “All wrapped up and ready to be delivered back to Ponyville!”
“Lemme out of this you marshmallow, dress-crazy pony!” Cozy cried out, struggling. “Just you wait till I get out of this! You’re going to be sorry you ever messed with~”
Finally having enough, Rarity slapped a ‘Don’t Open Till Xmas’ stamp right on Cozy’s mouth completely silencing her.
“Hmph! Some ponies can be so dramatic!” Rarity remarked, flipping her mane.
<>
Meanwhile…
“You’re raid against Christmas is over, Grinch,” Starlight spoke gently. “What’re you planning to do?”
“I’m going to destroy this despicable holiday once and for all!” The Grinch grinned maniacally.
“C’mon Grinch! No, no, no~”
Starlight Glimmer cautiously approached the Grinch, who stopped her with a swift point of his furry finger.
“STAND BACK, MULE!!!” The Grinch shouted. “I’m a Grinch on a mission!”
“Look, this is how accidents happen!” Starlight spoke. “I understand how frustrated you are~”
“Just stay back and don’t move!” The Grinch warned. “I’ll push this off the cliff! Every last ounce of it!”
But Starlight Glimmer merely held her ground, staring at the Grinch while all her friends anxiously waited.
“No, you won’t,” Starlight answered bluntly.
“O-O-Of course I am! Just look!” The Grinch gestured. “A few more steps and the whole supply chain goes kaboodle!”
“No… they won’t! If you were intending to destroy all of it, you would’ve done it before we got here! You don’t really want to do this!”
“You don’t know what I’ll do!”
“Maybe not. We haven’t had a chance we really know you, apart from all we’ve known. But I’ve been in the same shoes as you. I understand why you’re frustrated~”
“No, you don’t! You don’t understand, none of you do! I’ve spent years and years, all of my life, alone in a cave while you occupy yourself with your ideas of ‘holiday cheer’! Abusing your deals to buy an endless supply of gifts, showering your homes with all the fancy lights, and coming home to serve your family the fanciest feasts! You all have everything… while I had nothing!”
“But if you would just listen—”
“NOT ANOTHER WORD!” The Grinch interrupted. “If I can’t have Christmas, I’ll ruin it for all of you! And once I’m through with this whole thing, I’m leaving ‘Spewville’ behind me and be among the rank of those who actually appreciate me! The Who’s can take this holiday were the sun don’t shine and never take it out! Christmas is over!”
Just as the Grinch made for one last push, before all the other Equestrians can react, suddenly… there was a faint humming sound followed by a rather catchy tune. The Grinch stopped immediately, his face widened with confusion and all heads looked around for the source. Even Max, the dog sitting beside Fluttershy, looked around curiously.
“Fah who foraze! Dah who doraze
Welcome Christmas, come this way!”
“Mr. Narrators…” Pinkie whispered, looking around. “Is that~?”
“Then they all heard a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow.”
“Huh?” The Grinch uttered.
“But the sound wasn’t sad. Why, this sounded merry.
But it was merry. Very.”
The Grinch, Max, and the Equestrians slowly approached the edge of the cliff and looked down towards the town of Whoville. And sure enough, their eyes and ears undeceiving, all the Who’s had gathered around their Christmas tree despite the fact none of the lights were on. They stood around it, hand-in-hand, swaying left and right singing their hearts out to a yuletide holiday carol. They sung warmly… proudly… and perhaps even merrily.
“Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small
Were singing without any presents at all.”
Grunting in anger, the Grinch tore the hat off of his head and made his way down the mountain. The Equestrians and Max followed the Grinch’s direction, watching as the beast hoped from one section of the mountain to the next. Soon they followed the Grinch, stepping wherever he stepped, until they caught up with him. The Grinch stood on one part of the mountain, the very entrance to his own home. And all he did was stand there, folding his arms, digging his hands down his pits, and glaring toward the town.
“He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming. It came~”
“Somehow or other, it came just the same!” The Grinch concluded.
Unbeknownst to everyone, while they gathered around the Grinch, Cindy Lou and Rarity climbed up to the top of the mountain where the sleigh remained standing. The unicorn dragged Cozy Glow alongside her with her magic aura, the filly not even struggling yet glaring through the wrapping silently. They looked around for any sign of the Grinch and their friends, only to find nobody.
“Huh… where’d every pony go?” Rarity wondered.
“Mr. Grinch?!” Cindy Lou called out.
“Spike? Girls?!” Rarity called out. “Where are you guys?”
Their friends were not as far from them as they thought. Silently, the Equestrians stood around the Grinch and for a moment they said nothing as they watched him stand in his spot. His eyes watched the whole scene happening in Whoville, while his mind was itching for answers he couldn’t fathom. He just had no idea how his whole plan went so well… yet somehow it all backfired on him in a matter of seconds. He twisted the hat in his hands as if trying to relieve himself of any stress swelling up within him.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling, and puzzling~”
“How could it be so?” The Grinch asked himself. “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you all along, Grinch,” Starlight told him. “Christmas is more than just presents, decorations, or the food. It comes from sharing the holiday between family and friends.”
“Starlight’s right, Grinch,” Twilight agreed. “Why even Cindy felt the same way.”
“And so does Max too,” Fluttershy added, facing the dog. “Isn’t that right boy?”
To which Max barked in what could only be thought as a confirmation. Either way, it earned him a light pat on the head as Fluttershy smiled toward him. Yet all the Grinch could do was turn back toward Whoville, the atmosphere around him filled with song and good cheer. And he continued puzzling, trying to uncover some hidden truth in their words.
“And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before…”
“Maybe Christmas…”
“He thought…”
“… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more…”
All of a sudden, the Grinch clutched his chest and cried out in agonizing pain. A force so strong it thrust him against the wall of the mountain. He could feel his hearting beating at an acceleratingly, loud beat. The force of which startled the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and Tubby Nugget. They had no idea what to do or what was happening to him.
“Twilight, what’s going on?” Spike questioned.
“I’m not sure,” Twilight responded.
One thing was absolutely certain: The Grinch was in a lot of pain. The poor fellow had no control over himself, his heart was beating so hard it felt as if his whole chest would explode at any moment. As he laid back on the cold floor, grunting and groaning in pain, he reached out a single hand toward Max, his one companion beside him now.
“Max!” He yelled. “Help me! I’m feeling!”
“Somebody do something!” Tubby cried urgently. “He needs some help!”
The Mane Six, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and Tubby approached the Grinch side, watching as he laid along the snow. It was then, while they surrounded him, that Applejack noticed something rather weird happening. She could see the Grinch’s chest thumping and pumping rather rapidly. It was almost as if the Grinch’s heart seemed to be… growing.
“Hey, ya’ll,” Applejack pointed. “Check this out!”
“And what happened then,
Well, in Whoville they say,
That the Grinch’s small heart
Grew three sizes that day.”
The Grinch sat up in shock, a gasp escaped his lips, and all at once… he started to cry. He had no reason how or why he was suddenly upset, but it was as if he could no longer hold it in anymore. All the things that made him so sad, his entire misery, and the weight he’s been forcible carrying along his shoulders but no more. He bawled and he bawled, tears falling down his cheeks like a pair of waterfalls as he cried out to the heavens for the first time in many years. The Mane Six and all their friends had never seen the Grinch this upset before, but all of a sudden they felt emotional to.
“Oh please stop, Mr. Grinch!” Pinkie cried, tearing up. “You’re going to make me cry too! Oh wait… too late… here it comes! WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
Pinkie Pie started to cry comically, like a certain beagle of a popular children’s cartoon. Everyone else just looked at her and the Grinch in confusion. Until finally, the Grinch stopped crying as he held his hands.
“What’s happening to me?” He blubbered.
Just then, a bright warm light peeked over the horizon drawing his attention. His face looked towards the sky as the sunrise rose high over the mountains. None could explain what was going on, but somehow this ray of sun enveloped everyone with this warm, pleasant feeling.
“I’m all… toasty inside,” The Grinch observed.
“I believe that’s what you call love… and happiness,” Twilight pointed out.
The Grinch soon placed a hairy hand upon his cheek. All at once, he felt this warm drop of moisture… a tear. He held it over his hand, observing it rather closely.
“And I’m leaking,” He smiled.
He then turned toward Max, with the warmest smile he ever shared.
“Oh Max,” He sighed.
And Max instantly perked up, hearing the most pleasant tone from his master. The rarest form he had ever heard in all his doggy years.
“I love ya!”
The Grinch soon held out his arms big and wide. And sure enough, Max eagerly raced into his arms and knocked him over. The dog began to lick the Grinch’s hairy cheeks, so much joy happening all at once. Seeing a master and his dog this affectionate made the Equestrians smile in happiness.
“All right, that’s enough,” The Grinch chuckled. “Knock it off… BEAT IT! Get out of here!”
And all of a sudden, the Grinch yelled out and shoved the dog aside leaving the group slightly stunned for a moment.
“One step at a time…” The Grinch grumbled.
“Well… at least he’s giving it a try,” Starlight replied.
“Right… baby steps,” Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
“Uh guys…” Spike realized. “Why do I get the feeling that we’re… forgetting something?”
Suddenly, they heard a groaning sound coming from up above the cliff. The Equestrians, Max, and the Grinch looked up. And sure enough, the sleigh with all the presents and décor was leaning to-and-fro. As if at any moment, that sleigh was going to slip off the very ledge and when it does…
“Oh no…” The Grinch realized. “The sleigh… the presents… they’ll be destroyed! And I care! What is the deal?”
“We’ve got to stop that sleigh!!!” Twilight called out, racing up the ledge.
“Wait!” The Grinch cried out.
Together, the group raced up the mountain as fast as they could. While Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash took the air, flapping their wings rapidly, the rest had to climb up the mountain randomly. It was a long, difficult hike back up the mountain, but they had no time to dilly… or dally…
“This can’t happen!” The Grinch muttered. “It shouldn’t! It couldn’t! It mustn’t! It wouldn’t! Not now, not then, not ever again!”
By the time they finally reached the top of the mountain, the wintry breeze was starting to pick. Little by little, the sleigh was reaching the point of falling down the mountain. They knew they had to stop the sleigh and fast.
“NOOOOOOOO!!!” The Grinch pointed dramatically.
“STOP… THAT… SLEIGH!!!” Pinkie shouted dramatically.
“WHY… ARE… WE… SCREAMING… IN… SLO-MO…!” Spike spoke slowly.
“DRAMATIC… EFFECT!!!” Pinkie answered.
Slowly the group raced towards the sleigh as fast as their legs could carry them (Or permit them to). The Grinch made a great leap for the sleigh, reaching as far as his arms could reach. He flew farther and farther, his fingers inches away… only to plop face-first into the snow. Unlike the Grinch, they managed to grab ahold of the sleigh. They pulled with all their might, Rainbow and Fluttershy flapping their wings trying to pull the sleigh back, while Starlight and Twilight used their magic trying to haul the sleigh back as hard as they could.
Recovering quickly, the Grinch crawled his way toward the sleigh and grabbed a hold of it from the rear. Together, they pulled and pulled with all their might… but the sleigh still kept leaning forward despite ‘every’ amount of effort they were putting into it. The Grinch had to shift positions and use his legs to try to haul the sleigh back, even pawing through the snow as desperately as he could. But it was no use, the sleigh was merely inching close to falling off the mountain. Moaning in frustration, the Grinch gave a loud ‘BOO-HOO!’ as he and his friends could feel the sleigh dragging them down toward the ledge.
“Why does this never seem to work?!” Rainbow grunted in frustration.
“It’s the movie!” Pinkie Pie cried out. “It’s not going to let us make it easy!”
“What movie?!” The Grinch cried out.
“Uh… that’s a long story!”
All seemed pretty dark for our heroes right now. Even with their strongest magic, all the muscle they put in their hooves and wings, it’s like some tremendous force was keeping everything in motion. Like the sleigh was going to fall toward the ledge regardless of what any of them could do. As if all they were attempting to do to keep fate from happening was all in vain.
“Oh well,” The Grinch sighed in defeat. “It’s just ‘toys’, right?”
“And the tinsel…” Pinkie added. “And the wreaths… and the food… and the ornaments… but other than that…”
“Hi, Mr. Grinch!”
The group suddenly looked up toward the top of the sacks and there was no deceiving neither their ears nor their eyes. For there was Cindy Lou Who, sitting on top of the sack of all the stolen Christmas supplies. But as it turned out, she wasn’t the only one… for whatever reason, Rarity was up there literally right beside Cindy Lou.
“Cindy Lou!” The Grinch gasped.
“Rarity!” The girls gasped.
“Rarity, what’re you doing up there?” Spike cried out.
“I was looking for you dears!” Rarity called out. “Then Cindy decided to climb up this giant sack and I was trying to get her down!”
“Where’s Cozy Glow?!” Starlight called out. “Did you lose her?!”
“No, she’s right over there!”
Rarity pointed with her hoof and the group turned toward her direction. True to Rarity’s word, Cozy Glow was lying along the snow tightly wrapped in gift wrapping and a stamp planted on her lips. She didn’t even move, she just frowned at the sight of the group.
“Ooh…” The group nodded.
“That explains it…” Applejack replied.
“Well, this is all hunky-dory but… what is Cindy doing up there?!” The Grinch shouted.
“I came to see you,” Cindy Lou answered. “No one should be alone on Christmas.”
“Well… that was partly the reason why we came up here,” Fluttershy admitted, straining.
“Aside from stopping you from destroying the gifts,” Rainbow added. “But yes… we decided we were going to spend Christmas with you, despite everything.”
The Grinch laid upon the snow, stunned beyond words. And yet there was truth not only in those words, but the way they looked at him. The ponies, the dragon… whatever Tubby was… and especially the Lou ho girl. The way she smiled toward the Grinch, so sincerely, it made the Grinch smiled to. Not because he felt he had to, but because… he just wanted to. And for the first time, he felt… glad.
“Uh guys…” Starlight spoke. “I hate to spoil the moment, but…”
The sleigh was now leaning dangerously close to the ledge, as both Rarity and Cindy Lou nearly lost their balance. It was then that the Grinch could see the danger that these two were in…
Wait, why doesn’t Rarity just use her magic to teleport them off the sleigh?
Dude… she can’t do magic… under pressure!
Oh… right! Moving on…
*Clears throat* It was then that the Grinch could see the danger that these two were in, and something swelled deep inside him. A fury burning inside him like a volcano about to erupt. Only this wasn’t out of pure rage… this flame ignited the need to be there for someone other than himself. He thrust his legs deep into the snow and pulled with all his might. The Equestrians and their friends looked in utter surprised as the sleigh was immediately lifted back from the ledge and the Grinch lifted the whole thing over his head like the biggest weight in the world.
“And so, the true meaning of Christmas came through,
And the Grinch found the strength of ten grinches plus two.”
“I got you, Cindy Lou!” The Grinch shouted.
“You did it!” Cindy cheered.
“YEE-HAW!!!” Applejack cheered, spinning her hat.
Max hopped on his hind legs with excitement, seeing his master perform one good deed in his entire life. The Equestrians clapped their hooves and claws (And Tubby’s stubby arms) for the Grinch, cheering for the beast who saved all the gifts. All were happy for the Grinch… except for Cozy Glow, who witnessed the whole scene before her. Her eyes ablaze with fury and her cheeks glowing red under the wrapping. As if one thing was made perfectly clear…
The Grinch Whole Stole Christmas… was ‘saving’ Christmas…
<>
Later…
The Equestrians and their friends bid their goodbyes to the Grinch, as he, Max, and Cindy Lou sleighed their way down the slopes back to Whoville (Along with all the Christmas stuff he’d taken). This left the ponies, Spike, and Tubby with an already wrapped Cozy Glow, keeping a close watch in case she had any funny ideas of escaping.
“Well darlings, everything seems to be working perfectly!” Rarity remarked. “All the Who’s Christmas stuff has been saved, and now the Grinch is embarking on a venture to return them to their rightful owners!”
“Eeyup!” Applejack agreed, a hoof on Cozy Glow. “And now that we’ve wrangled this little varmint, we can all start getting’ home to Equestria.”
“Looks like your plans to ruin Christmas has failed, little squirt!” Rainbow smirked cockily. “And you’re not getting away from us this time!”
Cozy Glow sounded as if she were trying to say something. Except her muzzle was stuck with that ‘Do Not Open Until X-Mas’ sticker.
“What was that?” Applejack asked.
To which Cozy muffled louder, or at least ‘tried’ to use words.
“Come again?”
Cozy went red in the head, as she muffled even louder. The ponies turned toward Rarity, as she was the one pony who put that sticker on in the first place.
“What? Thought she deserved it… oh, all right!”
She reached out to pull the sticker off her face, earning a loud *YOWCH!* from Cozy. But at least she could clearly talk again.
“Better…” Cozy Glow sighed. “Now… as I was saying: Fine, you caught me! Goody for you. But before you take me away to prison, can we at least stay to watch… the Christmas fireworks?”
“Don’t be silly!” Pinkie snickered. “The Who’s don’t use fireworks for Christmas. They use ‘em for Diffendoofer Day~”
“Actually… I was talking about the fireworks I set up while I was helping the Grinch with his ‘evil’ plan to steal Christmas~” Cozy corrected, with a slight smirk.
Twilight raised a single eyebrow, her curiosity piqued as she leaned toward the young filly.
“What are you talking about? You just took Whoville’s decorations, gifts, and food, right?”
“Yes, we did… AND in each Who-home I left a little something that would make this Christmas really go out with a ‘bang’~!”
To say the other ponies and Spike were confused was a major understatement. But they could only imagine just what horrors Cozy had planned for these innocent Who’s.
“Cozy… what did you do…?” Starlight asked.
“Well… if you must know, I used one of the Grinch’s own blueprints to plant each one of those presents… a bomb~” Cozy explained. “The Grinch called it a ‘Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo’; an explosive so powerful the likes of which has never been seen by ‘any’ creature~! I found the blueprint while the Grinch was sleeping~”
“YOU MADE A BOMB?!” The ponies and Spike gasped in horror.
“Correction: I made bombs. Enough for each Who-family in Whoville~ And the best part: Before you all came to stop us, I already set off the remote timer in ‘all’ those gifts.”
Cozy Glow proceeded to check her wrist as if she were looking at a watch.
“They should be going off in… fifteen minutes from now,” Cozy estimated. “And when that happens… KABOOM! No more Whoville, no more Who’s… and, just recently… no more loose ends~”
“You… you’d blow up an entire village?” Fluttershy gasped with shock.
“Hey, this kid thinks big~ Plus, it’s like my consolatory Hearth’s Warming gift to me~”
“And you’re telling me the Grinch knows ‘nothing’ about your scheme?!” Starlight inquired.
“Puh-lease~ He thinks I gave the Who’s garbage and a stink bomb. Truth is: Had he not gone soft on me, I had to make sure he had no point in going back after I took him with me to the Benefactor. But now that he wants to saveChristmas, well… I made sure it’d be the last one he’ll ever try to save~”
Twilight Sparkle stepped back with horror in her eyes.
“They’re heading right for a trap…” Twilight realized, facing Cozy Glow. “You… you…”
“That’s it!”
Rainbow Dash picked up the smug little foal, pulling her towards her face.
“You better put a stop to this, or I’ll—”
“You think I’d be able to stop it even if I wantedto?” Cozy Glow remarked. “The countdown can never be stopped! That said, you could try to retrieve all the bombs and save those stupid Whovillains. But guess what? You’d have to let me go because I’m the ‘only’ one who knows where all the bombs are. It’s your choice: You can take me to Equestria… or save those Christmas-loving creeps. You can’t do both~”
Well…
Dude, this chapter’s long enough as it is.
“Why should we believe you?” Spike asked skeptically. “After all, ‘you’ were the one who burned down Discord’s theatre. It’s your fault all this happened in the first place!”
“And to think we had the silly idea of giving you another chance because you’re still a child!” Pinkie added. “And every pony says I’m the crazy one behind my back!”
“You see… that’s the problem with all of you,” Cozy remarked. “You’re ‘always’ looking to blame some pony else even when they’re hooves are ‘completely’ clean.”
“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
“I never set that fire at Discord’s theatre,” Cozy confessed. “I was on my way to create some chaos, but some-pony beat me to it.”
“Who?!”
“I don’t know! The fire was already started when I arrived! But not wanting to go back to the legion empty-hooved, I merely took advantage of it and tried ‘stealing’ the television. Other than that, I’m totally innocent here!”
“She’s… she’s bluffing!” Rainbow faced Applejack. “She just has to be!”
“I dunno, hon,” Applejack spoke. “I know a bluff when I hear it, and this don’t sound like no bluff~ Twi… what do we do?”
Twilight Sparkle found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. She had this one opportunity for only ‘one’ of the following: Capture a source to the Benefactor and returning her to Equestria with the risk of Whoville’s destruction… ‘or’ rescue a town of innocents, even if it meant losing a valuable look into the Benefactor’s plan. In her heart… she knew what had to be done.
“You help us find the bombs, Cozy… then we’ll let you go!”
“What?!” Spike asked, surprised. “But we finally caught Cozy! We just have to take her back to—”
“I know! But Cozy’s right. We can’t risk Whoville exploding, especially if Grinch really wants to change. We can’t rob him of that. Besides… Cozy’s the only one who knows where she planted the bombs.”
Cozy smirked as they made the choice she knew they’d make.
“We need a way down the mountain~” Twilight declared.
“Ahem!”
Everyone turned toward Pinkie Pie, who ‘somehow’ made an ice sleigh, big enough to fit eight of them.
“Anypony up for a no-horse open sleigh ride down to Whoville?” Pinkie asked courteously.
Without hesitation, every pony and dragon hopped onto the sleigh including a still wrapped-up Cozy Glow. Pinkie Pie and Applejack proceeded to push the sleigh towards the incline, granting enough momentum to slide down the mountain. If luck be on their side, they’d make it down the mountain in time to save Whoville and their Christmas.
<>
“WHOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!”
With a cry and a holler, the Grinch skied behind the sleigh bounding down the slopes back to Whoville. While Cozy Glow and Max had a fun-filled ride from the safety of the passenger seat, The Grinch was having the time of his life. He rode along the snow like a professional water-skier, flying across the hills like an eagle.
“Spread eagle!” The Grinch called out. “Nailed it!”
He skied at a rapid pace, holding tightly to the rope connected to the back of the sleigh keeping his balance. Then his eyes went wide as they reached a curve on the mountain, and he found himself flying off the ledge. He held on for dear life, screaming his lungs out as he spun out and crashed… right into the gigantic sack. With a groan he fell back and landed hard in the front driver seat, right before the eyes of Cindy Lou.
“Are you all right?” Cindy asked.
“Are you kiddin’?” The Grinch replied. “The sun is bright and the powder’s bitchin’! Now scoot over! It’s my turn to drive!”
The Grinch worked his way into the driver’s seat, squeezing his way toward the steering mechanism. Soon as his grip was on the wheel, the Grinch drove the sleigh down the slopes toward the town of Whoville. They were making just enough time to reach the town… though the Grinch noticed that the sleigh was going a slight bit fast down these slopes.
“I’d better slow this buggy down!” The Grinch spoke.
The Grinch proceeded to pull the break handle, releasing the brakes… which was literally just a boot tied to a metal post to skid the sleigh to a halt. Unfortunately, the sleigh was going so fast that the break literally… broke off the sleigh. As the Grinch noticed the severity of the situation, the ice sleigh containing Twilight and her friends finally pulled up to the side drawing the attention from the Grinch, Cindy Lou, and Max.
“Girls! Spike!” The Grinch called out. “What’re you doing on that sleigh ride?!”
“We’re needed to come to Whoville with you!” Starlight called out. “Cozy Glow’s about to blow up the entire town with bombs!”
“WHAT?!” The Grinch shouted, facing Cozy Glow. “How diabolical can a child get?!”
“It takes one to know one you moron!” Cozy Glow shouted.
“We might want to slow down once we get to the town!” Twilight suggested.
“We can’t… the breaks are broken!” Cindy Lou called out.
“Aw great!” Rainbow muttered. “We’re going to crash… and explode!”
“Now you listen to me, young lady!” The Grinch pointed out. “Even if we’re horribly mangled… there’ll be no sad faces on Christmas.”
For a moment, the group seemed rather touched and they all agreed that even on Christmas they shouldn’t feel sad or hopeless. To which Cozy Glow cringed in disgust.
“You’re right… there shouldn’t be sad faces on Christmas,” Pinkie agreed. “But there’s definitely going to be SCREAMING FACES!!!”
The group looked ahead and proceeded to scream their heads off, as their sleighs flew at an accelerated pace down the slope. Here they were, two groups with a common of goal of saving Christmas for all the Who’s in Whoville. But unless some miracle were to occur, the next time these Who’s seem them will be a cluttered mess… BEFORE they all blew up.
<>
Meanwhile, back in Whoville, the entire Who population drew their attention to a commotion ringing in their ears. They all wondered what was going on when a familiar voice cried out in the distance…
“Help!” Familiar voices called out.
“Cindy!” Betty called out.
“Grinch?” Martha spoke.
Sure enough, sliding down the hill, a pair of sleighs were reaching toward the streets with no sign of slowing down.
“It’s Twilight and her friends! They’re going to crash!” Betty wailed. “With my baby!”
While all of Whoville tried to run out of the way, with one or two exceptions, Betty instantly knew what she had to do. Racing toward her house, she proceeded to pull down all the lights from her house. She soon spotted Martha May who approaching her side.
“Grab an end!” Betty instructed.
Martha proceeded to grab her end of the decorations, following Betty’s instructions thoroughly. And yet she couldn’t help but notice something with all these lights from Betty’s house.
“By the way, these lights match your outfit perfectly,” Martha observed.
In the meantime, the pairs of sleighs were reaching the entrance toward the town. But suffice to say they weren’t feeling confident with their chances.
“This could be more difficult to negotiate,” The Grinch observed.
“HEADS UP, WHOVILLE!!!” Pinkie shouted. “WE’RE COMING FOR A LANDING!!!”
“Hurry!” Betty cried out. “Here they come!”
The two female Who’s proceeded to pull the lights as wide as they could, hopefully it’ll be enough to stop the sleighs.
“Out of the way!” The Grinch shouted, waving his arm. “I have no insurance!”
“It’s true! I’ve checked!” Cozy called out.
The lights managed to catch the sleighs, which broke the ice sleigh to pieces and sent the Equestrians flying over the air crashing hard into the sack (Except for those who ‘have’ wings and merely hovered over). However, that didn’t stop the Grinch’s sleigh which instead dragged the pair of women down the streets. The group were in a tight pinch, as their one sleigh swerved across the streets and were inching their way close to where the Christmas tree stood. All the Who’s ducked for cover, except for Lou Who himself.
“Run for your lives!” The Grinch shouted. “Watch out, I can’t stop!”
But Lou Who, braving the odds stacked against him, held one arm out hoping to stop the sleigh himself and save his daughter.
“Daddy, move!” Cindy called out.
“Dad, move it!” Pinkie shouted. “Oh wait… he’s not my dad! Uh… LOU, MOVE!!!”
The Grinch tried to haul back the steering mechanism as tightly as he could, while all were desperately attempting to stop the sleigh anyway they can. The Who girls pulled the lights as hard as they could, while Lou kept a hand on the sleigh as it pushed him deep into the tree. And sure enough, somehow and some way, the sleigh came to a complete stop much to even Lou’s surprise.
“Thanks for the help!” The Grinch stuck a thumb up.
“Hi, Daddy!” Cindy called out.
“Hi, Cindy, honey!” Lou answered.
“Save the reunion for the later!” Starlight called out. “This whole town is about to blow up!”
“BLOW UP?!?!” The Who’s called out.
“All right kid, deal’s a deal!” Rainbow muttered, lifting the filly up. “You better start showing us where you planted those bombs!”
“Please! That operation nearly took me all the night!” Cozy retorted. “Even if I do, we don’t exactly have all the ‘time’ to search every house.”
“Hah! I can get those bombs in ten seconds flat!”
“Oh yeah… show me!”
With an eyebrow raised and a smirk, Rainbow Dash latched onto Cozy Glow and zoomed across the town at a rapid pace. The little filly screamed her head off, her mane flying all over the place, as Rainbow zoomed into each and every house in Whoville following Cozy’s instructions accordingly. Soon, Rainbow zipped to the center with a gift containing a bomb, made known only by the ticking noise inside. All heads turned several directions, trying to follow the rainbow blur’s direction as she rapidly collected all the bombs.
Eventually Rainbow Dash fully returned with all the bombs… a large stack gathered near the Christmas tree. And as for Cozy Glow, she was dropped back onto the snow and all the wrapping falling off her. But she was too dizzy to move for a moment, as her eyes rolled about, and her mane stuck up all over the place.
“What’d I tell you kid?” Rainbow replied. “Ten… seconds… flat!”
“Great… you got all the bombs,” Cozy muttered. “Now you just have fifteen seconds to get them out of Whoville.”
“FIFTEEN SECONDS?!?!” The Equestrians shouted.
“But I don’t wanna be blown away forever!” Tubby whined.
“Not to worry my little friend!” Pinkie replied casually. “There’s only one way to end this holiday with a ‘good’ bang.”
From her mane, Pinkie Pie proceeded to pull out the largest party cannon even her own mane has carried. And running about at her own unique speed, a pink blur carried all the ‘bombs’ and stuffed them into the cannon. She then turned toward the Grinch.
“Care to do the honors?” Pinkie smiled.
“You even need to ask?” The Grinch asked, clutching the rope. “POP GOES THE WEASEL!”
With a tug of the rope, the cannon shot its arsenal into the air. All the gifts soared high into the sky until… *BOOM!* A massive explosion ignited the skies with an array of colors like it’s New Year’s Day. All the Who’s went ‘Ooh!’ and ‘Aah!’ watching the sky explode with fireworks, while the Equestrians gave a hoof-bump mid-cheers.
“Merry Christmas… one and all!” The Grinch called out.
“Cindy!” Betty called out.
“Mommy!” Cindy cried out.
Mother and daughter reunited, as Betty hugged her little girl with tearful joy as Lou joined in on the reunion. The Equestrians watched the scene as the Grinch basked in the glory, chuckling like Santa Claus as all the Who’s applauded and cheered. But as everyone celebrated, Starlight Glimmer’s gaze turned and spotted a mount of wrapping leftover. It didn’t take long for Starlight to figure out what had happened behind their backs.
<>
Back at the phone booth, Cozy dialed the number as she eyed the Whovillian sleeping by her phone. Apparently, she’d been sitting by her phone all night waiting for a call from earlier. The phone picked up and Cozy donned her ‘adult voice’ again.
“Good morning, ma’am! How may we help you?”
She uttered the words so loudly it woke the old Whovillian, who tried to keep a hold of the phone… only to accidentally hang it up. Desperately, she picked it up hoping to still be on the line… but to no avail. Her face merely broke as she wept silently in her hands.
Cozy Glow gave a light nod as a portal opened before her. Before walking through it, a look of contemplation came over her face and she thought back on what Starlight said back at the Lou Who home. Could she ‘really’ be accepted by the ponies of Equestria again, even after all she’d done? Is it possible that maybe she could be… friends with these ponies again?
She quickly shook her head of any of those thoughts. She saw the way those other ponies acted toward her at the mountain, she knew no matter what Starlight said they only saw her as their enemy and nothing more. Instead, she looked back down the street where those Equestrians were celebrating with all the Who’s. Well… almost ‘all’ of them.
“It’s not too late to join us, Cozy Glow.”
She turned back and before her was Starlight Glimmer, standing six feet away from her. She stood there eying the filly with a serious tone, while her horn was already aglow in case the filly truly did make her escape.
“What’re you going to do, Starlight?” Cozy threatened. “You’re going to try to capture me? Throw me back in a cell? Zap me out of oblivion?!”
“Maybe I should…” Starlight answered. “I don’t know if you truly set fire to the theatre or not, but you did try to blow up this entire town! You’re a real monster Cozy Glow… and yet I’m still naïve enough to believe you still have a sense and a purpose!”
“I don’t need any pony’s pity!” Cozy hissed. “I never did…”
“Do you really believe that? Just look at yourself in the mirror… you still have a bright future ahead of you. I would rather you face your crimes justly, to be dealt with fairly… just like every pony else.”
“Don’t act like you’re suddenly better than the rest of us ponies, Starbright,” Cozy remarked. “You and I are not as different as you think.”
Starlight Glimmer stood silently for a moment wondering just where this malicious little pony was getting at.
“We both hate holidays like this for a reason,” Cozy continued. “If I was told correctly, you were going to skip Hearth’s Warming because you couldn’t find a point! And now you’re trying so hard to make it a part of your life to hide the fact you were once a villain! Who’s to say you can’t be again?”
“That’s not who I am anymore, Cozy!” Starlight argued. “I ‘chose’ to see the light, just as you have that choice!”
“I don’t have that choice anymore!” Cozy snapped. “You and your friends didn’t free me from that curse, the Benefactor did. I’m only free so long as the Benefactor wants me to be. I attempt to betray them in anyway, its back to my stony prison… and I can’t afford to fail the Legion! I just… can’t…”
For a moment, Cozy Glow turned away, but Starlight could catch a glimpse of tears trickling down her face. That despite the fact the child is unquestionably evil, there was still this manner of vulnerability threatening to get out. That despite being mean and slightly scary, there was this sad little child crying for release. And yet Cozy was clearly trying so hard to be in control.
“You know… the legion could use a pony of your talents,” Cozy spoke, facing Starlight. “You’re magic’s strong enough to overcome an alicorn! I already have the ‘plans’ so I don’t really need that Grinch… nothing but deadweight anyway. But you and I, we can do great things to shape Equestria our way. So we never have to ‘lose’ anything, that we can rule the entire continent and the multiverse. I could be like the ‘best friend’ you ever had… a friend who will neverleave you. All you have to do… is join me, Starlight Glimmer. Join me… and no force in the universe can stop us.”
Starlight Glimmer stood pondering over the offer, as Cozy Glow held her hoof out beckoning for Starlight to join her through the portal. On one hand, Cozy Glow was right about a few things. She did intend to skip the holiday only because she was still hurting back then. And she is a powerful unicorn, and the legion have ‘sought’ talents like hers to aid in their plot. If she were to join, she’d know where their hideout is, what the Benefactor is planning, and all she’d have to do was follow their plans. But on the other hoof…
“I have best friends…” Starlight Glimmer spoke firmly. “Their names are Twilight Sparkle… Trixie… Sunset Shimmer… Maud Pie… they’re allmy friends. And friends… don’t abandon each other for their own selfish needs.”
To which Cozy Glow frowned with disappointment, even though she knew that was the answer she was going to receive.
“So you’d choose ‘friendship’ over ‘victory’…” Cozy growled. “That’s why you’ll lose in the end!”
And before Starlight could react, shooting a beam towards Cozy, the little filly fluttered out of the way and hurled herself through the open portal. The last Starlight could hear of Cozy Glow was her chuckling, as the portal closed in front of her. Starlight stood where the portal was, sighing as a breath flowed through the winter breeze. But she had no time to dwell on Cozy’s absence, as she decided to return to her friends who were amongst the Who’s celebrating their safety.
“All right…” The officer interjected. “What do we have here?”
“You got me, Officer!” The Grinch called out, facing the Who’s. “I did it! I’m The Grinch That Stole Christmas… and I’m… sorry.”
The Grinch faced the Officer and held out his hands awaiting for his inevitable arrest. But for some odd reason, the officer didn’t do anything at all.
“Aren’t you gonna cuff me?” The Grinch asked, confused. “Put me in a choke hold? Blind me with pepper spray?”
“You heard him, Officer” Mayor May-Who agreed, approaching the pair. “He admitted it. I’d go with the pepper spray.”
“Yes, I heard him, all right,” The Officer replied. “He said… he was sorry. Besides, it looks like everything is all here and accounted for.”
The Equestrians sighed with relief as Applejack turned toward the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and a returning Starlight Glimmer.
“Y’see, ya’ll. Everything turned out fine.”
“Great!” Pinkie leapt joyfully. “The Grinch is forgiven! It’s going to be a brand new start!”
“Help me out here, people!” May-Who begged, in demise. “Martha?”
“Merry Christmas, August May-Who!”
Mayor May-Who looked up and spotted Martha May atop the huge bag of decorations, toys, and a great many things that spell ‘Christmas’.
“I’m afraid I do have something for you!” Martha declared.
She sled down the sack with a ‘WHOOOOAAAA!’ into the arms of some Who citizens reaching out to catch her. Once she was on her feet, she approached Mayor May-Who and handed him back the ring box.
“Your ring back,” Martha spoke. “Sorry, but my heart belongs to… someone else.”
She looked toward the Grinch, who turned toward the Mane Six and their friends. He was clearly confused amidst all the Who citizens surrounding him. Yet of all the ponies, it was Fluttershy who approached the Grinch.
“Mr. Grinch, I think she’s talking about you.”
“Me?”
The Grinch looked toward Martha May, pointing himself as if asking ‘Is that true?’. Martha May softly nodded her head, confirming a ‘yes’.
“HAAAA!!!” The Grinch skipped joyfully. “Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee!!!”
The Grinch skipped and cheered for his triumph till he was inches from the Mayor. They stared toward each other for a moment before extending a hairy hand toward the Mayor.
“No hard feelings?” The Grinch asked.
The Mayor reluctantly reached his hand to shake the Grinch’s and they shook hands. But then, the Grinch pulled the Mayor up to him and he laughed right in his face much to his chagrin. The Mayor merely stared with annoyance, having been made a fool of by the Grinch… again. Pinkie Pie casually leaned beside the Mayor with a smile upon her face.
“Ah, cheer up, Mr. Mayor dude,” Pinkie smiled. “It is Christmas!”
<>
Sometime later… the Grinch stood before the Christmas tree and casually turned one of the lights. In doing so, not only did the Christmas tree lit up in the center of town but everywhere they looked all the lights around every house were turned on like a heavenly glow radiating from the sky. The Who’s smiled in awe seeing life returned to their hometown. The Grinch smiled before them when he felt a tug against his suit and looked down spotting Cindy Lou looking toward him.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Grinch,” Cindy spoke.
“And Happy Hearth’s Warming!” Twilight added, smiling.
Cindy Lou then leaned toward the Grinch and planted a light kiss upon his cheek. The Grinch felt touched to receive such affection from a Who so small. And while it felt weird to him at first, something about this made the Grinch feel… happy. But it also left the little girl in a sense of wonder.
“Your cheek is so…”
“I know…” The Grinch sighed. “Hairy?”
“No…”
“Greasy? Stinky? Do I have a zit?”
“No… warm.”
The Grinch was stunned at first, but eventually he truly warmed up to the smiling Who child with a smile of his own. To which, the Equestrians looked on proudly seeing the Grinch truly open his heart out. Not just to the little Who child who gave him the benefit of a doubt, but the true meaning behind the season of Christmas (and Hearth’s Warming)… love. And then Cindy grabbed onto The Grinch’s hand and led him to join the circle of her friends and neighbors with the Equestrians joining beside her. And together, under the Christmas tree, they sung their holiday anthem together…
Cindy Lou (Sings):
Fah who foraze, dah who doraze
Cindy Lou & Equestrians (Sings):
Welcome, Christmas, come this way…
Group (Sings):
Fah who foraze, dah who doraze
Welcome, Christmas, Christmas Day
Welcome, welcome, fah who rahmus
Welcome, welcome, dah who dahmus
Christmas Day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp…
The Grinch (Sings):
Fah who ray-moo ya-who hee haw
The Grinch & Martha May (Sings):
Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer (‘Cheer!’)
Group (Sings):
Fah who foraze, dah who doraze
Welcome all Who’s far…
And…
Near…
<>
Later that Christmas morning, all the Who’s of Whoville gathered together for a glorious feast in the last place anyone would have suspected: The Grinch’s cave. Only now, the entire cave wad decorated in Christmas decorations thanks to a little help from a certain fashionista. Everyone gathered around the giant table to begin the feast, with Fluttershy petting Max beside her.
“He brought everything back, all the food for the feast.
And he, he himself; the Grinch, carved the roast beast.”
“Yeah!” Grinch smiled, cutting the meat.
At his side stood Martha May, her hand upon his shoulder. Cindy Lou and Max both sat beside him, with the Equestrian crew sitting alongside them. They couldn’t believe how far the Grinch had come from being the green monster who hated ‘everything’ about Christmas to where he was now. The Grinch smiled at them all before going back to cutting the beast.
“Nothing like the holidays,” He smiled. “Who wants the gizzard?!”
“I do!” A Who responded.
“Too late!” Grinch yelled back. “That’ll be mine!”
Twilight Sparkle soon turned toward the Grinch, clearing her throat a bit to grasp his attention.
“Mr. Grinch, I know we all kind of gotten on the wrong hoof lately,” Twilight admitted. “What with you hating Christmas before and that mess Cozy Glow nearly caused. But now that we’re all starting on friendly terms, well, I feel like as the Princess of Friendship, that we can finally~”
“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, Twi~!” Pinkie shouted, lightly nudging her. “Just give it to him, already~!”
The Grinch raised an eyebrow, wondering what this pony was talking about.
“Give me what? Another ‘friendship lesson’? Listen, I already got one back in Whoville, and—”
“No, silly!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Your present!”
She got really into the Grinch’s personal space, the latter taken aback by the wide grin on her face.
“Well… actually, your present is sort of a present you gave yourself, but… oh, what the heck?”
She pulled out of her mane a present wrapped in light green wrapping with a dark-green bow on the lid.
“Merry Christmas/Happy Hearth’s Warming, Mr. Grinch!”
She tossed the gift into his hands as he looked oddly at it. He shook it a bit, wondering what could possibly be in it.
“You… got me… a present?” The Grinch asked. “Wait a minute! What do you mean ‘a present I gave’?”
“Oh, hush up and open your gift!” Applejack remarked. “You’ll be mighty surprised, and that’s the honest truth~”
“Believe us, Mr. Grinch,” Fluttershy added. “We wanted to make sure your first Christmas with the Who’s after so long was worth remembering. So… oh, just open it and you’ll see.”
Now intrigued, the Grinch pulled the lid off his present. Peeking inside, his eyes widened over what was revealed before him. Slowly, he reached into the box and pulled out…
“Is… is this…?”
“It is, Mr. Grinch,” Starlight replied warmly.
In the Grinch’s hand was the very tree topper he made for Martha all those years ago. But last he recalled, he broke it in his rage after the shaving incident isolated him from the Who’s and Christmas in the first place. Only now… it was put back together again like it was good as new.
“Martha had the pieces, so… we asked if we could have them,” Starlight explained.
The Grinch looked up and faced Martha May.
“You… kept… my present?” He asked.
Martha smiled warmly as she nodded her head.
“It was the only present I ever received that show… true originality. It would have looked splendid on my Christmas tree.”
“We were actually going to surprise you at the Whobilation with this,” Pinkie chuckled. “Heh-heh… whoopsie.”
“To remind you of the moment you got into Christmas for the first time,” Twilight added.
“And with a little glue, some wire, and of course plenty of much-needed tender love and care, we managed to fix your charming tree topper,” Rarity pointed out.
“But… then you went on your rampage,” Rainbow Dash remarked. “You and Cozy tried to ruin Christmas, and… well, either way, better now than never.”
The Grinch was speechless at first. These ponies helped to fix the present he wanted Martha to have all those years ago… because they actually ‘cared’ about him. He couldn’t help but sob again, clutching his present so closely and tenderly.
“This… this is the most… thoughtful gift I ever got… ever…!” The Grinch blubbered.
“Oh no…” Rainbow Dash lightly groaned. “How long’s this gonna take~?”
“Well, he did have a heart that was too small for him to cry those feelings out,” Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow. “It’ll probably take time for him to start expressing himself on a healthier basis…”
Just then, a strange wind picked up in the cave. Everyone in the cave looked toward where it was coming from. Soon they all noticed the portal back to Equestria open up before them. Soon, the entire Equestrian gang stood up.
“Looks like it’s time we get back home,” Twilight observed.
“Aww… I was hoping to finally try some of that Who pudding!” Pinkie pouted.
“Don’t worry about that!” Grinch assured her. “Max can help with that.”
The dog in question approached Pinkie Pie and held a doggy bag in his mouth.
Ha! Doggy bag! Get it? It’s a pun.
Yeah dude, I think we all got it…
Pinkie Pie just smiled and grabbed the bag before placing it in her mane.
“Aww… thanks Maxie!” She smiled.
She patted the dog’s head with her hoof and the dog licked her cheek in thanks. Cindy Lou and the Grinch both stood up from the table. And together, they approached the Equestrians. The ponies and Spike all turned to face them, noticing the smiles on their faces.
“Thank you all so much,” Cindy Lou said gratefully. “None of this would have been possible without you.”
“Honestly Cindy, the thanks all goes to you,” Starlight responded. “You were the one that taught everyone what Christmas is really all about. All we did was help you out along the way.”
“You’re one really special little girl Cindy,” Twilight smiled.
“We’ll certainly miss you when we get back darling,” Rarity nodded.
Cindy went over and joined in a big group hug with all her new friends. Finally, when she pulled back, the Grinch walked up and knelt before all of them.
“You know, when we first met, all I wanted was for you to get the heck out of my life and leave me alone,” He smirked. “Now I can’t possibly thank you enough for helping me love Christmas again.”
“It was our pleasure Mr. Grinch,” Applejack said, tipping her hat.
“Just don’t go back to your old ways ya big green goof,” Rainbow joked. “Or else I’ll have to come back here and knock some sense back into you.”
Both she and the Grinch chuckled as the latter nodded in response.
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
Everyone piled in for a big group hug with the Grinch included.
“Merry Christmas Mr. Grinch,” They all said.
“And Happy Hearths Warming!” The Grinch responded.
They all finally drew back from the hug and turned to walk into the portal.
“WAIT!!!”
Everyone turned as little Tubby Nugget raced towards them, with two suitcases in his little stubs.
“Wait for me!” He yelled.
“Tubby?” Pinkie spoke shocked. “What are you doing?”
“I want to come with you,” Tubby responded. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you on this adventure; I want to have many more with all of you.”
“That’s very sweet of you Tubby, but are you sure about that?” Twilight asked. “Isn’t Whoville your home?”
“Oh no…” Tubby shook his head. “I was merely staying here till I could find a family I could belong to. And now… I finally found it.”
Soon as he said this, he looked specifically toward Pinkie Pie, the closet pony he’d been to since they met. Pinkie actually had tears of happiness race down her face as she came forth and embraced Tubby in a massive hug.
“I’d love for you to come back and live with me Nugget!” Pinkie said happily. “We’ll bake every day, and I’ll show you all my secrets for planning the best parties. I can’t wait for my whole family to meet you.”
“Oh boy, that sounds like fun!” Tubby smiled.
“This is going to be quite the ride,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
Pinkie helped Tubby onto her back, as everyone turned toward their new friends and waved one final goodbye.
“Come on every pony, we’ve got a theatre to rebuild,” Twilight told them. “And we still need to celebrate Hearth’s Warming!”
“Oh my, that reminds me!” Rarity recalled.
She soon used her magic to conjure up all the packages she bought from the department store. Now they stood all wrapped up in gift wrapping.
“I can’t possibly forget the Hearth’s Warming gifts I bought for ‘every’ pony.”
“Wait a minute!” Starlight shook her head. “You mean you didn’t buy all this for yourself?”
“Oh please Starlight dear!” Rarity smiled. “You honestly believe I’d purchase all these magnificent gifts on Hearth’s Warming just for myself? I wouldn’t be the Element of Generosity if I did that now would I?”
Starlight just smiled and rolled her eyes.
“Only Rarity,” She chuckled.
Soon, with everything together and everyone ready, the Equestrians proceeded to enter through the portal one-by-one. Through the portal of which would take them back to Equestria. Pinkie Pie, with Tubby Nugget on her back, were the last to make their way through.
“Boy… if this is just the Grinch on Christmas,” Pinkie replied. “Can’t imagine what’ll happen on Halloween.”
“Tee-hee… indeedy!” Tubby squeaked, as they merged through.
Chorus (Sings):
Welcome Christmas. Bring your cheer,
Cheer to all Whos, far and near.
Christmas Day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to grasp.
Christmas Day will always be
Just as long as we have we.
Welcome Christmas while we stand
Heart to heart and hand in hand.
The End
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- extremeenigma02 · 73k words · 91 8 · 4.3k views
- extremeenigma02 · 76k words · 109 9 · 5k views
- extremeenigma02 · 34k words · 72 14 · 6.7k views
- extremeenigma02 · 76k words · 131 20 · 8.7k views
- extremeenigma02 · 54k words · 118 10 · 7.2k views
- extremeenigma02 · 36k words · 88 6 · 4.2k views
- extremeenigma02 · 90k words · 109 16 · 4.2k views
- extremeenigma02 · 56k words · 91 10 · 5.1k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.151 seconds
Total duration
1,041 users online
2,165,366 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
11104092
I did ask permission about helping in the battle, but... should I?
11104148
The answer is 'No'. That's an order from the Mods.
And so we come to the conclusion of this story that has taken over a month in the making. The moment when the Grinch suddenly realizes that everything he has imagined about Christmas was wrong. That it was more than everything the Who's made it out to be, but rather something bigger other than their people... and to himself. And by realizing the true meaning of Christmas, not only did the Grinch regain his heart but in doing so he helped save Christmas along with those who became his new friends. In addition, they stopped a mad bombing from an equally mad filly who of course got away rather than admitting that she herself was wrong about ruining the holidays.
Our heroes may not have captured one of the members of the Legion, but they did save the holidays. And now with a new year just around the corner, who knows what the future of the C.A. has in store?
A fitting and action pack finally got this Christmas story
11104160
Let's just say they're gonna face..... God's wrath
a perfect ending to a story like this. hopefully in the future, we'll learn why cozy glow is the way she is
11104164
Probably won't be the last Christmas story we'll cover for the C.A. But that's not till next December when we start thinking about it.
11104169
Maybe someday we'll figure it out. But for the time being... the mystery continues.
“So Cozy Glow didn’t set the theater on fire? Than who did?”
Some turned to Discord with suspicious expressions
“What?! You think I did it for the insurance?”
11104174
indeed it does
wait so if cozy gloww didn’t set the fire of the theater ...then who did ?🤔
11104182
Yes... who indeed? The Benefactor told Cozy Glow personally to go to Discord's Theater and do whatever chaos she had in mind. Still, there were others who probably heard the plan to. So it could've been either of them in an effort to upstage and embarrass Cozy Glow because she's a kid. Unless... it was 'no' one from the Legion. So who else could it be?
And happy belated Christmas, and Welcome to the New Year. Until the next adventure
I’ll be there in a moment! I’m having dinner.
Gee, I don't know... perhaps he rides down Mount Crumpit in a Paraphenalia Wagon, using Max as his slave driver, and once he arrives on Whoville, releases upcoming hell... believe me, this Who can relate...
That aside, this was a fun story! All of it was very enjoyable from beginning to end, and nice to see the first of many Dr. Seuss stories covered!
11104185
Good question
11104193
We'll be waiting my friend. A bigger word count with this chapter, but I know you can handle it.
11104165
"Or... MINE!!!"
img.wattpad.com/a63ef7717b3dac20f6688ea4271cdc2fee158b08/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7a5671724f687a7241396b6a6b513d3d2d3730373236313536372e313538633433323335343635303339343439383233323239373231322e676966
11104160
11103275
11104165
11102274
11079442
Today's also my birthday.
11104207
You can count on me! 🖖
now i certainly can't wait for carrie to come
Cozy Glow offering Starlight Glimmer to join her. I love “join me” moments.
Wait a minute...
What if... the Benefactor sent Cozy Glow to distract Twilight and thus attack the Rainbooms!!??
11104153
I thought not.
Bravo! Bravo! Great fanfic! Too bad Cozy Glow got away.
But welcome to the family, Tubby Nugget! How sweet of him to be part of the pony family!
And oddly enough...this is the first holiday-themed CA that took a whole month to do, in the very month that the holiday theme is most associated with~ Good on you all~
11104231
It wasn't easy to accomplish. We had a few delays in between, but it all worked out somehow.
11104211
Happy birthday
11104236
Thanks.
11104211
So you're a New Year kid~? Lucky~ Your birthday is always the start of a new year for you~
11104227
Small victories are better than great defeat.
11104241
That's right.
I loved this, I hope you do another Jim Carrey movie; Pet Detective, or even Sonic The Hedgehog as that is technically a JC movie too.
Good job on ending this. But what about the theater that was destroyed in the beginning? Is that going to be resolved?
Happy New Year to the CA crew and I can't wait to see what their next adventure will be. Keep up the good work Mr. Enigma and to all your helpers.💙 your stories
11104211
Happy birthday!
11104213
If cozy glow didn't started the fire, then who, and why do I get the feeling that there's more then one party involve?.
11104246
Late for that:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/466589/equestria-girls-sonic-the-hedgehog
11104248
Do not be so quick to judge something so easily. We have something in mind.
11104265
I’m not talking.
11104227
What a way to end by tying everything up with rarity and the grinches gifts! Didn't see that coming! Merry Christmas/Hearthswarming and God bless us everyone!
11104218
At this rate I'm starting to wonder if Cozy Is irredeemable. She's done alot of bad things and doesn't seem to want to change. Yet again we're starting to see her more vulnerable sides.
Dedicated to Jean Speegle Howard "who loved Christmas the most"
Hey, Mr. E, what's the next CA going to be?
If it's Carrie, Tirek would fit her for having an almost demonic look, don't you think?
Wow what a great way to end a very awesome Christmas story not to mention one of my favorites
11104329
We already have everything planned out for the next project.
11104335
Me: Could you give a hint to start thinking about it?
Pinkie and Satrlight: PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/cfafeb46-cee5-4792-99a5-2ebbe99666f8/dbb5vxf-277604cf-fc7d-4e15-a0dc-5ea9f07ef54d.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_762,strp/mlp_fim_starlight_glimmer__cute__vector_by_luckreza8_dbb5vxf-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzYyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvY2ZhZmViNDYtY2VlNS00NzkyLTk5YTUtMmViYmU5OTY2NmY4XC9kYmI1dnhmLTI3NzYwNGNmLWZjN2QtNGUxNS1hMGRjLTVlYTlmMDdlZjU0ZC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.zKaBUO707a6sWYyRczzSlHHUwEhkDodwM--7FuDrbFw
11104211
Happy Birthday, and Happy New Year!
11104338
Just get back to work, Lucas!