By the time SpongeBob SquarePants regained consciousness, the last he remembered was his head striking something he couldn’t fathom. Slowly, he opened his eyes and waited for his vision to readjust. Once it was clear, he gasped at the sight before him: A large dungeon of sorts, very dark and gloomy. Like a damp cave covered in pure evil, hundreds of tiny robots strolled side-to-side stacking boxes all the way to the top. Turning around, he soon spotted all his friends lying on the ground. Quickly, he raced toward them.
“GUYS!!!” SpongeBob gasped, in worry and shock. “WAKE UP! WE’RE IN A CREEPY CAVE!!!”
One by one, the group groaned in pain as they slowly woke up.
“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow Dash groaned, rubbing her eyes. “What just happened?”
“We got knocked out by lighting darling,” Rarity replied tiredly. “Hope it hasn’t ruined my mane.”
“Oh no, Rarity,” Applejack spoke, sarcastically. “It’s completely ‘fine’.”
“Just add some peanut butter to it,” Patrick added.
The others stared at him, wondering ‘where’ he gets those weird ideas.
“Why would peanut butter be a good choice?” Rainbow asked, bewildered.
“It worked for Squidward,” He replied.
This only made the group even more confused than ever.
“You’re one weird starfish, you know that?” Spike asked.
“Thank you,” The starfish smiled goofily.
“This place is startin’ to get a lil’ creepy now,” Apple Bloom said nervously. “This feels like we’re inna ‘really’ scary camp story right now.”
How ironic since their next adventure was a scary story…
How true…
“I agree,” Fluttershy squeaked fearfully.
While our heroes shivered in the corner of their cold cells, Twilight examined their imprisonment. All the bars appeared to be made out of some very strong metal, presumably Titanium.
“Twilight, can you teleport all of us out of here?” Spike asked.
“I always have a spell for every occasion,” She replied. “Stand back, every ‘sea’ pony.”
The others stepped back an inch, as Twilight tried to conjure just enough magic to teleport the whole team at once. However, as soon as her horn lit up, the magic fizzled away in an instant.
“Huh?”
Twilight tried again, only for the same thing to happen once more. This only made the little alicorn increasingly frustrated.
“Why is my magic not working?” Twilight asked, in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.
“It’s like my magic somehow isn’t working properly,” She explained. “Like it’s blocked or something.”
“That’s not very good to hear,” Fluttershy trembled, fearfully.
Suddenly, they all heard a loud clanking noise that resembled a hammer striking a piece of metal.
“What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
But before any pony could answer her question, a bunch of robots marched away for their jobs. Soon as the girls turned to face the robots’ direction, they saw the most unusual sight. It appeared to be a giant machine, with a funnel pumping out robots one-by-one. The machine itself also had letters on it, which read:
“Duplicatotron 3000!!!” SpongeBob gasped, surprised.
“Wait, you know what this machine is?” Spike asked SpongeBob.
“Yeah! This machine creates…”
“EVIL ICE CREAM MONSTERS FROM OUTER SPACE COMING TO EAT US ALL!!!” Patrick screamed, running around in panic.
“No Patrick… it’s the machine that creates robots Plankton used to steal the Krabby Patty formula!” SpongeBob corrected.
“Mind telling us the story little dude?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Yarr! An old sea tale is about to be told…
But aren’t video games a ‘Game Quest’ thing, not ‘Cinematic Adventures’?
Not like we’re doing ‘Battle of Bikini Bottom’, monsieur. More like… giving a tribute.
Ooh… proceed!
“If you don’t mind, of course,” Twilight added.
Every pony sat around, gathering about to hear the tale. SpongeBob sighed, as he and Patrick also took a seat.
“Well, if you all insist,” He spoke. “It was about a year ago, Plankton had another plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula. However, it didn’t really go as planned…”
One cold night, inside the Chum Bucket, Plankton had a very wicked grin on his very small face. He looked toward a red curtain covering something of great importance. He had a new, evil genius plan to steal the ‘Krabby Patty’ formula, Mr. Krabs’ most precious thing in the world. This time, he shall not fail… much to the chagrin of his computer wife, Karen.
“Today’s the big day!” Plankton chuckled. “I, Sheldon J. Plankton, have devised an ingenious plan to ‘finally’ steal the Krabby Patty Formula! Of course Bikini Bottom will be demolished in the process… oh well! They’ll all come swimming to me!”
“And ‘how’ you going to do this exactly?” Karen asked, with a bored tone.
“Quite simple, my computer wife!”
Plankton pulled the curtain away to reveal his latest invention.
“With my brand new Duplicatotron 3000, I shall clone an army of robots that will reek mayhem and destruction at my command!”
He jumped onto the lever, which had the words off along the top and instead on the bottom.
“Have you actually ‘thought’ this plan through?” Karen asked.
“Not to worry Karen, I’ve thought this through from top to bottom,” Plankton reassured. “Anyways, one last review of the check list. Let’s see… item number one: Is Plankton a genius?”
“That’s debatable…”
Plankton gave his wife a blank stare not knowing how to respond.
“Answer… ‘yes’,” Planton continued. “Okay! Check list complete. Now… throw the switch!”
Plankton used his body to switch on the machine. Within seconds, the Duplicatotron 3000 produced small robots as they all fell out of the tunnel and landed on the ground.
“Welcome my perfectly obedient robot army! Hang on, I want to get a photo for my scrapbook…”
Plankton soon noticed that the robots had him trapped in a circle.
“Hey! Hello?”
Plankton suddenly grew nervous as the robots were closing in on him.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
You see dear readers, Plankton forgot ‘one’ important thing in his plan: He forgot to switch the machine to ‘obey’.
What an idiot! I thought Patrick was the dumb one!
Tell me about it…
The robots picked Plankton up and proceeded to carry him away.
“Oh, no. No, no, wait! Wait! I’m your master!” He shouted desperately. “I made you!!! No! No! Oh! My good China!!!”
This was the last Karen heard from her husband, the poor guy screaming in fear while the robots began their invasion of Bikini Bottom.
Inside a certain pineapple-shaped house, SpongeBob and Patrick were both playing with toy horses and robots. This was one of their many favorite past times.
“Another perfect day playing robots and racehorses!” SpongeBob sighed, with a smile.
“Yeah! Only I keep getting the racehorses and the robots mixed up,” Patrick replied.
He looked toward the toy robots and horses, trying to figure out which one was which.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had ‘real’ robots to play with Patrick? I’d name mine Robo Jr. Or Zorlon. Or maybe ‘Frankie’.”
“Yeah, these unreal robots are getting boring,” Patrick smiled.
Suddenly, he had an idea in his head. He grabbed a purple seashell straight from his pocket.
“Hey, what if we put the robots in here?”
“Oh, how shellfish of you!” SpongeBob joked, with his signature laugh.
“It’s not just any shell,” Patrick spoke, holding the shell with pride. “It’s my magic wishing shell!”
“Wow!” SpongeBob gasped in amazement. “That’s great Patrick!”
“So, we put the toy robots in here,” Patrick explained.
He proceeded to put the toy Robot in the shell. SpongeBob watched with great excitement as a smile spread across his face.
“Okay…”
“Then we say the magic wishing words and shake the magic wishing shell!”
Patrick then gave the shell a mighty good shake.
“Okay…”
“Then we go to sleep, and in the morning, we’ll have ‘real’ robots to play with,” Patrick concluded proudly.
However, this left the little sea sponge greatly confused.
“But Patrick, aren’t we going to say the magic wishing words?” SpongeBob asked.
“You already did!” Patrick answered.
“So… ‘okay’ is the magic wishing word?” SpongeBob asked, more confused.
“It used to be ‘Alakazama-ala-balo-weesnaw-dinky-tana-fooshbarg-griddlebits-von-weiner-schnauzer’… but I kept forgetting the words.”
“Are you sure this’ll work?” SpongeBob asked.
“Sure!” Patrick replied, nodding. “Last week, I only had one big cookie crumb. I was really hungry, so I put my cookie crumb in the magic wishing shell. Then I said the magic wishing word, shook it, and in the morning, I had lots of little cookie crumbs!”
This statement made SpongeBob even more happy given the fact they were going to play with real robots tomorrow. It was exciting enough for the two.
“Patrick, I proclaim that tomorrow is going to be the best day ever!” He proclaimed.
“Good night, SpongeBob!” Patrick said, walking out the door.
“Good night, Patrick!” SpongeBob replied, with a light yawn.
SpongeBob’s very loud alarm clock set off, indicating it is time to wake up and start a new day. For SpongeBob, he would wake up with a brand-new robot all his own.
“Gonna play with robots, gonna play with robots, gonna play with robots, gonna play with—WHOA!”
However, as SpongeBob went downstairs into the living room, it was a complete mess! The bin was knocked over, the chair tossed aside, and the wallpaper ripped apart. Even parts of the walls had red graffiti on it which read, ‘Your Bikini Bottom stinks!’. SpongeBob stared toward his pet snail Gary.
“Uh Gary, did you do that?” He asked.
To which Gary simply responded with a ‘Meow!’.
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“And that’s how that mess started in the first place!” SpongeBob concluded his story.
Frankly, none of the girls nor Spike could believe what they just heard.
“Did ya manage to stop those evil robots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Sure we did!” Patrick replied. “Though it was a lot of work that day. Let me tell you, I still got arm cramps from fighting those robots.”
“Actually buddy, that was from the Jellyfish catching five days ago,” SpongeBob corrected. “Still, this day can’t get any worse.
“Oh… I beg to differ little sponge…”
A deep menacing voice made SpongeBob and Patrick’s pupils shrink in fear, as they faced the ponies.
“There’s something behind us, is there?” SpongeBob asked fearfully.
“Yeah… there is…” Spike answered nervously.
The boys slowly turned around, only to see a dark dirty sphere floating behind the cage they were trapped in. It was none other than Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy’s greatest enemy… The Dirty Bubble.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The pair screamed, terrified.
They tried to run away, only for them to slam straight into the cell’s metal bars.
“HAHA, HAHA!!! You can never escape my invincible cell!” The Dirty Bubble chuckled.
“We’ll see about that!” Twilight spoke determined.
She tried to fire a magic laser, but like before her magic fizzled out again.
“Sorry little pony, but this cell’s magic proof,” The Dirty Bubble explained. “It will instantly drain your magic every time you use it. And here we are, all of you in my trap. Soon, my plan will succeed once and for all.”
“What plan?” Pinkie Pie asked. “What the hay do you want with us? You don’t even appear in this movie!”
The Dirty Bubble stared at her in confusion, pondering what she’s just saying.
“Does she often say things like that?”
“Yup!” Applejack replied. “Ya get used to it.”
The Dirty Bubble just shrugged it off with a laugh again.
“What do you even want creep?” Rainbow Dash asked, gritting her teeth.
“You better give us a good reason, Mister!” Scootaloo demanded, though slightly scared.
“Oh, but I ‘do’ have a reason!” He answered. “I merely seek your princesses’ magical powers of course!”
“’My’ magic?” Twilight asked, confused. “Why are you so interested in my magic?”
“Quite simple, my dear. You see someone informed me of certain sea ponies with unique gifts they used to save the world. Especially, a certain ‘alicorn’ with the power to defeat the most powerful foes. Hence, it became my quest to retrieve this power for myself.”
“But wait! If you just wanted Twilight’s power, why get a robot-making machine then?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Oh, you mean the Duplicatotron 3000?” The Dirty Bubble smiled wickedly. “I got that from an ‘Evil’ garage sale Plankton ran last week. Boy, he sure was stupid.”
“You don’t say darling?” Rarity replied.
“What are you going to do with us, Mr. Dirty Bubble sir?” Patrick asked, scared.
“Another simple answer for a simple question, my starry friend. Once I’ve obtained the alicorn’s power, I will use its power, along with my robotic army, to make this ocean extremely dirty! And once I’ve done that, I’ll… umm…”
The Dirty Bubble tried to think of something else to say, only he couldn’t think of anything. He then noticed the confused glances from his prisoners’ faces.
“I’ll figure the rest out later,” He spoke awkwardly. “Robots! Bring me the alicorn!”
Suddenly, two teleporting robots appeared behind Twilight Sparkle and encased her inside a purple shield.
“HEY! LET ME GO, YOU DUST BUCKETS!!!” She demanded.
But the robots didn’t listen; instead, they teleported her away toward a strange, swirly metal chair. They forced her then to take a seat upon it, as they clamped her down. The others watched in fear not knowing what to do.
“Hang on, Twilight!” SpongeBob cried, panicking.
“We must help her!” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah! We can’t let that evil bubble take Twilight’s magic!” Apple Bloom added. “Or worse!”
“But how?” Applejack asked. “There’s no way we can get outta this cage in time!”
It was then they noticed SpongeBob standing up from where he sat, and a determined look formed across his face.
“We don’t get out, Applejack… we make it rock!” He declared.
Shortly thereafter, he began to whisper into their ears. In the meantime, Twilight struggled to break free from the metal chair. Only then she noticed ten buzzsaw blades coming down from the ceiling, slowly coming toward her. She looked up fearing the worst, while the Dirty Bubble watched with utter glee.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be a quick but painful death!” He laughed maniacally. “I LOVE BEING A VILLAIN!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!”
But before he could activate the machine, the two heard a fanfare of trumpets playing a grand tune. So grand in fact, all the robots stopped what they were doing. They turned around toward where the music came from, yet the only thing they saw was smoke filling up the entire room.
“What the seashell is that?!?!” The Dirty Bubble asked, annoyed.
Just then, the Dirty Bubble spotted Pinkie Pie playing the electric piano before the smoke cleared revealing SpongeBob, Patrick, Spike, and the girls standing on stage wearing Red brass band outfits, complete with lengthy hats. SpongeBob picked up his microphone and began to sing.
Just then, a set of fireworks set off behind them! The explosions lit the room with so many wonderful colors, as the CMC took the stage wearing cool shades.
SpongeBob began to rise, like an angel ascending to heaven, as the spotlight shined upon him. Patrick and Spike began to strike the drums, while the ponies played their electric guitars like epic warriors ready for some ‘sweet victory’.
As the ponies performed their electric guitar solo, the robots turned toward the Dirty Bubble. Then they began to gang up on him, as the evil villain looked slightly intimidated.
“Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Wait up guys!” He shouted, backing into a corner. “You can’t do this to me! I AM YOUR MASTER!!!”
*WHAM!*
Suddenly, the Dirty Bubble was struck against the head by a Hammer robot knocking him out cold. They began to pick up his unconscious body (Somehow) and took him away into the dark. As our band of heroes finished singing their song, they swam towards Twilight Sparkle and freed her from her metal chair.
“Twilight, are you okay?” SpongeBob asked. “Did he hurt you?”
The little sponge showed great concern for his friend’s safety. Yet she didn’t answer immediately. She was too amazed by the song SpongeBob and the others sang, which was truly… amazing!
“SpongeBob… Patrick… that was absolutely incredible!” Twilight cheered. “When did you two learn to sing like that?”
“We were in Squidward’s band, putting on a show for the entire Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob spoke, sighing. “Good times…”
“Yeah! Rock on!” Patrick shouted.
“We’re just happy that you’re safe Twilight,” Spike said.
“We all are Spike,” Applejack agreed, facing her two sea friends. “SpongeBob… Patrick…”
“Yes Applejack?” The pair spoke in unison.
“I just wanted to say you two were mighty brave today, more than I anticipated… if you don’t mind, would ya watch the youngin’s for us when we look for food for our trip?”
The boys smiled, as if they were true men now… and ‘not’ kids.
“Of course B.F.F.!” SpongeBob smiled warmly. “Now then, let’s grab some chow!”
They all nod as they began the walk back to the shopping mall, as their journey only just begun.
<>
Meanwhile, the robots were on their break. Playing video games, table tennis, and even playing go-fish. Some robots, however, were guarding the Dirty Bubble, who was currently locked in a cage much to his chagrin.
“I hate my life sometimes,” He grumbled.
Just then, he noticed something that made his bubble body run cold as ice. A pair of demonic eyes stared at him, by the look of them… they didn’t look happy.
“Dirty Bubble,” It spoke, with a demonic voice. “We need to talk…”
<>
“And that’s how it happened,” The Cutie Mark Crusaders concluded.
To say the Queen of Seaquestria was much happier after hearing such a wonderful story was a mighty understatement.
“That was the most wonderful story I’ve ever heard in my life,” Queen Nova declared.
This alone was quite rare to hear since Nova was mostly a very ‘serious’ Sea-pony.
“All in a Cutie Mark Crusaders’ work, your Majesty,” Sweetie Belle replied.
The girls smiled seeing these little fillies growing up so fast. Their hearts melted like ice cream in an oven.
“They sure grow up fast, sugar-cube,” Applejack told Rainbow Dash. “Hard to believe they were only little ponies.”
“Tell me about it A.J.,” Rainbow sighed happily. “Almost brings me to tears.”
“Oh, I’m already in tears darling!” Rarity sobbed.
She blew her nose into a handkerchief, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders swam towards Twilight.
“Hey Twilight, we’ve got an idea for the story’s title,” Scootaloo said excitedly.
“You do?” Twilight asked.
“YOU DO?!?!?!” Princess Skystar asked. “Ooh, tell me, tell me, tell, me! What is it called?!?!?!”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned toward the sea-pony princess with a smile.
“Quite simple your majesty,” Apple Bloom said happily. “We call it…”
In Memory of Stephen Hillenburg
1961-2016
Thank you for giving us memories we will always remember you