//------------------------------//
// Sherbet Desert 5: The Gatecrashers 
// Story: My Little Pony + Rabbids: Equestria Battle 
// by SharkBowser58 
//------------------------------//

Sherbet Desert - Hot N' Cold Commons
Shortly after making it up the hill leading back to the area where the heroes first started, Apple Bloom welcomed them back with open hooves, but then spotted Spike with them.
"Spike! There you are!" Apple Bloom shouted as she ran up to the dragon. "Where were ya?"
"I was stuck on the other side of this frozen desert." Spike answered.
"He wanted to come and find you, but he wasn't able to." Twilight told Apple Bloom.
"Why not?" Apple Bloom asked, but quickly noticed the frozen Rabbid Twilight that Spike was carrying. "Uh..." she said as she pointed at the ice block in confusion.
"Yeah, this is why he couldn't come and look for ya." Applejack explained to her sister. "He's been guardin' our new friend here."
"Bwa-bwa-bwa Bwah bada bwah." Rabbid Jack explained while acting like she was slowly freezing solid, then tipped over backwards into a nearby snow pile, earning a laugh from the other Rabbid heroes.
"Thankfully she isn't hurt." Fluttershy explained. "But we need to get her out soon. Spike said he tried to melt the ice, but it didn't work."
"I'm not really sure what to try." Twilight added.
"Actually, I might have an idea." Apple Bloom stated. "Follow me!"
The heroes quickly followed her to the back of the area, where 2 giant ice cube trays were standing.
"While y'all were gone, I found this thing back here." Apple Bloom explained.
"I recognize these ice trays." Beep-0 pointed out. "My scientist partner always uses them to make ice cubes for when she wanted to keep her lemonade cold while she's busy working on her projects. How did we not notice this the first couple of times we've been through here?!"
"Well, we did find my sister." Applejack explained.
"AND she almost got hit by a giant marble rolling a giant hill." Twilight added.
"Oh, that would just about do it." Beep-0 said as he remembered that's exactly how they all missed seeing the ice tray.
"Wait, she almost got hit by a what?!" Spike asked in confusion and shock.
"Anyway, when I found this, I saw that one spot was empty while the others had ice, which I thought was weird." Apple Bloom finished explaining to the heroes.
The heroes saw that the little pony was correct, all the spots in the ice trays all had ice, except for one in the left tray, and it seemed to be big enough for Rabbid Twilight's ice cube to fit inside of.
"Hmm... is it another puzzle?" Fluttershy asked.
"Only one way to find out." Twilight said before looking down at Spike. "Care to do the honors, Spike?"
"No problem!" Spike excitedly said as she quickly shoved the frozen Rabbid Twilight into the empty hole in the ice tray. "See, what'd I tell you? No problems carrying her!"
"Bwa Bwa." Rabbid Rarity sarcastically said as she nodded in agreement.
As expected, mechanical whirring was heard shortly after the frozen Rabbid Twilight was placed inside the hole. The 2 ice trays opened up as if they were a huge gate, revealing an all-new path into the Sherbet Desert as well as... Chrysalis?!
Everyone gasped as they saw Chrysalis flying and observing a huge, boulder that had just as much ice on it as it did sand, while Spawny was seen sitting on top of a full cover.
Chrysalis spotted the heroes and laughed to herself as she looked back at Spawny, who freaked out as soon as he saw the heroes coming down the path, his powers activating as he began to feel a familiar pain. Chrysalis quickly picked up Spawny and aimed him towards the boulder, shooting the SupaMerge energy at it as well as 2 Rabbids frozen on the side of it.
When the energy cleared, 2 new boss Rabbids appeared: one was riding on top of a dust tornado, the tips of his hands and his bottom half were covered in sand, and he wore a stone helmet with a cactus replacing his left ear; while the other one was riding on a snow flurry, the top of his arms and his bottom half were covered in ice, and he wore an ice helmet with three ice orbs circling around him. This was Blizzy and Sandy!
"Have fun dealing with these hot and cold creeps!" Chrysalis shouted to the heroes as she placed the exhausted Spawny on her back and flew away from the scene, laughing maniacally.
With the huge boulder gone, a new battlefield was revealed, the left half of which was frozen over, which was perfect for the boss Rabbids as they hid behind 2 full covers on the opposite end of the arena in their respective zones.
"It looks like Spawny is still afraid of us." Fluttershy said with worry.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy." Twilight said to the yellow pony as she placed her hoof on her shoulder. "He'll find out about what Chrysalis is really like eventually, but right now, we need to worry about 2 new creations of hers.
"Twi's right! The sooner we beat these varmints, the sooner we can go after 'em!" Applejack added.
The heroes began to go into the battlefield, expecting the energy barrier to come up as soon as three of them entered... but it never did.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack asked in shock, surprised that she didn't get blown back this time.
"The energy field! Where is it?!" Twilight added, also being confused by this
"Bwa Bwah?!" Rabbid Fluttershy said as she waved he hand in the spot that separated the path from the battlefield, typically where the barrier should've appeared.
"The entire time we've been here, it stopped all of us from entering the battles! Why's it gone now? This makes no sense!" Twilight said as she panicked over this new development.
"Unless..." Beep-0 started as the others looked at him to listen to what he might be thinking. "Bigger enemies may require more heroes to be beaten. Blizzy and Sandy over there may fall under that category."
"Do you think the Megabug might want us all to fight bigger enemies together?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm not sure, but why question it? We have more help to take these boss Rabbids down!"
"Beep-0's right! Let's get 'em!" Applejack shouted.
"Spike, you and Apple Bloom stay here while we deal with this." Twilight explained to the dragon.
"Don't worry Twilight, we won't go anywhere." Spike told her she he gave her a thumbs up.
Twilight nodded as she and the rest of the heroes cheered as they all took their places on the battlefield.
Defeat Midbosses - Blizzy, Sandy, 3 Ziggies
Rabbid Rarity moved and took cover beside a partial cover set on the left side of the battlefield. She sent a Sentry towards Sandy before it stopped to rest, the activated her Shield.
Twilight got a Team Jump from Rabbid Rarity and landed beside a partial cover and a full cover nearby. She blasted a Ziggy who was hiding behind a partial cover set in the left corner that was close to Blizzy, which triggered a Bounce Effect that sent him flying out of the battlefield, defeating him. She then activated her Hero Sight.
Rabbid Fluttershy moved to a partial cover set on the right side of the battlefield that was parallel to Rabbid Rarity's. She used her secondary weapon, the Rocket, to blast a Ziggy who was hiding behind a partial cover set in the right corner that was close to Sandy, which triggered a Push Effect that sent him rolling out of the battlefield, defeating him. She then activated her Super Barrier.
Rabbid Jack moved to a full cover that was in the bottom middle of the battlefield. She then sent a Sentry towards Blizzy before it stopped beside Rabbid Rarity's to rest.
Fluttershy activated her Flee Feet and quickly moved to the full cover that Twilight was hiding behind. She then sent a Sentry towards Blizzy, which exploded when it got in range of him.
Applejack ran to the partial cover set in the middle of the battlefield, and threw her Boomerang towards the Ziggy who was hiding behind a partial cover in between Blizzy and Sandy, but missed due to the cover.
The Ziggy entered a pipe, while getting hit by Twilight's Hero Sight in the process, leading to a high area in the back of the battlefield before taking cover behind a partial cover. He then blasted Rabbid Rarity's Sentry before activating his Villain Sight.
Blizzy moved to the left corner of the battlefield and blasted Rabbid Rarity, triggering a Freeze Effect that prevented her from using any techniques. He activated his Villain Sight.
Sandy moved to the full cover that Rabbid Jack was hiding behind, and he threw a Grenaduck towards Rabbid Rarity, damaging both her and Fluttershy and destroying their's as well as all but one of Twilight's covers. He activated his Super Shield.
Rabbid Rarity's Sentry moved towards Sandy, getting hit by Blizzy's Villain Sight in the process, and exploded when it got in range of him, destroying his Super Shield; while Rabbid Jack's moved towards Blizzy before stopping.
Rabbid Fluttershy dashed Sandy, which triggered a Vamp effect that drained half of the damage he took and healed the hero with it, and hid behind a nearby full cover and partial cover parallel to Twilight's. She blasted Sandy, draining of of the damage he took and healing her with it because of the Vamp, then activated her Weaken, weakening how much damage Sandy could deal.
Rabbid Jack dashed Sandy, healing herself with half the damage dealt, and took cover behind the partial cover set that Rabbid Fluttershy was at previously. She then blasted Sandy.
Applejack, while getting hit by the Ziggy's Villain Sight, entered the pipe that lead to his high area and bucked him down to the ground. She then threw her Boomerang, which hit both the Ziggy and Blizzy. She activated her Hero Sight.
Twilight moved to a different side of Sandy's full cover, and hit him with her Melee, which triggered a Honey Effect that stuck him to the ground, plus healed her with half of the damage dealt.
Fluttershy dashed Sandy, healing herself with half of the damage dealt, then ran to the right side of the partial cover set in the middle of the battlefield. She blasted Sandy, healing herself with half of the damage dealt, and activated her Hero Sight.
Rabbid Rarity dashed Sandy, healing her with half of the damage dealt, and moved to Twilight's previous partial cover. She blasted Sandy, which triggered a Push Effect that sent him rolling, defeating him.
Sandy lost control of his tornado as he spun out of control and off the side of the battlefield. He looked down, held up a sign that said "Uh Oh!" on it before falling off the cliff.
"One down, one to go!" Beep-0 cheered.
"Bwaaaah!!!" Blizzy shouted in shock that his comrade had fallen. He growled at the heroes as he readied his ice powers.
The Ziggy attempted to move, but got hit by Applejack's Hero Sight, defeating him.
Blizzy moved close to the partial cover that was in between his and Sandy's previously, getting hit by Fluttershy's Hero Sight in the process, and blasted Twilight before activating his Villain Sight.
Rabbid Jack's Sentry moved towards Blizzy, which exploded when it got in range of him.
Rabbid Fluttershy moved to a partial cover in the right corner of the battlefield, but got hit by Blizzy's Villain Sight which also triggered a Freeze Effect. She uses her Rocket to blast Blizzy, which triggered a Push Effect that sent him rolling.
Applejack got down from her high area and dashed Blizzy, then returned to the high area via the pipe and took cover behind a partial cover. She then threw her Boomerang at Blizzy.
Twilight moved to the partial cover set in the middle, and blasted Blizzy.
Rabbid Rarity gets a Team Jump from Twilight and landed behind a full cover close to Blizzy, where she then sent a Sentry towards him, which exploded when it got near him.
Rabbid Jack moved towards the full cover set that Rabbid Fluttershy was at previously, but wasn't in range to attack Blizzy, unfortunately.
Fluttershy simply blasted Blizzy, defeating him and ending the battle.
Blizzy snow flurry dissipated, causing him to fall to the ground. He looked up at the heroes, and knowing he wasn't going to beat them, he quickly jump off the same cliff that Sandy fell from, intending to go after his partner.
The heroes cheered as they were healed and rewarded 900 bits and 105 Power Orbs
"Wow! Is that what one of these battles is like?!" Apple Bloom asked in excitement as she and Spike watched the heroes defeat Blizzy and Sandy.
"Yeah, but just be glad you not in the middle of them." Spike replied.
Unbeknownst to them, Rabbid Twilight was using her tongue to push her ice cube out of the ice tray gate. They quickly noticed her and jumped out of the way as Rabbid Twilight fell out, then watched as she slid down the path towards the battlefield.
Beep-0 was just standing there when the frozen Rabbid Twilight bumped in to him, cracking the ice in the process. "What the -!" Beep-0 said as he quickly turned around and saw Rabbid Twilight's ice shatter before him, freeing the hero. "Ah, I see our frozen friend has finally decided to join us. A pale imitation of the real thing, of course, but still, any ally in the fight against Chrysalis is a welcome sight indeed."
Rabbid Twilight got up and brushed herself off as the heroes looked at her, but then she spotted the real Twilight. She ran over to her and glared at her while taking a toothpick out of her shirt's pocket and placed it in her mouth.
"Uh... hi there, Rabbid Me... how's it going?" Twilight nervously asked.
Rabbid Twilight simply stared at her, took out the toothpick, then... quickly took out a mandolin and started singing the "MLP theme song" while dancing around! When she was finished, she gave Twilight a thumbs-up.
Twilight simply laughed as she and Rabbid Twilight leaned against one another, showing that they were going get along just fine.
"So all we had to do was break the ice?" Applejack asked in confusion.
"It appears that way." Fluttershy replied.
"It's good to see that she's finally out of the ice." The heroes looked over and saw Spike and Apple Bloom coming down the path to rejoin them. "Sorry about what I said earlier while you were a Rabbid-sicle."
"Bwa-Bwah." Rabbid Twilight said to Spike, showing that there were no hard feelings.
"What's the plan now?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Same plan as usual: we follow Chrysalis' trail using this new path, and stop her from messing with any more Rabbids." Applejack replied.
"But first, we should send you 2 back to Ponyville where you'll be safe." Fluttershy reminded the heroes.
"Oh, of course! With Chrysalis out there and so many corrupted Rabbids, this is where we must part ways." Twilight explained.
"But won't you lose track of Chrysalis while you take us all the way back to Ponyville?" Spike asked. 
"No need, I'll send you both back with my Sploing technique." Beep-0 explained.
"Your what?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Not the best name, I know, to put it simply, it'll teleport you guys instantly back to Ponyville."
"Ok, then let's do it." Spike said.
Applejack then hugged Apple Bloom as Twilight went to hug over to hug Spike.
"Be safe out there, big sis." Apple Bloom said to Applejack.
"You too, lil' sis." Applejack said.
"Hopefully we'll catch up to Chrysalis before she does any more damage to Equestria." Twilight explained to Spike. "In the meantime, just stay home until we get back."
"Can do, Twilight. Good luck finding the rest of our friends, too." Spike told Twilight.
Spike and Apple Bloom let go of Twilight and Applejack, then waved goodbye to everyone as Beep-0 activated his Sploing ability, and in a wave of pixels, the 2 were sent back to Ponyville.
"Ok, my sensors indicate that they have successfully returned home." Beep-0 explained to the heroes. "Now that they're safe, let's keep moving while the trail is still warm."
The heroes nodded in agreement as they all left the battlefield and continued going after Chrysalis.