Sunny and her friends couldn't remember much of anything after the time machine flashed a bright white light in their faces-- all they did remember was a sick feeling in their guts, feeling dizzy and being blinded with lights of many different shades and colors.
Finally, the ride was over, and SpongeBob and Plankton quickly led the ponies out into a blowing sandstorm, shielding their eyes with their arms and hooves. “Agh!! Oh...” Pipp whined as she got dust in her mane. “If only sand wasn't so sandy-- then it wouldn't get in my mane so easily!”
“Save your 'redesigning sand' comments for later, Pipp!” Misty said with a frown. “We don't know how far back or forward we went, so we have to start from scratch!”
“According to my calculations,” Plankton said over the howling winds, stopping at a certain point, “the Krusty Krab should be right here!”
SpongeBob could have sworn he saw something sticking out from one of the sand dunes, and covered his eyes as he pointed over to it. “What's that? Over there?”
The object turned around and it was revealed to be Patrick! But Patrick was much, much older, with a long beard of light gray. “SpongeBob...?!”
“Patrick?!”
“Is it really you and those seahorses?”
“Yes, Patrick,” Zipp nodded, despite being called seahorses again, “it's--”
“Finally!” Patrick cried out. “The Great Krabby Patty Famine is over!”
“Great Krabby Patty Famine?!” Pipp cried, startled, looking around in panic. “Wha-- what year is this?!”
“It's Thursday,” Patrick dumbly responded, and Plankton inserted some information into the device he was holding. “According to my calculations, we've only gone four days into the future.”
“Where is everypony?” Misty asked, seeing no one else around. “They all gave up on you. But not me! Cause I'm not very smart,” Patrick said, knocking against his head. SpongeBob strangely knew that, but there was one other thing he failed to notice. “Where is the Krusty Krab?!”
“Right where it's always been!”
A gust of wind blew away sand from underneath Patrick, revealing that he was sitting on the Krusty Krab's old sign. SpongeBob felt his entire world crumble as he gasped, and they ran back toward the time machine and climbed in, allowing the ponies the chance to comfort SpongeBob. “Covered... in... sand,” SpongeBob panted shakingly. “Gone... forever! Oh, Sunny! We have to save it!!”
“We will. We just need to keep trying,” Sunny promised. “But, if trying results in us going back to ancient Equestria, I wouldn't mind it!”
“Eh, sorry, Sunny. I'm not sure how much power this time machine has,” Plankton frowned. “It can take us back and forth, but we can't go to alternate dimensions AND back in time all at once.”
Sunny was a little disappointed, but remembered their mission all the same. “Hey-- it was worth a shot. Let's get back on the time circuit.”
Zipp activated the machine, and pretty soon, after a little while of time traveling, it finally stopped, and Izzy and Hitch pushed open the curtain. Turns out... they were in a lush jungle, causing them to look around. “Where are we...?” Hitch wondered as they looked around, just as SpongeBob spotted Patrick nearby. “Oh, there's Patrick! Hey, Patrick!”
But as they got a closer look, the 'Patrick' they thought they saw had a huge dinosaur body and a freakishly long neck. “It's a Patrick-a-saurus!!” Izzy screamed. “Maybe we went a little too far back!!”
“Gee, you think so?!” Plankton cried as they fled right back to the time machine... only to be stopped by a giant dinosaur with a Squidward like head! “AHHHHHHH!!!!” the ponies and SpongeBob screamed, running through its legs. “SQUID-A-SAURUS REX!!!!”
As soon as they made it past the dinosaur in question, they leapt into the time machine, panting tiredly before Plankton turned to look at SpongeBob. “Quick, you got a quarter?!”
“Yep. Just cashed my paycheck.”
But as they were ready to insert the quarter in, the squid-a-saurus rex grabbed it in his teeth, but was left completely charred as the time machine went right out of existence.
The ponies panted tiredly as they traveled through time, thankful they were able to escape the dinosaur's terrible jaws. “That was way too close,” Zipp panted. “The sooner we get to the right time and right place, the better we'll-- be?”
At that moment, the pegasus princess looked down to see their back hooves and tails had returned, just as the time machine slowed its ride down to a stop. When they were sure the ride ended, they looked out and saw...
...nothing. Everywhere they looked, they saw gray nothingness.
Sunny stepped a hoof out of the time machine, turning on the lights and the group found themselves in a great hall. At the end of the corridor, they could see a mysterious hooded figure standing with his back to them, watching the void of space between Saturn and Jupiter. “I think we may be lost in time, everyone,” SpongeBob said as they got closer. “Maybe we should ask this guy for directions.”
Misty whimpered... this guy reminded her of Opaline in more ways than she could count, and she immediately disliked that feeling. But nevertheless, she trotted alongside her friends until they reached the giant figure. “Excuse us, sir,” Sunny said politely. “Could you tell us when we are?”
That's when the figure spoke to them in a loud, booming voice. “Who dares disturb The One Who Watches?”
“The one who watches?” Misty squeaked. “Your name is The One Who Watches...?”
“No. My true name... is... Bubbles.”
When the figure turned to face them, the group was stunned to discover that Bubbles was a dolphin! “Bubbles?” Plankton tried his best not to laugh while Sunny tried her best not to start squealing. “What-- what kind of a name is Bubbles?”
“It is my ancient dolphin name,” Bubbles answered, but Hitch was still confused. “So, what's a dolphin doing out here in the middle of space?”
“My kind have been watching and protecting the galaxy for...” Bubbles tried to explain, but the clicking dolphins do cut him off. “...10,000 years!”
“Oh, so you're the one keeping the meteors from hitting us,” SpongeBob said with a smile. “But wait-- I thought it was the atmosphere that kept us safe from meteors,” Zipp voiced an opinion. “Ugh... everybody else thinks the same, but it is really me,” Bubbles rolled his eyes. “And I could really do with a potty break. Would you mind keeping an eye on things?”
“Sure thing,” SpongeBob said uneasily, “but, uh... what are we keeping our eyes on?”
But Bubbles had already left, closing the bathroom door behind him as music began to play. When Misty and Plankton noticed SpongeBob and the other ponies looking into the vast galaxy, they decided to approach, the blue unicorn being the first to speak. “What are you doing?”
“We're watching,” Izzy responded. “But we don't even know what we're watching for,” Zipp pointed out. SpongeBob then thought for a minute as two planets began to orbit into view. “Maybe we should split up the work load. Plankton, you, Pipp, Izzy and Hitch watch the one with the big red eye, and the other girls and I will watch the one with the ringy thingies. Like a team!”
“Eh, sounds easy enough,” Zipp shrugged, and the group stared out at the planets coming closer and closer together. “Okay, mine's moving,” Plankton noticed, and SpongeBob nodded. “Mine too.”
But the planets seemed to continue getting closer together, and this seemed to trigger some sort of danger sense within Pipp, eyes darting back and forth rapidly. “No, this doesn't seem right! Should we call Bubbles?”
“Let's give him a minute,” SpongeBob answered. “He's been holding it for 10,000 years.”
But as they debated, the two planets suddenly collided, resulting in a huge explosion. Everyone hunkered down to protect themselves from the blast, but when their eyes opened, planet debris was scattered, causing Izzy to gasp loudly. “I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen!”
“Come on, Plankton! We gotta clean this up before Bubbles gets back!” SpongeBob shouted and tried to sweep the debris under the floor, but then, Bubbles emerged from the bathroom, toilet paper still stuck to his fin. “Much better, yes. You eight are free to go.”
After Hitch kicked SpongeBob’s broom away, Bubbles' eyes widened as he saw the two collided planets completely destroyed. “What happened to Saturn and to Jupiter?!” he cried, watching as Saturn's rings fell off. “You were SUPPOSED to keep--”
He began to click repeatedly in anger, but then, his voice returned as he continued his rant. “--keep them from smashing into each other!”
“We are SO sorry!” Zipp said apologetically. “Now I am going to lose my job! And you... will lose your lives.”
His blowhole then shot a laser out at them, causing them to leap out of harms way with a scream. “Misty, get them to the time machine!” Sunny cried. “We'll use our unity magic to hold him off!”
“Hurry, guys!” Misty urged as SpongeBob and Plankton followed her at top speed. “But what about them?!” Plankton cried out as they reached the time machine. “That space porpoise will kill them!”
“Not if they charge their powers enough! Look!”
When Plankton and SpongeBob looked in the ponies' direction, they gasped as they saw Sunny in her alicorn form, lifting up as her friends' Mavic surrounded her, charging her own cutie mark and sending a blast at Bubbles.
Bubbles was wrapped in a ribbon of magic caused by Sunny, and once they made sure it was tight enough, Sunny landed at the ground. “Bubbles, I get you're upset, but it was a complete accident,” she said. “You can't just kill us after one tiny mistake! So... maybe we did accidentally cause this. Nopony is perfect, and you need to realize that.”
Bubbles was silent for a few minutes before he chuckled softly. “Your power is great, Sunny Starscout... but you use yours for good instead of the wicked things in life... unlike the fire alicorn that stole your dragon.”
That seemed to catch everypony offguard, and Hitch looked extremely frightened by what he said. “Opaline... took... Sparky...?”
“Guys! Hurry!” Misty cried. “Go, all of you,” Bubbles instructed. “You must go and complete your journey before it is too late.”
So, reluctantly, the ponies galloped to the time machine just before it disappeared to their next moment in time, and SpongeBob, Misty and Plankton noticed their distressed looks. “What?” Plankton asked them. “Killer dolphin got your tongue?”
Sunny finally found her voice after a moment. “Opaline has Sparky... and she's going to take all his dragon fire!”
SpongeBob and Misty gasped in horror while Plankton was trying to think of a solution to their problem. “Then while we get the formula, you get the dragon before Opaline takes his dragon fire-- you know... te-amwork?”
Sunny smiled at this. “I knew you'd see the light eventually, Plankton. Come on... let's get to the right moment in the past before history is completely rewritten.”