//------------------------------// // The Crown is Stolen!/Depression at Goofy Goober's // Story: G5 Adventures in The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Later that evening, the good citizens of Bikini Bottom slept in their beds ready to greet the new day… all except Plankton, using his jetpack to fly far from Bikini Bottom and out into the open ocean. “Heh, heh, heh, heh!” Plankton chuckled, landing on a dark hill before a giant castle in the distance. “It’s time to put Plan Z into effect-- starting with the undersea castle of King Neptune.” At the castle, the royal court was now in session. Sitting on his throne was the larger-than-life King Neptune himself, and beside him stood his daughter, Princess Mindy, a mermaid with big glasses. On the other side of King Neptune and on the other side of Princess Mindy were two empty thrones-- the ones belonging to Queen Skygrace and Princess Riverstream, but they had an emergency to take care of and would be a little later. The squire entered the court, blowing his horn before he unrolled a scroll, reading from it. “Royal court is now in session,” the squire announced. “Bring the prisoner forward.” Two tough-looking guards enter carrying a defeated-looking fish, bound in fin-cuffs. “Soo…” Neptune began. “You have confessed to the crime of touching the king’s crown?” The fish nodded at this, not able to lie his way out of it. “Yes, but--” “BUT WHAT?!” “But it’s my job, your highness. I’m the royal crown polisher,” the fish squeaked, and King Neptune thought about it for a moment. “Well… I guess that means I can’t execute you. Twenty years in the dungeon it is!” “Daddy!” Mindy cried, horrified before she swam over to the fish, unlocking his fin-cuffs. “You’re free to go.” “Bless you, Princess Mindy,” the royal polisher thanked, swimming out of there quickly. “Mindy!” King Neptune roared. “How dare you defy me?!” “Why do you have to be so mean?” Mindy questioned. “I am the king!” Neptune said, pounding his trident on the floor. “I must enforce the laws of the sea.” “Father, I wish you’d try a little love and compassion instead of these harsh punishments.” “That would be nice,” the squire added, and the king bonked the squire on the head with his trident. “Squire, clear the room!” Neptune demanded. “I wish to speak to my daughter alone.” Everyone left the court, as Neptune and his daughter remained alone... until the doors opened a few seconds later, and Queen Skygrace and her younger sister slipped in. “So sorry for the delay, King Neptune,” Queen Skygrace said to her collegue. “We had an emergency we just couldn’t ignore.” “One of the fillies had gotten her fin stuck in a clam,” Riverstream said, “and you should have seen Skygrace in action! Real queenly stuff. Hey… isn’t the royal court supposed to be more full than this?” “Father called everyone out to ‘talk to me’,” Mindy shrugged with a sigh, and her father gave her a glare before turning to Skygrace. “But it’s a good thing you are here, dear queen of the hippogriffs. Perhaps your younger sister can learn a good lesson from this, for when she takes place as queen when the time is right.” King Neptune reached up and pulled off the heavy crown, revealing his shiny bald head, the crown he showed toward his daughter. “What is this, girls?” “Your... crown?” Mindy answered, uncertainly. “And what does this crown do?” Riverstream thought for a moment before coming up with an innocent answer. “Covers your bald spot?” “Riverstream!” Skygrace scolded before chuckling nervously. “I am so sorry about that, she doesn’t know she isn’t supposed to say that in front of other royalty. Heh heh…” “For your information, my hair is thinning, Princess Riverstream,” the king said defensively. After Neptune calmed down, he set his crown upon the royal pillow and leaned forward, unaware Plankton had his one eye on the crown himself. “This crown does much more than cover a slightly receding hairline. No, this crown entitles the one who wears it to be in charge of the sea. One day, Riverstream will take her sister’s helm, and Mindy, you will wear this crown.” Mindy, looking horrified, grabbed her head. “I’m gonna be bald?!”  “Thinning!” Neptune cried in defense. “Anyway, the point is, you won’t wear it until you learn how to rule with an iron fist. Like your father.”  King Neptune reached for his crown, his hand grabbing the royal pillow instead, putting it on his head. “Dad, your ‘crown’,” Mindy pointed out while the sisters started to get nervous. With the pillow drooping over his ears, Neptune picked up a gilded hand mirror and gazed into it. “What the…?!” “Sis, look!” Riverstream pointed out with wide eyes. The king frantically looked around the throne room, but it was all true… the crown was gone. “MY CROWN!!!!” Neptune jumped from his throne, roaring and howling with anger. “Someone has stolen the royal crown!” Meanwhile, Plankton flew from the castle, carrying Neptune’s crown, laughing to himself. “I got it!” Plankton cheered.  “I GOT IT!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!” XXXXXXXX “Tropic…! Tropic!” Sunny called repeatedly, and at one of the intersections, the group reunited. “Any luck finding SpongeBob?” “No…” Zipp shook her head. “And no luck finding Tropic either?” Sunny shook her head as well. “It’s like they… disappeared.” “So where do we look now?” Misty asked. “It’s getting dark, and the ocean is no place for poor Tropic to wander alone! Or SpongeBob, as depressed as he is.” That's when Hitch suddenly thought of what seemed like a good place to check. “...I think I know of a good place to look. But... brace yourselves.” XXXXXXXXX The group soon arrived at Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat, and were slightly overwhelmed and surprised at what was before them. The joint itself was rocking; the music was blasting. A crowd of young fish chowed down on delicious Goofy Goober’s Ice-Cream Treats, as the staff rushed from table-to-table, delivering towers of ice cream. “Wow… this place is… really something,” Sunny said in surprise. In the midst of all the fun and eating, an announcement was made off the Goofy Goober clock on a wall. “Hey, all you Goobers, it’s time to say howdy to your favorite undersea peanut, Goofy Goober!” The curtains part way and before the screaming kids is Goofy Goober – a large mechanical peanut-- dancing in all his peanut glory. “Howdy, Goofy Goober!” the kids cried out. “Hey, fellow Goofy Goobers!” Goofy Goober tipped his hat, tapping his toes. “Time to sing!” Before the eyes of the ponies, everyone sang while scarfing down ice cream, all having a good time. “Oh, jeez. It’s like an endless kid’s birthday party here!” Zipp put hooves over her eyes. “I know!” Izzy giggled. “Isn't it pony-tastic?!” “Focus everypony,” Blaze informed. “Keep your eyes open; SpongeBob and Tropic made plans, and they're supposed to be here tonight to celebrate SpongeBob’s promotion.” “Can I help you folks?” asked a voice, and the group turned as an employee, with a deadpan expression, staring upon the group carrying menus in his fins. “Oh, yes sir,” Misty said with a nod. “We’re here to meet a friend of ours! You didn't happen to see a little yellow sponge or a green sea-unicorn come in, have you?” “You mean the sad little crying about how sad his life is and the pony trying to pat his back?” the employee described bluntly. “Yeah, that’s SpongeBob and Tropic!” Izzy cut in. “Do you know where we can find them?” “…yeah, in the back,” the employee pointed, before walking away. The group quickly cut their way through the row of kids toward the ice-cream bar at the back of the facility. They didn’t have to look far as they found the sad little sponge, sitting with a downtrodden Tropic, crying on the counter. “Hiya SpongeBob,” Zipp said softly. The sad little sponge turned toward the group, his eyes red from crying. “Hi… guys…” “How did you find us?” Tropic asked softly. “Lucky guess,” Sunny said vaguely as she approached. “It's gonna be okay, SpongeBob. Please don't cry-- we'll do anything to make you not feel sad anymore.” “I’m not sad…” SpongeBob assured, wiping his eyes. “This old boy just needs to get it together, that’s all… I know. I'll just stop thinking about it.” SpongeBob wiped his nose and then stared into nothing for a moment, his arms on his sides. Eventually, a smile formed on his face. “Hey, you know, I actually feel a little better. I don't even remember why I was sad.” “HEEY!” Patrick shouted, sitting at the bar with Arctic. “It’s the new Krusty Krab 2 manager!” And just like that, SpongeBob burst into tears again, plopping his head onto the bar table. “Seriously?” Zipp deadpanned under her breath. “Wow, the pressure’s already setting in,” Patrick said as he sat down. “No, Pat, you don’t understand,” SpongeBob shook his head. “I didn’t get the promotion.” “W-What? Why?” Arctic was shocked, and Tropic let out a sniffle. “Mr. Krabs thinks he's a kid...” Patrick slapped his forehead in shock. “WHAT?! That's insane!” “I know!” SpongeBob blubbered. “Well, saying you’re a kid, it’s like saying I’m a kid!” Patrick huffed. “Here’s your Goober Meal, sir,” a waiter said, placing a tray in front of him. “I’m supposed to get a toy with this,” Patrick said suspiciously before the waiter tossed a stuffed peanut to Patrick. “Thanks.” “I wouldn’t listen to everything Mr. Krabs said, SpongeBob. Nopony thinks all that stuff about you,” Hitch said. “We think you’re perfect manager material.” “At least you do,” SpongeBob muttered before sighing. “I’m gonna head home, guys. The celebration’s off.” “Are you sure?” Arctic asked, and SpongeBob nodded, hopping off the stool. “Yeah, I’m not in a Goober mood.” “Do you want me to go home too?” Tropic asked softly. “I don’t wanna leave you alone.” “We could walk you home, if you wanted,” Sunny said. “No, that’s okay. You guys stay here with Tropic, have fun and make sure she gets home safe,” SpongeBob told the ponies. “I’m just gonna go to bed and lie in the dark.” “Okay, see you,” Patrick waved. Just as SpongeBob rose from his bar stool, starting to turn and walk away, the waiter returned with a towering ice-cream sundae, making the gang's mouths water. “And here’s your Triple Gooberberry Sunrise, sir.” “Yum… Opaline would never let me have something like this!” Misty said hungrily, and this caused SpongeBob to return to his seat. “A Triple Gooberberry Sunrise, huh?” SpongeBob asked, sitting back on the stool. “I guess I could use one of those.” “Now you’re talking!” Patrick cheered, slapping his friend’s back. “Hey, waiter! We need another one over here!” “I think we better back up, everypony,” Sunny said, and the ponies quickly gave SpongeBob and Patrick some room. As soon as the waiter brought another sundae over, SpongeBob and Patrick cheered as they began to eat. Spoons were flying rapidly-- ice cream splattered all over the place. Unfortunately, any ice cream that wasn’t eaten got splattered all over the waiter while the ponies grabbed spare trays to protect themselves. When all was done, SpongeBob and Patrick sat back on their chairs, two humongous burps escaped from their mouths-- disgusting to most, but to SpongeBob and Patrick, it was relieving to get that off their stomachs. “Boy, Pat, that hit the spot!” SpongeBob said, rubbing his tummy in satisfaction. “I’m feeling better already.” “Yeah…” Patrick sighed. “Waiter!” SpongeBob called. “Let’s get another round over here.” Two more Triple Gooberberry Sunrises appeared, andthe friends gobbled them up in a flash... even Misty and the twins gobbled up some when SpongeBob and Patrick weren't looking. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before the sugar got into effect, and Patrick and SpongeBob started to get hooked on it. “Oh, Mr. Waiter!” SpongeBob called. “Two more, please.” As the ice cream kept coming, the friends just kept eating while the deadpanned waiter was covered in ice cream. All the bowls piled up, till they were stacked sideways. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you,” Zipp spoke with a yawn, “But I think it’s about time we head back to the pineapple.” “Aww… can’t we stay a little longer?” Arctic whined. “Sorry, but Tropic and SpongeBob need to get ready for work tomorrow,” Hitch said. “We all need our rest.” “Okay… you coming, SpongeBob?” Tropic asked. “Can't talk… ice cream…” SpongeBob took large bites of his part of the sundae. “See you at home!” Taking that as a suggestion, the group decided to take the twins back to the pineapple for a sleepover so they could all head to the Krusty Krab the next morning. And once they were gone, SpongeBob and Patrick continued to get doped up on ice cream until they passed out right onstage beside Goofy Goober. XXXXXXXX The very next morning, SpongeBob Squarepants woke up at the bar, completely exhausted from his late night sugar rush. Someone was shaking him, making the Party Boat spin before his eyes. “Hey… hey, get up…” When SpongeBob’s eyes adjust, it turns out to be that disgruntled waiter trying to wake him up. “Hey, come on, buddy,” the waiter said. “I want to go home.” SpongeBob opened his eyes and blinked them shut-- the light really hurt. Slowly, he sat up and looked around. From what he can make out, it looked like Goofy Goober’s… except it was deserted, except for a guy sweeping peanut shells off the floor. “Urgh… My head…” SpongeBob groaned. “Listen to me,” the waiter said. “It’s eight in the morning. Go scrape up your friend and get going.” “My friend?” SpongeBob asked. The waiter pointed toward Patrick laying on the floor, all spread out and drunk. “Patrick. Hey, what's up, buddy?” he asked groggily before he realized something. “Wait! You said eight o clock! I’m late for work! Mr. Krabs is gonna be…” But then, in an instance, an angry look spread upon SpongeBob’s face… a look that no one in Bikini Bottom had ever seen. “Mr. Krabs…” he sneered, groggily walking outside into the light. Mr. Krabs would regret this… no doubt about it.