The Bikini Bottom had gotten a lot more quiet at this time. Most of the inhabitants had lost the energy to cause chaos and destruction, so most of them stayed in the rundown Krusty Krab. Patrick stared hungrily at the Krabby Patty poster he was thrown to barely a day ago. He let out a moan of despair and yearning.
"Squidward." He turned to the octopus.
"Still out of Krabby Patties." Squidward said, not looking up from his magazine.
Patrick turned back to the poster and licked it. He smacked his lips, desperate to search for any amount of taste that even vaguely compared to the greasy sandwich.
"Does anyone have a picture of ketchup?" He asked.
Suddenly, the front doors slammed open.
"I done figgered it out!" Sandy announced, her voiced had become raspy from the lack of proper care.
The occupants looked at her with varying looks of confusion and surprise. The crazed squirrel leapt onto a table.
"We have angered the sandwich gods and only a sacrifice will appease them!" She said.
"Well, that sounds reasonable." One of the fish said.
"Soon our post-apoca-whatchamacalit will be over, and Krabby Patties will rain down from above!" Sandy finished with a twisted smile.
"Rain down? Well, that's no good." Mr. Krabs complained. "How will I get me money?"
"Oh, you don't like that idea? Then we'll sacrifice you!" One of the fish said angrily.
The other folk were in agreeance and began chanting "sacrifice" as the hauled Kr. Krabs to the front entrance. A bright light suddenly blocked the front doors. The mob stood shocked, dropping the greedy crustacean to the ground. A scuffed time machine appeared in front of the entrance. The curtain opened and revealed SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Main 7.
"It's not a good idea to have a sacrifice on an empty stomach." SpongeBob smirked. "Who wants a Krabby Patty?"
As soon as they saw the bottled up formula, the crowd cheered with joy and relief. Mr. Krabs zoomed up to the team with star-spangled eyes.
"SpongeBob, is that me formuler? Oh, happy day." Mr. Krabs took the bottled and kissed several times.
"Sweet Celestia. Even I'm not that vain." Rarity muttered under her breath.
"I missed you so much." Mr. Krabs said. "Where was it? Where did you find it?"
"Uhm...interesting story, actually..." Twilight rubbed her neck.
"Well, Plankton, Spike, the girls, and I built a time machine out of an old photo booth and then we added..." SpongeBob was interrupted by Patrick, who was sitting in the machine.
"Cheese!" He said.
"Patrick, No!" Twilight gasped.
In a flash of light and color, the time machine disappeared. Some of the folks gasped in horror.
"Well, there goes our time machine." Spike grumbled.
"It's okay, everyone. The post-apocalypse is almost over!" Mr. Krabs declared.
the crowd cheered once again. Mr. Krabs yanked out the cork and opened the formula up.
"Ain't that right, SpongeBob." He said.
SpongeBob and Plankton high-fived each other. Mission accomplished.
"I'm just glad this nightmare is officially over." Twilight said.
"Now everything can go back to normal." Pinkie said joyfully.
What neither of the two sea ponies realized was that they had spoken too soon.
"Eugene, eat my subaquatic air bubbles. Love, Plankton"?" Mr. Krabs read the paper.
He glared back at the team. The once happy atmosphere of the building soured almost immediately.
"That's a weird list of ingredients." Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. "Ooo! Maybe I should try it."
"That's because it's not the formula." Twilight realized.
"You grabbed the wrong bottle!" Plankton said.
"Since when was there a "wrong bottle"?" Applejack gave Plankton a suspicious look.
"Well, In that time I had to replace the real formula with a fake one. SpongeBob must've grabbed by mistake." Plankton explained.
"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow said in angered disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Krabs." SpongeBob fell to his stomach, tears forming in his eyes.
"That's okay, SpongeBob." Mr. Krabs said calmly. "We'll just have to sacrifice you and your friends then. Prepare them for the sacrifice!"
"Guys, can't we just talk this out." Fluttershy pleaded.
"What do we do now? We're in the middle of enemy territory." Rarity trembled.
"If only Patrick hadn't taken the time machine." Rainbow grumbled.
The team began to make a run for it through the front doors when the time machine re-appeared in front of it.
"I bring a message from the dawn of time!" Patrick announced.
"What is it, Patrick?" SpongeBob asked.
"Run!" The sea star ran from the machine.
Something poked through the curtain, then a it broke threw the machine, sending pieces of the machine flying everywhere. The creature was large and had Squidward's face. It roared viscously.
"Squidosaurus rex!" Squidward yelled fearfully.
Everyone was now running for their lives as the Squidosaurus stomped and roared.
"Well that's just great! We still don't have the formula, the people want to kill us, and now we run the risk of getting eaten by that thing." Rainbow yelled in frustration.
"Ah don't see how yellin' is gonna fix things." Applejack said dodging a table that sailed over them and through the wall.
"There has to be a way to fix this." Twilight said hopefully.
"How? The time machine has been destroyed." Rarity cried.
"Well, guys, I guess we failed to accomplish our goals." SpongeBob said sadly.
"We"?" Plankton asked incredulously.
"Come on, SpongeBob. There's got to be a way to get the real formula." The purple sea pony pressed on.
"Twi, ah don't think there is." Applejack placed her hat over her chest. "I've had faith with dire situations before, but, are one and only option we had to get the formula back is now gone. Now these people want to make us their sacrifice and that prehistoric whatchamacalit wants to make all of us into it's food. Ah just don't see how this is fixable."
"Be fair, Applejack, their might be a miracle somewhere among all of this." Rarity tried to lighten the situation.
"I mean, we could definitely take down Mr. tall, dark, and ugly over there." Rainbow pointed to the rampaging dinosaur.
"Hey!" Squidward yelled.
Twilight lowered her head in defeat. Had she really failed again?
"But even failure hurts a little less when you do it as a team, right?" SpongeBob said with a hint of fairness.
"This is all your fault!" Plankton yelled angrily.
Twilight and her friends all gasped at Plankton's outburst. The other folk and even the Squidosaurus rex stopped trying to eat Mr. Krabs.
"Plankton, what in Equestria do you mean?" Rarity asked with an offended tone.
"My fault?" SpongeBob said, his tone conveyed more hurt.
Plankton hopped onto a nearby table.
"You're the one who stole the wrong secret formula." He pointed an accusatory finger at the sponge.
"I didn't know there were two bottles." SpongeBob defended.
"Of course you didn't!" Plankton snapped. "Because you got cotton candy for brains!"
"Oooo." Some of the fish winced.
"No, seriously, he really does." Plankton said.
"Now that's just uncalled for." Applejack swam up to Plankton with an angry look. "It's not like you helped us in that situation. You were just makin' small-talk with our past selves."
"Yeah, maybe if you had went in the safe you could've gotten the real one." Rainbow added, equally upset.
"Oh, please. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to with all your fat hands in the way." Plankton shot back.
"Fat?! Why I never!" Rarity screeched.
"Girls, please. Let's not fight." Fluttershy pleaded.
"Well, we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place, if you weren't so selfish and evil." SpongeBob defended.
"I was selfish and evil, until you ruined everything with your "teamwork." Plankton said in a mocking tone.
"You take that back!" SpongeBob whimpered with a trembling hand.
"You are the worst teammate ever!" Plankton screamed in fury.
"No!" SpongeBob shrieked.
He stepped back. The Main 7 swam out of his way as he violently kicked over a garbage can. The crowd gasped in shock as SpongeBob grunted and wheezed hysterically. He grabbed a recycling bin and unloaded it's content onto the floor. He began mashing and mixing the two piles of trash together, all the while screaming like a maniac. The crowd was taken aback, even Plankton.
"W-What is he doing?" Spike asked with apprehension.
"Oh, my Neptune, he's mixing garbage and recycling!" One of the fish said.
"Well, that's...gross, but not horrifically egregious." Twilight said.
"I beg to differ." Rarity whispered.
"Are you kidding me. No one should ever mix garbage and recycling. I learned that the hard way." Pinkie said.
SpongeBob then let out another maniacal scream whilst holding two lumps of trash in his hands. The crowd gasped again, SpongeBob breathed heavily for a few seconds and then looked around. He saw the shocked looks of the crowd and the mystified looks of his pony friends, even Fluttershy looked a little scared of him. He looked down at his hands.
"Look at me. Why, I've become like all of you. Savage. Fear-ridden. Selfish." SpongeBob looked amongst the townsfolk. "An entire town of formerly good citizens turned into heartless freaks bent on their own self-prever...self-preter..."
"Self-preservation?" Twilight said.
"Yes!" SpongeBob responded. "We've become alienated from each other. Each one an island unto himself, concerned only with ourselves. And in the name of all fishhood, I am not about to let that happen!"
SpongeBob tore off a piece of a fish's shirt and put it on as a headband.
"And so, if a sacrifice is needed to restore Bikini Bottom to it's former glory. Then I am willing to take one for the team!" SpongeBob finished, standing on the ordering station.
"Wait. You mean you're willingly giving himself up as the sacrifice?" Twilight said with dread.
"B-But, you can't. You're our friend, SpongeBob." Pinkie wailed.
"But, he's decided to give himself up to help us. Should we really challenge that?" Applejack wondered out loud.
"Not if I can help it! I'm not losing a friend over some piece of paper." Rainbow gritted her teeth.
"It's okay, girls. I willing to do this if it means saving this place from this apocalypse." SpongeBob reassured.
The crowd all looked on with looks of shame, shock, and regret. All except for one.
"You heard him!" Squidward said cruelly and happily.
Several townsfolk grabbed SpongeBob and pulled him off the ordering station, dragging him outside.
"We have to save him! We can't let him die!" Rainbow yelled, determined.
"Hey, how about we sacrifice that group of weird seahorses and pufferfish, too." One of the fish pointed to the Main 6 and Spike. "Ever since they've been here, it's been nothing but problems and chaos. They're like a bad omen. Why not kill two clams with one stone."
"Wait, no! Don't drag them into this!" SpongeBob panicked.
The mob began swarming the Main 6 and Spike.
"Agh. No! We bring no harm! Please!" Twilight begged.
"Somepony help!" Fluttershy cried out.
"Get you wretched fins off me!" Rarity demanded desperately.
The sea ponies and pufferfish fought against the grasping hands, but it was no use. They were all dragged out the Krusty Krabs where they would meet their sacrificial fate.
The sky had darkened considerably now that the dark ritual was inevitable. The entire populace of Bikini Bottom had surrounded a giant stone tower. SpongeBob and the Main 7 stood with cuffs on their hands and hoofs. The cuffs were chained to the floor of the tower. A wooden pully stood atop, holding a stone, chiseled into the shape of a Krabby Patty bun.
"Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" The mob chanted maliciously.
"This cannot be happening." Rarity whimpered. "I'm too young to die!"
"Come on, everypony. Surely there's a better way out of this." Twilight begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Let the sacrifice begin!" Mr. Krabs hollered.
"Patties! Patties! Patties!" The crowd cheered and chanted.
"And I thought my friends were primitive." The Squidosaurus said.
"This can't end like this." Rainbow strained against the chains. "You can't do this to us."
"Who...Who's going to look after my animals if I'm gone forever." Fluttershy sobbed.
"Won't be able to bake any matter or babysit the twins or...or hang out with my bestest friends." Pinkie wailed as two geysers of tears sprayed from her eyes.
"I'm sorry for this, girls. I failed again." Twilight cried.
Applejack stared directly into her friend's eyes with a firm yet comforting look.
"It ain't yer fault, Twi. And none of us blame ya." She said. "Those folks are just crazy. Crazier than a chicken on hard cider."
Twilight blinked the tears from her eyes. She gave a weak smile.
"I know, but I still feel terrible." She said. "I guess the one good thing is that we're going out together."
"Yeah, that soothes the pain a little." Pinkie acknowledged.
"Ah just wish ah could say goodbye to mah family one last time." Applejack said sadly.
"I hope Scootaloo's in good hooves." Rainbow added.
"You girls have been amazing. Thank you, for everything." Twilight said.
"Same ta you, Twi. Same ta you" Applejack answered kindly.
"And you've been the greatest thing to happen to me, Spike." The purple sea pony smiled.
"Oh, Twilight. That means the world to me." Spike whimpered, his heart melted by Twilight's words.
"Sweetie Belle, wherever you are, just know I love you." Rarity said.
As the Main 7's accepted their twisted fate, SpongeBob caught a whiff of something peculiar. He sniffed several times. The smell was odd, yet recognizable.
"Don't cry, me boy." Mr. Krabs came up to him. "Everything's going to be fine...for us."
"Oh, I'm not crying, Mr. Krabs." SpongeBob sniffed the air once more." I smell Krabby Patties!"
"Wait, what!?" Twilight said in surprise.
"That's right. Keep thinking happy thoughts." Mr. Krabs smirked. "Now!"
Squidward, now adorned with an axe-man's mask, grabbed a giant axe and sliced the rope holding the Krabby Patty rock. The rock dropped down onto our heroes. The Main 7 and SpongeBob all shut their eyes and huddled as close as possible, waiting to be crushed. There was a mighty smash and the crowd winced and closed their eyes. When the opened them, they found two pairs of eyes sticking out of the platform. One pair belonged to SpongeBob and the others belonged to...Mr. Krabs! The crustacean heaved the rock off the team. The Main 7 stood aghast.
"W-W-W-We're alive!" Spike said in triumph.
"Mr. Krabs?!" Rainbow yelled in shock.
The red crab sniffed the air.
"The boy's right." Mr. Krabs said in astonishment, throwing the rock away.
"My leg!" A bystander cried in pain.
"I smell 'em, too!" Mr. Krabs jumped from the platform. "Okay, SpongeBob, go get it!"
Mr. Krabs tore off his leather straps, now replaced with his normal manager attire.
"Wait. You mean we can just take this stuff off?" Squidward said, before tearing the clothing off.
"We're alive! We're actually alive!" Spike said joyfully.
"Guess not all hope was lost after all." Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Go find that Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs threw SpongeBob off the tower.
The yellow sponge bounced and tumbled to the ground. Instantly, he was on the move, tracking down the smell.
"Come on, everybody! I've got some Krabby Patty orders to fill!" SpongeBob said with determination.
The crowd all cheered with excitement as the tore off their apocalyptic attire and followed after SpongeBob. The Main 7 were swift to catch up to him first.
"How is it that you can smell a Krabby Patty from this far away?" Rarity asked.
"I suppose it's my intuition." SpongeBob said. His nose suddenly separated from his body and hopped away. "It's coming from over there!"
"Welp, that's something I can't unsee." Rainbow said, a little disturbed at what had transpired.
"By the way, thank you for saving us at that alter." Twilight turned to Mr. Krabs.
"Huh? I only did that to save SpongeBob." Mr. Krabs said, but then saw the disheartened looks on the sea ponies' faces." But...uh...appreciate the...thankfulness. You're welcome...I guess."
"Psh. Modest much." Rainbow rolled her eyes.
With that now behind them, SpongeBob, the Main 7, along with the people of Bikini Bottom were now on the trail of the Krabby Patty. They trekked through tall hills and foggy canyons. Amongst shipwrecks and and through snow-covered mountains. They journeyed through jagged rocks and other planets. They even hitched a ride on a bald eagle and scaled slippery slopes.
"Come on, guys, I think it's just over this hill." SpongeBob encouraged, but when reached the topped, they discovered the scent broke through the water's surface.
That meant the trail continued on land. The crowd all moaned in disappointment.
"Wait. What's the problem there?" Rainbow asked in confusion.
"How do you expect us to go up to the surface?" Squidward asked in frustration. "We won't be able to breath!"
"Perhaps maybe we could take over for ya. We can still breath just fine." Applejack suggested.
"Would you be able to track the Krabby Patties from their?" SpongeBob asked.
"Uuuhhhhh..." Applejack couldn't find the answer to that.
"All right, all secondary characters come with me." A fish said in disappointment.
The crowd began to make there way back home.
"Yeah, I'm with you guys." Squidward followed after, but was pulled back by a claw.
"No way, Squidward. You're going up there with us." Mr. Krabs said threateningly.
"But, didn't Squidward just say you couldn't breath up there?" Spike questioned.
"Exactly! We won't survive out there." Squidward yelled.
"My feet hurt." Patrick complained.
"Patrick, you don't have feet." SpongeBob pointed out, tiredly.
Patrick lifted his leg and gasped when he saw that his yellow friend was right.
"It's not fair!" The starfish fussed. "You have feet. Sandy has feet. Squidward has feet."
"Actually, I have four feet." Squidward corrected.
Patrick plopped onto the ground and grumbled. None of them realized that a rock whizzed behind them. It came to a sudden stop. Plankton peered over it, surveying the group.
"It's not about feet." SpongeBob reasoned.
"What is it about, then?" Squidward asked harshly.
"We're supposed to be finding those Krabby Patties and hopefully, by proxy, the secret formula." Twilight explained.
"Exactly. We can't just give up now that we have gotten this far." Fluttershy added, softly.
"Right. It's about being a team and sticking together, no matter what!" SpongeBob said with confidence.
Without anyone spotting him, Plankton quickly scurried over to SpongeBob's feet and stowed himself away in one of the socks.
"The only way we're going up there is if some fairy godmother shows up and helps us breath air." Squidward said bitterly
As soon as Squidward finished talking, a bright orb of light appeared and descended down upon them. The team now stood in a crater with a dolphin staring down at them. That dolphin was Bubbles, who still had a line of toilet paper stuck to his tail.
"Bubbles!" SpongeBob and the Main 7 all gasped.
"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"SpongeBob, you and your friends know this guy?" Squidward asked, petrified.
"He's here to kill us!" Rarity wailed dramatically.
"Don't hurt us! We're sorry we got you fired." SpongeBob begged on his knees.
"Hurt you?" Bubbles let out a dolphin-like laugh. "Why, I traveled back through time to thank you."
"Thank us? Thank us for what?" Spike asked.
"I've been stuck in that job for eons. I needed a change, but I was too afraid to go for it." The ancient dolphin explained.
"Well, Bubbles, I'm glad we could help." SpongeBob said happily.
"Now it is my turn to help." Bubbles said. "I can get you safely to the surface."
"Really? You'd do that for us?" Fluttershy said, mesmerized.
"Of course. You helped me with my predicament and I shall help you with yours." Bubbles said. "Now! Quick, all of you, get in my mouth."
Bubbles leveled to the sand and opened his mouth wide.
"Come on, guys, let's go!" SpongeBob waved over the others.
"In there?!" Rarity said in disgust. "Not a chance!"
"There's no way I'm climbing into some dolphin's mouth." Squidward said.
"Yeah. This guy just wants a free lunch." Mr. Krabs glared.
"But, he may be our only shot of continuing our mission." Twilight tried to reason with them.
"Sorry, Twilight, but there are something that I will refuse to do no matter how desperate the situation is." Rarity said firmly. "This is one of them."
"Guys, if Bubbles has the courage to quit his dead-end, nowhere job and travel back through time to help us, then we need to have the courage to..." SpongeBob was interrupted when Bubbles took initiative scooped up the team into his mouth.
He made his ascend and began swimming up to the surface.
"Well, I never thought I'd be eaten by a dolphin." Mr. Krabs said flatly.
"No, if he was eating us, he'd be chewing us up and we'd be going down there." SpongeBob down the dolphin's throat. "This is what you call riding in style."
"Speak for yourself. Those teeth are terrifying." Spike shivered.
"You're a dragon, or, you were a dragon. Your teeth are like ten times sharper than that." Rainbow argued.
"So? Spike asked.
"Eugh! It smells absolutely revolting in here." Rarity covered her nose. "Honestly, these missions keep getting worse and worse."
"Rarity, will ya stop yer comlainin'?" Applejack said in frustration.
"Not a lot of legroom in here." Squidward groaned.
"Well, maybe if you didn't have four feet!" Patrick retorted.
Plankton peered out of SpongeBob's sock.
"Note to self: Never stow away in a gym sock." he said to himself.
Bubbles picked up some speed and finally breeched the surface, flipping in the air. SpongeBob, the Main 7, and the rest of the gang looked up as Bubbles's blowhole opening up. Magical sparks drizzled down over them.
"What's happening? I feel tingly!" Patrick said.
Bubbles shot the team out of his blowhole. They flew high into the air then began to drop back down. The team screamed in fear. Bubbles readied himself and delivered a tail-strike that sent the ponies, dragon, and sea creatures sailing across the water and onto the shoreline.
"Ugh. He gives the friendship portal a run for it's money." Rainbow coughed out a pile of wet sand.
"Girls, check it out!" Spike said.
"What is it, Spike?" Twilight looked at her friend and then realized that he was back to his normal dragon form.
The Main 6 looked at each other. All of them had transformed back to their pony forms.
"Well, ah'll be." Applejack said in amazement. "Bubbles's magic must've transformed us."
"That's probably for the best." Twilight said. "We wouldn't get far with those sea pony forms."
"No way!" Pinkie gasped. "SpongeBob, you've transformed to CGI!"
"CG...whu?" Rainbow looked abashed.
"I've done all I can. The rest is up to you." Bubbles said.
"Thank you, Bubbles!" SpongeBob waved.
"Farewell, SpongeBob." Bubbles said.
"Farewell, Bubbles." SpongeBob said.
"Now to update my..." Bubbles let out a couple clicks and squeals. "...Resume!"
With that, a triangular portal opened up in the sky and Bubbles flew right into it before disappearing.
Now that they were on dry land, Sandy decided to take off her helmet.
"Ah, fresh air! Oh, how I've missed you." She said blissfully.
"Eugh! This place smells awful!" Squidward clenched his nose.
SpongeBob caught a whiff of the Krabby Patties.
"Come on, guys." He said turning to them. "Let's get the Krabby Patty formula and save Bikini Bottom."
"Right. It should be easier thanks to Bubbles." Twilight said.
"Uhm, Twilight. I don't mean to rain on your parade but..." Rarity said.
"Check it out!" Pinkie hopped forward.
Twilight noticed that the beach was crowded with familiar-looking creatures. Though they all mostly shared the same skin color, they body structure was undeniable. The alicorn's eyes widened, she knew exactly what those creatures were: Humans. And they were huge, much larger compared to her or any of her friends. Twilight's confident smiled faded. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought.
To be continued