//------------------------------// // Where's SpongeBob?/Into Goner Gulch // Story: G5 Adventures in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// It's been a few hours since Otto had started driving the Mane 6, Sparky, Patrick, SpongeBob and the sea-unicorn twins toward the Lost City of Atlantic City so that way they could rescue Gary from King Poseidon... ...and unknowingly, stopping Allura's evil plan. The ride had been pretty smooth so far, and the group had been keeping busy with car games and lively conversations. Then, after a little while of silence, Patrick made an interesting observation about the circumstances of their journey. “This is gonna be like one of those buddy movies. We're the buddies!” “Huh... you know, I never really thought about that before, but... I think you might be right!” Pipp said. “We could document the whole adventure on film and have our very own buddy movie to share with the world!” “Heh heh...” SpongeBob chuckled a bit. “Not sure that really applies, you guys, but--” “But what? Think about it. We're a group of buddies setting out with a common goal,” Patrick agreed. “We'll argue about something dumb, fight and breakup, only to come back when we realize neither could do it without the other. It's simple... yet magical.” SpongeBob still wasn't really sure about the idea, kicking back and putting his feet up while explaining his reasoning. “Yeah. It feels more to me like the journey of a singular hero who, against all odds, triumphs over adversity.” “...do any of you understand a word of what he just said?” Tropic asked the others, but her sister, Izzy, Sparky and Hitch shrugged, having no idea. Patrick paid no attention to the ponies’ confusion as he snorted at SpongeBob’s answer. “I say buddy movie and you say, oh, whatever that dumb thing you said.” “Patrick!” Zipp scolded. “That’s not nice!” “Oh, really? Dumb thing? I’m dumb?” SpongeBob said, pushing Zipp off to the side. “Oh, I love your sense of irony, Patrick.” “Thank you…” Patrick said, ironing a sweater before putting it on and throwing his ironing board out of the car. “I love my sense of ironing, too. Maybe if your head wasn't packed full of sand, you could have ironing!” “Well, better a head full of sand than a head full of rocks, like yours!” SpongeBob cried in response. “SpongeBob, Patrick, that’s enough!” Sunny tried to get between them. “Stop before someone gets hurt!” “That’s a good idea!” Patrick cried, ripping his sweater. “Stop the car!” “Yeah!” SpongeBob agreed. “Stop the car, Otto!” “SpongeBob!” Arctic cried. “Patrick, wait!” Otto immediately slammed on the brakes, sending everyone flying out of the car and onto the ground… or if you were SpongeBob and Patrick, right smack through a billboard promoting a lawyer’s office with manatees  wearing "I Love (Heart shaped) Manatees" t-shirts.  After a moment, SpongeBob and Patrick freed themselves from the billboard, and his earlier actions guilted SpongeBob, so he sighed in remorse. “Sorry, Patrick, really. I shouldn't have said you have rocks in your head.” “I shouldn't have said your brain is made of sand,” Patrick apologized as well. “That was mean… and dumb.” “Phew… I’m sure glad you two made up,” Tropic said as she and her sister swam over. “Seeing you two fighting is… not a happy sight.” “Yeah, sorry about that, girls,” SpongeBob frowned. “Let’s just forget that argument, huh, Patrick?” “Yeah. Never even happened.” SpongeBob and Patrick pulled the girls into a hug and causing everypony except Hitch and Zipp to coo at the sight. “As much as I hate to break up the happy moment, guys,” said Zipp, “we still have a mission to get through, right?” “You’re right!” Sunny recalled. “Everypony, back aboard!” As they followed their pony friends to the car, SpongeBob patted out sand in his head, and Patrick took out the rocks in his head. That’s when Otto began to drive forward more and more, prompting the group to chase after him so they could get in and begin their journey again. XXXXXXXX By the time the next morning arrived, Mr. Krabs and India were on their way into work when they noticed a large crowd angrily demanding Krabby Patties… and Squidward was just sitting there doing nothing! “One at a time, people. One at a time!” India said, trying to calm the crowd while Mr. Krabs approached Squidward. “Squidward, why ain't I seeing Krabby Patties rolling out the service windows? Where's SpongeBob and the ponies?” “How should I know? And, frankly, you won't find me complaining,” Squidward said with a chuckle, just as Mr. Krabs went into the kitchen to find them. “SpongeBob! What's with yer lollygaggin' boy? SpongeBob? SpongeBob? SpongeBob? Get out here this instant! That's an direct order!” But with each call, silence rang back at them, and honestly, Mr. Krabs was getting concerned. “ I don't get it. He has never missed a workday.” “I can’t get ahold of Tropic or Arctic either!” India said, swimming into the kitchen and holding up her phone. “Something’s bad wrong…” The two of them were about to open the door and head back out when a jar flew in their direction, causing them to scream and duck. “Hey! Where are my Krabby Patties?!” a fish asked, shaking Squidward. “How should I know?” “It’s coming, sir!” India said, saving Squidward from his fate. “It’s coming!” “Squidward, get in the kitchen and whip up some Krabby Patties!” Mr. Krabs whispered to Squidward, and India guided him over to the kitchen to get started. “All right… what did SpongeBob say to get Gertrude started?” Squidward asked. “Oh, I remember!” said India. “We have to spark her flints manually!” So, she grabbed a nearby pole and turned it just enough to get the flints sparked up. “And uh uh… oh yeah! Jiggle her jets!” Squidward did so, and then grabbed the book from the nearby table. “The Little Griddle Who Could. ‘We're fresh from the freezer’, said the little--” But all of a sudden, the grill exploded before he could finish, flying out through the roof of the restaurant and out of sight, much to India's panic. “Uh… Mr. Krabs?!” she cried. “We’ve got a problem!” But Mr. Krabs was unable to respond, as he was being thrown into the walls of the Krusty Krab with great force. “Squidward!” Mr. Krabs cried out. “We wouldn't be in this mess if SpongeBob was around!” But that left the very important question… where was SpongeBob? XXXXXXXX Everyone on the Gary rescue team had been sleeping ever since they got back into the boat the previous night, hoping that they would be in the Lost City of Atlantic City by the time they woke up the next morning. Thankfully, Sunny didn’t have that nightmare of Allura again... but that could have been because their main focus was now on Gary, not the evil snow leopard. But, no one would be expecting what they saw when they woke from their slumber. As Otto hit a bump in the road, the car jumped a bit, prompting everyone to wake up and look around. However, it was revealed to them that they were no longer in the underwater world, but on the surface and in the hot desert... not to mention that Sparky was back to dragon form, and the sea-unicorn twins and the Mane 6 had their tails transformed into back legs. Hitch was first to speak out of shock. “Where in Equestria are we?” “I'm not sure,” Zipp said, looking at the map she had found that could lead them to their destination. “It looks like we're back on the surface, but... how in the world are we here? And how are SpongeBob and Patrick breathing?” “We must be dreaming!” SpongeBob realized. “You amuse me, SpongeBob,” Patrick said, cleaning a pair of glasses he got from who knows where. “More than one person can't have the same dream, let alone be in that same dream at the same time. That would be philosophically untenable.” But when the ponies turned to look at SpongeBob, he was holding a book and a pipe within his grasp. “Indeed. You proffer a metaphysical conundrum.” “Hold it hold it hold it,” Arctic said, stopping the surprising and strange conversation. “You guys are talking like smart people-- this MUST be a dream!” “Plus, we're on the surface, Sparky is a dragon again, us sea-ponies are now ponies and we're breathing air,” Pipp added, “so... yeah.” Patrick sniffed the air and immediately realized that they were right, leading him and SpongeBob to start laughing hysterically just before Izzy saw a town coming up. “Hey! Maybe we can stop there!” “Goner Gulch, huh...? What a weird name...” Zipp hummed in thought. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stretch our back legs as long as we have them.” But as they pulled into the town, they stopped in front of a larger-than-life saloon and Patrick read the sign. “The Inferno Saloon. Ye who enter here abandon all hope. Guess that's another way of saying 'no public restrooms'.” “Still... something about this feels a little off,” Tropic said as they got out of the car. “Otto, might wanna keep it close.” “Yeah,” Patrick nodded. “Don’t go anywhere.” “Going anywhere. It is my pleasure to serve. You're fired!” And within seconds, Otto had already drove out of sight. “Oh no no no!!” Tropic blurt out in panic. “How are we going to find Gary now?!” “I'm sure he'll come right back,” Misty tried to reassure the filly. “Maybe he wanted to go park the car.” But while they were talking, a tumbleweed smacked into them, sending SpongeBob and Patrick to the ground, prompting the ponies to help them get up just before a glow began to envelope the tumbleweed from within. SpongeBob and Patrick clung to each other, Sparky and the twins in panic while the Mane 6 prepared to fight back against whatever this was... just before a human head, a male, appeared in the tumbleweed and spoke to them. “Hello.” The ponies all shrieked when this happened, and after a second, SpongeBob was able to find his voice. “Who are you?” “I am a simple tumbleweed. Call me Sage,” the tumbleweed then introduced. “Hey, Sage,” Patrick waved. “Good name.” “Thanks. I'm made out of sage and I am a sage. So it works out pretty well.” “I'm Patrick,” said the starfish. “My name means toaster in Celtic.” “...yeah, I think we all know that it doesn’t,” Zipp deadpanned before turning to Sage with her Flypad in hoof. “So, Sage? What is this whole thing about? Why are we here?” “A very investigative question, young pegasus pony... and one I will happily answer,” Sage responded. “This dream you share has a hidden purpose, young seekers.” This led Tropic to gasp in surprise. “So we are in a dream! So cool...” “And I, friend, am the dream weaver.” Pipp suddenly shook her head to clear it, a question suddenly forming. “Does this mean you're in all our minds right now?” “Yes, Pipp Petals.” “Wow!” Sparky gasped in surprise just as Sage turned to SpongeBob. “I am here to help you on your journey, SpongeBob. But first, you and your friends must accept a challenge.” SpongeBob's expression immediately fell at this. “But... we just wanna find Gary and bring him home.” “Let me as you and Tropic this... do you love Gary?” Tropic answered immediately with a nod. “More than anything!” “And, young sea-unicorn, once you meet this challenge you may pass on to find your precious Gary.” Sunny then caught onto what he was saying. “So thus whole thing is a test to prepare us for what might come next! That's actually kind of brilliant.” As the others were agreeing with this statement, Sage spit a blue and gold coin onto the ground, much to the slight disgust of the Equestrians. “Take this challenge coin. It will give you courage when bravery is in short supply.” Everyone seemed really amazed with this... except Zipp and Sunny. Both of them knew that courage could easily be found within, not inside a coin, but... they had a feeling that Sage was just trying to help, so they decided to not to say anything. As SpongeBob put the challenge coin in his pocket, Sage gave the group their next set of instructions. “Now, your challenge lies behind these saloon doors.” “All right! What are we waiting for?!” Arctic declared excitedly. “Let’s kill this challenge!” “I'm all for that!” “Let’s do this!” “Challenge and Gary, here we come!” “This is gonna be fun!” “Wait! I didn't give you your challenge!” Sage tried to call after them, but they had already disappeared inside the saloon. “Patience, Sage, patience.” XXXXXXXX When the group entered the saloon, it was extremely abandoned and empty, and was about to go investigate elsewhere when a piano began to play all by itself. However, Patrick smiled at the strange sight. “Oh, cool. One of those old player pianos.” Suddenly, a zombie appeared out of thin air, playing the piano and causing Zipp to gulp as the fillies and Sparky ducked behind SpongeBob, Patrick and Hitch. “I-I actually think that’s more of an old piano player than an old player piano-- and he's not alone either!” True to her word, there was a lot more zombies appearing in the saloon, and this was enough to cause SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins to hide behind a nearby barrel. “Scary people!!” That's when Sage rolled in and rejoined the group. “Flesh-eating cowboy pirate zombies, to be precise.” Misty could feel all the hair on her neck stand at this. “Flesh-eating cowboy pirate z-z-zombies?!” “This is your challenge,” Sage explained. “Free these zombies from their earthly binds and release their souls.” “...don’t panic, everypony. This is just like our adventure on Zombie Island,” Sunny smiled. “The zombies may be real, but they need our help too.” “But if this weren’t a dream,” said Patrick, “I’d be freaking out right now!” Suddenly, SpongeBob remembered that Patrick was right. “Oh yeah! We are in a dream!” he chuckled. “Lead the way, guys!” “Gotcha. All right then, everypony!” Pipp announced as the group walked out into the open, causing the zombies to look down at them. “We're here to release your imprisoned souls!” “I think my friend means, uh…” Misty gulped. “...we'll release your souls if you’ll let us.” Suddenly, a clap of thunder from out of nowhere, caused everyone to jump at least a foot in the air. “What was that?!” Tropic shrieked. “Ahhh…” Sage recognized this as a sign. “El Diablo the Wicked approaches.” “El Diablo?” SpongeBob spared his friends a nervous glance. “Master of this zombie crew,” Sage explained, “and one you must defeat in order to release these imprisoned souls.” “Uh-oh…” Sparky whimpered. “He doesn’t sound good,” Izzy gulped. “But don’t worry, Sage,” Sunny then reassured. “I’m sure me and my friends can handle him.” “That’s good to hear. Good luck… you’re gonna need it.” And just like that, Sage rolled out of the saloon. “Okay, guys. We need to be mentally ready to face El Diablo when he walks through those doors,” Zipp said. “So, let’s keep nice and calm until he gets here.” But before anyone could respond to this, the zombies began to close the curtains and get rid of the chairs and tables around them. “Forget calm, Zipp!” SpongeBob cried. “The zombies are swarming!” “They’re gonna eat our brains!!” Patrick wailed, and he and SpongeBob and the twins pulled the Mane 6 and Sparky into hiding just before something very strange happened… …the zombies started dancing, and the gambler in the saloon began rapping! Gambler: Boss Dogg Even when I'm on, I'm off, y'all Lookin' for the King, It'll cost y'all You better leave now, are you lost, dawg? The Zombie King, Yeah, I hear him coming OG ghoul with a thirst for the run-in You in the wrong bar, wrong town Got a spot to fill The real deal coming down that hill During the midst of the song, the group came out of hiding and suddenly… they began to dance along with the music, a little surprised and a little excited all at once. Gambler: Your brains for breakfast, Soul on the menu, major checklist Ghouls, goblins, guard the exit The fire in his eyes, ain't hard to catch it El Diablo, the haunting taunting veterano It's scary, I know The Goner Gulch, where the drama is But don't hate the game, we in the zombie biz Then, a few boy zombies started to sing a perfect harmony while standing and dancing on top of the bar. Choir: We feel the love when we all dance together (What, what, what?) Gambler: Together! Choir: We made it, we made it Up all life long, We won't stop (we won't stop)… El Diablo is here! But unfortunately, while they were singing, El Diablo showed up outside in his horse-drawn carriage, fire burning on the bottom of his boots. Choir: Dance! We the baddest crew! Hands high! What's eating you? Us! We comin' through Killing it is how we do! El Diablo's on his way Smell the odor of decay Dance, we came to slay 'Cause killing it is how we do! By the time El Diablo walked in, the song ended, and the previously dancing zombies, ponies, SpongeBob and Patrick froze in their tracks. “What did I tell you about dancing when I'm not here?!” El Diablo shrieked to the zombies, leading one to protest out of fear. “But, boss, It's Freestyle Friday!” “...oh. Okay, my bad.” As the zombies turned back to mind their own business, the gambler approached the group on one of the tables. “Hey. Yo, SpongeBob? I got to dip. Y'all got this.” “...anyone have any idea what he just said?” SpongeBob whispered to the ponies, but Hitch shrugged in response. “No idea… we don’t speak rap.” “Bring the prisoners to my office!” El Diablo told the other zombies before he walked off. That left Patrick confused and full of questions. ‘What'd that guy mean by prisoners?” A zombie then used his sword to slice a chain holding a cage above them, and by the time it had slammed down on them, the group gasped in horror. They were trapped! XXXXXXXX No matter how hard the ponies tried, they couldn't use their powers to escape the cage, and the twins, SpongeBob and Patrick were really scared... ...so now what were they supposed to do? Right now, they were currently hanging in front of El Diablo, who was questioning the group as he sharpened some long, dangerous-looking knives. “So…” he began, “...you dare to enter the ghost town of Goner Gulch. You barged into my demon's lair telling my zombies that you’re gonna free their souls. Heh heh heh… like it ain’t nothing!!” “...you’re holding these zombies against their will when they just want to be free,” Misty tried to point out. “That isn’t right! I’m sure if you just let them go now, you’ll be happy with that decision… and may even free your own soul in the process.” “...you seriously thought that drip was gonna work on me?” El Diablo asked the blue unicorn, making her squeak in terror. “Well, guess what, pipsqueak? IT WON’T DO A THING ON ME!!!” As the ponies flinched back in terror, SpongeBob finally found the nerve to speak on their behalf. “Well, uh, Mr. Diablo, the good thing is we're in a dream.” “A shared dream,” Patrick added. “Right, a shared dream,” SpongeBob continued. “So there's no need to get all bent out of shape about it. It's not real.” “Cause it’s a dream,” Patrick finished. “Who told you that?” El Diablo asked. “The crazy bush guy?” Hitch glanced at his friends nervously at this. “Uh…” Arctic shrugged in order to respond. “Maybe?” “What he should've told you was… it's not a dream!” Fiery lasers then came out of El Diablo’s eyes and these lasers zapped the gang’s cage, scorching it. “...h-he may be right, ponies,” Pipp stammered after a moment. “That felt pretty real.” “Yeah!” Patrick nodded out of fear. “And it really hurt!” Suddenly, the cage bottom collapsed, leaving the group to fall right on El Diablo’s desk, and Zipp could only think of one way out. “RUN!!” SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins wasted no time in running while the Mane 6 tried to hold El Dialbo and his fiery knives off. The group eventually reached the curtains on the far side of the room, but with El Diablo’s size, they were easily cornered. As El Diablo lurked closer, SpongeBob suddenly got an idea. “Hang on, guys!” he said, getting out the challenge coin. “Foul demon, be gone!” However… El Diablo’s reaction was not what the sponge was expecting. “What the heck is that? What do I look like, a parking meter?” “I-It didn’t work…?” Tropic said, ears folding. “But… Sage said…” “Coin laundry's right down the street,” El Diablo continued. “That’s pathetic!” “Everypony, stand your ground!” cried Sunny, shifting into alicorn form. “Keep our friends out of his path!” The Mane 6 kept SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins behind them, but they were so scared, they backed right into the curtains, opening them slightly. The sunlight coming through seemed to burn El Diablo's hand, causing him to drop his knife before he could stab them again. “GET AWAY FROM THOSE CURTAINS!!!” “Curtains…?” Zipp muttered before gasping. “Of course! El Diablo can’t handle the sunlight! That’s why all these curtains are closed!” “So in order to defeat him,” Pipp realized, “these curtains need to be wide open!” “Everypony, spread out!” Sunny commanded. “When I give the word, get those curtains open as wide as you can get ‘em!” The ponies then spread out, with Arctic and Tropic mocking El Diablo until they were all in position. When El Diablo was getting ready to strike, Sunny gave the signal. “Now, guys! Now!” Everyone opened their curtains at the exact same time, causing El Diablo’s body to burn and him to scream in pain. After a moment of being in the sunlight, his body disintegrated into nothing but fiery ash… not to be a bother to anyone again. “We did it! Nice work, guys!” Tropic exclaimed, high-hoofing her sister. “But uh… should we get out of here before something else happens?” “That’s a good idea,” Izzy said quickly, “let’s go!!”