Our pony heroes arrive back to Bikini Bottom to help SpongeBob and Patrick recover King Neptune's crown and save Bikini Bottom.
After discovering that the magical tree in Maretime Bay is holding a protection spell, waiting to be unleashed, and crystals shaped like Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark are the secret to unleashing it, our pony heroes set off on another Unity Quest to find the first crystal.
This time, their quest brings them back to Bikini Bottom, where Queen Skygrace has let her hippogriff and seapony subjects live with the Bikini Bottom citizens, while she and her sister live and share duties with King Neptune of the Seven Seas.
But when King Neptune's crown is stolen and Mr. Krabs is framed for the crime, our pony heroes, some sweet new sea-unicorn friends, SpongeBob and Patrick must journey to the forbidden Shell City and get it back.
But will they succeed and save Bikini Bottom? Or will the town burn from the king's fiery wrath?
(S2E2 of G5 Adventures)
(Shoutout to Admiral Producer for letting me use Queen Skygrace again!)
(Cinematic Adventures' version of this did serve as inspiration, so give them some credit too please)
Sunny and her friends only got back from Gotham City a few days ago, after helping Scooby-Doo, Batman and their super-powered pony friends defeat the villains and restore order to the city. That was the most... chaotic mission they had in quite a while, ever since Opaline was finally defeated.
Something that took Misty quite a while to fathom.
She lived and endured Opaline for so long, trying to make sure that her friends, her new home and magic was safe, she never really gave time for much anything else... until today.
Misty loved being a part time babysitter for Sparky, she really did... but the others had their own place, with Sunny having her smoothie cart, Pipp having Mane Melody, Hitch being the sheriff, Zipp being a detective and Izzy having her unicycling business. She wanted to find a purpose too.
And that's exactly what she was going to do.
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Misty stared at the board in front of her, full of jobs that she could try... but which one? “Should I help Posey at the art museum?” she muttered. “No... too many breakable items. What about helping with the garden? No, no... everything I grow will probably dry up and die. Probably my luck.”
“Hey, Misty?”
Misty turned to see Sunny roller skating over to her with a concerned look. “You okay? You look... really deep in thought.”
“It's just... choosing a job is a lot harder than I thought,” Misty shrugged. “How did you figure out you could run your smoothie cart?”
“Well... it's hard to put into words,” Sunny said. “I just loved making smoothies, and I knew that's what I wanted to do. If you want, we can try these jobs and figure out which one is meant for you. What do you say?”
Misty thought about it for a few moments before smiling. “Okay... let's go!”
So, she and Sunny galloped off to try different jobs for Misty, and a song began to play in Misty's mind-- the same one she and Izzy made up when they were trying to make her cutie mark sparkle.
Misty: Take a look a little closer now (Closer now) Things turned out a little different than how I thought I thought they would
Izzy: If you have hope, then let me hear it (Hear it) If you have sparkle, we can cheer it (Cheer it) It ain't over when you have each other
Misty and Izzy: If you're down, down, down Just look up, up, up You know that I got you Even when it's tough
If you're down, down, down Get back up, up, up Never on your own 'Cause you've got us
Izzy: If you ever feel like givin' up (Givin' up) You just need to find a helping hoof who can Make you sparkle again
Misty: If you have a wish, then let me hear it (Hear it) If you have a dream, then we believe it (We believe it)
Izzy and Misty: It ain't over when you have each other
If you're down, down, down Just look up, up, up You know that I got you Even when it's tough
If you're down, down, down Get back up, up, up Never on your own Cause you've got us
If you're down, down, down Just look up, up, up You know that I got you Even when it's tough
If you're down, down, down Get back up, up, up Never on your own Cause you've got us
But unfortunately, no matter what Misty tried, being a tour guide for the art museum, delivering smoothies or unicycling old junk... nothing felt right.
After a while of job searching, Misty sighed and turned to Sunny sadly. “Thanks for trying to help me, Sunny, but... who am I kidding? Maybe I'll never fit in with the ponies here.”
Sunny frowned at this. “What makes you say that?”
“Because, everypony here has something they're really good at,” Misty said. “And for all they know, I'm just the weird pony who used to serve a high-powered maniac.”
“Hey, you're not a weird pony. You're extremely talented and gifted,” Sunny said. “Anypony can see that.”
Misty scoffed in disbelief. “Really? Who in the world would think that about me other than you and the others?”
Suddenly, there came a loud crash, and a yelp of pain. Sunny and Misty ran to the scene at the magical tree, where they saw Seashell slowly getting up, sniffling in pain while Glory and Peach Fizz tried to help her. “Pippsqueaks?” Sunny asked. “What happened?”
“Seashell used her magic to make a vine swing for us to play on,” Peach Fizz said, “when it broke and Seashell fell to the ground!”
“Are you okay, Seashell?” Misty asked as the young earth pony wiped her face of tears. “I think I am,” Seashell nodded. “My hoof only hurts a little.”
“Maybe you better wait till the playground at the park is finished before you go to swinging again,” Misty said. “Glory? Can you and Peach Fizz take Seashell home so she can rest that hoof?”
Misty nodded and watched as the fillies went off toward Seashell's house, and Sunny smirked over at Misty. “What did I tell you? Ponies don't think you're weird.”
“Maybe... but--” Misty was about to say when she noticed some strange indentations in the side of the tree. “Hey... those look like that Twilight pony's cutie mark on the side of the tree! In all different places!”
“Hey... you're right!” Sunny said. “And it looks like there's a message on the base!”
“Can you tell what it says?”
“No... but I know somepony who might.”
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Zipp used her goggles to study the writing for quite a long while, and when it finally beeped, a wide smile began to grace her face. “Got it! And it looks like Twilight Sparkle's hoof writing, after I cross-examined some earlier examples.”
“Can you tell what it says?” Sunny asked, and Zipp nodded before clearing her throat. “This tree is meant to be a symbol of unity for all types of ponies, no matter where in the world they may be. But, it also holds a magical protection feature. Scattered across the worlds are magical crystals in the shape of my cutie mark that can activate a powerful spell that can fortify the invisibubble if the need were to ever arrive. Where they have been sent, I do not know, but I trust that a band of brave ponies will be able to find them. Good luck, my little ponies. Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“There are crystals in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark?” Sunny asked. “I guess Sparky had a reason to be drawn to the tree so much.”
“But how many crystals are there?” Zipp wondered, removing her goggles. “And how can we find them if we don't know where the Unity Quests send us?”
Suddenly, the cutie marks began to glow brightly, leaving Sunny with only one thing to say. “Looks like we'll have to figure that out later. The crystals must be summoning us. Get in contact with the others-- we better not keep them waiting.”
“So, there are really markings of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark?” Hitch asked as he, Pipp and Izzy arrived at the Brighthouse with Sparky. “And they have a protection spell linked into the tree? How did that happen?”
“We’re not sure, as of yet,” Zipp said. “But we’re going to have to keep an eye out for some crystals that look like Twilight’s cutie mark. What are we gonna do with Sparky?”
“We can keep him in the basement,” Pipp said, taking the baby dragon. “And with the dragon lock Hitch set up, it’s the perfect place for Sparky to wait until we come back.”
“Go and do that, and meet us upstairs,” Sunny said. “We have a Unity Quest to go on!”
It was only a few minutes later, after they returned, that they went up to the Unity Crystals, and let their magic teleport them into another world. As they tumbled and cheered through the portal, they felt their bodies begin to change slightly, making us wonder… where could they be going?
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Soon, they practically flew out of the portal and into the open world around them, but when they looked around, they saw this open world… was actually open water.
This could only mean one thing.
Sunny and her friends glanced around, finding their surroundings familiar before Sunny realized where they were. “We’re back in Bikini Bottom!”
“We get to see SpongeBob again? All right!” Zipp punched a hoof. “So, where do you think he may be?”
“Where else?” Pipp said. “The Krusty Krab is the most hoof-taggable place in town! Besides, SpongeBob seems to work there 24 hours a day, anyway.”
“Then, I guess that’s where we’ll start,” Misty said. “Hitch, maybe you and Zipp can go to SpongeBob’s house and look there, in case he has the day off.”
“Hey… wait a second,” Hitch said, stopping her. “Is it me, or does Bikini Bottom seem… more populated than last time?”
The others looked around and realized that the sheriff was right-- seaponies were EVERYWHERE! Way more than the two royal sisters that the group saw last time. “Maybe Queen Skygrace and Riverstream managed to find more of their old colony,” Zipp hummed. “We should ask somepony on our way.”
“Let’s meet at the Krusty Krab in about 30 minutes,” Sunny said. “That should give us enough time to search.”
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Izzy sighed as the four remaining mares approached the best place to eat in Bikini Bottom. “The Krusty Krab… it still looks the same as when we left after Pipp’s concert!”
“Hopefully, we won’t have to rescue the secret formula again,” Sunny said with a chuckle. “And I hope Plankton’s remembered what we taught him about teamwork too. He’s not such a bad guy at heart.”
“Sure, Sunny,” Pipp said before her stomach growled. “Now, come on-- my tummy is telling me to hurry up!”
The other mares giggled and followed Pipp inside the Krusty Krab, where it was heavily populated with customers as they swam up to Squidward, turned the opposite way while he checked his reflection in the mirror. “Ugh… good afternoon, and welcome to the Krusty Krab,” he said with a sigh. “What can I order for--”
“Hi, Squidward!” Izzy said cheerfully, causing Squidward to scream and turn to face them. “Oh, Sunny! It's just you and the girls,” Squidward sighed, a smile coming to his face. “And you came back from Equestria to see little old moi?”
“Of course we did! We came to see all our friends!” Izzy chirped. “You were the first we came across too! Of course, we do have a Unity Quest to do too.”
“Hey… what's under the tarp outside?” Sunny asked, pointing to the tarped item next door, leading Squidward to sigh. “That's just the new Krusty Krab 2 they're opening tomorrow morning,” he said. “You gals and your friends are welcome to come, but I doubt it'll be anything worth seeing.”
A familiar laugh made Squidward suddenly cringe. “Oh, I don't know about that, Squidward. When these ponies are around,” the source of the voice slid into view, “things can get VERY interesting.”
“SPONGEBOB!!” all four mares cried before running to their friend, enveloping him in a huge hug. “We've missed you so much! We've missed all of you!” Sunny said. “It looks like much hasn't changed since we left.”
“Well, other than all the seaponies in town,” Misty shrugged. “When did that happen?”
“A couple months ago, actually,” SpongeBob thought back. “Queen Skygrace and Riverstream-- who are living the true royal life-- found a bunch of hippogriffs and seaponies to repopulate the world, and a lot of them moved here, bunking with some citizens. I, uh… even have my own little seapony roommate now.”
“Aww… that's so great,” Sunny smiled. “Can we meet them when we go back to your place?”
“Actually, she came to work with me today,” SpongeBob smiled, “as my little fast food protégé. Oh, Troooooopiiiiiiiiiic!!!”
“Coming, Mr. Squarepants…”
The ponies saw a small, timid figure emerge from the doorway, and couldn't help but coo. It seemed to be a young filly, with a unicorn horn on top of her head (strange for a seapony other than Izzy and Misty). She also had sweet, dark violet eyes, a dark blue mane and tail with lavender highlights, green fur with light green fins and darker green hooves, staring up at the older mares with a hint of nervousness. “Tropic, meet my Equestrian besties! Pipp, Izzy, Sunny and Misty!” SpongeBob introduced one by one. “Girls, this is Tropic Dancer, the sweetest sea-unicorn filly in all Bikini Bottom!”
“Well, I wouldn't say that,” Tropic said softly. “Since me and Arctic are twins, we share the same level of cute, so… yeah.”
“Well, it's great to meet you,” Sunny said gently. “How do you like living with SpongeBob and Gary?”
“It's a lot of fun. I'm learning a lot from Mr. Squarepants' fry cook training. And since Patrick took in my sister, I get to see her almost every day,” Tropic said softly, before looking at Sunny for a moment. “SpongeBob told me you had wings and a horn, but… I don't see them. Does this mean you're NOT an alicorn?”
“Well, I am, but the wings and horn kind of have a mind of their own,” Sunny shrugged with a chuckle. “No matter how hard I try and control it.”
“I better go get the next batch of Krabby Patties ready,” Tropic said. “Pleased to meet you all.”
With that, she quickly swam back into the kitchen as Zipp and Hitch arrived with Patrick and another sea-unicorn filly. This one was a bluish color with light gold eyes, a pink mane with green streaks, black hooves and blue fins, looking relatively the same age as Tropic. “Hey, girls! Look who we found!” Hitch said. “Sunnyyyyyy!!!” Patrick wrapped the earth pony mare in a tight hug, causing her to cough. “Good to see you too, Patrick. And you must be Tropic's twin sister, right? Tropic just told us about you.”
“Uh, um… yes, ma'am,” the blue sea-unicorn nodded. “I'm Arctic Pearl. Um… may I be excused to go see my sister?”
“Sure. She's in the kitchen,” Misty nodded, and the filly quickly swam away. “Wow… and I thought I was shy before I met these ponies.”
“They're um… going through some stuff,” Squidward said uneasily. “Poor little fillies were scared out of their minds when they came. The queen thought SpongeBob and Patrick, of all fish folk, were best to look after them, but hey-- what do I know?”
“...right,” Zipp nodded. “So, we have some good news-- Opaline is finally gone!”
“Oh, that's great! But… why are you here, then?” SpongeBob asked. “We'll figure that out in due time,” Sunny said. “But now, where are those hats? Might as well help you with the rest of your shift.”
“That's what we love to hear, Sunny, me girl!”
Everyone turned to see Mr. Krabs coming their way with a beaming smile. “Glad you all are back, and just before the lunch rush,” Mr. Krabs said. “Ye mind getting to work?”
“You kidding? We'd love to!” Izzy said. “Let's do it!”
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Finally, SpongeBob’s shift was over, and that meant that the group could retire to SpongeBob’s house for the night. “Man… a warm bed will never look so good,” Hitch yawned as they swam through the door. “Am I right?”
“I think so, Mr. Hitch,” Tropic yawned. “I'm gonna go up and go to bed. Good night, everypony. Good night, Mr. SpongeBob.”
“Night, Tropic!” Izzy waved before the sea-unicorn retreated up the stairs. “So… SpongeBob? Why is she so shy and introverted?” Zipp asked. “What caused her and her sister to be like this?”
That seemed to cause SpongeBob to frown with a sigh. “Apparently, she and her sister were raised by their grandpa, and he… didn't treat them the best.”
Sunny's eyes went wide at that. “But… what about their mom?”
“She was never in sight. The queen thinks that she disappeared or… something worse.”
“Poor thing… I can see why she and Arctic are so timid,” Misty frowned. “But… they have you and Patrick now. And that's what matters more than anything else.”
“That's true. I just wish they could open up more,” SpongeBob said before yawning. “Let's talk about this more in the morning, okay, guys? I've been dreaming about the Krusty Krab 2 opening tomorrow, and I cannot miss my dreaming schedule.”
“Sure thing,” Zipp nodded. “We'll start looking for activity right afterwards.”
But what they didn't realize was that the little green sea-unicorn was watching them from upstairs, tears glistening as they kept talking about her, her sister and their situation, making her wish one thing. “I wish Arctic and I could finally have our mom back…”
Then, after making her wish, she kissed the star-shaped pendant on the nightstand and went off to sleep, and within the hour, the others were sure to follow, ready for the day ahead.
Now, as many of you could guess, things were usually peaceful in Bikini Bottom, but by the next morning, things were quickly falling apart. Frightened fish swam in all directions while the police tried to keep everything under control until things could be managed.
In front of the Krusty Krab restaurant, a crowd had gathered. Mr. Krabs, was talking to the reporters, who were waving microphones under his nose, and pressing cameras on all sides of his face. “Wait! Please settle down-- one question at a time. Please! One at a time! We’ve got a situation in there that I’d rather not talk about until my manager gets here,” the owner of the Krusty Krab answered, when suddenly, a sleek black car pulled up to the curb. “Look! There he is!”
All eyes-- and eyestalks-- turned to see SpongeBob SquarePants step out from the car. His face was somber, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. In his hand, the determined sponge carried an important looking briefcase. “Talk to me, Krabs.”
“It started out as a simple order,” Mr. Krabs explained as he sobbed. “A Krabby Patty with cheese. When the customer took a bite, there was no cheese!!!”
Mr. Krabs broke down, covering his eyestalks with his claws and sobbed, but SpongeBob slapped him on the snout. “Get a hold of yourself, Eugene,” the sponge barked. “I'm goin’ in.”
The usually happy go lucky sponge turned and faced the restaurant, reporters and bystanders backing away under SpongeBob’s stern gaze as they walked forward.
When he entered the restaurant, the dining room was deserted… all except for one very frightened fish sitting alone at a table.
On a tray before him sat a Krabby Patty with a single bite taken out of it. “Take it easy, friend,” SpongeBob spoke. “I’m the manager of this establishment.”
He set his briefcase down on the table, his steely gaze firing. “Everything’s gonna be just fine.”
“I’m really scared, man,” the fish trembled nervously, not being cool under the situation. “You got a name?” SpongeBob asked while opening the briefcase. “P-Phil,” the fish spoke with a nod. “You got a family, Phil?”
Phil looked like he was on the verge of tears, so SpongeBob snapped his fingers to drive Phil out of it. “Keep it together, Phil! Stay with me. Let’s hear about that family.”
“I… I got a lovely wife and two beautiful children,” Phil stammered, and SpongeBob nodded slowly. “That's what it's all about. I want you to do me a favor, Phil,” he said. “W-What?” Phil asked. “Say cheese,” SpongeBob said vaguely. Slowly, with an epic cinematic feel that immediately made the tension rise, the sponge positioned a perfectly cut slide of cheddar cheese along the center of the bun as Phil’s nervousness grew more and more in case things were to go wrong.
Slowly… slowly… slowly… BAM!!
Minutes later, SpongeBob kicked the front door to the Krusty Krab wide open, pleased with himself. There he stood, carrying Phil safely in his arms, cheese placed on the Krabby Patty like it should always have been. “Order up!”
The entire town rejoiced, and the sounds of cheering could be heard from the surface. SpongeBob was hoisted up onto the customers’ shoulders in pure joy. “Three cheers for the manager!” they cheered. “Hip hip-- HOOONK!! Hip hip-- HOOONK!! Hip hip-- HOOOOOOOONK!!”
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The dream was over as SpongeBob SquarePants sat on his bed and the others had their ears completely covered, while SpongeBob’s pet sea snail seemed naturally unfazed. “MY EARS!! MY EARS!!” Pipp wailed. “OH, HOW I WISH I BROUGHT MY SOUNDPROOF HEADPHONES!!!”
SpongeBob quickly turned his alarm clock off before it honked again, causing the others to silently sigh. “Hooray! You guys! I had that dream again!” SpongeBob kicked off the covers and raced to the calender hanging on the wall. “And it’s finally gonna come true… today! Sorry about this, calendar.”
He tore away yesterday’s page and on the date at the bottom of the next page, the calendar read March 7th. “Today is the grand opening of the Krusty Krab 2, where Mr. Krabs is going to announce the new manager!”
“Ohhhhh so that's why you were so excited to get to sleep last night!” Sunny realized. “That's a moment I can gladly understand you not wanting to miss.”
“Meow,” Gary said, and as SpongeBob admired the date, he turned as the little snail slid over to his side. “Who’s it gonna be, Gary?” he asked with a small chuckle before gesturing to the wall behind the group. “Well, why don’t we ask my wall of three hundred-seventy four consecutive Employee of the Month Awards?”
Turns out, that very wall, like he said, there was an exact total of three hundred and seventy four posters of SpongeBob, the same signature smile, and all of them saying ‘Employee of the Month’. “SpongeBob SquarePants!” all 374 pictures of SpongeBob yelled. “Ooooooookay...” Hitch blinked. “That's not creepy at all.”
“Sunny, can you guys go wake up Tropic and help her get ready?” SpongeBob asked. “Of course!” Sunny smiled. “We'll take good care of her.”
“I'm ready, promotion!” SpongeBob chirped, running to the bathroom to get ready for work since Tropic was taken care of. “Do you really think SpongeBob will actually get that promotion after all this time as a fry cook?” Misty asked. “I mean... that's a big leap.”
“Psh, of course! He's SpongeBob!” Izzy brushed off. “He's got this! I mean... I hope he does. I think...? I'm not sure.”
“Come on, ponies,” Zipp said. “Let's go help Tropic get ready for SpongeBob’s big day.”
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Meanwhile, in the shower, SpongeBob removed the paper off a bar of soap and proceeded to consume the entire bar, chewed it up and swallowed it. Then, he soaked the water through his body until he inflated so large-like, he could hardly fit the entire bathroom.
Bubbles and water poured through all his sponge holes as SpongeBob resumed his normal size, clean as a whistle. SpongeBob danced his way toward the closet, and searched until he found the perfect square pants for this special day.
Of course, they were the same square shorts and shirt he became known for, but he managed to find an outfit he believed was his best and quickly got dressed.
After he was fully dressed, SpongeBob rushed back toward the bathroom. He took out a toothbrush and squeezed the tube of toothpaste till he received just the right amount. Then, to brush his teeth, then his ears, and even his own eyeballs until they sparkled in the light. “Cleanliness is next to managerliness.”
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Back in her room, Tropic was already awake and brushing her mane softly with her magic, humming a soft tune to herself until a knock at the door made her scream. “Um... come in.”
Sunny and her friends came in through the door with small smiles. “Hey, Tropic. SpongeBob wanted us to help you get ready to go to the promotion ceremony,” Pipp said, “but it looks like you have that under control. Hey, maybe I could do something with your mane to--”
“Oh! Um... t-thank you for offering, Miss Pipp, but... I don't really like anypony touching my mane except me,” Tropic said softly. “It's nothing personal, but... it's just how I am. Arctic is like that too.”
Pipp nodded in understanding as Tropic finished and put on her star pendant. “There. All ready,” Tropic smiled. “I think we better go meet SpongeBob downstairs... right?”
The others nodded and swam downstairs while Zipp could only wonder... how bad WAS the twins' grandfather treating them all this time?
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Soon, after the happy sponge gave little Gary his breakfast, he skipped out of the house with the others swimming right behind. “I’m ready, promotion! I’m ready, promotion!” SpongeBob sang, running around in circles… before running into Squidward's house without knocking beforehand. Tropic and the Equestrian pony friends just turned to each other, silent and nervous, knowing a certain someone won’t be happy.
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Speaking of which, Squidward was enjoying the only thing he did enjoy on a typical workday-- his morning shower. As he lathered himself up, he hummed a little diddy. “La da dee, la da doo, la da dum. Lad da dee, la da doo, la da dum…”
Suddenly, Squidward felt something scratch along his back. He opened his eyes and noticed SpongeBob, standing right next to him, in his shower, scrubbing his back and humming the same tune. “SpongeBob!” Squidward screamed, covering himself with the curtain. “What are you doing in here?!”
“I have to tell you something, Squidward,” SpongeBob spoke with simplicity. “Whatever it is, can’t it wait until work?” Squidward spat in his face, but SpongeBob merely blinked at his neighbor. “There’s no shower at work.”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”
SpongeBob formed a friendly smile. “I just wanted to say I’ll be thanking you in my managerial acceptance speech today.”
“GET OUT!!!!!” Squidward screamed, tossing SpongeBob out the window, which caused the group to gasp and rush to him. Fortunately, he was okay-- not a scratch in sight. “Okay!” SpongeBob called to Squidward. “I'll see you at the ceremony!”
“Geez... at times Squidward can be tolerable, but other times... ugh!” Zipp scoffed. “I don't understand him a lot of times, but... Squidward will be Squidward, I guess.”
Just then, the big rock pops open and there was Patrick, SpongeBob’s best friend, stuck to the bottom, and Arctic timidly swam out from underneath the rock… with Patrick being completely naked. “That sounds like the manager of the new Krusty Krab 2!” Patrick said, not noticing his nakedness before he saw the ponies' disgusted expressions. “Oops, hold on.”
The rock slammed down before it came back up a minute later, Patrick wearing his signature wear before he popped off the rock and went over to SpongeBob. “Congratulations, buddy!”
“Oh thanks, Patrick! And tonight, after my big promotion, we’re gonna party till we’re purple,” SpongeBob said. “I love being purple,” Patrick clapped. “And, we're happy to have you all joining in on the party,” SpongeBob told the ponies. “Cause we're going to the place where all the action is!”
The moment SpongeBob spoke, Patrick’s eyes bugged out. “You don’t mean--” he stammered, and SpongeBob merely grinned. “Yes, Patrick, I mean--”
“GOOFY GOOBER’S ICE CREAM PARTY BOAT!!!”
The rock slamming on top of SpongeBob and Patrick caused the girls to scream in terror and run behind Sunny, trembling. But before the mare could say anything else, the rock popped up again, SpongeBob and Patrick were both wearing their favorite headgear: peanut-shaped Goofy Goober Hats.
Before the group could get over the surprise, the gang suddenly witnessed the two singing the jingle set to a record player. “Oh, I'm a Goofy Goober, yeah. You're a Goofy Goober, yeah. We're all Goofy Goobers, yeah. Goofy, goofy, goober, goober, yeah!”
“Whoo! Wonderful choreography!” Pipp clapped happily as the sea-unicorn fillies finally came out from hiding. “Yeah... great song, but... I hate when the rock comes down on Patrick like that,” Arctic then shuddered. “If I didn't remember that there was our house down there, I would think he would be done for.”
SpongeBob glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. “I think we’d better get going! Come on, guys!” he gasped, pulling off his hat. “I’m ready, promotion! I’m ready, promotion!”
“Wait for us, SpongeBob!” Tropic pleaded as the ponies swam after him. “Good luck, SpongeBob! Hey, look for me and Arctic at the ceremony. I got a little surprise for you!” Patrick chirped before he bounced home, with Arctic swimming after him to get her own star pendant.
She couldn't go anywhere with her sister without that pendant... neither of the sisters could.
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Meanwhile, excitement was building before the Krusty Krab. The entire place was decorated with various, colorful balloons complete with a big banner which read, ‘GRAND OPENING’. All the residents of Bikini Bottom crowded around the big stage, many of whom are proud supporters of the Krusty Krab.
Standing onstage was everybody’s favorite newsman, Perch Perkins, talking in front of a television camera. “Hello, Bikini Bottom,” he spoke. “Perch Perkins here, coming to you live from inside the Krusty Krab restaurant. That’s right, folks. Longtime owner, Mr. Krabs, is opening a new restaurant called the Krusty Krab 2. First of all, congratulations, Mr. Krabs!”
“Hello! I like money!” Mr. Krabs spoke, staring into the camera. “So, tell us, Mr. Krabs, what inspired you to build a second Krab restaurant right next door to the original?” Perch Perkins asked. “Money,” Mr. Krabs responded again, causing many to laugh. But not everybody in Bikini Bottom was happy.
Plankton stood at the window's edge and watched the opening ceremony at the Krusty Krab 2 through a very long telescope. “Curses!” Plankton cried. “It’s not fair. Not fair at all! Krabs is being interviewed by Perch Perkins, and I’ve never had even ONE customer!”
He began to get so angry, the giant vein along the back of his head nearly exploded. “Don’t get all worked up again, Plankton,” Karen, the computer beside him said droningly. “I just mopped the floors.”
“Oh Karen, my computer wife,” Plankton sighed, shaking his head sadly as he paced the floors of the empty restaurant. “If only I could have managed to steal the secret to Krab’s success-- the formula for the delicious Krabby Patty. Then people would line up to eat at my restaurant. Lord knows I've tried. I've exhausted every evil plan in my filing cabinet… from A to Y.”
But to Karen, something about that sentence didn’t add up. “A to Y?”
“Yeah, A to Y. You know, the alphabet?” Plankton shrugged his shoulders. “What about Z?” Karen asked, and Plankton’s one eye went wide. “Z?”
“Z,” Karen added. “The letter that comes after Y.”
Plankton scratched his head, before flipping through his files. “W… X… Y…” he muttered, and the moment he found the Z file, he froze and grabbed it, waving it around. “And Z! Plan Z, here it is! Just like you said!”
“Oh boy…” Karen rolled her eyes and Plankton looked through the file, a giddy expression making his way onto the evil genius’ face. “Ohhh… ohhh…. OHHH!!! It’s evil… it’s diabolical… it’s lemon-scented!” he exclaimed. “This Plan Z can’t possibly fail!”
With that, he pushed open the doors and glared at the crowd gathered across the street. “So enjoy today, Mr. Krabs, because by tomorrow, I'll have the formula. Then everyone will eat at the Chum Bucket, and I will rule the world! All hail Plankton! ALL HAIL PLANK--!”
Suddenly, a giant foot came down on Plankton’s head, squashing him flat, like he was nothing more than… well, plankton.
The giant black shoe Plankton was stuck to the bottom of belonged to SpongeBob SquarePants himself. He was leading the group on his way to work, and he’d been singing the ‘promotion song’ the entire time.
But the moment he heard the ‘SQUISH!’ sound-- and Plankton’s cries of agony-- SpongeBob and his friends stopped. “Ew,” Misty groaned, “I think you stepped in something.”
“Better scrape it off, otherwise we're gonna be late,” Hitch said. SpongeBob slammed his foot down, wiping it on the ground, which were followed by more screams of agony until an angry voice spoke up underneath. “Not in something, ON someone, you twit!”
“Wait… I recognize that voice…” Zipp said with a narrowed gaze. SpongeBob lifted his shoe to find a smeared Plankton right smack-dab on the bottom of it. “Ohh… sorry, Plankton,” he said, pulling Plankton off his shoe. “Plankton, hi! Good to see you!” Sunny waved cheerfully. “Oh, uh… hey, ponies,” Plankton said awkwardly. “Quest time already?”
“Sure is! But, we’re gonna wait till later to start it,” Misty said. “Hey, are you on your way to the grand opening ceremony?”
“No, I am not on my way to the grand opening ceremony,” Plankton mocked with a sneer. “I’m busy planning to RULE THE WORLD!!!”
Then, Plankton laughed maniacally while Tropic trembled with flattened ears, the pony team looked on in concern… and SpongeBob just blinked twice before smiling. “Well, good luck with that,” he said before he skipped off, and the others soon followed, giving Plankton a worried glance. “Stupid kids…” Plankton muttered, shaking his head. “...did we have to stop and talk to him, Mr. SpongeBob?” Tropic asked once they were out of earshot. “I mean… he’s mean and he’s scary…”
“Oh-ho, Tropic… one, just call me SpongeBob. And two, just cause Plankton is a small, ecomaniac bent on underwater domination doesn’t mean he’s all bad,” SpongeBob said, stopping and kneeling beside her. “He just… you know… sees things from a different perspective.”
“Still… he reminds me of… you-know-who,” Tropic shivered. “We’ll keep you safe, Tropic,” Sunny assured. “Plankton isn’t bad enough to hurt a little filly. Well… I hope he isn’t anyway…”
“Okay…” Tropic said with a small sigh. “If you’re sure.”
XXXXXXXX
Eventually, SpongeBob and his pony friends, old and new, reached the newly introduced Krusty Krab 2, though the ponies weren't sure why a new Krusty Krab was being built right next to the other one.
But to SpongeBob, it seemed important, so there was no point in complaining.
They took their seats just as Mr. Krabs came up and spoke into the microphone. “Welcome. Welcome, everyone, to the grand opening of The Krusty Krab 2,” he spoke, and the crowd began to applaud. Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob’s driving school teacher inflated her puffy belly with a scowl, as she turned to Sandy Cheeks. “I can’t believe we paid nine dollars for this!”
“I paid ten!” Sandy replied. “Before we begin with the ribbon cutting,” Mr. Krabs continued. “I’d like to introduce our new manager.”
It was then that SpongeBob began to clap wildly, and the ponies stomped their front hooves in their own form of applause. “Yes!” SpongeBob shouted happily. “Yeah! Ow! Ow, ow! Yeah! Now we’re talkin’!”
“Yeah! Ow!” Izzy cheered before randomly shushing a fish that was beside them. “Ahem… well, anyway,” Mr. Krabs began. “The new manager is a loyal, hardworking employee…”
“Yes…” SpongeBob thought to himself. “The obvious choice for the job,” Mr. Krabs went on. “He's right…”
“A name you all know. It starts with an S.”
“That’s me!”
“Please welcome our new area manager… Squidward Tentacles!”
Behind Mr. Krabs, a huge banner with Squidward’s face was lowered from the ceiling. To say the gang shocked was a MAJOR understatement. “YES! YES!” SpongeBob screamed, thinking he had gotten the promotion, shaking Squidward's hand. “Better luck next time, buddy. Whoooo-hoo!”
“Ooooooh boy… this isn’t looking too good,” Pipp said in embarrassment. “Uh… SpongeBob?”
But SpongeBob didn’t hear her. He just leapt onto the stage, nearly knocking Mr. Krabs over, and before the stunned crowd, nervous pones and downtrodden Tropic in the audience, SpongeBob spoke into the microphone. “People of Bikini Bottom, as the manager--”
“Ah… SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said, tapping his shoulder. “Hold the phone, folks. I’m getting an important news flash from Mr. Krabs-- manager stuff. Go ahead, Mr. K!”
Mr. Krabs leaned in, whispering something in SpongeBob’s ear, and SpongeBob repeated everything into the microphone in front of him. “I’m making a complete what out of myself?”
Mr. Krabs cringed, whispering further. “The most embarrassing thing you’ve ever seen?”
Mr. Krabs whispered one more time. “And now it’s worse because I’m repeating everything you say into the microphone?”
“Oh, for crying out loud, SpongeBob!” Mr. Krabs yelled. “You didn’t get the job!”
SpongeBob's jaw dropped in that moment in disbelief. Still, he couldn’t believe his own ears-- the worst five words an employee can ever hear. “What…?”
“You… did not… get… the job…”
“But… But why?”
Mr. Krabs sighed as he placed an arm around SpongeBob’s shoulder in a reassuring manner. “SpongeBob, you’re a great fry cook, but I gave the job to Squidward because being manager is a big responsibility, and… well… let’s face it-- he’s more mature than you.”
“I’m not… mature?”
Misty felt her blood boil in that sentence and was about to leap up and say something, but… Izzy and Zipp held her back from doing it. There would be a better time and place, but... not now. “Oh, lad,” Mr. Krabs said. “I mean this in the nicest of ways. But, well, there’s a word for what you are… er… ah…”
“Dork?” a fish suggested. “No wait… that’s not right,” Mr. Krabs shook his head. “Not ‘dork’…”
“A goofball?” Pearl suggested. “Closer, but no…” Mr. Krabs kept thinking, and more and more fish kept throwing out names like ding-a-ling, wing-nut, even a Knucklehead McSpazatron.
And SpongeBob felt more and more discouraged with every insult thrown at him, making Tropic’s heart hurt for her friend. “Okay, that’s enough!” Mr. Krabs said, patting SpongeBob’s back. “Look, what I am trying to say is… you’re just a kid. And to be a manager, you have to be a man. Otherwise, they’d call it a kid-a-ger. You understand-ager? I mean, do you understand?”
“I guess so, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob mumbled, and broken beyond repair, climbed off off the stage as the whole town looked on. “S-SpongeBob…?” Tropic called out. “I’m ready… depression…” SpongeBob sang with a sigh as he trudged from sight, leaving the little sea-unicorn behind. “I’m ready… depression…”
“Poor lad…” Mr. Krabs sighed. “...poor lad? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Pipp blew up at Mr. Krabs, swimming in front of his face. “SpongeBob was the IDEAL choice for the job, having all those qualities you spoke of! But you chose Squidward cause he was more MATURE?!”
“Yeah! SpongeBob risked his life to save the entire town the last time we were here!” Hitch agreed with a huff. “And you left him so down that he left that sweet little filly behind!”
“What kind of employee would do that to the best sponge this town has ever known?” Zipp growled. “Look, gals and lads, I’m sorry,” Mr. Krabs apologized. “It’s not that I don’t love the boy, I do! But sometimes bein’ a businessman has consequences. And SpongeBob, bless his soul, not getting the job is one of them.”
“But… Squidward is nice and all,” Izzy shrugged, “but I just don’t think he’s manager material.”
“Hey! I heard that!” Squidward grumbled from his seat. Sunny sighed and approached her angry friends. “I know how you feel, guys. But yelling at Mr. Krabs isn’t going to help SpongeBob or Tropic out of this. We just have to take a breath that this isn’t turning out worse than it is.”
“HOORAY FOR SPONGEBOB!!!” came the voice of Patrick Star, and everyone turned to see him flying in butt naked with a flag stuck in his rear end that read “Go SpongeBob” on it, guffawing happily. “HOORAY FOR SPONGEBOB!!!”
Before anyone could warn Patrick, he had crashed into the Squidward banner, sending the whole stage crashing to the ground. The crowd scattered in panic, running as far away as possible. In the midst of the wreckage, Patrick burst through the banner, his dopey sweet voice calling out: “Let's hear it for SpongeBob!”
But when he looked, everyone except the Equestrian visitors had already left. “Hello? Where'd everybody go?” Patrick questioned as Arctic arrived. “Did I miss something? …did you see my butt?”
That seemed to break Tropic to smithereens, and bolted off sobbing as the others looked on. “Tropic, wait!” Sunny tried to call. “You guys? Go after SpongeBob. I’ll try to head after Tropic and calm her down.”
With that, the groups split up white Patrick blinked in confusion. “What did I miss?”
“Patrick? Um…” Arctic tried to find the words. “We need to talk.”
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.
When the ponies arrived back at the pineapple, Tropic sat by the window and waited for SpongeBob to come home all night, and the later it got, the more worried she became. What if SpongeBob was hurt?
What if he and Patrick were in some kind of trouble?
What if they never came back?
Sunny and her friends tried EVERYTHING to get Tropic to get away from the window and have some fun, but she seemed persistant to wait for SpongeBob to get home…
…and was persistant enough to wait all night until she fell asleep at the window.
When Sunny woke up the next morning and found her there, fast asleep with tears dried on her face, she knew that she had to do something. “Tropic…? Tropic… wake up.”
“Huh…?” Tropic yawned. “Sunny? What are you doing up?”
“You fell asleep here,” Sunny said, sitting beside her. “Were you waiting all night for SpongeBob?”
Tropic nodded slowly. “He usually tells me when he’ll be late… and he usually leaves me with Patrick and Arctic while he’s out. But… he never came back. What if something happened to him like something happened to my mom? What if… like her… he never comes back and leaves me alone again?”
Sunny felt her heart ache at that… Tropic was mortified at the thought of being left alone, like when their mother disappeared, leaving them with their abusive grandfather.
She had to find someway to ease the filly’s thoughts. “I don’t think SpongeBob would purposefully leave you alone,” she said, wrapping a hoof around the filly. “I’m sure there’s a good reason he never came home. Maybe he just fell asleep and wanted to get to work. Maybe we can start there… after I touch up your mane.”
“I don’t like anypony touching it… my grandpa always pulled it when he was scolding me,” Tropic admitted. “While Mama always combed it and took good care of it… he didn’t. He did Arctic that way too.”
“Pipp will do it if you ask her too. I’m sure she can even make you a brand new style you really like,” Sunny said. “Something to go with your little pendant. What do you think? Wanna let her try before we go check the Krusty Krab?”
Tropic looked down at her pendant with a worried look, but sighed and relented with a nod. “Okay… I guess I can try.”
After getting good and awake, Pipp was asked by Sunny to do Tropic’s mane, and immediately go to work. Turns out, Tropic loved having Pipp do her hair-- Pipp even had a star barrette to go with her pendant, and Tropic couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror.
She couldn’t wait to show it to SpongeBob.
XXXXXXXX
As the day continued, business began at the Krusty Krab 2. Mr. Krabs was on the lookout for new customers, spying on the town with a periscope. It was the start of a very busy day for the finest restaurant in Bikini Bottom… the second finest since the original.
At this moment, Mr. Krabs was teaching Squidward all the tricks of a manager. “Now, pay attention, Squidward,” Mr. Krabs informed. “As new manager, you’ve gotta keep a sharp eye out for paying customers.”
“Yawn,” Squidward spoke sarcastically. As Mr. Krabs peered through the periscope, an enlarged magenta eye peered back at him. “Hiya, Krabby Pants!”
Mr. Krabs gasped like a girl, dropping the periscope. In that moment, the office door swung open as the ponies and the sea-unicorn twins swam in. “Mr. Krabs, we need to speak to you,” Sunny said. “It’s about SpongeBob and what happened yesterday.”
“Sorry kids,” Mr. Krabs responded. “There’s a talking fee of about six bucks, plus tax, so... $6.28, if you please.”
This was enough to get Zipp to narrow her gaze and leap in front of him, her wing-like fins outstretched. “Listen, Mr. Self Absorbed, this is about Arctic and Tropic's caretakers, so if it's for them, I think you can make an exception for us, don’t you?”
“Uh… no problem, me dear,” Mr. Krabs responded nervously, and Zipp eventually backed down. “Sorry about that, Mr. Krabs, but we had to talk to you. Have you seen SpongeBob or Patrick?” Pipp asked. “They never came home last night, and the twins and us are getting worried.”
“Well, they're not here. SpongeBob never showed up. Where did ye leave ‘em last?” Mr. Krabs asked. “We were meeting them at Goofy Goobers, and they promised they’d be home before it got too late,” Hitch said. “And SpongeBob usually never breaks a promise.”
Squidward snorted slightly, which drew their attention towards him. “Well, there’s your problem right there,” he chuckled. “You left two of the biggest idiots in the entire town on their own. If I had to guess, they’re probably lost in the Kelp Forests, or got eaten by some sort of sea-bear, or something even more ridiculous than that.”
This caused the twins to whimper nervously at what fate could have seized their friends, and Misty and Izzy hugged them from behind to comfort them. “Ah don’t pay any attention to Mr. Squidward now,” Mr. Krabs gently assured the twins. “I’m sure they’ll turn up somewhere.”
He returned to his periscope, keeping a close watch for more customers. Suddenly, something caught his attention. “What’s this?” he questioned. “King Neptune and Queen Skygrace areriding right toward the Krusty Krab at lunchtime!”
“Uh-huh,” Squidward mumbled, unimpressed. At this point, Mr. Krabs whooped with delight, his eyes lit up with dollar signs. “The king's got money!”
“That’s strange… Queen Skygrace hasn’t visited in a while,” Arctic mumbled. “Maybe she wants to check on us?”
“If it was me, I would have come alone and not brought the king along,” Zipp said. “Something isn’t right.”
Outside, King Neptune stepped down from his carriage and turned to Mindy, who had a worried expression plastered on her face. “Stay in the coach with Princess Riverstream, daughter,” he said with a glare. “This won’t take long.”
“Daddy, please. I think you’re overreacting,” Mindy tried to convince her father. “Silence, Mindy. I know what I’m doing.”
The king turned and-- WHAM-- walked straight into the Krusty Krab sign pole. “OW!!” he groaned in pain. “Squire!”
“Yes, Your Highness?” the squire asked. “Have this pole executed at once!”
“Queen Skygrace?”
The queen turned to see Sunny and Misty coming out of the restaurant, and Riverstream squealed upon seeing them. “YOU’RE BACK!!” she said, hugging them tightly. “How have you been? Where’s Opaline? Is she back yet? Can we kick her flank like last time?”
“Whoa, slow down for a second, River,” Sunny said. “What are you guys doing here with King Neptune?”
“It’s a bit of a situation, Sunny,” Queen Skygrace said, “and we don’t have a lot of time to explain. It’s… bad.”
“I’ll stay with Mindy,” Riverstream told her sister, and Sunny and Misty followed King Neptune and the hippogriff/seapony queen inside to see what the fuss was all about.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, before the King entered the dining room, Mr. Krabs ran around the restaurant. At one point, he changed all the prices on the menu board. “A hundred and one dollars for a Krabby Patty?!” Zipp cried. “That’s price gauging!”
“It’s with cheese, Ms. Zipp,” Mr. Krabs stated. “With cheese.”
Just then, the squire walked inside the Krusty Krab 2, announcing Neptune’s arrival with a horn fanfare. “Prepare thy common selves for his majesty King Neptune, and queen of the hippogriffs, Queen Skygrace!”
King Neptune soon entered the restaurant, as all the patrons bowed their heads. “There he is, Squidward,” Mr. Krabs said, awestruck at King Neptune. “The richest undersea monarch the world has ever known.”
“Then why is he wearing a paper bag on his head?” Squidward asked quizzically. “Actually… that’s a good question,” Hitch frowned. “Queen Skygrace!” Zipp swam to the queen. “It’s nice to see you again. What brings you by?”
“It’s… difficult to explain without the king getting riled up,” Queen Skygrace admitted. “You’ll find out in a moment.”
“Greetings, subjects,” King Neptune said, in a kingly voice. “I seek the one known as Eugene Krabs. May he present himself to me at once!”
“I’m Eugene Krabs, Your Highness,” said Mr. Krabs. “Would you like to order something?”
“NAY!!” King Neptune roared angrily. “I’m on to you, Krabs! You have stolen the royal crown, you cannot deny!”
Thunder and lightning followed his each and every word., and the ling pointed his trident right at Mr. Krabs. “For, clever as you are, you left one damning piece of evidence at the scene of the crime!”
King Neptune held out the scroll, several words written in bold, which Sunny read out loud. “I stole your crown, signed Eugene Krabs?!”
“Relinquish the royal crown to me at once!” the king boomed. “But… But this is crazy!” Mr. Krabs stammered. “I didn’t do it!”
“Mr. Krabs may be a lot of things,” said Misty, “but he would never steal!”
“That’s what I tried to tell him, Misty,” Queen Skygrace said, “but he hasn’t listened to a word I said. I was hoping something here would convince him otherwise and we could continue the search.”
“Okay…” Pipp nodded slowly. “But like what?”
Just then, the phone rang and the answering machine picked up soon afterward. “Ahoy, this is Eugene Krabs,” the answering machine spoke in Mr. Krabs' voice. “Please leave a message.”
After the beep, a gruff voice began to talk from the speaker. “Hi, Mr. Krabs. This is Clay, the guy you sold Neptune’s crown to. Yeah, I just wanted to say thanks again for selling me the crown. You know… Neptune’s crown.”
Misty and Izzy shrieked at that, and Mr. Krabs frantically tried to shut off the machine, but it just kept going as King Neptune's gaze narrowed more and more. “I sold it to a guy in Shell City, and I just wanted to say thanks again for selling me the crown. Neptune's crown.”
“Oh, good grief,” Zipp muttered before she grabbed the phone cord in her teeth causing the phone to be unplugged. “...which is now in Shell City, goodbye,” the voice said before hanging up. When the group turned back, King Neptune’s face was consumed with rage as he heard every… single… word. “Heh heh heh…” Mr. Krabs chuckled with sweat pouring. “Don’t you just hate wrong numbers…?”
No one was prepared for what came next. “MY CROWN IS IN THE FORBIDDEN SHELL CITY?! WHAAAAAAA!!!” Neptune’s scream shook the very walls of Mr. Krab’s new restaurant, as the gang braced themselves from the shaking. At that exact moment, inside a phone booth on the other side of Bikini Bottom, Plankton listened with glee, as the results of the incriminating phone call went into effect. “Plan Z! I love Plan Z!”
The king screamed throughout the Krusty Krab 2 until he could bellow no more. He lowers his flame-throwing trident menacingly towards Mr. Krabs. “Prepare to burn, Krabs!”
“Wait, King Neptune!” Mr. Krabs pleaded. “Please, I’m begging you! I ain’t a crook! Ask anyone, they’ll vouch for me!”
“Very well then,” King Neptune agreed, lifting his trident. “Before I turn this conniving crustacean into fishmeal, who here has anything to say about Eugene Krabs?”
“We would!” Izzy volunteered, and was about to speak before the king glared down at the ponies. “Young travelers, as much as I appreciate your… enthusiasm, I’m looking for more… FISHY subjects to vouch for the criminal at large.”
“Oh, crud…” Hitch gulped. “Where are we gonna find someone to vouch for Mr. Krabs who won’t say the wrong thing just cause they’re terrified of the trident-wielding crab burner?!”
Suddenly, a loud belch turned all eyes toward the front door. There stood SpongeBob SquarePants, still slightly crazed from the night before and looking upset. “I’ve got something to say about Mr. Krabs!” he said as he staggered in through the door. “SpongeBob? Where have you been?!” Tropic said. “We’ve been worried sick about you!”
“I don’t think he’s in the state or mood to talk right now, little one,” Queen Skygrace said gently as the ponies swam to the side to avoid any damage this might cause. “SpongeBob, me boy, you’ve come just in time,” Mr. Krabs said in relief. “Please tell King Neptune all about me.”
“Oh no…” Sunny groaned. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
SpongeBob faced the king, clearing his throat before putting on his best smile. “I have worked for Mr. Krabs for many years. And always thought he was a great boss,” he slurred. “See?” Misty chuckled nervously. “A great boss!”
“I now realize that he's a great... big... JERK!!!” SpongeBob then shouted, which caught the group offguard. “I DESERVED THAT MANAGER'S JOB!! But you didn't give it to me, because you say I'm a... KID. Well, I am 100%... MAN! And this... MAN... has got something to say to you…”
With that, the sponge was giving Mr. Krabs the longest, nastiest, wet raspberry Bikini Bottom has ever seen. “There, I think I've made our point,” SpongeBob said calmly. King Neptune looked around, while Mr. Krabs, the queen, the Equestrians and the sea-unicorn twins there in complete shock. “Anyone else? No? Well, then…”
King Neptune lowered his crackling trident once more-- aiming right at Mr. Krabs when a bolt of lightning burst from Neptune’s trident and struck Mr. Krabs in the backside. “Ooh! Me pants are on fire!” Mr. Krabs screamed. “Me underwear’s on fire! I’M ON FIRE!!!”
“Misty, Izzy, Hitch, quick! Move that water tub over, fast!” Sunny ordered, and the three ponies used their tails to flick it over. Mr. Krabs quickly dove into the tub, immediately putting out the flames. King Neptune laughed, as he aimed his trident once again. “And now, Eugune Krabs, you… will…”
“WAIT!!”
Before the king could unleash another lightning bolt, SpongeBob SquarePants snapped out of his stupor and jumped onto the king's nose, confusing him. “I’m flattered you would do this on my account,” SpongeBob said. “But being manager isn’t worth killing Mr. Krabs over.”
“Quiet, fool!” the king commanded the sponge. “Mr. Krabs stole my crown, and now it’s in Shell City. That’s why he must die.”
“No offense, but doesn’t it seem harsh to kill someone over a crown?” Hitch asked. “You don’t understand,” Neptune shook his head. “My crown is a symbol of my king-like authority! And… between you and me… my hair is thinning a bit.”
“Thinning…? People’s hair can do that?” Arctic asked innocently, only for Tropic to shush her out of fear. “Oh, Your Highness, I’m sure it’s not that noticeable,” SpongeBob assured. The King considered SpongeBob’s words, and then, standing tall, Neptune pulled the paper bag off his head. The glare on his bald spot was so strong, it practically blinded everyone. Everyone in the restaurant, except the Equestrians, the queen and the twins pointed at the chrome dome, shouting ‘Bald!’ over and over while Neptune’s cheeks went red, and he quickly placed the bag back on his head. “All right, all right!”
“Well… that is a bit of a problem. But I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t find a solution for,” Sunny assured… just as SpongeBob came up with a solution. “King Neptune, sir? Would you spare Mr. Krabs’ life if the ponies and I went to get your crown back?”
“Huh?” Hitch and Misty blinked, but the others seemed to agree with the statement. “You all? Go to Shell City?!” Neptune bellowed before laughing. “No one who’s gone to Shell City has ever returned.”
“Um, your majesty? When you say ‘ever’ do you mean as a figure of speech or…?” Misty asked nervously. “I literally mean ‘ever’, period, full stop, exclamation point!” King Neptune said with loads of emphasis. “Besides, what chance would you all have? You’re just ponies and a kid.”
He quickly threw SpongeBob down, but Izzy was there to catch him as the group stood together. “Hey, these ponies can do quite a lot!” Zipp huffed. “And SpongeBob’s not a kid! We can do it if you just give us a chance!”
“Run along. I have a crab to cook.”
Then, once more, Neptune aimed his trident at Mr. Krabs, causing him to scream before SpongeBob ran to his defense. “NO!! I won't let you!”
“And neither will we!” Sunny declared, and the ponies, even the twins, stood in front of their friends “Very well then,” King Neptune replied. “I’ll punish you all!”
Hearing this made all of them scream in horror, and Neptune would have finished them off if Queen Skygrace hadn't interfered. “Neptune, stop it at once!” she growled. “These brave young ones are my friends, and more importantly, the twins are my subjects! We can’t do anything to them since they haven’t done ANYTHING to deserve it!”
“Who’s side are you on, Skygrace?” Neptune scowled. “Mine or the criminals’?!”
“She’s right, Daddy!” Mindy agreed as she and Riverstream came in. “Can’t you get through one day without executing someone?”
“Mindy, we told you both to stay in the carriage!” Neptune said to his daughter sternly. “We tried to, honestly,” Riverstream said. “But then you were about to cook my friends!”
“Where’s your love and compassion?” Mindy asked, picking SpongeBob up. “Look at this little guy. He’s willing to risk his life to find your crown and save his boss. And the ponies are willing to help, despite not being from here.”
“But daughter, I…”
“Please, Father? At least let them try,” Mindy said. “What have you got to lose? Might I remind you of your special problem?”
Mindy reached up and pulled the bag off her father’s head. The crowd of customers screamed ‘Bald! Bald!’ one of them even shouting ‘My eyes!’. “All right…” the king said. “Very well, girls. I’ll give them a chance. But when you little champions fail to return, I get to splatter this crab all over the walls!”
“Huh?!” the ponies gasped. “And as for you,” Neptune informed SpongeBob as the sponge, all the ponies and Mr. Krabs were backed into the wall. “Be back here with my crown in exactly ten days!”
“He can do it in nine!” Patrick Star entered and spoke up. Then, much to their horror, the day numbers got lower and lower. “Eight!” the king called. “Seven,” Patrick boasted. “Six!”
“PATRICK!!!” the group shouted, tackling him. On the ground, Mr. Krabs placed his claw over Patrick’s big mouth before he could make things worse. “Six it is, then,” the king commanded. “Fi-ve!” Patrick raspily spoke. “Patrick, shush!”
“Until then,” the ling continued, lifting his trident, “the crab shall remain frozen where he now stands!”
“No! Wait!” Mr. Krabs shouted, throwing his claws up. “I’m begging you--”
But it was too late... an icy ray blasted from Neptune’s trident, cooling the Krusty Krab 2’s dining room. “Humph, who turned on the AC?” Squidward asked. The, he spied Mr. Krabs-- only this time, his boss, standing in the midst of the chilly restaurant, was now encased in a block of ice. “Mr. Krabs!”
He hurried to Mr. Krabs’ side, pounding the ice imprisoning him. “Oh no, this is terrible! Who’s gonna sign my paycheck?”
“Huh… for a second there,” said Zipp, “I thought there was a hint of sympathy in that heart of his.”
“Come along, girls,” King Neptune turned on his heels, storming out the front door. But before they could leave, Mindy and the royal sisters approached the questing heroes before they left. “Listen, all of you,” Queen Skygrace said, “the road to Shell City is going to be more dangerous than our last adventure.”
“There’s crooks, killers and monsters everywhere!” Riverstream agreed. “Worse than Opaline and Burger Beard put together!”
“And what’s worse,” Mindy added, “there’s a giant Cyclops who guards the outskirts of the city and preys on innocent sea creatures! Don’t let him catch you, because if he does, he’ll take you back to his lair, and you’ll never be seen again!”
The twins and SpongeBob trembled at this while the ponies tried to remain calm themselves… and Patrick just stared at Mindy with a dumb look. “She’s purty, SpongeBob.”
“Here, take this,” Mindy said, handing them a sack. “What’s in here?” Misty wondered, and SpongeBob opened it, only to have a large gust of wind blow in their faces. “It’s a magical bag of winds,” Riverstream explained, tying the bag. “Mindy stole them from her father.”
“You’re hot!” Patrick told Mindy, and she choose to ignore that for now. “Once you find the crown, open the bag of wings and you’ll be blown back home.”
“Mindy!” King Neptune yelled from the carriage. “I’m coming!” Mindy called back, before facing the sponge. “Good luck, SpongeBob.”
“Wait! How did you know my name?” SpongeBob asked. “Mindy’s gonna be queen of the sea one day,” Riverstream said. “Skygrace and I told her all the names of our friends, and she’s memorized all the other sea creatures.”
“What’s my name?” Patrick spoke, raising an arm. “That’s easy,” Mindy replied. “You’re Patrick Star.”
Patrick’s cheeks turned red, as he blushed shyly from head to toe before laughing dorkily and fainting like a lovestruck fool. “MINDY!!!” the king roared. “I gotta go,” Mindy said, smiling. “I believe in you guys.”
“We all do,” Skygrace smiled and bowed her head before they left. “Thanks, your highnesses!” SpongeBob waved before turning back to his frozen boss. “Don’t worry, Mr. Krabs. The ponies, Patrick, Squidward and I--”
“Pass!” Squidward said, walking out the door, prompting SpongeBob to change his wording at the very last second. “Eh, ah… the ponies, Patrick and I--”
“Hi!” Patrick waved before SpongeBob finished speaking. “--are gonna get that crown back and save you from Neptune’s wrath. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Your life is in our hands.”
Mr. Krab’s frozen face looked down at them. Even through the thick layer of magical ice, they could hear the restaurant owner groan. “Are you sure we’re ready for this?” Tropic asked. “I-I don’t know how I feel about monsters and a cyclops…”
“Trust us, Tropic, we have to go,” Zipp said. “Otherwise this town is gonna burn with Mr. Krabs and us in it!”
“Well… I guess so…” Arctic said, and this fueled the group’s determination. “All right, guys!” Sunny said. “Let’s go get that crown!”
Everyone rushed to the back of the building, where SpongeBob unlocked a secret door behind the deep fryer. The door swung open and they leapt onto the poles and flew down the slides. A full minute later, all of them were in Mr. Krab’s secret basement. Eventually, SpongeBob led his friends through another hidden door into another dark room. “Feast your eyes, my friends.”
Flipping on the lights, the group’s eyes pop out at the sight before them: a vehicle built to resemble, if not look like, a Krabby Patty. “What is it?” Patrick asked. “The Patty Wagon,” Bella replied. “Mr. Krabs uses it for promotional reasons. Let me show you some of its features…”
As they step around the giant burger wagon, SpongeBob pointed out and explains all the details. “Sesame-seed finish, steel-belted pickles, grilled-leather interior. And under the hood, a fuel-injected French-fryer with dual overhead grease traps!”
“Wow…” the others and Patrick muttered. “Yeah, wow,” SpongeBob nodded, but then Zipp noticed something. “Hey… what about us? There’s only room for you and Patrick!”
“Lucky for us…” SpongeBob said, pressing a button and letting another cart, shaped like a sub sandwich, to pop out the back. “We have this extra carrying wagon!”
“Awesome!” Hitch laughed, and everyone hopped in and buckled their seatbelts just as Patrick realized something. “Hey! I thought you didn’t have a driver’s license.”
“You don't have a license?” Zipp blinked. “Eh… It’s a long story…” SpongeBob replied. “Fortunately, you don’t need a license to drive a sandwich.”
SpongeBob turned the ignition key of the Patty Mobile, in which case it’s a spatula. The fryer under the hood boils, the smell of French Fries shoots out the exhaust pipe. Then, the vehicles of choice roared up the exit ramp, as the garage door opened. Sesame seeds flew everywhere, the Patty Wagon flying through the back of the Krusty Krab 2, the ponies and sea-unicorns smiling and holding on for their lives, shouting alongside their friends. “Shell City, here we come!”
Then SpongeBob pressed the Patty Wagon’s fuel pedal to the grilled leather floor. In a cloud of sand, gravel and the Patty Wagon hurtled down the roadway at top speed as the road to Shell City officially began.
As SpongeBob SquarePants and his team of crown retrievers sped off in search of King Neptune’s crown, none of them knew knew something horrible was taking place in Bikini Bottom.
At this moment, inside the Krusty Krab 2, poor Mr. Krabs stood frozen in place, retaining that same expression of fear. Above the restaurant’s front door, the bells chimed as Plankton stepped into the restaurant wickedly. “Ding-a-ling!” Plankton said, marching with an evil grin. “Hey, there, old buddy-- freeze!”
Chuckling at his own joke, Plankton sat down at the table across from Mr. Krabs. “I’d like one secret formula to go,” he told his rival, and when Mr. Krabs didn’t move, Plankton laughed. “No, no. Don’t trouble yourself, Krabs. I’ll get it.”
Plankton ran into the kitchen, practically tearing the place apart. A few minutes later, he emerged as his stubby arms gripped a little bottle, the label reading ‘SECRET FORMULA’. Plankton walked right past the Krab-cube and approached the front door. “Well, I’d like to hang around, but I’ve got Krabby Patties to make… over at the Chum Bucket!” Plankton laughed manically. “Plan Z, I love ya!”
And as he was still laughing, Plankton walked right out of the building. Inside his block of ice, a single frozen tear rolls down Mr. Krabs’ cheek before it hits the ground. Everything he worked for snatched away from him and nothing he can do…
He can only hope SpongeBob and the others retrieve that crown… and fast!
XXXXXXXX
Engines sizzled like Krabby Patties on a grill as SpongeBob and his friends continued on their way. The headlights lit up along a sign directly in front of them, which read: ‘COUNTY LINE’. “Check it out guys,” SpongeBob said. “We’re almost there; you know what that means?!”
While driving, the sponge and seastar duo started singing the Goofy Goober song, which they’ve done over and over again. “Ugh… how do you make it stop?!!!” Pipp screamed. “Normally, I would love a song and dance routine, but this is getting to be too much!”
“I have an idea!” Izzy said, grabbing a remote from out of nowhere and pushing the mute button, silencing Patrick and SpongeBob as they continously sang. “Wait…” said Hitch. “How did you do that?”
“Eh, old unicorn trick,” Izzy shrugged. “You can turn their voices back on later… right, Izzy?” Arctic asked. “Oh, sure! Of course!” Izzy said. “Let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride in the meantime.”
XXXXXXXX
Eventually, SpongeBob spied a gas station just up ahead of the county line. Past the county line, Bikini Bottom’s beautiful landscape is replaced by barren locations. SpongeBob pulls up toward the pump and hons his horn to wake up the two hick gas station attendants. One of them wore overalls with FLOYD on the pocket, while the other fellow’s name tag read LLOYD.
They gawked at the Patty Wagon and it’s driver, a little sponge wearing an aviator’s outfit for some reason. “Fill ‘er up, please,” SpongeBob requested. “What’ll it be, fellas?” Floyd asked them. “Mustard… or ketchup?!”
Floyd and Lloyd slapped their knees and crack up laughing, rocking in their chairs. “Are they laughing at us?” Patrick asked, but SpongeBob merely smiled. “No, Patrick-- they're laughing next to us.”
Floyd and Lloyd continued to laugh as they approached. “Where’re you dumb kids heading, anyway?” Floyd asked. “Kids?” Patrick said angrily. “Easy big guy,” Zipp held him back. “Don’t stoop to his level!”
“For your information, we are not kids,” SpongeBob replied, matter-of-factly. “We are men and grown ponies, and we are on our way to Shell City.”
This caused the men to stop laughing immediately, a dead serious look coming across them. “Shell City?” Floyd asked, wide-eyed. “Ain’t that the place guarded by a killer Cyclops?”
“That’s right,” Sunny explained. “We’re on an important mission to get something from there, and we need to get going.”
“Lloyd, take off your hat in respect,” Floyd said grimly. “Respect for the dead!”
They both laughed again, while the gang glared daggers at the attendants. “Hey, that’s not nice!” Arctic said in a louder tone. “Oh, quit jaw-jacking, girl!” Floyd scoffed. “You buncha dipsticks ain’t gonna last ten seconds over the county line!”
“Oh yeah?” Misty huffed. “Watch us!”
To prove him wrong, the group drove across the county line… when an armed thug, with a crowbar, stops them. “Out of the car, everyone.”
SpongeBob, Patrick and all the ponies got out of the Patty Wagon, and the thug got in, driving away in a cloud of bubbles. “How many seconds was that?” Hitch asked, and the attendants checked their watches. “Twelve.”
“In your face!” SpongeBob and Patrick cried, laughing just like the attendants did, continuing to do such as they walked into the distance. As they disappeared around the corner, Floyd looks at his friend. “They’re dead.”
XXXXXXXX
Back in Bikini Bottom, The Chum Bucket was suddenly the most popular restaurant in town!
Customers lined up around the block to get into the now new eatery. As a matter of fact, Plankton had done a brilliant job with the redecorating. The walls had been freshly painted, the floors redone, and the furniture was brand-new. But the biggest draw of all was that the food was… delicious.
Once again, reporting on TV, Perch Perkins stands in front of the restaurant while a crowd entered the Chum Bucket. “Perch Perkins here with an incredible news flash,” Perch announced. “Plankton is selling Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket. How is this possible? Let’s find out.”
“That’s right folks, step right up!” Plankton shouted through the bullhorn. “The Chum Bucket is serving Krabby Patties; get ‘em while they’re hot and delicious! Plenty for everybody!”
Just then, reporter Perch Perkins sauntered into the Chum Bucket and approached Plankton. “Excuse me, Plankton,” he said. “Perch Perkins, Bikini Bottom News. Can I get a minute?”
“Anything for you, Perch,” Plankton answered the reporter with a phony smile. “All of Bikini Bottom wants to know, how did you get the Krabby Patty?”
With the microphone shoved under his nose, Plankton proceeds to offer his story. “Well, Perch, before my dear friend Eugene Krabs was frozen by King Neptune,” Plankton said, wiping a phony tear. “I’m sorry. He confided in me a secret wish. ‘Sell the Krabby Patty in my absence at the Chum Bucket,’ he said. ‘Don’t let the flame die out’!”
Plankton sobbed, and Perch Perkins seemed touched. “By the way, act now and you get a free Chum Bucket helmet with every purchase!” Plankton added brightly. “Here you go, Perch.”
“Thanks,” the newsman said. “Bucket helmets for everyone!” Plankton announced, throwing helmets to all the customers before he went to the back room to regroup with Karen. “Karen, baby, I haven't felt this giddy since the day you agreed to be my wife.”
“I never agreed,” Karen replied. Plankton merely ignored her, as he continued on with his evil ways. “Evil Plan Z is working perfectly,” he said. “Nothing can stop me now!”
“Nothing except SpongeBob and his band of friends,” Karen spoke up before producing an image of them on her monitor. “My sensors indicate that they're going after the crown. If they make it back, Neptune might discover some fingerprints. Tiny fingerprints. Stubby, tiny fingerprints.”
“Evil Plan "Z" is way ahead of you, baby,” Plankton reassured. “I've already hired someone to take care of those guys. He's a vicious, cold-blooded PREDATOR!”
XXXXXXXXX
Miles away, a hitman wearing sunglasses traveled on his motorcycle down the road. Approaching the gas station near the county line, the motorcycle pulled up to the pump.
Cutting the engine to a rumble, the big scary dude, Dennis by name, spied a spot along the concrete. He removed his sunglasses, revealing another pair as he crouched down and picks up a tiny speck on the ground. “Sesame seed…”
“Hey, mister!” Lloyd hooted. “Does that hat take ten gallons?”
The gas station attendants smacked their knees and laughed. Dennis, very annoyed, stomped right up to them and tore their lips off. The two attendants looked at each other with wide eyes before falling flat on their backs.
Then, hopping back on his bike, Dennis revved up the engines and drives away in pursuit of our unsuspecting heroes.
XXXXXXXX
As dusk settled upon the ocean floor, SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star and their pony friends, old and new, trudged along rather sluggishly down the road.
They had been walking ever since crossing the county line, which by now was miles behind them. Needless to say, their stamina and resolve quickly dwindled. “Going on…” Patrick coughed. “Yeah…!” SpongeBob wheezed. “Moving on... just keep going…”
“My fins are exhausted!” Pipp panted. “And my mane is probably so frizzed, no shampoo will be able to undo it!”
“We must be close by now,” Sunny hoped. Finally, the group stopped walking after an exhausting set of hours, and SpongeBob’s eyes fell upon a billboard, partially hidden by seaweed, ahead of them. “Hey, guys! Look-- we’re doing great!” he exclaimed. “Shell City’s only five days away!”
Sure enough, a slight breeze blew the seaweed away – and the rest of the sign was uncovered. “--BY CAR?!” the twins said tiredly before they all groaned. “At this rate, we won’t even make it back to Bikini Bottom in six days,” Misty said, and this caused SpongeBob to sigh. “If only we had our car…”
“No, if only we had the Marestream,” Zipp told them. “With it, we could go so much faster than the car and be back to Bikini Bottom in minutes.”
“Guys, look!” Patrick quickly interrupted, grabbing SpongeBob by the arm. “Our car!”
Low and behold, it was indeed the Patty Wagon with the condi-bikes, parked in front of a beat-up, sunken tugboat. Music and voices seemed to come from inside the tugboat, which was called the ‘Thug Tug’.
But just as they reached the Patty Wagon, they noticed something important was missing. “The key!” SpongeBob cried. “Where do you think it is?” Patrick asked. Suddenly, a fish was kicked through one of the Thug Tug windows and landed next to SpongeBob, Patrick, and the group. The terrified fish had many broken bones, his leg barely twitches. “If I had to guess…” Tropic gulped, pointing her hoof to the window, “I'd say… in there.”
“Tropic, you and your sister stay with me or SpongeBob and Patrick,” Sunny said to the fillies as they went forward to the window. Inside, it was a disaster; thugs fighting, some of them drunk, and some just playing pool. Everything was either cracked or splintered, the dim lighting made everything look red.
They peered their eyes toward a sea of tough-looking thugs until SpongeBob spotted the very thug who stole the Patty Wagon. The ski-masked fish with the open jacket was shooting pool amongst the other fish. Hanging from his belt, Sunny spotted a gleaming spatula, the key that ran the Patty Wagon. “There it is guys. The key!” she exclaimed. “Now, how are we gonna get it?”
“I know. Walk in and ask him for it,” Patrick suggested. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!”
The sound of punching and painful crying could be heard throughout the joint, as a massive brawl broke out. Everyone just sat wide-eyed and terrified as they heard the punches make contact. “Patrick, that's a terrible idea!” Hitch fussed. “Sorry.”
“I know!” SpongeBob spoke, snapping his fingers. “I’ll go in and create a distraction, and one of you can get the key.”
“Ooh! Ooh! Wait!” Patrick cried enthusiastically. “I wanna do the distraction!”
“Okay,” SpongeBob shrugged. “I guess it really doesn’t matter who does the distraction.”
“We can stay outside to look after the twins. Sunny and Misty can go in with you,” Pipp offered, and Misty and Sunny nodded, ready to exact the plan. Reminiscent of an old western movie he likely saw, Patrick puffed out his chest as he bursts through the swinging door. “Ahem! Can I have everybody's attention?” Patrick called out, which caused the music to die down and all the thugs turned to him with narrowed eyes. “I have to use the bathroom.”
Misty and Sunny, who were watching from the bathroom after sneaking inside, and the other ponies watching outside slapped their hooves against their faces. The thugs looked toward the starfish awkwardly over that request, till one of the thugs, the boat jacker himself, points toward a door by the phone booth. “It’s, uh… right over there.”
As Patrick headed that way, the thug at the pool table looked down. There was SpongeBob himself, trying to reach for the Patty Wagon key hanging from his belt. SpongeBob looked up at him for a second before scuffing along the ground. “Stupid contacts,” SpongeBob muttered, holding an imaginary contact. “Oh, there it is. I better go wash it off.”
By the time SpongeBob had gotten in there, Misty and Sunny were waiting while Patrick just got done in the stall. “Patrick!” SpongeBob cried. “You call that a distraction?!”
“Well, I had to go to the bathroom,” Patrick replied sheepishly. “Well, SpongeBob got his hands dirty for nothing,” Sunny sighed. “We need to come up with another plan.”
“And,” said Misty, “it needs to be a plan that doesn't attract too much attention to us.”
SpongeBob pumped the soap dispenser, and the top is pushed off by pressure from bubbles forming inside it. They popped out one at a time, floating all around the bathroom. “Patrick, check it out!”
“Whoa!” Patrick gasped. “Hooray! Bubble party!” the two sea-living best friends cheered. SpongeBob began squirting more bubbles, as they floated around the bathroom and ragtime music plays while they danced and popped the bubbles. “I like bubbles as much as the next pony, but is this really the right time?” Misty asked in concern. “Let 'em have a minute, Misty,” Sunny replied. “They need a minute to rejuvenate from this stress.”
As SpongeBob and Patrick giggled and lathered up, some of the bubbles started leaking through the door and into the pub. Suddenly, the music stopped when they heard a shout. “Hey! Who blew this bubble?!”
Outside the bathrooms, the bartender, Victor by name, saw a bubble floating nearby and popped the bubble with a punch. “You all know the rules!” Soon all the patrons in the bar began reiterating the rules in unison. “All bubble-blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every able-bodied patron in the bar.”
“Right…” Victor said. “So, who blew it?!”
“Pop the bubbles! Pop them, hurry!” Misty whispered loudly, and the four of them began rapidly popping the bubbles. “So… nobody knows?” Victor asked, eyeing around. “Maybe it was…” a tough guy began to say. “SHUT UP!” Victor hurled a chair at the guy, knocking him out cold. From outside, Hitch quickly motioned for the group to hurry, but they were caught by Victor before they could reach the door. “You! We’re on a baby hunt-- and don’t think we don’t know how to weed ‘em out. CHUCK! Get those other ones outside!”
The thug by the name of Chuck, shoved the other ponies inside, and the twins hid behind SpongeBob and Patrick, severely frightened.
“Now, everybody line up!” Victor barked. “DJ! Time for the test!”
The DJ gave a thumbs-up to Victor, bumbled behind the speaker, and played a CD. “No baby can resist singing along to this.”
Sure enough, the Goofy Goober theme song brgan to play as the gang and their friends turn to each other nervously. “SpongeBob, it’s the Goofy Goober theme song!” Tropic whined. “I know!”
The music began to play loudly, and SpongeBob and Patrick struggled desperately against the urge to sing along. As the song went on, Victor walked up and down the line to see the patron’s responses. One of the tough guys coughed and Victor rushed toward him, pointing angrily. “It was you!” he accused. “You’re the bubble-blowing baby!”
“No, no!” the thug insisted. “I only coughed; I swear!”
Victor pointed with two fingers from his eyes to the thug’s, showing that he’s watching the thug carefully. “DJ! Turn it up louder!”
The music swelled louder, filling the tug with the perfect sing-along tune. Sweat poured from SpongeBob’s head-- his foot began to tap, but he managed to step on it with his other foot. The group turned to Patrick; the poor starfish was ready to break at any time. “Don’t sing along, Patrick,” Hitch whispered. “I’m trying,” Patrick whined. “Trying so hard!”
Victor knew to immediately take advantage of SpongeBob and Patrick's concerns, proceeding to sing right in the group's ears: “I’m a Goofy Goober, yeah! You’re a Goofy Goober, yeah! We’re all Goofy Goobers, yeah!”
SpongeBob and Patrick were so close to singing, and the pups winced as their mouths opened. “Goofy, goofy, goober, goobers, yeah!”
The disc scratched, the music stopped, and someone had cracked… but it was neither SpongeBob, Patrick, nor any of the ponies… though the first two came very close. “Well, well, well…”
As Victor walked away, SpongeBob and Patrick let out a sigh of relief as Victor rushed toward twin Siamese fish. “Which one of you babies was it?” Victor questioned. “Uh… It was him!” the twins pointed at each other. “It was him! He did it! I’ve never even eaten at 'Goofy, goofy, goober, goobers, yeah'!”
The Siamese Twins covered each other’s mouth, realizing the words coming out of their mouths. “Well,” Victor said, with a nasty grin. “Looks like we got ourselves a double baby!”
The thugs surrounded the twins, cracked their knuckles, and lunged at them in unison. With everyone running around, the Siamese fish trying to escape, the pony crew aided SpongeBob, Patrick and their little seapony friends in escaping the Thug Tug, despite all the brutality of the punches, smashing glass and screams.
But once they got out to the Patty Wagon, they knew they were safe. “Man, that was a close call,” SpongeBob sighed. “Yeah, but we still didn’t get that key,” Zipp pointed out. “How are we going to get to Shell City now?”
“Guess what I got?” Patrick pulled the spatula out of nowhere. “The key! Patrick, you got it while no one was looking!” Arctic threw her forelegs around her friend. “Come on, let’s get moving!”
Nodding, they quickly dash back toward the Patty wagon and start the engine. The Goofy Goober theme song blasted out of the speaker, but Pipp threw the CD in the back seat as the Patty Wagon sped off into the night.
After a while, Sunny looked toward the twins. “Are you guys okay? You didn't get hurt back at the bar, did you?”
“No, but... I guess it did kinda get us thinking,” Tropic said. “What kind of life is it if we can't do a little living? We've been really scared our grandpa would find us since day one, and... well... I guess we let it control us. So... I think we're gonna be open to trying new things more often.”
Sunny smiled at the twins and then back at the others. “I know you guys will do great with that. Now try and get some sleep-- we still have a long way to go, and we need our rest. I just hope things in Bikini Bottom are going okay.”
Back in Bikini Bottom, the very next morning, Plankton’s devious plot kicking into high gear, and little did he know it a certain grumpy octopus was about to find out what it was.
Squiward popped his head out of the window of his tiki home, in a more chipper mood than usual. “Too bad SpongeBob’s not here to enjoy SpongeBob not being here,” he laughed. With SpongeBob and Patrick not around, nor any of those friends that they met, Squidward was committed to make the most of what he believes to be the perfect day.
Deciding it be a good idea to go for a little ride around town, he hopped onto his recumbent bicycle and pedaled down the road. He hummed a little tune to himself as he rode down the street when he saw something odd: a fish with a Chum Bucket helmet on its head. “Morning!”
“Some people have no taste in headgear,” Squidward muttered to himself. Suddenly, he stopped at an intersection and found something even more strange-- an entire fish family, even the baby, with Chum Bucket helmets on. “Huh? Babies too?”
At the traffic light, he rode up to Mrs. Puff, the driving instructor, and she too was wearing a Chum Bucket helmet. “Excuse me, Mrs. Puff, but where is everybody getting that horrid headwear?”
“Who said that?” Mrs. Puff asked, looking around in confusion. “Down here.”
Mrs. Puff looked down and found Squidward right below her vehicle. “Oh! Squidward! Well, I got it at the Chum Bucket. Plankton’s giving them away free with every Krabby Patty.”
“That’s right,” Mrs. Puff called, as she zoomed away. “Hmm… Something smells fishy around here,” Squidward thought, scratching his head. “And for once it isn’t my laundry.” And not wasting any time, Squidward pedaled right over to the Chum Bucket as fast as he could.
Sure enough, the place was hopping with customers walking in and emerging with bucket helmets. Inside the restaurant, Plankton stood high on a ladder looking out over the masses of fish. “Oh, how long I’ve been waiting for this day!” Plankton sighed blissfully. But just as he was enjoying himself, Squidward burst through the door and spotting Plankton high atop his pedestal. “So you’re selling Krabby Patties, eh, Plankton?”
“That’s right, Squidward,” Plankton said, grinning smugly. “And there’s a free bucket helmet with every purchase. Care for one?”
“No!” Squidward said. “You may have hoodwinked everyone else in this backwater town, but you can’t fool me. I listen to public radio.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you set up Mr. Krabs!” Squidward cried. “You stole the crown so Neptune would freeze him, and you could finally get your stubby little paws on the Krabby Patty formula.”
Plankton gave Squidward a wounded look, staring at his hands. But the crusty old cephalopod wasn’t buying it. “It was you all along! But you made one fatal mistake; you messed with my paycheck. I haven’t solved the whole bucket-helmet giveaway part yet, but I’m gonna report you to the highest authority figures in the land, King Neptune and Queen Skygrace!”
“We’ll see about that, Inspector Looselips,” Plankton said sinisterly before pressing a button on Karen. “Now activating helmet brain-control devices.”
“Huh? What?”
A satellite then rose up on the Chum Bucket and before Squidward knew it from every home, and all over Bikini Bottom, something strange began to happen. All at once, an antenna rises out of each customer’s bucket helmet, which covers all their heads, one by one. With a buzz and a click, the helmets proceeded to take control of everyone’s minds. Soon, they all stood up, and spoke in drone-like voices. “All hail Plankton!” the Bikini Bottom citizens chanted in unison. “All hail Plankton!”
“What’s going on here?” Squidward gasped, eyes widen. “Seize him, slaves!” Plankton barked. “I’m getting outta here!” Squidward cried before he tried to make a break for the door, but soon an army of bucket heads burst in and corner him. “All hail Plankton! All hail Plankton!”
Cornered, Squidward screamed in horror as Plankton’s slaves captured him. “Who can stop me now?!” Plankton cackled victoriously at the top of his lungs. “WHO?!”
XXXXXXXX
Silverstream and Skygrace were watching everything by that point, and watching through their magical seeing pearl as their seapony subjects were being chained up and enslaved by Plankton’s mind control victims. “I can’t watch this for another second!” Silverstream turned away. “Skygrace, we have to warn Sunny, SpongeBob and the others!”
“I agree, but one of us should stay here and make sure Neptune doesn’t do anything brash,” Skygrace said. “So… you should go.”
“What?! No way!” Riverstream protested. “You’re a queen! They’d listen to you better!”
“I’m a princess too, you know,” Mindy said as she swam over, “and so are you. We’re not gonna get another chance, so we have to go now!”
Riverstream sighed heavily for a moment before nodding. “Okay… get the royal carriage and we’ll head that way.”
“Good luck, little sister,” Skygrace said. “I’ll try my best to make sure to keep Mindy’s father in line.”
“Thanks… I’ll need it.”
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, out on the open road, SpongeBob SquarePants and his crew were still driving, laughing loudly over their triumphant escape from the Thug Tug, as well as something Patrick just did. “Come on, Pat,” Arctic urged. “One more time.”
“Okay,” Patrick stood up before he imitated the bartender from the Thug Tug. “We’re on a baby hunt and don’t think we don’t know how to weed ‘em out’!”
“Weed ‘em out!” Izzy and Hitch burst into laughter. Meanwhile, the scenery around the vehicles began to change, passing skulls and bones, but no one really seemed to notice, even when they drove over a mountain of bones. “Whoa! The road’s getting kinda bumpy here,” SpongeBob commented. “A-A-And I’m not t-t-t-too fond of the bumpy feeeeeeelings!!” Misty said as the Patty Wagon violently shook. It didn’t take long for the Patty Wagon to make it over the bumpy bones and back onto some smooth road. But it didn’t change the frightening sight they rest of the gang saw all around them. “You know, SpongeBob,” Patrick said. “There’s a lesson to be learned from all this.”
“What’s that, Patrick?”
“A bubble-blowing double baby doesn’t belong out here in man’s country.”
“Yeah… wait!” SpongeBob realized. “We blew that bubble.”
The boys stared off in the distance, as if contemplating the thought, when suddenly Patrick spotted an ice-cream stand. “Hey look! Free ice cream!”
The entire group turns to the side; indeed, there was a tiny ice cream stand randomly sitting off the side of the road. “Hmm… this seems just way too convenient,” Sunny hummed, thinking long and hard about this. “Who cares?!” Izzy cheered excitedly. “FREE ICE CREAM! Pull over, you guys!”
And once he was out, he raced toward the ice cream stand through the pile of bones, of course being oblivious to his surroundings. Zipp however, began to frown in concern. “This doesn’t seem right… why would there be bones all over the place?”
“I’m not sure, and I don’t like it,” Hitch said. “Of course, SpongeBob and Patrick don’t seem bothered.”
“How you doing?” Patrick asked a skull. Suddenly, as Patrick took another look at his surroundings, it’s as if something dawned on him and the worry began to grow. “Wait a minute… wait a minute… SpongeBob!”
“Yeah?” SpongeBob called out. “Make mine a chocolate!” Patrick shouted. “Got you covered!”
Misty sighed heavily, swimming out of the wagon. “I better go keep an eye on him.”
“Be careful, Misty,” Sunny said. Misty swam over the bones and reached the ice cream stand, where the bad vibes she was getting suddenly amplified. “Two please,” SpongeBob requested. “Certainly,” the old woman replied back, and after a few minutes, she reached them two big sloppy sundaes. “You kids enjoy.”
“Actually, we’re men, lady, but thanks,” SpongeBob said, turning and preparing to go back and give Patrick his ice cream. “Okay, Patrick, let’s…”
SpongeBob tried to leave the ice-cream hut, but it seemed the old lady wouldn’t let go. He began to tug and pull, but it felt as if his hands were stuck on the bowl like glue. “Uh, you can let go now. I said, let go, please.”
“Hang on, SpongeBob, I’ll give you a hoof,” Misty grabbed him in her horn’s aura and tried pulling, letting her hooves touch the ground. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, as SpongeBob and Misty struggled to get away. The walls of the ice-cream stand fall one by one and the old lady herself looked less and less than what she seemed. “Ugh! Ugh! What is this?” Misty cried. “What kind of old lady are you?!”
Just then, her wig and glasses fell off, making SpongeBob and Misty grimace in disgust. Suddenly, they felt themselves being lifted off the ground and they screamed at the sight around them. Snapping fangs came out from the ground, two bulging eyes soon emerged staring toward SpongeBob. It was a trap! “PONIES!!” screamed Misty. “GET US DOWN FROM HERE!!”
“Hang on, Misty! Pipp, come on!” Zipp cried to her sister and flew upward, with Pipp on her heels. “Quick!” Pipp shouted. “Grab our hooves and we’ll pull you out!”
Misty grabbed Pipp’s hooves in her magic and SpongeBob strained as far as he could to grab Zipp’s. “Got it!”
“Okay, Pipp!” Zipp barked. “Full reverse!”
The two pegasus sisters strained as hard as they could, managed to pull their friends off the frog fish’s tongue, and they sped back to the Patty Wagon as fast as they could. “Did you get the ice cream?” Patrick asked, oblivious. The frog fish roared, causing SpongeBob and the others to wince in fright. “STEP ON IT, PATRICK!!!”
Patrick slammed on the gas, the steel-belted pickles spun in the dirt, and the Patty Wagon, Monster Machines and condi-bikes raced away at top speed, andveryone screamed as the frog fish began to pursue them.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back at the Thug Tug, a motorcycle pulled up with a roar and a cloud of sand. Sitting in the saddle was the really big scary dude, Dennis the Bounty Hunter. He scanned the area, searching for clues, until he found one: Remnants of popped bubbles lying on SpongeBob’s footprint in the parking lot. “Hmm…”
He dipped his hand into the bubble, unmasking the red scarf over his mouth. He blew into the liquid, forming a bubble, and images of SpongeBob and Patrick giggling appeared in it. Suddenly, all of the thugs appeared.
That's when Dennis knew that he was on the right track. “Hey!” Victor cried, stepping from the doorway. “You may not know it, cowboy, but we got a rule around here about blowing bubbles.”
“All bubble-blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every… able-bodied… patron…” the thugs recited, but stopped immediately as Dennis punched Victor, who screamed and flew all the way back to the Thug Tug, which tilted back some and quickly sank. Dennis tipped his cowboy hat and sped away on his motorcycle, hot on our heroes’ trail, as the thugs watched in fear.
XXXXXXXX
Around that same time, SpongeBob, Patrick, and their friends were still fleeing from the frogfish, who was gaining on them. The hungry, fanged mouth was about to swallow the Patty Wagon as the old lady popped out. “Come on, kiddies, have some ice cream!”
This caused the twins, SpongeBob and Patrick to scream in nothing but terror. “I’ll let you pet Mr. Whiskers!” A little phony cat on the tongue pokes out of the Frog Fish’s mouth, meowing like a cat. “That’s not a cat!” Hitch screamed. “That’s not a cat!!!”
“Everypony, abandon Patty Wagon!” Zipp cried out, and everyone leapt out quickly, SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins being the last to escape as the Patty Wagon flew over the edge of a cliff. The jaws of the frogfish snapped shut, swallowing them. The monster smiled, making a yummy noise… only to realize it leapt right over the deep trench with nothing holding it up.
The group watched as a tongue wrapped around the frogfish and a gigantic eel ate the frogfish whole, like a tiny goldfish, and slowly diving back into the deep. “Is everyone okay?” Sunny asked her friends. “I-I think so…” Tropic quickly felt herself in relief. “But we lost our car again…”
“Never mind the car, where’s the road?” Patrick asked as his voice echoed the word ‘road’ across the trench. The echo turned out to be Patrick repeating as the group stared at him. “Patrick…” Starla spoke with a frown. “R… sorry.”
“There’s the road!” SpongeBob pointed further ahead. Unfortunately for the group, while they could see the road just on the other side of the trench… there was a slight catch, as they all looked down. “On the other side of this deep, dark… dangerous…”
“Hazardous…” Patrick said, seeing a fire. “Hazardous…” SpongeBob repeated. “Monster-infested…” Izzy whispered. “Y-Yeah, monster infected… t-trench,” Arctic gulped nervously. “So… I guess we’re gonna get across it to keep going,” Sunny sighed, but gulped to herself. “Gee, beating Opaline seemed a lot easier than this… but how are we gonna get across when the trench is monster infested?”
SpongeBob Squarepants, Patrick Star, the twin sea-unicorns and the Equestrians had lost the Patty Wagon to the jaws of a frogfish, and had to cross a dangerous, monster-infested trench in order to reach the road on the other side. But that left the question of how. “It’s too dangerous to fly or swim across,” Zipp said. “You saw what happened to the frogfish.”
“Hey, guys, look!” Patrick pointed toward a flight of stairs leading down into the trench.. “Here’s the way down.”
“Good thinking, Patrick!” Pipp smiled. “This ought to get us down there nice and easy!”
Pipp put a hoof on the staircase, leading right into the trench, but a monster growling made her stop. Patrick was shocked at first, but moved Pipp aside proceeded to step on it over and over, making more and more growling sounds. “Hey, look, it's making noise. SpongeBob?”
“He’s… over there,” Hitch said in surprise, watching as Tropic and SpongeBob were going in the opposite direction, their shoulders slumped and frowns on their faces. “Hey, where are you going?” Patrick cried as the whole group rushed to catch up with them. “We’re going home, Patrick,” Tropic said. “There’s no way we can get down those stairs without being eaten alive, so… what’s the point?”
“You’re quitting? But… SpongeBob… you guys never quit!” Sunny said. “What about Mr. Krabs?”
“What about us?” SpongeBob shouted. “Tropic is right. We’ll never survive in that trench. Pat said it himself, this is man’s country. And let’s face it, Sunny. We’re just… kids.”
“We’re not kids, we’re far from it! Kids would never have been able to make it this far!” Arctic said. “OPEN YOUR EYES, ARCTIC!!” cried SpongeBob in his frustration, grabbing the little sea-unicorn by the shoulders, scaring her slightly before letting go. “We blow bubbles, we eat ice cream. We worship a dancing peanut, for corn’s sake! We don’t belong out here!”
“We do not worship him,” Patrick huffed. SpongeBob pulled down Patrick’s shorts, causing the group to see he was wearing Goofy Goober underpants. “AGH!!” Pipp shrieked. “MY EYES!!”
SpongeBob decided to ignore that for now and turned to his best friend. “Patrick, you’ve been wearing the same Goofy Goober Peanut Party underpants for three years straight! What do you call that?!”
“Worship?” Patrick sobbed. “You’re right, SpongeBob. We are kids!”
“Patrick, no…!” Misty tried to convince him, but Patrick sobbed and ran off but he fell down as his shorts were still down around his ankles. “Guys, we can still do this!” Sunny tried to encourage. “We can still get to Shell City and get the crown back.”
“Maybe you can, Sunny… but we can’t,” SpongeBob frowned. “You guys defeated an evil alicorn, for corn’s sake. We can’t even do this right.”
Not letting anymore room for arguments in the conversation, he turned back to the twins and Patrick. “Pull your pants up, Patrick… we’re taking the twins and we’re going home.”
“But you can’t go home!”
Everyone looked up to see Princess Mindy and Princess Riverstream in a seahorse drawn carriage in front of them, making Misty gasp in surprise. “River! Mindy!”
“Mindy?!” Patrick exclaimed, quickly pulling up his pants, only to fall down again. “How much did you hear?” Sunny worriedly asked, and Riverstream sighed as they got down from the carriage. “We heard enough.”
“Did you see my underwear?” Patrick asked, pulling his pants up. “No, Patrick,” Mindy spoke. “Did you want to?”
“They’re not really listening to you, are they?” Mindy asked the ponies with a frown. “No… we tried to convince them to come with us and get the crown,” said Hitch, “but they think that being kids makes them unable to do this. We don’t know what else to do.”
“Let me handle this,” Mindy told the group before turning to SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins. “Look, guys, you may be kids, but you’re the only ones left who can get that crown.”
“Wait…” Arctic said, stopping her. “What do you mean the only ones left?”
“Things have gotten a lot worse since you left Bikini Bottom,” Riverstream explained, just as Mindy brought out a giant clam shell. “Or should I say, Planktopolis!”
When Mindy opened the shell, a light temporarily blinded the group before a magical image of Bikini Bottom appeared inside, all the bucket-headed slaves building Bikini Bottom to Plankton’s liking. “No resting!” Plankton ordered them, snapping a whip. “This monument celebrating my glory isn’t gonna build itself! Work faster!”
The ponies gasped in horror at the fact that Plankton could do such harm, and Sunny and Misty looked beyond hurt. “Oh my gosh!” Arctic shrieked. “Guys, look! Plankton’s turned everyone we know into slaves! Even the seaponies!”
“Squidward… Sandy… Mrs. Puff… even Gary!” SpongeBob named off several that came into his vision. “Meow Plankton,” Gary meowed robotically. “Can’t your father do something?” Tropic asked Mindy before turning to Riverstream. “Or your sister?”
Mindy only sighed with a shrug. “My father’s too distracted by his bald spot to do anything, and Skygrace is trying to keep him from doing anything too drastic.”
Turns out Mindy wasn’t kidding, as the magical clam then showed Neptune’s bald spot about to be sprayed by the squire with hair growth spray. “Squire, will you hurry?” the king asked. The squire nervously closed his eyes and accidentally sprayed Neptune’s eyes, which grew hair, making Neptune cry in pain. “So you see, you can’t quit,” Mindy insisted. “The fate of Bikini Bottom rests in your hands.”
“See, guys? This is why you can’t quit!” Riverstream tried to encourage. “Your friends need you, WE need you!”
“But… But we’re just…” SpongeBob pleaded. “Hey. It doesn’t matter if you’re kids,” Riverstream continued. “What’s so wrong with being a kid, anyway? Kids rule!”
“You don’t need to be a man to do this,” Mindy told SpongeBob as she swam up into higher waters, leading them to look up. “You just gotta beeeeeeeelieve!”
“I believe,” SpongeBob said quietly, and this caused Sunny and the others to smile in relief. “That's the spirit!” Misty encouraged, but SpongeBob wasn't finished. “...I believe that… everybody I know is a goner!”
Both SpongeBob and Patrick burst into tears, and this caused everyone to reel back… that wasn't supposed to happen. “Come on, guys,” Mindy said. But SpongeBob and Patrick were inconsolable, crying in hysterics. “Um… guys?” Hitch called. Their crying got so bad, they started spraying tears into each other’s mouths. “Ew!” Pipp and Zipp groaned in disgust. This was gonna be a loooong day… they just knew it.
What seemed like an eternity later, SpongeBob and Patrick were rocking on the cold cement road-- and still crying, making it seem like a word water record. “How long have they been crying?” Izzy asked, and Hitch checked his phone's clock. “About 30 minutes.”
“Oh boy,” Mindy mumbled to herself. “Hmm… Think, Mindy, think.”
“Hey, here’s an idea,” Zipp said. “Why don’t we just go on without them and make them look like heroes if they hold the crown when we return?”
“But that wouldn’t be fair to them, Zipp,” Sunny frowned. “Just because these guys are… young at heart… it doesn’t mean we just abandon ‘em like that.”
“Even if we did go on ahead, there’s nowhere for them to go,” Hitch pointed out. “Unless they wanna get eaten.”
It was then, while the gang weighed their options, Mindy suddenly came up with an idea. “Actually, Zipp is right.”
“Huh?” the ponies, Riverstream and twins chorused in confusion-- even SpongeBob and Patrick looked at her. “A couple of kids could never survive this journey,” Mindy continued, but this caused SpongeBob and Patrick to look at each other and start crying again, but Mindy was secretly formulating a plan. “That’s why I guess I’ll just have to turn you into men!”
Immediately, smiles spread across their faces, and they zipped toward her, knocking Izzy and Misty down in the process. “You can do that?” SpongeBob asked. “How?”
“With my mermaid magic,” Mindy said with dazzle. “Mermaid what?” Hitch and Sunny murmured quietly, only for Riverstream to shush them before they gave away their plan. “Did you hear that, Patrick?” SpongeBob asked excitedly. “She’ll use her mermaid magic to turn us into men!”
“Hooray!” SpongeBob and Patrick cried, before jumping up and down and singing. “We’re gonna be men! We’re gonna be men! We’re gonna be men!”
“Wait… did I really give you the idea?” Zipp asked. “You sure did,” Riverstream winked. “Just wait. You’ll see what we mean.”
“Good. Now, let’s get started,” Mindy said, turning to the duo. “Close your eyes.”
“Are we men yet?” SpongeBob asked once they did so. “Not yet,” Riverstream said. “Um… spin around three times…”
“I think it’s working!” SpongeBob giggled as he and Patrick started doing twirls on their tippy toes. “Good. Now, keep your eyes shut,” Mindy said, swimming over to a patch of seaweed and plucking some of it from the ground before she swam back over to the duo. “With my mermaid magic and my one tailfin,” she spoke as Patrick giggled and she attached the seaweed to their faces. “I command the two of you to turn into men! Open your eyes!”
“Do you really think this will work?” Sunny whispered to Hitch, feeling guilty for tricking their friends. “Only one way to find out,” Hitch shrugged. SpongeBob and Patrick opened their eyes yet feeling slightly puzzled. “I don’t feel any…” SpongeBob stopped, upon seeing Patrick’s ‘mustache’. “Oh, my gosh, Patrick, you have a mustache!”
“So do you!” Patrick gasped. “Wow!” SpongeBob and Patrick play with each other’s “mustaches”. Izzy and Pipp, along with the twins, tried to keep straight faces, but were amused at how happy and silly they were. “So now that you’re men, can you make it to Shell City?”
But SpongeBob and Patrick were too busy adoring their ‘mustaches’. “Guys!” Mindy called, getting their attention. “I said, now that you’re men, can ya make it to Shell City?”
“Heck, yeah!” SpongeBob and Patrick cried out. “Are men afraid of anything?”
“Heck no!”
“And why?”
“Because we’re invincible!”
“Wait, what?!” Tropic shouted, but she and her sister were grabbed by SpongeBob and Patrick before they leapt off the edge of the cliff. “WHOO-HOO!!”
“I never said that!” Mindy cried down to them. “Don’t worry, Mindy-- we’ll get ‘em… and hopefully before they get killed!” Sunny said before she and her friends went down the stairs to reach the bottom before their friends did.
XXXXXXXXX
SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins continued to fall at a very rapid pace. But at the heat of the moment, neither one of the boys, cared about anything. With their newfound ‘mustaches’, all was right in the world as they performed a set of ‘tough guy’ moves. As soon as the thrill was gone, SpongeBob looked down and his eyes widened when he realized what they had done. “Patrick?”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“Why did we jump over the edge instead of taking the stairs?”
Unfortunately, Patrick didn’t have the answer. Finally, they both look down and just noticed the very bottom was rushing up to meet them-- really, really fast! The four hugged each other, closing their eyes, and screaming as they were falling toward their doom.
Sunny and her friends had reached the bottom, and witnessed their friends falling to the ground. “I got this!” Hitch said, slamming his hooves into the ground, which caused a branch come out directly under their falling friends, slowing their fall before they landed. While SpongeBob and the twins stopped screaming, looking around their surroundings, Patrick just kept screaming. “Patrick!” Arctic cried, stopping her friend’s screaming. “Huh. Are we dead?”
“No! Far from it, my friend,” SpongeBob replied with a smile. “We’re safe and sound at the bottom of this trench.”
Looking around, the group wouldn’t exactly call this place safe. They could hear a whole horde of monsters growling and roaring in the distance, bones littered the ground, and the only direction they had to go on was a single sign pointing further into the trench. “Oh, yeah...” Misty gulped. “Really safe.”
However, the only ones that didn’t seem nervous at all were SpongeBob and Patrick. “The mustaches worked!” Patrick said happily. “You know what this means?” SpongeBob asked before the two struck their hero-like poses. “We are invincible!”
“I ju-- oh… let ‘em have the moment,” Hitch sighed to his friends with a smile. “Come on-- we still have a long way to go.”
“Right behind you, Mr. Hitch!” Tropic chirped. As the group moved throughout the trench, SpongeBob and Patrick began to sing as they faced countless dangers, only saved by some sheer luck.
SpongeBob and Patrick: Now that we’re men We can do anything Now that we’re men We are invincible
Now that we’re men We’ll go to Shell City Get the crown, save the town and Mr. Krabs!
Now that we’re men…
SpongeBob: We have facial hair
Both: Now that we’re men
Patrick: I changed my underwear
Both: Now that we’re men We got a manly flare We got the stuff, we’re tough enough To save the day!
We never had a chance when we were kids No, no, no But take a look at what the mermaid did Ha ha ha!
They soon approaced a seemingly normal road, which turns out to be a big, blue, one-eyed angler fish’s fin, as enormous fish surrounded the group.
Everywhere they turned, the scariest predators they had ever seen loomed over them. But then the gang heard a noise and turned as SpongeBob and Patrick started dancing and slapping their bodies, as if doing the Hambone.
The monsters seemed most intrigued with this, and watched wide eyed as they finished their dance, seeing no reason to harm the group any further.
Monsters: HOORAY!!
Now that they’re men We can’t bother them Now that they’re men They have become our friends
Now that they’re men There’ll be a happy end They’ll pass the test and finish the quest For the crown
They’ll pass the test (slapping) And finish the quest (slapping)
They’ll pass the test and finish the quest For the crown!
By the end of the song, they reached the end of the trench, where a sign lay dead ahead. “Shell City, dead ahead!” Tropic smiled as the monsters cheered for them wildly. “We did it, guys! We made it past everything!”
“Even the hideous, disgusting monsters!” SpongeBob chirped, unintentionally hurting the monsters’ feelings. “Not you guys!” Arctic called out with waves, even though she was ignored. “You guys are awesome!”
“Well, everyone,” Cookie declared, “I think we should be there in one more verse!”
SpongeBob and Patrick: Now that we're men
“Finally.”
This sudden voice caused the group to freeze, and there Dennis stood alongside his motorcycle and cracking his knuckles. “I got you right where I want you…”
“S-Sunny...” Arctic trembled, and Sunny sheltered the twins behind her as Dennis approached. “Can we help you with something, sir?”
“Name’s Dennis,” the bounty hunter answered. “I was hired to exterminate you.”
“You’re gonna exterminate us?” SpongeBob said fearfully. He and Patrick looked at each other for a moment… before bursting out laughing for a few moments. “Listen, junior, I don’t know who you’re working for, but you caught me and my friends here in a good mood today,” SpongeBob said, catching his breath. “So I’m gonna let you off with a warning, since obviously you don’t know who you’re dealing with here.”
“SpongeBob, I-I-I don’t think this guy is messing around,” Zipp said as Pipp his behind her older sister slightly. “Oh-ho, that’s silly, Zipp,” SpongeBob brushed off the pup before turning back to Dennis. “Step aside, and you won't have to feel the awesome wrath of our mustaches.”
“You mean these?” Dennis reached out and ripped the boys’ fake mustaches off of their faces. SpongeBob and Patrick whimpered while feeling their cheeks in horror. “I thought you still had a piece of salad stuck to your lip from lunchtime.” He threw the seaweed down to the ground and smashed it, and SpongeBob and Patrick looked on with wide eyes. “They were… fake?” SpongeBob asked. “Of course they were fake!” Dennis snapped. “This is what a real mustache looks like.”
For a brief moment, Dennis unmasked himself, clenching his face until he turned purple ans a bushy mustache pushed through the skin over his upper lip. “Is he a mermaid?” Patrick asked. “All right,” Dennis snapped, folding his bandana back. “Enough gab!”
“W-W-Wha… what are you gonna do to us?” Bella gulped as they shook fearfully. “Plankton was very specific,” Dennis answered, and Misty and Izzy looked at each other. “Plankton?” they asked. “For some reason, he wanted me to step on you.”
“Step on us? Is he serious?” Zipp deadpanned. “Yeah! That way you’ll never find out he stole the crown!”
SpongeBob and Patrick look at each other again, this time more scared-- their suspicions had been confirmed. “Uh… perhaps I’ve said too much.” Dennis lifts his boot and the group gasped as long spikes popped out. He held his foot over the boys, as they stood trembling with fear. “That’s a big boot!” Patrick cried out. With that, the twins and their new friends stood in front of their friends, defensive mode activated. “If you’re gonna stomp our friends, you have to take us out too!” Hitch declared. “We won’t let you hurt them!” Misty added furiously. “Yeah!” Pipp barked. “Pick on someone your own size, you big brute!”
“Hmph… I was going to save you weirdos for later,” Dennis spoke. “But, what the barnacle? I’ll take you all out. Don’t worry, this’ll only hurt a lot!” The exterminator laughed and laughed maniacally. “I love this job!”
Izzy and Misty lit their horns to activate a shield, and just as Dennis was about to stomp on the group, a giant shadow loomed behind him and… WHAM!! A humongous giant boot squashed Dennis flat. “Bigger boot!” Patrick screamed. “Wait, Pat!” Arctic stopped him. “This bigger boot saved our necks!”
“Yay!” Patrick cheered. “Thank you, stranger!” SpongeBob and Patrick chorused politely. They all looked up toward the owner of the boot-- a giant scuba diver breathing heavily over them. “Uh… stranger?” SpongeBob spoke. The scary giant did not reply. But he did move closer, until he towered over the group with his one… GIANT… glaring eye. “IT’S THE CYCLOPS!!!” SpongeBob screamed. “EVERYONE!!” Sunny cried out. “SWIM AND RUN, SWIM AND RUN!!!”
The group bolted away as fast as their fins and legs were able to take them while screaming in terror, but it was all for naught. With his big boots clomping on the ground, the Cyclops rushed down and swooped SpongeBob, Patrick and their girls in his strong grip. “Hey! Let them go!” Misty shot several lasers at the cyclops. “Come on, ponies! We have to help them!”
But before they could make a movement, the Cyclops stuffed them in a giant burlap sack. Everyone screamed in terror until their lungs eventually gave out, causing them to fall unconscious and become vulnerable to whatever the cyclops had up his sleeve.
Our intrepid pony and undersea heroes have been captured by the dreaded cyclops, right after hearing that Plankton was the one that stole the crown.
Now, it seemed like our heroes were done for... unless they could escape from the cyclops in time to fix things.
XXXXXXXXX
Eyes begin to stir, and moans leave their lips as the group found themselves waking up, lying on a lumpy bed of pink, red, blue, and yellow rocks. “Are we dead?” Patrick asked. “I don’t think so,” Sunny shook her head, snuffling her hooves at the rocks below them. “Artificially colored rocks?”
Patrick also picked up one rock, but instead of observing it like his friend, he just and ate it. “Mmmm… strawberry.”
“Patrick, eww! Spit it out before you suffocate!” Arctic began pounding his back to get the rock out. “I don’t know where we are, but--” SpongeBob crashed into some sort of invisible wall in front of them. “What is this?”
“It’s some kind of wall of psychic energy,” Patrick said, tapping the barrier. “No, Pat…” Zipp studied the wall for a second with wide eyes. “It’s a giant glass bowl!”
Turns out, he was right-- they were all trapped in a giant glass fishbowl, and it seemed that there was no way out. “We're trapped in here! We can't leave the water in our seapony forms!” Misty said worriedly. “What are we gonna do?”
SpongeBob looked around for a solution, but then spotted something close by. “Hey, there's some fish folk.”
In fact, the place had more fish folk than Goofy Goober’s Party Boat on its busiest night! There were fish all over this shack. SpongeBob, Patrick and their friends tried to get their attention, but they just seemed to stare at them. Then, all at once, SpongeBob’s eyes bugged out when he realized exactly what was going on. All the fish in this place were completely lifeless, knick-knacks on shelves and nooks. “Wait a second,” SpongeBob said. “Those fish are… dead…”
“AGH!!” Izzy and Hitch shrieked as the others trembled. It was at this moment, however, that they all felt they weren’t alone. Slowly turning around, they all stared right into the fact of the giant scuba cyclops, the beast who kidnaped them, spying on his prisoners. “AHHHH!!!!”
SpongeBob and Patrick ran around the fishbowl while the others remain frozen in place as the cyclop’s booming laugh shook their prison. The monstrous scuba diver walked toward the far corner of the room, as they all stared in horror. “W-What’s he gonna do to us…?” Tropic trembled. “I don't know,” Zipp whispered. “Maybe if he sees we're not really sea creatures, since we're from Equestria, he'll leave us alone.”
“Zipp! Really?!” Pipp scolded as the group watched the cyclops take out a larger than life toolbox. “Oh no!” SpongeBob cried out in panic. “He’s going for his evil instruments of torture!”
The cyclops soon took out a bottle of glue and another bottle with plastic google eyes. To the confusion and dread of the others, as the giant glued a pair of googly eyes onto a dried-up clam. He then puts a hat on the clam’s head and a tiny plastic phone onto the little dried-up guy’s hand. “What’s he doing?” Izzy asked SpongeBob. “He’s making a humorous diorama of…”
Finally, the giant hunt a little paper sign around the clam’s neck which read Alexander Clam Bell. It was then that Izzy realized what was going on. “Guys, he’s killing sea animals and making them into smelly knickknacks! And I think we may be next!”
“You think so?” Patrick asked her. By then, the giant reached into the fishbowl and pulled Patrick out of it. “Paaaaaatrick!” SpongeBob screamed before the cyclops grabbed him too. “NOOOOOO!!”
“SPONGEBOB!!! PATRICK!!!” the group screamed for their friends. The giant then dropped the two boys onto a table, directly under a bright, hot light of the heating lamp. Instantly, Patrick and SpongeBob started to sizzle under the intense heat. “The heat is so intense from this lamp that I can’t move,” SpongeBob said weakly. “Tell me about it,” Patrick said, practically parched. The group watched as the cyclops laughed evilly before coming back over to the fish bowl. “Leave us alone, please!” Tropic pleaded. “We just wanna go home!!”
Seeing that the cyclops was ignoring the plea, the ponies trembled and hugged each other as they prepared to be grabbed...
...but the hand never came.
As they opened their eyes, the cyclop’s hand was inches away. Then, before their eyes, he slowly reeled his arm back and turning around. He then picked up a book, and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. “Phew…” Hitch sighed. “That was close.”
“Quick! If we jump out of here quick enough,” said Sunny, “we can turn back to our land forms! Ready? Jump!!”
The group leapt for the surface, their tails turning into back legs once more before the group, especially the twins tried to rush to SpongeBob and Patrick before it was too late. “This doesn’t look too good, Patrick,” SpongeBob spoke weakly. The poor undersea sponge barely had a voice, as if he hadn’t had a drink in centuries. “You mean we’re not gonna get the crown, save the town, and Mr. Krabs?” Patrick asked weakly. “I don’t even think we’re gonna be able to save ourselves, buddy.”
Just then, SpongeBob’s arm snapped off, falling onto the desk, making the ponies, as they climbed onto the table, cringe. Patrick, with little strength he had, grabbed for the arm, and carefully placed it back onto SpongeBob. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Patrick smiled. “There’s gotta be a way to help them!” Zipp said, feeling helpless. “But if we move them with our unicorn powers, they’ll fall apart!” Misty argued. “We can’t let them die!” Tropic sobbed, tears flowing down her cheeks. “We just can’t!”
But by this point, the majority of the group sat in silence as they listened to what could be their new friends’ last conversation. “Well, it looks like what everybody said about us is true, Patrick,” SpongeBob said. “You mean that we’re attractive?” Patrick asked. “No, that we’re just kids. A couple of kids way over their heads!”
“No... it isn't true! I didn't believe it before, but now I do!” Tropic sniffled. “You let two strangers into your home, not even knowing what we've been through, and look at how far we came! That proves that you two are the bravest people we've ever met!”
“Thanks for trying to cheer us up guys,” SpongeBob thanked. “But… we were doomed from the start. I mean, look at us! We didn’t even come close to the crown; we let everybody down. We failed.”
“Shell City…” Patrick said to himself. “Yeah, we never made it to Shell City,” SpongeBob agreed. “Shell City…” Patrick rasped again, and SpongeBob nodded. “Exactly, buddy. Yeah, the place we never got to,” he frowned. “Shell City…”
“Okay, now you’re starting to burn us out, Patrick,” Zipp deadpanned sadly. “No, look at the sign!”
All at once, Patrick pointed the group toward something above. Before their very eyes, it was a sign they failed to notice before which read ‘Shell City: Marine Gifts and Sundries’. “Shell City is a gift shop?” SpongeBob asked. “But, wait…” Zipp held up a hoof. “If this is Shell City, then where’s the…?”
As they looked around, there sat the crown on a plush pillow to their left side. “CROWN!!” the group cried. “Neptune’s Crown!” SpongeBob said happily. “This is Shell City!”
Satisfied, his and Patrick's heads slammed back onto the desk. “Pat, we did make it!”
“Yeah, I guess we did!” Patrick said, happily. Pipp sniffled her tears with a smile across her face. “You did all right for a couple of goofballs…”
SpongeBob and Patrick each shed one tear each, forming into the shape of a heart once it was out of the heat lamp. Then, with what little strength they had left, SpongeBob and Patrick decided to sing their favorite tune one last time.
SpongeBob: I’m a Goofy Goober, yeah!
SpongeBob and Patrick: You’re a Goofy Goober, yeah! We’re all Goofy Goobers yeah!
Goofy… Goofy… Goober… Goober… yeah…
Before the very eyes of the pony crew, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star shriveled up till only a normal sponge and a normal starfish laid before them.
All the ponies around them began to cry harder than they ever had in their entire lives... their friends, and the twins' caretakers... were gone.
Just like that.
But, what they didn’t realize was that their friends wouldn’t be gone for long. The joined teardrop began to roll down the table and onto the lamp’s wire into the electrical outlet, which let out smoke, causing the sprinklers to turn on.
And just like that, SpongeBob and Patrick were brought back to life, suffocating for merely one second. “Hey!” SpongeBob cried. “We’re alive!”
“Now, this is a magical miracle!” Zipp cried, and the group hugged and cheered in rejoice, despite getting wet in the process, but honestly, they didn't care. Not even Pipp. “Let’s get that crown!” SpongeBob cried, causing the twins to nod their heads firmly in agreement. “Right!”
The group leapt down and ran across the wet floor towards the podium where the crown rested. Water still poured down from the sprinklers, as the group made their way to the crown and tried to lift it. “On three, guys!” SpongeBob cried. “Ready? One, two, three!”
The crown flew into the air, with all of them still hanging on. “Hey, it’s lighter than I thought!” Izzy said. Then, they realized none of their feet and hoovws touched the ground and they were staring right into the face of the cyclops! “AHHHHHH!!!”
The cyclops roared angrily and was ready to squash them when suddenly, the room and all its lifeless fish inhabitants began to shake violently. “What’s happening?!” Patrick asked. “I don’t know!” SpongeBob answered, just before Misty spotted something and pointed down toward the ground. “Look!”
Everyone looked around to see all the sea animals he dried up, all 1,007 sea creatures, came to life including: reanimated and staring angrily at the cyclops. A lobster tapped the cyclops’ shoulder, drawing the cyclops’ attention before the lobster pulled out some googly eyes and a tube of glue. “Uh oh…”
The lobster sprays glue into the cyclops’ eye, causing him to fall over as the sea creatures start attacking him. The puffer fish puffed up and stuck him with their little points. The clown fish attacked his shins; the clams snapped his butt and made him yelp. And the Mariachi fish… they just shrugged and continued playing.
All the while the Shell City sea creatures continued to snap, gash, finned, pretty much beating up the cruel one-eyed monster who tortured them, the group boldly made their escape. “Come on, guys!” Sunny called as they galloped out of the shop. “Let's get this crown back to Bikini Bottom!”
They soon hopped down to the beach, where the group sat the crown down on the sand. “Let's get down to business. Do you still have that bag of winds?” Zipp asked Patrick. “I sure do!” Patrick said, showing them a lump on his butt, causing everyone to chuckle and giggle in amusement… until Patrick pulled the bag out from nowhere. “Here you go.”
The laughing stopped immediately, as SpongeBob and the others stared at the lump with wide eyes, some shuddering and trying to fight the urge to throw up at this. “What?” Patrick asked. “Nothing, nothing... okay, let's go over the instructions,” SpongeBob pulled out the instructions sheet. “Let’s see, it says here... step 1: point bag away from home.”
“Okay,” Patrick said, pointing the bag away. “Step 2: plant feet firmly on ground,” SpongeBob read again. “Right,” Patrick did this with a happy nod. “Step 3: remove string from bag releasing the winds.”
“Check!” Patrick pulled the string tied around the bag. A rush of wind exploded from the bag, the force snapping the sack out of Patrick’s hand, and it sailed away like a balloon full of air! “Well, that seems simple enough,” Tropic hummed as she, Arctic and SpongeBob continued to look at the instructions and the others looked back and forth with wide eyes. “Point bag away from home, feet firmly on ground, pull string, releasing the winds. All right, let's do this for real!”
“Uh... guys?” Pipp gulped and nervously pointed out to sea. Everyone turned around as Patrick pointed to their bag. There was the bag of winds, hurling through the sky, far out to sea like a deflated balloon. They chased after the bag, but it’s too late… the now deflated bag had now fallen into the water. “Oh no…” Arctic whimpered. “How will we ever get back to Bikini Bottom now?”
“It's too far to go without the Marestream,” Zipp said. “We have to think of something or someone else to take us.”
“I can take you there,” a friendly voice said. The gang suddenly looked up spotting a man with luscious brown curly hair wearing a bright red swimsuit, carrying a flotation device and has a smile brighter than the California sun stop before them. “Who are you?” SpongeBob asked curiously. “I’m David Hasselhoff.”
“Hooray!” SpongeBob and Patrick cheered. “Um… so where's your boat?” Tropic asked. “Boat?” Hasselhoff laughed heartily. “The way we’re going, we won’t need… boats.”
XXXXXXXXX
Hasselhoff soon swam out to sea, and on his back were SpongeBob, Patrick, and even their friends, the crown safely with them. “Go, Hasselhoff!” SpongeBob shouted, causing Sunny to smile proudly. “Next stop, Bikini Bottom!”
As the group raced to Bikini Bottom with the crown, things were getting worse in Bikini Bottom. By now, the enslaved citizens continued to work nonstop on the many statues of Plankton in the city. And all the while chanting, “All Hail Plankton”.
Meanwhile, inside the Krusty Krab 2, Plankton walks in toward the poor, still-frozen Mr. Krabs. “Well, Krabs, you know what today is?” Plankton asked, looking toward the calendar, which read March 13th. “Sorry about this calendar.”
He ripped the page off, revealing the next day underneath. “March 14,” Plankton read. “Wait, that’s not right. It should say, ‘The day that Krabs fries’!”
He began to laugh wickedly just as King Neptune’s coach pulled up with the king, Arrow and Mindy inside of it. “Guess who’s here,” Plankton chortled before going to open the door.
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, David Hasselhoff cut through the ocean waves, gliding across the sea like a motorboat. As he swam, he passed a fisherman’s dinghy, but the incredible force of his wake rocked the boat and threw the poor fisherman into the water.
Sitting onto his back, SpongeBob, Patrick and all their friends all hung on as they raced for home. “There it is!” Sunny pointed to an island in the distance. “Bikini Bottom is just under that island!”
“Hooray for Hasselhoff!” SpongeBob cheered. “Nothing can stop us now!”
“Unidentified object off the hindquarters!” Zipp then pointed behind them as she lifted her visor. As the group watched, something seemed to stream across the ocean and was gaining on them fast. “It looks like…” SpongeBob started, but all of a sudden, the Cyclop’s boot to be exact, emerged from the ocean's depths. “Bigger boot? But how?”
“Hmmm...” Misty hummed. “Something doesn't feel too right...”
As she said this, the boot quickly caught up with them all and stopped behind Hasselhoff’s foot. From the bottom is a green, smudged smear, and from it, the splotch peeled off and morphed back into Dennis with his sunglasses smashed, his clothes tattered and his teeth jagged. “AHHHH!!!” the twins screamed. “IT’S DENNIS!!!”
“Did you miss me?” Dennis smiled wickedly. The elder ponies instantly formed a barrier between SpongeBob, Patrick and the twins, hoping they could fight Dennis off until they got to Bikini Bottom.
XXXXXXXXX
Back inside the Krusty Krab 2, a fish drummed a sad tune as King Neptune prepared to punish Mr. Krabs. Plankton sat off to the side in a beach chair, eating popcorn and enjoying the exciting show. “This is the best seat in the house!” Plankton gushed. “All right, Neptune, let’s get it on!”
“Eugene Krabs,” the king said. “Your six-day reprieve is up! And it is time for you to die!”
Krabs rapidly sweated mounds of ice cubes, he tried to tell him, ‘Please, I didn’t do it’, but he could barely talk, and the king didn’t hear him. “There is nothing else I can do.”
Just then, Princess Mindy, Queen Skygrace and Princess Riverstream appeared at the king's side. “You can give SpongeBob and his friends a little more time,” Mindy suggested. “Except give SpongeBob and his friends a little more ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-time? What?” the king immediately realized, but then turned to Mindy and the seapony toyals furiously, making Riverstream yelp in surprise. “Mindy, will you three butt out? I won't have you stalling this execution!”
“Stalling? Excuse me, Neptune, but we're not stalling anything,” Queen Skygrace said in a firm tone. “Yes you are,” the king said. “No we’re not,” Mindy answered with the shake of her head. “Yes, you are. You're doing it right now.”
“I’m… stalling?” Mindy clarified. “Yes,” the king answered, and Plankton felt his patience begin to leave him as this continued. How much longer could this go on?
XXXXXXXXX
Back above the ocean, aboard Hasselhoff’s back, things were not going smoothly for SpongeBob, Patrick, and their friends. Dennis had them cornered, slowly and menacingly approaching them, removing his sunglasses so he can look them straight in the eyes while his shadow loomed over them. “Now… where were we?”
He kicked Sunny and Misty down, causing them to scream and for Zipp and Pipp to catch them. “Guys, RUN!!” Hitch cried. “Actually... no, Hitch,” Arctic said, planting her hooves on the ground. “We're tired of running!”
“If we run now,” Patrick said, preparing to fight, “we’ll never stop--”
But like the group expected, Dennis merely threw Patrick toward Hasselhoff’s feet. “RUN, SPONGEBOB!!”
SpongeBob screamed and ran under Dennis’ legs with Tropic under his arm to avoid getting struck by whatever weapons Dennis still had. The ponies blasted and kicked and punched as much as they could, but Dennis was always able to strike them down. Dennis tried to stab SpongeBob with one of his knives, but SpongeBob and Tropic were too quick, ending up with Hasselhoff getting stabbed by the tiny fish-sized knife. “Ooh!” Hasselhoff cried. “Take it easy back there, fellas!”
“SORRY!!!” Izzy cried over the rushing water. In the meantime, Dennis was coming closer and closer. The spikes in his boots gleaming. The group was trapped, the ocean waves churning between the lifeguard’s mighty legs. “We gotta jump to the other side!” Zipp said. “It’s the only way!”
Pipp and Zipp flew across, and the four wingless ponies were right behind, leaping across and barely making it to the other side. “Tropic! SpongeBob!” Pipp cried. “Be careful!”
“Come on, kids, give it up!” Dennis warned. “Dennis always gets his man.”
SpongeBob looked down toward Tropic, who was panting in a frightened manner, and toward the water below, before making a crazy decision, grabbing Tropic and making a daring leap to the other side. “NEVER!!!!!!!”
Time seemed to move slowly as SpongeBob bounded toward Hasselhoff’s other leg. But eventually, time resumed once they reached the other side. “Yes!” Tropic enthusiastically cheered. “We made it!”
Apparently, so did Dennis, who somehow reached the other side behind SpongeBob, causing him and the green unicorn filly both to scream. “You’ve got guts, kids. Too bad I gotta rip ‘em outta ya.”
“We don’t know what Plankton’s paying you,” SpongeBob spoke up, digging through his pants. “But if you let us go, I can make it worth your while.”
SpongeBob pulled out a wad of bills, handing it to Dennis, who swapped the dollars swiftly. “It’s gonna take a lot more than five…!” Dennis looked at the bills. “What is this?”
“That, sir, is five Goober Dollars,” SpongeBob told him. “Legal tending at any participating Goofy Goober--”
But Dennis threw the dollars aside and grabbed SpongeBob by the throat, resulting in SpongeBob grabbing a bottle of bubbles. “I got bubbles-- fun at parties!”
He held up the wand, spraying soapy bubbles toward Dennis’ eyes, the bubbles bursting on contact. “My eyes!!!” Dennis clutched his eyes and hurled SpongeBob over to the side. SpongeBob screamed and wailed before he was caught by a pink arm. “I got you, SpongeBob!” Patrick reassured his friend. “Thanks, buddy!” SpongeBob said. Suddenly, Dennis appeared, standing over them. His spiked boot rose above their heads, ready to stomp them flat with his cleated boot. “Uh, thanks a lot.”
“We got this!” Sunny said as she in her alicorn form, Izzy and Misty magically held up a shield. “That’s it!” Dennis said, his eyes sore. “I’m through messin’ around! See ya later, fools!”
Suddenly, they looked up and see that Hasselhoff was swimming straight towards a catamaran. “Everyone, duck!” Tropic shouted, and she, her friends and even SpongeBob and Patrick managed to lean down. Dennis just recovered, only to see the approaching catamaran, and screamed before… WHAM!!
Dennis fell into the sea and to his assumed demise. “See ya!” Patrick said waving to the fallen Dennis. “Phew… that was close,” Misty sighed, putting a hoof to her chest in relief. “Hopefully we can get to Bikini Bottom before something worse happens.”
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back in Bikini Bottom-- er, Planktopolis-- Mindy and King Neptune were still arguing inside the restaurant. “So you think… I’m… stalling.” By now, King Neptune had enough of it, as he clenched his fists in fury. “GAH!!!” Neptune roared. “Where am I, in Crazytown? I have had enough of this nonsense! You all, even the royal sisters, are to wait in the carriage until the execution is done!”
“But Neptune--”
“NOW!!!” Neptune roared, causing them to dart outside. To be extra certain the princess won’t interfere, Neptune fired a blast from his magic trident, and chains and padlocks appeared, sealing the doors and windows. Outside, Mindy bashed the doors as the sisters pulled on the chains. “No, no, no!”
This caused Skygrace to look hopeless at the sky. “Oh, SpongeBob, Sunny... wherever you kids are, you better hurry!”
The Final Battle (Part 2: SpongeBob vs Plankton)/Returning Home
As Mindy, Skygrace and Riverstream watched desperately as the execution was about to occur, Hasselhoff swam toward the island with Bikini Bottom below before halting. “Okay, fellas, this is where you get off. Bikini Bottom’s directly below.”
“But we’ll never be able to float down in time!” Sunny argued. “Not even at Sonic Rainboom speed!”
“Who said anything about… floating?”
Suddenly, Hasselhoff began to stand right in the middle of the water, leading the others to hold on tightly as a voice began to speak up from out of nowhere. “Initiating launch sequence.”
“What the…?” the twins, SpongeBob and Patrick spoke wide eyed as Hasselhoff’s pecs turned into some sort of launching device. “Did you see that?!” Hitch stared wide eyed. “The control!” Patrick exclaimed, just before Hasselhoff grabbed the crown with all of them hanging onto it. “All hands on deck!”
He stuffed the crown within his pecs, and there was ten seconds to countdown… right about the time King Neptune prepared to fry Mr. Krabs to a crisp. And finally, the final countdown began: Three… two… one!
In a split second, the entire group, along with the crown, were fired straight through the ocean’s watery depths. Spinning wildly, giving the group the ride of their lives upon the crown, they screamed like children as they plunge toward the Krusty Krab 2.
The crown smashed through the roof, along with the whole gang. And just as Neptune fired his blast, just as Krabs is about to be fried, the crown blocks the ray, and it deflects toward the shiny surface, and the blast from the trident hit Hasselhoff as he congratulated himself on a job well done. “Ow…”
Mr. Krabs opened his eyes after a moment to discover he had not been blasted, and the group cheered in celebration. “Hooray!” SpongeBob cheered. “We made it!”
“I can’t believe we actually did it!!” Arctic squealed as she and her friends swam happily around the others, hugging and bouncing all around-- even Mr. Krabs joined in. “My crown!” Neptune cried, picking up the object. “My beautiful crown!”
“Oh, thank goodness they're all okay!” Skygrace sighed, and she and Riverstream managed to remove the chains and pried the doors open. “Ponies? SpongeBob? Patrick?” Mindy said happily as she, the queen and her sister hugged the group. “We knew you could do it!”
“I never lost faith in ya!” Riverstream told Sunny with a smile. “Thanks, River,” said Sunny, “but we never could have done it without these brave fillies, as well as SpongeBob and Patrick. They're as much heroes as we are.”
Patrick laughed stupidly as they continued to embrace… until they heard some slow clapping and turned around toward Plankton. “Oh, yes,” Plankton added sarcastically. “Well done, SpongeBoob.”
“Wow... some defeat speech. I thought you were REALLY going somewhere,” Zipp rolled her eyes. “Anywho... sorry to rain on your parade, Plankton,” Pipp crossed her hooves with a smirk. “Oh, don’t worry about me,” Plankton mocked. “My parade shall be quite dry under my… umbrella!”
He quickly pulled a cord next to him, and as the group slowly turned around toward Neptune, who was still kissing his crown, a trapdoor in the ceiling that says ‘King Size’, opened up and a chum bucket helmet falls out landing right onto King Neptune’s head. “Daddy, no!” Mindy cried. “Daddy, yes!” Plankton said. As Neptune struggled, Plankton pulled out a remote and pressed the button on it, and an antenna emerges from the top of the helmet, making a humming sound.
All at once, King Neptune’s brain went numb, his body quickly stiffened, and he spoke these words only. “All hail Plankton.”
Everyone in the group screamed in terror just before the enslaved citizens smashed through the windows, chanting ‘All hail Plankton’ repeatedly and forcing the group up against the wall. “SpongeBob, what happened?” Riverstream asked, her ears pinned. “Plankton cheated,” SpongeBob answered. “CHEATED?!” Plankton spoke in a surprised manner, stopping Neptune from obliterating the group before approaching. “Oh, grow up. What? You think this is a game of kickball on the playground? You never had a chance to defeat me, fool! And you know why?”
“Cause you're a backstabber and you cheated?” Hitch asked in a narcissistic tone. “No, not because I cheated or cause I backstabbed a bunch of horses,” Plankton answered, looking dumbfounded for a second before turning back to SpongeBob. “Because I'm an evil genius! And you're just a kid-- a stupid kid!”
He burst into a maniacal laugh, even King Neptune and the bucket-headed fish joined in. While most of the group growled and stared at the single-celled organism in hatred, SpongeBob slouched a bit. “I guess you’re right, Plankton,” SpongeBob said, defeated. “I am just a kid.”
“SpongeBob, no!” Misty gasped. “Plankton is rarely right, and he's definitely not right in this circumstance!”
“Of course I'm right. Okay, Neptune, time to kill,” Plankton tried to say, but SpongeBob wasn’t finished. “And you know,” he continued, “I’ve been through a lot in the past six days, five minutes, twenty-seven-and-a-half seconds. And if I’ve learned anything during that time, it’s that you are who you are.”
“...that’s right. Okay, Neptune--” Plankton tried to say, but SpongeBob interrupted him again. “And no amount of mermaid magic or managerial promotion or some other third thing can make me anything more than what I really am inside: a kid.”
Everyone in the group looks down sadly, feeling sorry for the little sponge, but Plankton was quickly growing numb to the speech. “That’s great, now get back against the wall,” he said. “But that’s okay!” SpongeBob declared as he grabbed the microphone from the cash register. “Because I did what everyone said a kid couldn’t do. I made it to Shell City, and I beat the Cyclops, and I rode the Hasselhoff, and I brought the crown back!”
“Uh, SpongeBob, I think they get the point,” Pipp said, only to have Hitch to elbow her with a frown. Then, as the group looked around, dry ice smoke surrounded the group and a spotlight fell on SpongeBob, prompting his friends to step to the side. “So, yeah, I’m a kid!” SpongeBob cried. “And I’m also a goofball! And a wing nut! And a Knucklehead McSpazatron!”
“What’s-- what’s going on here?” Plankton managed to cough. “But most of all, I’m… I’m… I’m…”
Eyes wide, everyone not under mind control waited for SpongeBob to tell the world what he truly was when suddenly… SpongeBob burst into a rock version of the Goofy Goober song, flinging Plankton into the wall. Everyone looked on in shock, not expecting this as the song continued.
As Plankton recovered from being knocked out, he noticed SpongeBob in the midst of singing and dancing to the music while the ponies watched in awe. “His dance moves are impressive-- but I’m in control!” he said, putting on a headset. “SEIZE HIM!!”
The slaves crowded around SpongeBob, shouting ‘All hail Plankton!’ over and over. Nodding to one another, the twins suddenly charged their horns, and Tropic immediately gave the signal. “NOW!!”
She and Arctic fired at the sponge, who immediately burst out in a wizard outfit with a purple hat and robe, both covered in peanuts, and tall white shoes as he lifted into the air playing his guitar, much to the shock of everyone not under the mind control, while Patrick and Izzy and Riverstream let out a cheer. “WHOO-HOO!!!”
“...how did you two do that?!” Zipp asked the twins. “We just gave SpongeBob a diversion,” Tropic shrugged. “We didn't expect the wizard thing.”
As SpongeBob played the electric guitar, its head stock lit up, and the music was so overpowering, a laser beam blasts out and one by one the helmets were destroyed. “SpongeBob, it’s working!” Sunny cried with a grin. “Keep playing!”
Every familiar face before the group was freed thanks to SpongeBob’s guitar playing skills. From Squidward to Mrs. Puff, and from Sandy to Gary. SpongeBob blasted the Krusty Krab 2’s antenna, breaking the helmets on all the slaves outside. “His chops are too righteous!” Plankton shouted. “The helmets can’t handle this level of rock ‘n’ roll! Karen, do something! Karen?”
Plankton turned to look for her, only to find her surfing through the crowd. But Plankton was only getting angrier and angrier. “All right, that's the last straw! Neptune, I command you to--”
But all of a sudden, a beam from SpongeBob’s guitar hit King Neptune’s helmet, freeing him before Mindy brought him the crown. “Here you go, Daddy.”
“I... better get outta here,” Plankton attempted to run, but he was instead flattened by the adoring fish, coming to see the wizard who saved their lives.
And the ponies couldn't be prouder.
XXXXXXXXX
A few hours later, life in Bikini Bottom resumed to normal-- more or less. Plankton, now squished into the texture of cookie dough, covered with shoe prints, was picked up by the police and placed in a small cage. “Come on, I was just kidding!” Plankton implored. “Come on, you guys knew that didn’t you? With the helmets and the big monuments… wasn’t that hilarious, everybody? Th-- I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!!!”
“Have a safe trip!” Izzy said cheerfully, getting looks from the others. “What? It's not bad to say goodbye to someone. Even if they are evil.”
“I'm proud of you, ponies. You've saved Bikini Bottom once again,” Queen Skygrace smiled. “You have a multitude of thanks spreading around.”
“Thanks,” Sunny smiled. “It's the least we could do, after the Bikini Bottomites have showed us so much hospitality.”
Meanwhile, back in the wrecked Krusty Krab 2, King Neptune had a heart-to-heart chat with his daughter. “Well, Mindy,” the king spoke smiling. “I have to admit, you were right. Your compassion for these sea creatures proved a most admirable trait. Without it, I would have never again seen my beloved crown. I think you’re going to make a fine ruler of the sea one day. Now, let’s go home.”
“Daddy, haven’t you forgotten something?” Mindy asked. “What? Oh, yeah,” the king turns to Mr. Krabs. “Eugene Krabs, I forgot to unfreeze you.”
Neptune fired his trident, unfreezing Mr. Krabs… only he was now a human instead of a crab. “What the--?”
“Whoops! I guess we had it set to ‘real boy’ setting.”
Embarrassed, Neptune fiddled with his trident before resetting it to the appropriate function. He fires again, turning Krabs back into his old krusty self. “YIPPEE!” Mr. Krabs cheered. “Oh, I’m sorry for falsely freezing you, Krabs,” King Neptune apologized. “And may I say, sir, you are a very lucky fellow to have in your employment such a brave, faithful, and heroic young lad.”
“Hey... where'd he get to?” Riverstream asked, looking around. “I’m up here,” said a voice, and everyone turned to see in his wizard outfit, hanging over the group from a rope. “I’m on it,” Patrick said, bringing SpongeBob down. “Go to him now, Krabs,” the Monarch of the Sea told him. “Embrace him.”
Mr. Krabs walked over to the sponge, who stood still as Bella helped him take off his costume, and he hugged the best friends happily with a smile. “SpongeBob, my boy!” Mr. Krabs said. “I’m sorry I ever doubted ye. That’s a mistake I won’t make again.”
“Oh, Mr. Krabs, you old soft-serve,” SpongeBob said with a blush. “And... do you think we can go on more adventures like this sometime?” Tropic asked. “I actually enjoyed it.”
“Me too. We've had enough of being scared,” Arctic said. “There's an entire life waiting for us, and we have a lot of it to live with... our new family.”
As SpongeBob and his friends smiled warmly, suddenly, the twins began to get enveloped in bright lights, lifting them off the floor. “Wha...?” Tropic looked around. “What's happening?!”
The light continued to swirl until a mark appeared on each of the girls' fins; Tropic's was a batch of fruit, and Arctic's was a cluster of snowflakes. “Whoa... sis, do you realize what this means?” asked Arctic as the girls were sat down. “We have our own cutie marks!”
“Congratulations, girls! We're so happy for you!” SpongeBob said as he and the ponies enveloped them in a hug. “Indeed we are, little fillies. And now, SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said, “I’m going to do something that I should’ve done six days ago. Mr. Squidward! Front and center, please.”
Squidward comes forward as Mr. Krabs proceeds with his announcement. “I think we all know who rightfully deserves to wear that manager pin.”
“I couldn’t agree more, sir,” Squidward agreed, removing his pin from his shirt. “Hooray for SpongeBob!” a fish called out, and the rest of Bikini Bottom burst into cheers. “Wait a second, everybody,” SpongeBob spoke seriously. “There’s something I need to say first. I just don’t know how to put it.”
“I think I know what it is,” Squidward spoke, putting an arm on SpongeBob’s shoulder. “After going on your life-changing journey, you now realize you don’t want what you thought you wanted. What you really wanted was inside you all along.”
“Are you crazy?!” SpongeBob cried, snatching the pin. “I was just going to tell you that your fly is down! Manager! This is the greatest day of my life!”
All the group cheered and hugged him massively, just before a portal opened near the door. “Well, I guess that's our cue,” Misty said. “We better get home, but thank you for your help, everyone. We'll come back soon, I know it.”
“Oh, before you all bid farewell...” King Neptune pulled a star shaped gem from this crown. “This was in the royal treasury by the time I found my crown missing. I think it is in your right to lay claim to it.”
Sunny gasped and took the gem with a bright smile. “The first crystal! Oh, thank you, your highness! Come on, guys! We have to put this back on the tree!”
“Goodbye!” the twins chorused as their friends disappeared. That's when the girls were sure about their thoughts-- their mother may have been gone, but with SpongeBob and Patrick... they had the family they always wanted right there with them.
