The Storm King Returns/A Call for Heroes
There was chaos everywhere. Canterlot lay in flames. Before Tempest Shadow stood the shattered, stony remains of the princesses, as well as Princess Twilight's friends, as well as Glitter Drops and Grubber. She could only look down in horror and sadness as the shattered head of Grubber's eyes stared back into her own. Just then, she felt a presence rise behind her.
"Hi, Tempest." growled an oh-so familiar voice.
Tempest knew who it was, but she slowly turned around, and was greeted with the sight of the Storm King, holding an obsidian orb in his three-clawed hand, his piercing blue eyes staring maniacally down at her.
"Consider this... payback!" he roared while laughing as he through the orb at her.
She could only stand frozen in place, both literally and metaphorically, as her body began to turn to obsidian. She looked up and saw him bring the Staff of Sacanas down toward her, a cry literally caught in her throat as he did. Just before she was fully petrified, she saw the silhouette of Princess Luna hovering above her.
"Tempest! You need to wake up!" Luna cried.
Tempest shot out of bed with a scream. Her body was drenched in sweat and her mane clung to her back. Her pupils were the size of pinpricks. She searched around the room for the Storm King and was relieved to not catch a glimpse of him. The dream felt so real to her it was frightening. It had only been six months after the tyrant's defeat and she still had nightmares of him returning. It was getting concerning.
Just then, she heard footsteps and hoofs against the floor. Her bedroom door swung open, revealing Glitter Drops and Grubber in the threshold with concerned looks on their faces.
"Tempetht!" Grubber exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
Tempest took a deep breath and put on her best fake smile she could muster.
"Don't worry, Grubber," she replied. "It was nothing."
"Really?" Glitter asked, "Because you screamed pretty loud there, Fizzy."
"It's just a bad dream, guys," Tempest groaned. "No more, no less. Though I might need to take a visit to Canterlot tomorrow. In the meantime..."
Tempest rolled over and wrapped her blanket over herself.
"Just get some sleep."
Grubber and Glitter exchanged glances but shrugged, Grubber riding on the unicorn's back as the two headed back to their bedrooms.
"Whaddya thuppothe Tempetht dreamed about?" he asked.
"I dunno, Grubs," Glitter replied. "By the sound of her scream, it must've been a doozy."
The next day, Tempest headed over to Canterlot in the airship she had commanded during the short-lived reign of the Storm King, though with the blue lightning bolt insignia replaced with, of all things, a cupcake with lightning blue icing (it was Grubber's idea that just got Pinkie Pie's support). Unlike before, her arrival was treated less with shock and confusion but more questioning on why the newest member of the Crystal Empire's border patrol was visiting Canterlot so... unannounced.
As the boarding door opened, Tempest stepped out, along with Glitter Drops and Grubber at her side, along with a few Storm Guards, this time wearing the same cupcake insignias. The Canterlot royal guards stepped out to greet the burgundy unicorn.
"I need an audience with Princesses Celestia and Luna," she told them. "Immediately."
"What's your reason, Tempest?" one of them asked.
Tempest just sighed. "Look, can you just tell them I need a meeting with them?"
"That doesn't answer our question."
Tempest groaned inwardly.
"It has to do with the Storm King's remains."
The guards exchanged a look before letting her through. With the way now clear, Tempest along with her entourage entered the halls of Canterlot Castle where they were greeted with the sight of not only Luna and Celestia, but also Princess Cadence, Prince Regent Shining Armor, Princess Twilight as well as her friends, and a very young alicorn filly who she recognized as Princess Flurry Heart currently playing with a stuffed snail doll. In addition she also noticed three hippogriffs of royal attire; Queen Novo and her daughter Princess Skystar as well as a grayish magenta hippogriff with a cerulean mane she didn't recognize.
"I apologize for my sudden arrival, your highnesses," Tempest explained with a quick bow. "But, I didn't have time to send a letter in that regard."
Just then, Pinkie dashed up and wrapped her right foreleg over her shoulders.
"Ah, no need to worry about that, Fizzy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm just glad to see you made it to the luncheon!"
"Luncheon?"
"Yepper doodle!" the pink mare replied. "Oh, by the way, I want you to meet Queen Novo's niece and current student at the School of Friendship; Silverstream!"
Silverstream's head popped up at the mention of her name and her eyes hardened. She flew over to Tempest with a frown.
"Hey, wait a minute," the young hippogriff said. "I think I recognize you. Didn't you help the Storm King overtake Mt. Aris?"
She actually remembers that? Tempest thought in both shock and sadness.
"Ummm, yes...?" Tempest replied with a sheepish grin. "But, I also helped overthrow him too. In fact, I'm responsible for his demise."
Silverstream narrowed her eyes. Tempest began to feel uncomfortable with the eyes of the Princesses, the Hippogriff royal family and the rest of Twilight's friends falling upon her. She felt like she was being pinned down by an invisible compress.
"Well..." Silverstream stared before gaining a more cheerful disposition, shook her hoof, and began to speak in a manner that made Pinkie's rapid-fire speech patterns sound slow. "Okay! Justsoyaknowthat'sjustwaterunderthebridge! Bythewaythatwasjustmetestingyoutoseeifyou'reasreformedasPinkieorHeadmistressTwilightsayyouhaveandyoupassed! I'mreallygladwegottomeetfacetofacebythewayIthinkyoushouldvisitMountArissometimeespeciallywiththerenovationsand-"
Tempest put her hoof on the young hippogriff's beak and gave her a polite smile. "I appreciate the invitation... or at least what I could make out," she told her. "But I need to speak with the Princesses about something."
"What would that be?" Celestia spoke up first.
"I've been having recurring nightmares," Tempest replied. "About the Storm KIng coming back."
"The Storm King?" Rainbow Dash blurted out. "Last time we check, the dude was just a statue in the Canterlot Gardens on Discord's former stand. Why would ya need to worry about him?"
Twilight flashed Rainbow Dash an accusatory glance.
"Well, obviously she wouldn't be here if it didn't worry her." the lavender alicorn explained.
"Personally, I don't blame you for worrying about that ruffian," Rarity proclaimed. "Considering how he nearly took over the world and sent armies after us, who wouldn't worry about him?"
"Yeah," Fluttershy's soft voice rang out. "He was mean."
"Mean?" Applejack asked. "Naw, I've seen 'mean', darlin'. That guy was utterly and undeniably beyond mean. Why, if'n there were a word to describe th' Storm King it'd be-"
"A tyrant?" Queen Novo interjected.
"A blowhard?" spoke up Cadence.
"The kind of person who you don't want to meet in a dark alley, but you do anyway and he just has this really punchable face that you want to ram your fist into over and over and over and over again until he runs home crying for his mama?" asked Skystar, earning Novo's heir several raised eyebrows from the ponies (plus hippogriffs and dragon).
"What?" she asked innocently. "I'm still sore over what he did to Mount Aris."
"Errr, yeah," Spike replied, a bit concerned over just how... specific the normally bubbly hippogriff princess was in her description. "That."
Luna nodded. "I understand completely where Tempest is coming from since I saw her latest dream about him."
Tempest was still meaning to talk to the Princess of the Night about going into other ponies' dreams, but she didn't feel like bringing it up.
"But, maybe it's all it is, Princess Luna," Twilight explained. "A dream. No more no less."
"Not true, Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied. "Sometimes dreams can be... precognitive in their own way."
Unbeknowest to the ponies, in Canterlot Gardens, three figures were sneaking about. One of them was hulking with a white mane braided together into a rudimentary beard. He was stocky and looked very similar to the Storm King, if not a bit huskier and rounder. At his side were two Storm Elite, each clad in their own ornate armor plating and sporting a silver streak between the emblem of their king.
"It has to be around here somewhere," the leader whispered to the Storm Creatures. "But where. Where?"
Just then, he bumped into an obsidian statue standing on a dais. It sported the visage of an all too familiar satyr with eyes wide in shock. He appeared to be haphazardly glued together given the cracks could still be seen between the pieces.
The lead Storm Creature's lip curled into a grin. This was exactly what, or rather, who he was looking for.
"My King."
He gestured to the Storm Creatures which handed him what looked like an obsidian orb, but with a blue crystal instead of a green one. He placed the orb next to the dais and stomped on it, releasing a plume of cerulean smoke.
"Your reign begins... again."
The Storm Creatures watched as the obsidian statue began to gain color. The black obsidian turned into grayish blue fur which traveled up the frozen form until it came to the head with a phthalo gray-blue face. His horns were black with veins of blue within them. Finally, a pair of piercing opal-blue eyes snapped open. The Storm King was reborn!
"I'm free." he whispered as he gazed upon his now flesh-and-blood hands. "I'm FREE!"
He tossed his head back and let out a booming laugh.
"THE STORM KING IS BACK BA-ow."
The Storm King suddenly felt a jolt of pain throughout his entire body. It was if someone had replaced his blood with shards of glass and set them on fire.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-OW! OW! OOOOW! OOOOOW!!! Good grief this hurts! Wait, why does this hurt!?"
"Oh, yes," the lead Storm Creature spoke up. "I forgot to tell you that the de-petrification process without the Staff of Sacanas is incredibly painful."
"Oh, gee," the Storm King rolled his eyes... which also hurt like heck. "Ya... think? By the way... who are you again? You look kinda familiar."
"I'm Klavis, my liege." the Storm Creature replied. "General Klavis to be precise."
The Storm King began to ponder on where he had heard that name. It seemed familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. Granted, the post de-petrification cramps didn't help, even if they were starting to fade.
"Klavis..." he muttered, "Klavis... Hmmmm."
"I was stationed to overlook the Canterlot occupation while Tempest went hunting for the last Alicorn, sire?"
"Doesn't ring a bell."
That certainly hurt Klavis emotionally that his own king didn't recognize him.
"We met during a pizza party, sire?"
The Storm King's eyes widened. "Ooooh! I thought you looked familiar. Glad to know you're still around. Now that we have the element of surprise, we can retake this city, and this time, I'll make sure those ponies are locked away in a cold, dark dungeon where I never have to look at their stupid, cute faces ever again!"
"Ummm, about that, sire," Klavis told him with a nervous laugh. "We only have about a hundred soldiers still loyal to you. A hundred and twelve to be exact."
"What." the Storm King looked at Klavis as if he had grown a second and third head.
"Yeeeah," Klavis continued. "It turns out most of our forces either surrendered, retired, or switched sides with the ponies following your defeat. We're all that's left of your army. If we attack them now, we'd be severely outnumbered."
The Storm King shrugged. "Eh, no worries, a few good obsidian orbs and we won't have to worry about numbers. Not with a bunch of equine birdbaths, anyway."
Klavis let out a nervous sound. "Sire, you left Tempest in charge of the orbs. She took them all when she defected."
The Storm King growled at the mention of his former lieutenant's name.
"Oh, I'll be sure to deal with that traitor one way or another." he growled.
"But," Klavis asked confused. "Didn't you betray her?"
The Storm King waved it off, his pain now fading away faster with each movement he made.
"Eh, details, details," he replied. "Just so long as we have the Staff of Sacanai... Sacanhak? Sacranos? Sacramento...? The Staff, we can just steal the magic from the princesses and I can be a walking army once more!"
Klavis let out a nervous laugh. "Ummm, sire... About the Staff..."
(French Narrator: One nervous explanation later...)
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE STAFF-?" The Storm King exploded only to be shushed by his general, who pointed toward the window with the ponies talking with each other.
"What do you mean the staff's somewhere else!?" he whisper-shouted.
"I mean the Staff is somewhere else, my liege," Klavis explained. "We searched the purple alicorn's castle for it but we came up short. We have no idea where they put it or if they destroyed it. I'm sorry, my king, but I speak the truth. The staff is nowhere to be found."
The Storm King groaned as he paced around the garden, his pain now gone. This was just great; first his army was diminished to a few loyalists, then he was without a weapon that could ensure him victory, and now the thing that would've ensured his complete and utter dominance was nowhere to be seen and quite possibly destroyed. How could he be a conqueror if he didn't have the means or resources to conquer anything!?
"Okay, okay, we can still find a way around this," he sighed. "For the moment, we need to lay low and plan our next move."
With that, the Storm King, Klavis, and the Storm Elite snuck out of Canterlot Gardens and into the woods beyond, just as Twilight and her friends along with the Princesses were leading Tempest to the location.
"Tempest, you really shouldn't worry," Twilight told the chipped-horned unicorn. "We got the Storm King's statute under lock and key."
"I just want clarification, Twilight." Tempest replied. She was already feeling anxiety over seeing her former king's petrified form.
"It's right he-heee-heee-heee-heee-heeeee-heeeee-heee-HEEERE!?" Twilight stopped in shock at the sight of the Storm King's statue... or rather the lack of it.
"Bu-bu-but," Twilight stammered as she walked over to the empty dais. "It was right here. It was here this morning. It couldn't have just... walked off! He couldn't have just w-walked off. Where is he? Where is the Storm King!?"
"Maybe they moved it?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly hopeful.
"Fluttershy," Applejack deadpanned. "Ya don't just move a statue fer the sake a-movin' it. Ya have ta have a reason ta move it."
"Yeah," interjected Rainbow Dash. "Besides, don't you think somepony woulda told the Princesses they were moving the statue of the tyrant who nearly conquered Equestria in a day?"
"We could just ask them," Rarity suggested before turning to Luna and Celestia. "Did you-"
The Princesses' response was blunt and simultaneous. "No."
Just then Spike noticed something on the dais. It was blue and stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Hey, guys," he said. "Has that always been there?"
The ponies' attention was turned to what Spike was talking about. Grubber stepped up and rubbed the residue. When he realized what it was, his already wide eyes got wider.
"Oh," he spoke, uncharacteristically darkly. "Thith ain't good, guyth. Thith is the rethidue of a thapphire orb!"
"A what?" Spike asked.
"It wath developed fairly lately into the Thtorm King'th reign. They were dethigned to counteract the effectth of the obthidian orbth."
"Why would anyone create those?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Kinda defeats the purpose of having a super weapon that can freeze ya in your tracks."
"Inthurance purpothes mothly." Grubber replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Y'know, get 'em frozen, then uthe one 'a thethe and get 'em ta thpill the beanth or proclaim their loyalty to you tho they won't get a face full of obthidan again."
"I thought you were gonna talk about those." Spike gestured to four sets of footprints leading away from the dais.
"The Storm King is free." Twilight spoke in an emotionless tone which belied her shocked face. "Th-The Storm King is... free."
She chuckled anxiously as a humorless grin started to appear on her face while her eye twitched. "The... The STORM KING... Is... Free. Heh heh heh, heh-heh. Heh."
"You're taking this better than usual, Twilight." Pinkie spoke up.
That proved to be the tipping point as Twilight's wings flared up and her voice rose to an enormous high.
"OH SWEET HORSEFEATHERS ON THE WINGS OF FAUST HERSELF, THE STORM KING IS FREE!!!!"
Twilight's outburst caused her friends to jump, even Celestia and Luna flinched at the lavender alicorn's outburst.
"This is bad, this is very, very, very bad! Who knows what kind of damage the Storm King can do now that he's free!? But, we can cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. Oh, WHO am I KIDDING!? This bridge has already been crossed and danced on at this point! But, right now, the best thing we can do is remain calm and hope it doesn't escalate!"
She then whipped around to face her friends, a manic expression on her face.
"CALM, EVERYPONY! WHY AREN'T YOU ALL BEING CALM!? THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO PANIC!!!!"
*Smack*
At that point, Pinkie had walked up to the spiraling Element of Magic and smacked her face with her hoof.
"Feeling better?" she asked.
"I guess," Twilight replied. In fact she sounded better... for about two seconds. "BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T CHANGE HOW THE STORM KING IS GOING TO WIPE THE FLOOR WITH US IF WE DON'T STOP HIM-!"
*Smack x2*
Pinkie once again hit her panicking friend.
"Okay, okay." Twilight paused to catch her breath. She then noticed Pinkie about to smack her again but caught her hoof with her telekinesis.
"Umm, that's okay, Pinkie," she told the Element of Laughter sheepishly. "I'm all better now."
"That still doesn't change our situation," Tempest spoke up. "The Storm King is out there and possibly with loyalists. We need a plan to stop him and now."
"Eh, why should we be worried?" Rainbow Dash asked arrogantly. "We beat him before, and we can beat him again. He doesn't have the Staff of Sacrat-"
"Sacanas," Luna corrected.
"Yeah, thanks, Princess," Rainbow muttered before continuing. "He doesn't have any obsidian orbs, so good luck trying to petrify any of us. And he's only got, maybe, what? A hoof-full of loyalists with him? What's there to be afraid of?"
Tempest cast Rainbow Dash a dangerous glare and marched up to her until their muzzles were touching.
"What's there to be afraid of, Rainbow Dash?" she asked in a deathly calm voice. "What's. There. To. Be. Afraid. Of? You'd be surprised. Yes, you beat him before, but that was because of one lucky shot and him getting caught up in petrification mist. I'd however, like to point out that the Storm King, oafish that he may be, is still a conqueror with several victories under his belt, even without the Staff of Sacanas. He also possesses a strategic mind unlike anything you've ever comprehended. The only reason you beat him the last time was because of sheer. Dumb. Luck. So, my advice to you, Dashie?"
She got up so close that her muzzle was now pressing up against Rainbow Dash's.
"Underestimate him at your own peril."
"Okay, okay," Rainbow Dash replied. "Point taken."
"So, what do we do?" Spike asked.
"I can ask Novo to send the Hippogriffs on patrol around the borders." Celestia volunteered.
"But what about a direct confrontation?" Twilight inquired. "Because, if he does get his hands on a fully-charged Staff of Sacanas, we're in big trouble. And considering Sunset and her otherworld friends already filled it up with his own runaway magic, he can just skip the middle stallion and simply fry us without needing to absorb our magic."
"It'd be worse if he finds out what it can also be used for." Luna spoke in a dark tone.
That made the ponies pause in fright. There was something else the Staff could be used for?
"Forgive me asking this, Princess," Rarity gulped. "But, what can it also be used for."
"It can be used to awaken the most ferocious beast in all of Equestria," Luna replied. "The Great Stormbringer."
Fluttershy squeaked up, "Wh-what's a Gr-Great St-St-Stormbringer?"
"A dragon who could summon storms with the mere waving of her talons, the flapping of her wings, the whip of her tail, or the sound of her roar." Luna answered.
"Oh, so, it'd just be the Staff of Sacanas," Twilight asked. "Except, instead of a staff, it's a dragon?"
"No." Celestia replied. "The Great Stormbringer could summon storms that could swallow entire continents, even the world if left unchecked. That is why, all those years ago, Luna, King Scorpan, the Pillars, and I sealed her away in a stone tomb and cast her into a deep slumber. The Staff was created to keep her asleep and given to Scorpan to keep her in check until the end of his days when it would've been passed to his heir or anyone else willing to take the throne of King Vendak. However, the Staff was stolen from his tomb-"
"By the Storm King." Tempest finished gravely. "If he finds out what that's used for..."
"We can kiss Equestria goodbye." Rainbow Dash realized, her wings drooping to her side and eyes widening in horror.
"Not just Equestria," Twilight spoke softly. "The entire world. Girls, I-I don't think we'd be enough. We're gonna need outside help. I don't just mean the Dragons, or the Griffons, or the Hippogriffs, or the Changelings, or the Yaks, or, even, and I can't believe I'm saying this, not even Discord."
The moment Twilight said that name, a swirling, pink and purple tornado materialized in the garden center. The tornado spun towards Twilight at a frightening speed... only to stop. Then, with the sound of a party horn, multi-colored confetti launched out of the tornado into her face as a voice could be heard.
"DID SOMEPONY SAY MY NAME!?"
The tornado dissipated and transformed into the familiar form of the Draconequus who was clad in a multi-colored tuxedo that would make Rarity faint on just how... unsightly it looked.
"I'm so sorry for being so late to the luncheon," Discord apologized. "I had to save the people of the Ninth Dimension from a giant monkey man."
He then scowled and pulled up a t-shirt with a picture of the same disappointed face. "Kinda wish I didn't because they only gave me a t-shirt for my troubles. Last time I stick out my neck for another dimension other than this one if they can't give me a reward better than this."
He tossed the shirt at Rarity's face.
"Here, Rarity," he told the white unicorn. "You can give that to Opal as a scratching post."
"Hey, Discord," Fluttershy spoke up. "We kind of need your help here."
"Oh, anything for you, dear Fluttershy," Discord told her sweetly. "Do you need me to help with Harry's irritable bowels again?"
"Ummm, no."
"Does Angel need a playdate? Of course, that means turning Quincy into a biped and you know how much he hates that."
"No."
"It doesn't involve saving the people of the Eighth Dimension from the LITTLE Monkey Man, right?"
"Goodness, no."
"Well, what is it?"
"Well, for one thing, it's not animal-related."
Discord raised his smaller eyebrow.
"Well, what is the problem you need me to help with?"
"It involves the Storm King." Fluttershy answered.
"The Storm King?" Discord asked before realizing who she was talking about, "Oh, do you mean that satyr who tried to conquer all of Equestria and put so much stress on Twilight it nearly destroyed her friendship and got her into a nasty verbal fight with Pinkie Pie?"
The moment Discord mentioned that, Pinkie and Twilight exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other, both remembering how painful that spat was.
"Ummm, yes?" Fluttershy replied.
"Hey, wait a minute," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "How did YOU know that happened? You weren't even there!"
"Oh, my dear Rainbow Dash," Discord said as he coiled around her. "You forget; I am the spirit of Chaos."
He then teleported into a meditative pose with a turban on his head and a third eye on his forehead, his eagle talons and lion claws pinched together.
"I AM OMNIPOTENT!!!!" he spoke in a booming, multi-layered voice that made the Canterlot Voice seem tame by comparison.
He then teleported again, this time without his tuxedo or his turban.
"So, what do you need help with?"
"We need heroes from somewhere else who can help us."
Discord nodded.
"Ah, yes, a search for heroes," Discord said. "Well, let's see what the ol' multiverse can offer us."
With that, Discord snapped his fingers and a bluish hole appeared, with what looked like TV static in the center.
"Now, let's see what we can see," he announced pulling out a remote control.
He began surfing through the "channels" to find a universe from which they could bring heroes from. The first was a universe where the ponies looked like characters from a Rubberhose cartoon.
"Nope." Discord said.
He flipped the channel to a universe where the ponies looked like something out of an anime.
"Cute, but, not what we're looking for." Discord commented.
The next was a channel where the ponies looked like gritty 90's characters in a post-apocalyptic Equestria.
"Definitely not. We're trying to keep this story somewhat child-friendly!"
Afterwards, Discord started flipping through channels at a vigorous rate. Just then, the ponies saw images of what looked like heroes that weren't from Equestria.
"Hey, wait," Pinkie spoke up, "I think I saw something."
"Hold on, let me circle back." Discord replied as he started going back, not letting up on the speed. "Just tell me when to stop."
The ponies watched as Discord cycled back to where they had seen the images until they saw them again and shouted at him to stop. When he did, they watched the images play out before them. What they saw left them awestruck. There were five figures, each unique to each other; a muscular, pink starfish summoning clouds of ice cream with the power of his mind, a chiseled teal octopus using a clarinet to produce sonic booms, a... squirrel wearing a bowl over her head doing battle with a giant worm, a crab fighting off a legion of ghosts armed with nothing more than a wet mop, and finally, a yellow, square-shaped sponge striking a heroic pose with a spatula like a sword.
Were these the heroes Equestria needed? Well, there could've been worse options. And, frankly, they were desperate.
"Luna," Celestia told her sister. "Go to the vaults and retrieve... it."
Luna nodded and teleported away. Five seconds later, she teleported back, a large, multi-colored gem in her telekinetic hold.
"Princess," Twilight asked. "What is that?"
"This is the Summoner Opal." Celestia replied. "It will allow our friends from that universe to come into our world. We simply need to send it there and have them touch it."
She turned her attention to Discord.
"Do what needs to be done." she told him.
Discord snapped his fingers and he was now wearing a golfer's attire. He placed his club next to the Opal and lined up the shot.
"OPAL IN THE HOLE!" he shouted and he launched the Summoner Opal into the portal which closed behind it.
"Now what?" Applejack asked.
"Now?" Celestia replied. "Now we wait for our new friends to find it before it's too late."
And so, the ponies could only hope the Opal arrived in its location...
Bikini Bottom.
Author's Note
Continuity wise: This takes place after the events of Spring Breakdown for MLP as well as after the events of Season 8 but two years before Season 9.
As for SpongeBob: It takes place somewhere in Season 12.
BTW, Klavis is voiced by Justin Theroux.
I am also using some concepts from the scrapped original idea for the 2017 movie such as the Storm King being a monster who could summon storms out of the ether.
Bikini Bottom Day/Contact with Another World
French Narrator: Ah, Bikini Bottom, truly a wonderous place to live. It is here, we see ze citizens of zis town going about zeir daily lives. But, our story is not centered around zem, my friends. No, it is centered around our star, ze one, and only... SpongeBob Squarepants. Let us see him go about his day, oui?
SpongeBob tossed and turned in his bed furiously.
"No, no," he muttered in his sleep. "Why is it closed, why is the Krusty Krab closed? AND WHY AM I STUCK IN THE WRINGER AGAIN!?"
Just then, the foghorn clock honked at him, launching his blanket from his body.
"Oh, phew," SpongeBob sighed in relief. "Just a bad dream. But, now that my nightly terror is over... I'M READY!"
The yellow sea sponge jumped out of bed with an exuberant cry which woke up his pet snail, Gary.
"Meow." Gary meowed at being woken up.
"Good morning to you too, Gary," SpongeBob replied. "What a beautiful day in Bikini Bottom!"
With that, SpongeBob leapt into action. After taking a bath, and putting on his pants/shirt combo, SpongeBob settled himself down to a nice breakfast of kelp bacon, kelp ham, eggs, and sandtoast (his personal favorite back at the Hamalot restaurant down at Goo Lagoon). Once Breakfast was over, he skipped his way to work.
"I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready-eddy-eddy-eddy-eddy-ready!" he chanted as he went.
Squidward Tentacles was in a more miserable mood than usual. He had a decent weekend at least, what with SpongeBob and his moronic best friend Patrick Star out of town during the week for the annual Jellyfishing Convention. But, like all good things, it was destined to end. He at least made sure to head down to the Krusty Krab early to give him a head start from the yellow headache that was his neighbor.
"Well, I've been walking for a bit," he muttered somewhat optimistic. "Maybe I might make it to work without having to have a conversation with-"
"HIIII, SQUIDWAAAAARD~!"
Of course, the idiot found him.
"Well, it was good while it lasted... for three minutes." Squidward groaned.
"So," SpongeBob asked him as he got a bit too close to the octopus' comfort zone. "How was your week? Oh, did you miss me and Patrick?"
Squidward gave the sponge a peripheral glare. "No."
"Not even a little bit?"
"No," Squidward replied again. "In fact, it was probably the best week of my life since I didn't have to listen to you or that dimwit Patrick for five whole days."
If SpongeBob could register that, he didn't exactly show it. He just kept giving Squidward the same, idiotic, buck-toothed grin he always did.
"We're gonna have so much fun at the Krusty Krab today," SpongeBob beamed. "What are you looking forward to?"
"Easy," Squidward replied in his typical deadpan voice as they reached the doors of the Krusty Krab, not noticing it was surrounded by five, familiar, red buses. "Trying to ignore you."
SpongeBob paused with wide eyes... before bursting out into his signature laugh.
"That's a good one, Squidward!"
Squidward just grumbled and opened up the greasy spoon's doors... only to get hit by a flood of anchovies.
"Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep! Meep!" they all chanted.
"WHAT THE-!?" Squidward exclaimed in shock.
"Back! Back, ye hungry fiends! Ye'll all be fed!"
SpongeBob and Squidward could hear their boss, Eugene H. Krabs, over the meeping anchovies and poked their heads in to see the crab standing on the register boat, wielding a chair and a whip like a lionfish tamer. The owner and proprietor of the Krusty Krab then noticed his employees standing in the threshold, specifically SpongeBob.
"SpongeBob, me boy," he cried in relief. "Thank Neptune yer here! It's an anchovy feedin' frenzy! I need ye in the kitchen, ON THE DOUBLE!"
"Aye-Aye, Captain!" SpongeBob cried with a salute before making a dash for the kitchen, all the while avoiding anchovies. Squidward, in the mean time, just sauntered over to the register and plopped down and sighed. This was not how he wanted to spend the day, even less than when the Krusty Krab wasn't being besieged by anchovies... again.
"Go, SpongeBob," he grumbled sarcastically while he read his clarinet catalogue. "You've got this... or whatever."
SpongeBob walked into the kitchen and straightened out his hat as he did. He turned on the grill and walked over to a box welded to the kitchen wall next to it with the words, written in bright, red letters.
IN CASE OF ANCHOVY EMERGENCY
SpongeBob opened up the box, revealing what appeared to be an ordinary spatula... until he pushed a button on the handle, causing two more heads to appear on the port and starboard sides.
"Yeah." SpongeBob whispered with a determined look. "Let's get cookin'."
With that, the yellow sponge whipped into action, the spatula's extra heads acting as helicopter blades which allowed him to chop up lettuce, cheese, onions, and tomatoes into sheets. He went into the freezer to retrieve mountains of Krabby Patties which he hurled onto the grill. With lightning speed, he flipped the undersea burgers until they were grilled to perfection and layered them each accordingly. He flung armfuls of pickles into the water, each one landing perfectly on the assembled patties. SpongeBob later lined up each assembled patty in rows of ten by hundred, next to the condiments and squirted each one with a dollop of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and secret sauce.
"PATTIES IN THE HOLE!" he cried as he catapulted the patties out the kitchen window on each waiting anchovy's plate.
The anchovies, after having their bellies full of Krabby Patties exited the Krusty Krab with smiles on their faces and boarded the buses they came upon. SpongeBob blew on the special spatula's heads like it was a gun and flung it back in its box. He exited the kitchen to see Mr. Krabs hauling away five wheelbarrows, each one full of mountains of dollars so high, they nearly touched the ceiling.
"Excellent job as always, me bucko!" Mr. Krabs congratulated. "Ye saved the restaurant and filled me pockets with more money than I can count. I can always depend on ye, SpongeBob."
"Aw, it's nothing, Mr. Krabs," SpongeBob smiled bashfully. "Just doing my job."
"Just fer yer efforts," the crab said. "I'm gonna let ye and Squidward off early. So, I can count me loot."
"But, Mr. Krabs," SpongeBob pleaded, not ready to leave work just as soon as he arrived. "The day's still young. I don't think Squidward and I could bear leaving work so early! Right, Squidward? Squidward?"
As soon as SpongeBob had turned his head, he noticed the octopus making a beeline for the doors, laughing at the top of his lungs.
"FREEDOM! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Have fun having a boring rest of the day, SpongeBob," he waved off mockingly. "I've got a clarinet at home just DYING for me to play it! WHOOO-HOO-HOO-HOOO!!!"
"Well," SpongeBob said, still a bit apprehensive about leaving so early. "I guess I could leave. See you tomorrow, Mr. Krabs."
"No ye won't, SpongeBob." Mr. Krabs answered. "It's Sunday, remember? We're closed that day."
"Oh, right. How could I forget." SpongeBob was starting to get bummed out. "Well, see you next week."
"Take care, SpongeBob."
However, unbeknownst to them, their conversation was being watched by a telescope protruding from the restaurant across the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket. Or, more specifically, being watched by its owner; the evil yet diminutive Sheldon J. Plankton.
"Yes, savor your victory while you can, KRABS!" he snarled. "For I now have a surefire way to claim your precious Krabby Patty Secret Formula and soon, I will rule all of Bikini Bottom, AND THEN THE WORLD!"
He deactivated the telescope and let out a fiendish laugh... which fizzled out when he noticed his computer wife, Karen, wasn't laughing along with him... as usual.
"You know, you could be a bit more supportive," he told her.
"Well, sorry," Karen replied sarcastically. "It's just that I've heard this spiel millions of times that I know it like the back of my hard-drive; first you come up with some huge, overly ambitious scheme, then you nearly succeed, only to crash and burn in the most humiliating way possible. It's happened so many times, I even have a bingo card on the ways you're gonna fail."
Sure enough, she even showed him said bingo card. Even more humiliating was how she had already filled in the free space.
"So far, I'm betting on you getting squished underfin, second degree burns, or flushed down the toilet."
"But this plan is different, oh beloved yet faithless computer wife," Plankton explained. "For I will launch myself into SpongeBob and lay low inside of him until he goes into the Krusty Krab for work. Then, I will sneak into Krabs' vault, and steal the secret formula from under his stupid nose, and then, oh and then, I WILL RULE THE WORLD! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA... Ha... ha... ha... ha... ha."
He gave his wife a deadpan stare.
"You could at least laugh along with me, you know."
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha." Karen "laughed" in a deadpan tone that would make Squidward proud. And Plankton wondered why they got married in the first place.
"Just out of curiosity," Karen asked. "How do you plan on sneaking into SpongeBob anyway? He knows you want to steal the formula anyway, so good luck asking him to put you inside of him."
Plankton smirked at his wife.
"That's where this baby comes in," he announced walking over and pulling of the tarp of what looked like an old-timey cannon.
"A cannon?" Karen asked, raising an LCD eyebrow.
"Correct, Karen!" Plankton replied. "With this cannon, I shall launch myself into SpongeBob and wait until the right moment. Er, I did mention that little detail, right?"
"Yes." Karen replied before playing back a recording of Plankton's plan to him.
Just then, Plankton noticed SpongeBob leaving the Krusty Krab and his eye widened. His window, both literally and figuratively, was closing fast. It was now or never.
"Quickly, Karen," he ordered. "Open up the window and aim the cannon! I'll try to fire when he's not moving!"
Plankton jumped into the cannon and, using a remote control, scooted its muzzle close to the window just as SpongeBob had started turning the corner, only stopping to tie his shoelaces.
"Perfect." Plankton purred. "FIRE!"
BOOM!
The cannon shot Plankton out... with him covered in soot.
"Ouch." Plankton muttered as he sailed toward the yellow sponge. He made a mental note to himself just as he reached one of SpongeBob's holes: add less gunpowder to the cannon.
"And that should be about... it," SpongeBob murmured as he tightened his laces. He then paused as he felt like something had gone inside of him. He tapped the side of his head but, when nothing came out, he shrugged and went off on his merry way, remembering Mrs. Puff was doing a Saturday test.
Plankton sighed in relief after having clung to the edges of the hole he had landed in. A few more taps and his grip would've loosened and his plan would fall apart. He chuckled darkly to himself. His plan was going exactly as he had intended. Now, he had to make sure it stayed that way.
Mrs. Puff beamed with pride as she presented the renewed driver's license to Old Man Jenkins. The elderly fish had just completed his Saturday test with flying colors. And it only took him forty tries in the past twelve months.
"Congratulations, Mr. Jenkins," she told him. "Here is your freshly renewed license. Now, try not to cause too much damage when you're back on the road... again."
"Hee hee hee hee!" Jenkins cackled as he drove off in his old-timey, broken down boat. "Look out, Bikini Bottom, Old Man Jenkins is back behind the wheel. YEEE-HAWWW!"
He raced off, kicking up a cloud of smoke right in the pufferfish's face, sending her into a coughing fit. Mrs. Puff sighed as she checked off the list of people she had seen today. It would soon be time to close down the Boating School for the day and she, thankfully, hadn't seen a glimpse or heard the laughter of-
"HI, MRS. PUFF!"
SpongeBob.
"SpongeBob?" she asked in shock. "Wh-why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Oh, I got let off early today," SpongeBob replied.
"Oh," Mrs. Puff said, a nervous smile starting to appear on her face after hearing what her #1 problem student told her. "Y-You don't say. How, horrifying, I MEAN NICE! How... nice."
"So, I decided I can finally do one of these Saturday classes and get my boating license!" SpongeBob cried as he hopped into an empty boat.
"Well, what're ya waiting for, Mrs. Puff?" he cried out. "I'm not gonna get my license with you standing there!"
Mrs. Puff groaned but walked over to the passenger's seat. Once she was in the boat, she pulled out her clipboard and sighed.
"Well, SpongeBob," she muttered, knowing all too well what was going to happen next. "Let's just... get this over with."
"You got it, Mrs. P!" SpongeBob cried as he turned the key.
(French Narrator: One disastrous boating test later...)
SpongeBob had at least remembered how to correctly park the boat. Both he and Mrs. Puff's eyes were widened. Before them, the Boating School lay in ruins. The lighthouse's upper floors were cut in half and dangling precariously, the track was torn up like someone had taken a jackhammer to the roads and dragged it along with them, the school looked as though someone had driven a bulldozer down the center, and worst of all, the other boats were totaled beyond repair, some of them, somehow stacked on top of each other like a playing card house. This level of destruction was never possible on weekday tests.
"Ummm, well." SpongeBob muttered, still shocked at the carnage that lay before him. "Ummm, see you next week, Mrs. Puff. Heh-heh-heh."
With that, SpongeBob opened the driver's door and walked away. As he closed the door, a piece of debris fell on Mrs. Puff's head, causing her to inflate. Puff's eyes dropped into a deadpan stare.
"I wonder if it's too late to skip town." she muttered.
All the while a single voice could be heard from the wreckage.
"My leg!" Fred cried out in pain. "My leg...!"
Next up, SpongeBob had gone over to Sandy's Treedome. He made sure to fill his bowl with water so he wouldn't dry out from exposure to the air inside the Texan squirrel's domicile. However, the moment he reached the Treedome, something was wrong. It was filled with what looked like mist and unnatural sounds. Sounds belonging to something big, mean, and alive.
"Uh, Sandy...?" SpongeBob asked as he got in for a better look.
*WHAM*
Sandy was slammed against the face of the dome by a purple, gnarled tentacle wrapped around her waist. He couldn't see what it was attached to, but he had a fairly good idea about what it was.
"Oh, howdy, SpongeBob!" Sandy greeted him as if nothing was wrong. "Sorry, ah can't hang out t'day. Trudy got out of her cage again and she's ornerier than a rattlesnake in the dog days a' Summer."
"Do you need any help?" SpongeBob asked.
"Naw," Sandy shook her head. "Ah got 'er in her cage once and Ah can do it again."
She pulled out a large cattleprod and zapped the tentacle, causing Trudy to roar in pain and drop her.
"Now, if y'all excuse me..." Sandy said sweetly, while holding the prod like a sword. "Trudy, time ta be a good girl and get back in yer cage."
In response, eleven more tentacles emerged from the mist attached to a vaguely feline silhouette with four, glowing eyes glaring at the squirrel. Sandy let out a battle cry and charged at the scientific abomination, disappearing into the mist with only their silhouettes being visible through the flashes of the squirrel's cattleprod.
"DON'T MAKE ME GET MR. NIGHT-NIGHT AGAIN!!" Sandy could be heard shouting over the sounds of fighting.
"Well," SpongeBob sighed. "You do that, Sandy."
He then walked off and let the squirrel and her sin against nature settle things out. He was getting kind of peckish and, what better way than to stave off an empty stomach than some ice cream down at Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat. He had settled for the Nut Bar and was poking at his Triple Gooberberry Sunrise with his spoon.
"Hey, buddy," the waiter asked him. "Are you gonna eat that or just keep pokin' it?"
"I'll eat it," SpongeBob told him. "I'm just having a moment, that's all."
The waiter rolled his eyes and walked away. Just then, a familiar voice rang out.
"Hi, SpongeBob!"
It was Patrick. The pink starfish took a seat next to his friend. He then ordered TGS just like SpongeBob and began to greedily dig into it, sending splatters of ice cream all across the room, save the waiter who preemptively opened up an umbrella.
"So," Patrick said. "What's up with you?"
SpongeBob scooped up some ice cream and put it in his mouth. Once he swallowed he sighed.
"I'm just bored, Patrick."
"Bored?" Patrick asked whilst licking his bowl for melted ice cream. "What's there to be bored about?"
"Well, I got off work early today for starters," SpongeBob explained. "Then I went to try the Saturday driving test and failed, and Sandy had her hands full at her dome. Hey, Patrick?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Do you ever think I could do... more in my life than just go to work, go to boating school, and eat Triple Gooberberry Sunrises?"
"What," Patrick asked. "You mean like eat... Quadruple Gooberberry Sunrises?"
"That's not what I mean, Pat."
"Quintuple Gooberberry Sunrises?"
"No, not that either."
"You mean-?"
"No, Patrick," SpongeBob sighed. "This has nothing to do with Gooberberry Sunrises. I mean, do you ever have the feeling of something grand just waiting to call out to you... only to find out it doesn't even have your number?"
"I... think so." Patrick said before blanking out. "What was the question again?"
SpongeBob just sighed and took two more bites out of his ice cream.
"Never mind."
"Maybe your answer lies in a song." Patrick announced, pulling out a pitch pipe and blowing into it.
Patrick: (singing) When-
"Ahem!"
The song was interrupted by the waiter grumpily pointing to a bright, yellow sign on the Nut Bar's threshold that read "No singing/dancing in the Nut Bar".
"Well, my point is, SpongeBob," Patrick told him. "Your call to something grand may be just around the corner. Or that corner, or that corner, or that corner, or that one, or that one, or that one, or that one, or-"
"I think I get it, Patrick," SpongeBob said, noticing his friend was starting to sound like a broken record.
"That's the spirit, buddy," beamed Patrick as he lightly punched his friend's shoulder while his eyes slowly trailed to SpongeBob's barely touched sundae.
"So," he inquired. "Are you gonna eat that or-?"
SpongeBob slid his sundae over to Patrick and walked off.
"I'm going home, Pat," SpongeBob told his friend. "See you tomorrow."
Patrick waved his friend goodbye, his cheeks still filled with ice cream.
The rest of the day was as uneventful as it went after SpongeBob returned to his pineapple. Even though it was still twilight, he felt more tired than ever. At the moment, the best thing he could do was just curl up in bed. He went up the stairs, having traded his shirt/pants for nightclothes and a cap. Gary was tucked in underneath his arm as they entered the bedroom.
"Well, Gary," he told his snail. "Today's been a draining day. But, who knows? Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting."
"Meow." Gary replied.
However, just when they entered the bedroom, the unexpected happened.
"Hey, Gary?" SpongeBob asked as they came upon a swirling, blue vortex hovering on the ceiling. "Has that always been there?"
"Meow."
"Yeah, I thought so."
Just then, a giant, multi-colored object fell out of it and landed on his bed. The sponge and snail exchanged glances and cautiously walked up to the gem.
"Meow?" Gary inquired his owner.
"I dunno, Gare-Bear," SpongeBob replied. "It looks like it might be... a paperweight."
"Meow?" Gary asked in a way that sounded like he was saying "seriously?"
"Yeah, you got a point there, Gary." SpongeBob replied noting that the "paperweight" was the size of a football. "Besides, why would the powers that be send us a giant paperweight in the first place?"
He picked up the object, noting it to be rather light despite its size. Just then, there was a flash of light and then a female voice.
"Hello? Can you hear us?"
SpongeBob, having his eyes readjusted to the flash, saw the source of the voice; four, ethereal, equine heads, one that was white with a pink tinge in color with a mane that looked like an "aurora borealis" thing Sandy talked about from the surface, a dark blue one with a mane that resembled the night sky, complete with stars and galaxies, one that was a deeper pink with a pink, purple, and yellow patterned mane, and one that was lavender with a dark purple, indigo, and red streaked mane.
The white head spoke up first.
"Hello," she spoke. "I hope we didn't startle you but-"
"Oh my gosh," SpongeBob whispered in shock, dropping the object. "GHOSTS THAT LOOK LIKE FLOATING, DISEMBODIED HORSE HEADS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Umm," the purple head cleared her throat. "We're not ghosts and we're not floating heads."
"We are transmitting a message through the Summoner Opal." the blue one spoke.
"Well, what do you want with me?" SpongeBob asked.
"We're calling you because we want your help." the pink one told him.
"An evil force that threatened our world is returning and could bring doom to us all." the white head explained.
"We're calling you because you and your friends might be the only ones capable of averting such a catastrophe." the purple head added.
"Well, why me?" SpongeBob asked.
"To be honest," the pink one said. "We need all the help we can get and you fit the bill."
"The question is," the blue one asked. "Are you willing to help us?"
SpongeBob thought for a moment. On the one hand, he was probably throwing himself, and his friends, in harm's way. However, on the other hand, this may have been the call he was waiting for, to do something grand and exciting as well as selfless. And if it wasn't the call, it was certainly a call, and who was he to ignore a call for help? Wasn't that what heroes like Mermaid Man, Barnacle Boy, or the International Justice League of Super Acquaintances were built around answering calls for help? He made his decision.
"I'll do it," SpongeBob told them. "Tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" the white head asked.
"Well, because it's late," SpongeBob explained. "And my friends are probably fast asleep by now, and I need to sleep too, sooo..."
"Then it's settled," the purple head nodded. "See you and your friends tomorrow, Mister, uh... what's your name?"
"The name is Squarepants," the yellow sponge replied. "SpongeBob Squarepants."
"Very well," the white head nodded. "Before we leave, our names are Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight. A bit late in giving our names, but, better than never."
"Until then, rest easy," Luna told him. "You will need it, SpongeBob Squarepants."
With that, the heads faded away into mist and the Summoner Opal's glow vanished. SpongeBob gave a salute and hopped into bed, preparing for the big day that would soon follow. But, a thought occurred to him. How in Neptune's name was he going to convince his friends to come along?
