The Cine-magic Series: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Waterby FilmicTwilightChaptersPart 3: The Formula Goes MissingPart 4: On The RunPart 5: Jailbreak & Time MachinesPart 6: Time Travel TroublePart 7: Mission IncompletePart 8: A New Human WorldPart 9: Super-powered ShowdownPart 10: The Power of TeamworkPart 1: A Sea Tale BeginsPart 2: Battle in Bikini BottomPart 3: The Formula Goes MissingFluttershy still couldn't shake the guilt away. The yellow sea pony watched as Plankton sobbed out a river against the Krusty Krab sign. The others didn't really seem to share her guilt or sympathy, however. "If he's poured all his time and effort into stealing this one object, then sympathy is the last thing he deserves. it's just pathetic by now," is what Rainbow had said earlier. Fluttershy thought that way of thinking was a little hypocritical. They all had goals that were just as important to them. Admittedly, none were cynical or selfish goals like Plankton's, but that was besides the point. And even then, they still allow to let Discord roam free despite his mischievousness. And while it took some time to warm up to Starlight, Twilight was willing to take her in despite what she was willing to do to keep her equality village intact. And so, she could only watch Plankton cry his eyes out. However, Fluttershy wasn't only one watching him. "He's been out there crying for 20 minutes," Mr. Krabs said, holding up a spyglass. "Pathetic. I'm just going to go out there and gloat a little." Handing the spyglass to SpongeBob, he walked outside with an cheeky smile. "Um...SpongeBob? I want to ask you a question. If that's alright with you," Fluttershy said softly. "Sure, Fluttershy,” SpongeBob responded. "Is this what usually happens when Plankton...attacks?" The sea pony asked. "Well not every time. And the times it does happens, Plankton always bounces back with another plan to steal the formula,” SpongeBob answered. "Wait. So it's all just an act?" Fluttershy questioned. "No, not really, but, it wouldn't surprise me if he was scheming up another plan right this minute,” the sea sponge said confidently. Fluttershy looked back at Plankton who was still crying against the sign. That's when Applejack swam up to her. "Mind if ah talk to ya for a second, Fluttershy," the orange sea pony asked. "Oh. Of course, Applejack,” Fluttershy said politely. The two swam away for some privacy, leaving SpongeBob by himself. From inside the safe in Mr. Krabs office, the penny Plankton had given to the restaurant owner popped open and out came...Plankton? He laughed victoriously which was quickly halted when he felt a sharp pain down his back. Plankton grunted as he cracked his back, relieving himself of the cramped soreness. "Cyclops to Laptop. Come in, Laptop,” Plankton said through the headset microphone. Meanwhile, back at the Chum Bucket, Karen, Plankton's computer wife, was playing solitaire with a deck of cards. "Laptop." you do realize that nickname is demeaning?" she replied sharply. "I have twice the processing power of a laptop." "Never mind. Maintain radio silence,” Plankton said quietly. He gasped when he spotted the secret formula sitting in the center of the safe. He threw the headset to the side and slowly walked over to the bottle. "Finally!" Plankton said, rubbing his hands together. He stopped and look down, noticing an elevated portion of the safe's floor that surrounded the bottle with wires attached to it. "A pressure plate, eh, Krabs?" the evil organism said smugly. "Amateur hour." He opened the safe door and looked around Krabs's office, trying to spot anything he could use as a substitute for formula. Lo and behold, on Mr. Krabs's desk, sat another bottle that held a miniature pirate ship. "Perfect," Plankton said with a devilish grin. He got to work. He pushed the ship out and stood the bottle upright. Taking a pen, he wrote something down on a piece of paper, rolled it up, put it in the bottle, and corked it shut. "Not a bad likeness," Plankton said to himself. He made his way back to pressure plate with the fake formula bottle. "Good enough to fool that idiot Krabs,” he carefully slid the fake bottle in place of the real formula. "Easy, easy." The fake formula now sat on the pressure plate. It beeped several times with a green light flashing, then it stopped. Plankton stood with an accomplished smile. Now it was time to take the real formula back to the Chum Bucket. Back outside, the other Plankton was still crying while Mr. Krabs moonwalked around him in a gloating manner. "Plankton's broke! Ha, ha!" the red crab sang. "Look at Mr. Krabs go," SpongeBob said. "I've never seen him gloat this hard before." "Really?" Rainbow swam up to the sea sponge. "With how arrogant he is, that's surprising to hear." "C'mon, he's not that bad,” SpongeBob replied. Back outside, Mr. Krabs laughed once more at Plankton’s misery. "Hey, well, Plankton, me bunions are telling me it's time to stop gloating,” he grabbed Plankton by the antenna, but then noticed a thin piece of string out of his head. "Looks like you're falling apart at the seams." Mr. Krabs pulled on the string. It unraveled Plankton's skin revealing that it wasn't Plankton at all. Mr. Krabs stood there dumbfounded. "Poor me. Sob, sob,” the fake Plankton sparked. "A robot?" the greedy restaurant owner said in disbelief. To make matters worse, SpongeBob had just entered Mr. Krabs office. He spotted the real Plankton with the secret formula in-hand. "Plankton?!" the sponge gasped. "Uh, oh," Plankton turned around too quickly and knocked the fake bottle off the pressure plate. It rolled out of the safe and onto the floor. "That ain't good." "Initiating lockdown sequence" a robotic speaker announced. A siren went off and a red light craned down from the ceiling, flashing every so often. The Mane 7 all looked around in confusion and apprehension, when they noticed SpongeBob in a panicked state. The quickly rushed over to him. "SpongeBob what's going on?" Twilight asked in concern. SpongeBob pointed at the safe where Plankton stood with the secret formula. The sea ponies and pufferfish all gasped in shock. "How did you get in there?!" Spike asked in shock. "Wouldn't you like to know, bloatboy," Plankton said harshly. "Me Formuler!" Mr. Krabs said with a horrified look. He turned to see the Krusty Krab's interior flashing red, signaling to the crab that someone was taking the formula. Inside the restaurant, metal bars and doors encased windows, doorways, and every possible escape route. Customers panicked as metal walls encased themselves around the Krusty Krab. Even Squidward was encased by them. He groaned, realizing what was going on. Mr. Krabs raced to the front entrance to get inside. "No, no, no! No!" Mr. Krabs arrived too late. He banged on the metal wall. "Squidward! Open up!" The Plankton robot stood back up and began to dance. "Ha, ha. Victory dance. Boo-ya,” it said. Back inside, SpongeBob ran over and grabbed the formula bottle. "Give me that!" he strained, trying to pull the bottle away from Plankton's clutches. The Mane 7 joined in, grabbing hold of the sponge and pulling back. "That doesn't belong to you," Twilight grunted. "Come on, SpongeBob, ladies, Join me!" Plankton yelled. "And we'll be rich and powerful, until I eventually betray you all.” He looked around, trying to think of anything else to say to convince them. “Join me!" "No! Never! I'm on Team Krabs for life!" SpongeBob resisted. "Exactly!" Pinkie held up a foam hand with Team Krabs written on it. "We ain't ever joinin' you, ya thievin' varmint,” Applejack said. "Geez, for someone as small as him, he sure is strong,” Rarity admitted. While that was going on, Mr. Krabs had finally pulled the wall apart and opened the front doors. "Plankton!" he bellowed. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all pulled back hard, but Plankton didn't relent. "Give it up already,” Rainbow growled. "Never!" Plankton seethed. Back and forth the tug-of-war went, both sides sweating and straining to take the bottle. All of a sudden, the Krabby Patty secret formula disappeared in a cloud of magic sparks and bubbles. The nine sea creatures stood there in complete surprise and confusion. "What? Where'd it go?" SpongeBob wondered. "Ooo. Is this a magic trick?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "Read the room, Pinkie," Twilight said. "Wait a minute. Molecular deconstruction? I proved that to be a scientific impossibility seven times!" Plankton thought to himself. "Wait a minute. I think I forgot to empty Gary's litter box today." SpongeBob thought to himself. "Was that some kind of vanishing spell? If it was, where did it go?" Twilight thought to herself. "Did that stupid green bean do that? No, he looks just as confused as we do," Rainbow thought to herself. " You know. I think I should try a Krabby Patty myself," Pinkie thought to herself. Their thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Krabs barged through the office door. He gasped when he saw that the formula was gone. "Where's me formuler, Plankton?" the irate crustacean demanded angrily. "I...I don't know! It just disappeared!" Plankton answered. "Why should I believe you, you lying liar?" Mr. Krabs asked, getting angrier by the second. "He ain't lyin', Mr. Krabs. He speaks the truth." Applejack defended. "Normally, I'd agree with you, Mr. Krabs, but this time he's telling the truth. It just vanished!" SpongeBob said. "Yeah. Into thin air,” Fluttershy added. "It's true!" Plankton shouted. Mr. Krabs wasn't listening. He grabbed Plankton and taped him to his office desk. Plankton looked around fearfully, sweat pouring down his body. "Mr. Krabs, I'm telling you he's innocent!" SpongeBob affirmed. "You're jumping to conclusions, dude,” Rainbow said. "Not now, dear. Leave this to the adults,” Mr. Krabs said sternly. "I am an adult!" the sea pony argued angrily. "What are you gonna do, Krabs?" Plankton asked nervously. "Pour hot oil on me? or put bamboo shoots under my nails?" "Dear, Faust, are you actually going to do that?" Rarity asked with a distraught tone. "No,” Mr. Krabs answered simply. "Knock, knock." The others stood around with perplexed looks. "Knock-knock jokes? I can do this all day, Krabs,” Plankton smiled smugly. "Mr. Krabs, with all due respect, this isn't..." Twilight’s explanation fell on deaf ears. "Knock, knock," Mr. Krabs growled. "Oh, boy. Who's there,” Plankton asked tiredly. "Jimmy," "Jimmy who?" "Jimmy back my formuler, Plankton!" Mr. Krabs shouted furiously. “That was so lame,” Rainbow face-hooved. "...Well, that's stupid, but how is it torture?" Plankton asked. "You'll see,” Mr. Krabs snickered, putting a set of earmuffs on. "Jimmy back my formula?" SpongeBob said to himself. Pinkie came up to him and whispered the explanation to his ear. "Ohhhhh. I get it!" SpongeBob said in realization. "See. It's funny, isn't it?" the sponge and sea pony began to laugh uncontrollably. Plankton let out a scream of agony as soon as the cacophony of laughter hit his ears. Mr. Krabs stood with closed eyes and a complacent smile. "Make it stop, Krabs! Make it stop!" Plankton pleaded. "Would you two please quit. We've got a situation on our hooves," Twilight said. SpongeBob and Pinkie just laughed and laughed. It seemed like nothing could stop them. "Okay, this is really starting to get irritating," Rainbow said. "No, kidding,” Spike agreed. Plankton screamed torturously from the heinous laughter. His saving grace would come in the form of Squidward barging through the door with a mass of angry customers behind him. "Mr. Krabs? SpongeBob, Pinkie, zip it!" he yelled. The two immediately stopped laughing. "Thank, goodness,” Rarity sighed. "Thank you, Squidward,” Plankton let out a relieved groan. The customers are getting restless! They're asking for...refunds." Squidward said with a pretentious smile, before closing the door. Refunds That single word made it through Mr. Krabs's earmuffs. His eyes bulged out and he spat the letters out on his claws. "Refunds?" he said in disgust. "Refunds! Refunds!" the customers chanted outside. "Now what?" Spike asked. "Listen up, boy. Get in there and make me customers some Krabby Patties!" Mr. Krabs nudged SpongeBob to the kitchen. "Maybe we could help him out,” Pinkie said eagerly. "Huh? Oh, sure, fine, whatever. Just get out me office." Mr. Krabs ushered the gang out. The Mane 7 all filed through the kitchen door. "All right, Plankton..." the already upset crab looked back at his desk, but saw that Plankton had already escaped. He gasped and clasped his claws to the sides of his face. Back in the kitchen, SpongeBob was hurriedly preparing the grill. “What can we do to help, SpongeBob?” Applejack asked. “Get some Krabby Patties from the freezer,” SpongeBob ordered AJ and Rainbow went over to the freezer door and opened it. “Uh. What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?” Rainbow asked with an uneasy tone. “Brownish-red, circular slabs of meat,” the yellow sponge explained. “Meat!?” Rarity guffawed. “Well, yeah. Most of the folks around here are meat-eaters,” the sea sponge said. “Well, we don’t eat meat. And some of us aren’t really comfortable with even thinking about it,” Twilight pointed to a paled Fluttershy. “Really?” SpongeBob said with curiosity. “Well, all ah see is a pile of nothin’,” Applejack said. “What!?” SpongeBob pushed the two sea ponies out of the way and took a look. He let out a girlish scream. Mr. Krabs heard the commotion and raced over to see SpongeBob shaking while staring into the freezer. The Mane 7 all looked on with surprise and confusion. "SpongeBob! What's wrong, boy?" Mr. Krabs asked. “See for yourself,” Spike said, a little confusion over the reaction from the horrified sponge. He moved him out of the way and peered into the freezer. He let out a girlish scream from the horrific sight "We're out of Krabby Patties!?" he said staring into the empty freezer. "Wait,” can’t you guys just resupply,” Twilight tried to de-escalate the situation. “Those Krabby Patties have to come from somewhere." "Yeah, it’s not like they appear out of nowhere," Applejack added. "Yes, but, how can we make more Krabby Patties without the secret formula?" SpongeBob asked, panicked. "You've got to have that formuler memorized by now!" Mr. Krabs turned to the sea sponge. "But as you are aware, sir, the employee handbook clearly states and I quote..." SpongeBob pulled out a book and flipped to a specific part. "No employee may, in part or in whole, commit the Krabby Patty secret formula to any recorded written or visual form, including memories, dreams, and/or needlepoint." "What kind of rule is that?" Rarity looked over the page. "A stupid rule that's what,” Rainbow replied. "Why is it such a crime to memorize a, flipping, recipe?" "It’s a sacred recipe. Not even Mr. Krabs is allowed to memorize it,” SpongeBob argued. "Well, if you could memorize it, we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?" Rainbow countered. "Girls, please. Don't start fighting," Fluttershy quietly pleaded. "Curse you, fine print!" Mr. Krabs cried. The angry customers continued to demand for refunds. Some even held up the ordering station in rebellion. Squidward, who was reading a magazine, paid no mind. "Stop!" Mr. Krabs shouted as he came out of the kitchen area. The customers all stopped, dropping the ordering station to the floor. It crashed into pieces taking Squidward with it. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 peered out through the doorway. "I'm not your enemy! Plankton is your enemy!" the crustacean held up a wanted poster with Plankton on it. "So is he an anemone or a plankton?" Squidward asked. Ba-doom ching! In the the corner of the restaurant was a familiar pufferfish with a drum set. "Well, someone had to do it,” she said. "But, Mr. Krabs..." SpongeBob tried to say. "He took this from you!" Mr. Krabs then held up a poster that depicted a Krabby Patty. "Krabby Patty,” one customer said whimsically. "I can almost taste it,” another said. "Mr. Krabs, Plankton didn't take the secret formula,” SpongeBob explained. "We saw it disappear with our own eyes,” Applejack added. "Not now, you lot,” Mr. Krabs tossed the poster away. Patrick, who was sitting at one of the tables, managed to grab it. "Hey! I ordered a double Krabby Patty!" he complained bitterly. "So join me! Help get the formuler back, and I'll give each and every one of a you a free Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs announced. The customers all cheered in joy and agreement. "No! Wait! Even better, a slight discount!" he backtracked. The customers all groaned in disappointment, but that didn't dissuade them from joining Mr. Krabs. "To the Chum Bucket!" Mr. Krabs and the customers all marched out the Krusty Krab, ready to confront Plankton. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 looked through the glass doors. "But he didn't do it,” SpongeBob said softly. "We got to do something. It isn't right for them persecute Plankton for something he didn't do,” Twilight said. "Well, to be fair, darling, he did try to steal the formula with a giant robot,” Rarity clarified. "Yeah, but he didn't succeed and now they think that he did steal it," Twilight responded. "Plankton's innocent and we can't stand here and do nothing." "You're right, Twilight, I think it's time we take matters into our own hands,” SpongeBob struck his palm with his fist. "Even after what he did today and all the things he's done before," Rarity argued. "Land sake's, Rarity. We know he ain't a saint, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be framed." Applejack snapped back. "Let me ask ya somethin'. How would you feel if a bunch of ponies came up and started blamin' ya for a crime ya didn't commit?" Rarity pondered over the question for a bit. "Confused, offended, maybe a little scared. I would never do something as heinous as stealing,” the pristine sea pony answered. "Exactly. Whether we like him or not, Plankton is being blamed for something he didn't do,” Twilight spoke firmly. “It isn't right for us to be silent about, either." "We need to save him for those angry fish," Fluttershy pleaded. Rarity gave a slow, disappointed sigh. "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry,” she said. “I really need to stop thinking about the past and look at the present." "There ya go, Rares,” Applejack said happily. "But, now how do we save Plankton?" Spike asked. "Don’t worry, guys, I already have an idea in mind,” SpongeBob replied. At the Chum Bucket, Plankton was lamenting to his computer wife about today's escapade. "I had it right in my greedy little mitts, and then...Poof! And now it's gone. Gone forever. I was so close to gaining the people's respect-slash-fear." "Um, Plankton?" Karen tried to get his attention. "Oh, when will my frustration-slash-humiliation end?" Plankton continued. "Plankton?" she pressed on. "Not now, hon! I'm ranting-slash-raving." the bitter sea creature sighed. "All right, what is it?" "Well, I was trying to tell you there's an angry mob outside," Karen and Plankton looked amongst the angry people inside the Chum Bucket. "But now they're inside." "Oh,” Plankton said, just as Mr. Krabs grabbed him. The angry mob then glared at Karen. "I…just work here,” she said unconvincingly. "We'd like to have a word with you!" Mr. Krabs stormed at of the Chum Bucket. The angry mob followed behind, carrying Karen with them. Mr. Krabs then threw Plankton to the ground. "You all look very hungry," Plankton said uneasily, sweat sliding down his face. "Can I get anybody a Chum Burger?" "Enough with the niceties, Plankton," Mr. Krabs poked is little, green rival. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is me formuler!?" "I told you, Krabs, I don't have it," Plankton weakly crawled backward. "Wrong answer," Mr. Krabs growled cruelly. He lifted his foot up, ready to stomp Plankton into oblivion. "Stop!" a voice called out. The crowd looked to see SpongeBob with the Mane 6 and Spike behind him. "All right, Mr. Krabs, let me get in on this,” he growled, walking over to them. "What's going on around here?" Plankton said to himself. "You may want to step back a little, Mr. Krabs," SpongeBob encouraged his boss. "This could get messy." "Let's hope so," Mr. Krabs said with a cold smile. "Are we sure this plan will work?" Spike whispered to Twilight. "It's an...interesting plan, to say the least,” Twilight admitted. "But, I'm putting all my faith in SpongeBob." "Same here,” Rainbow agreed. "Me, too," Pinkie added. "So you won't talk, eh, Plankton?" SpongeBob kneeled down, pulling out a bottle of bubble solution and bubble wand. "I didn't want to have to do this. Plankton, here comes the pain." The sea sponge dipped the bubble wand into the solution. "Soap in the eye, eh? Diabolical,” Mr. Krabs grinned. SpongeBob took in a deep breath. "No! Stop! Don't!" Plankton pleaded. SpongeBob blew a large bubble, trapping plankton inside. He sat inside with a neutral expression. "Wait. That didn't look painful,” the confused crab criticized. "Now, everypony," Twilight said quietly. The quickly swam forward and entered the bubble with Plankton still in it. because Spike was a pufferfish, Twilight covered her body over him to keep his spines from puncturing the bubble. "Seriously. What is going on?" Plankton asked. SpongeBob turned to his boss. "Mr. Krabs, you may not understand what I'm about to do today, but someday we'll look back and have a good laugh," SpongeBob back up into the bubble. Once inside, the bubble began to lift into the air. "Wait a minute,” Mr. Krabs said suspiciously. "Hey, they're getting away!" one the fish shouted. "Sorry, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob said apologetically. "It was nice knowing you,” Rainbow said. "Not really." "So, you've been running a long con on me, eh?" Mr. Krabs accused. "All these years you've been working for Plankton! And I bet those seahorses and pufferfish were in on it, too. All that "from another world for a special mission" mumbo jumbo was just a cover-up story." "They're in cahoots!" another fish yelled. "Yeah, I guess that's a short way of saying it," Mr. Krabs said. "Stop that bubble!" The angry mob chased after SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7. The sea sponge and sea ponies ran-slash-swam forward, trying to make the bubble go faster. "Good grief, they act like wild animals," Rainbow observed. "Just keep swimming," Twilight said. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Pinkie sang. The mob started throwing random object at them. One object, a football, bounced into them, sending the bubble rolling forward. Our heroes felt as if they were in a washing machine. A muscular fish grabbed another unsuspecting fish and threw him at the bubble. The fish hit the bubble, but it still didn't pop. He held on for dear life. "Please tell me there's something soft below me,” the fish said. "Nope,” they all said. The fish lost his grip and dropped to the ground. SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs's voice echoed throughout the reef. They all watched as the bubble float away into the distance. "Oh, you were like an underpaid son to me,” the crab said sadly. "I would've expected Squidward to stab me in the back." "Huh, what, huh,” Squidward awoke from his upright nap. "But SpongeBob? me most trusted employee? Working with me sworn enemy? Along with his new group of friends that randomly showed up today?" Mr. Krabs looked up. "You know what this means, Mr. Squidward." "We get the rest of the day off?" the grumpy octopus grumbled. "No!" Mr. Krabs raced up to the him "This be but a harbinger of what I fear lies ahead. For you. For me. For all of Bikini Bottom! The Krabby Patty is what ties us all together! Without it, there will be a complete breakdown of social order. A war of all against all! Dark times are ahead. Dark times indeed!" The old crab flopped to the ground face-first. Seriously?" Squidward asked incredulously. "Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Instantaneously, the entire atmosphere changed. Everyone was now where gnarly, apocalyptic clothing, the sky changed from blue to brown, and buildings were collapsed or on fire. "Welcome to the apocalypse, Mr. Squidward,” Mr. Krabs said, as everyone else began running around in maddened states. "I hope you like leather." "I prefer suede," Squidward said matter-of-factly. "And so Bikini Bottom became an apocalyptic cesspool forevermore," the pirate closed the book. "The end." The pirate stood up and cracked his back. "Wait a minute. That's a terrible end,” one of the seagulls said. "Oh. This is bad. Really bad,” another said. "SpongeBob and his friends are in trouble and the story's over." The seagulls began to panic over the situation. "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch,” one seagull banged its head against the ship's bell. "Hey, call a therapist. I have anxiety!" another said. The pirate jaunted over to the helm when one of the seagulls flew up to him. "There is no way that that's the end of this story,” the beach-faring bird said. "Of course it is. I'll show you,” the pirate said. "Just turn around." "Oh, all right," the gull turned around allowing the pirate to pluck a tailfeather off him. The gull yelped. "Hey! I need that to fly, you jerk,” he said angrily. The pirate didn't listen and dipped the feather in a bottle of ink. He opened the book and in big, bold lettering he wrote... "The End!" the pirate said. "That's not the end!" the seagull grabbed the page with its beak. "Of course it is!" the pirate pulled back. "Unhand that book!" the gull demanded. "You let go of that!" the bearded pirate said. "Let go, you numbskull!" the gull shouted. The two pulled back and forth until the page tore from the book. The pirate lost his balance, fell and crashed through a cargo door that led to the lower deck. The other gulls gathered around the opening. "You better keep reading, Mr. Pirate..." the gulls turned around and pointed their backsides to him. "Or else." The gull from earlier left the ship with the torn paper. "I know I shouldn't be littering, but that ending was rubbish!" he dropped the paper, which sank into the salty waters below. "Rubbish!" The page sank further onto the apocalyptic Bikini Bottom. With our heroes left free-floating and the town in ruins, things could only get better from here on out. Right? To be continued Part 4: On The RunBikini Bottom had fallen into utter chaos. Buildings were being destroyed, fires littered the landscape, and people ran for survival or attacked one another. The Krusty Krab had suffered no merciful fate. the windows were shattered and giant, metal contraptions covered the exterior. Squidward was inside, sitting in the register area. He saw Patrick enter the restaurant as if he was oblivious to what was going on. "Good morning, Squidward. I'll have the usual,” the pink star requested. Just then, a flaming boatmobile smashed through the wall and crashed against the opposite side. Burning fuel leaked out from the tanks. "With cheese," Patrick added. "We're out of Krabby Patties right now!" Squidward said in a panic. "No...Krabby Patties?" Patrick stepped back, horrified. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" As if by magic, a thick vest appeared on his body and a hammer was taped up on his forehead. Meanwhile, SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike were viewing the carnage from down below as their bubble carried them across the town. "Look what's become of Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob said in a state of shock. "It's like actual Tartarus down there,” Rainbow said. "I don't know what that is, but, it sounds terrifying," SpongeBob said. "We've really got to get that formula back." "No kiddin'," Applejack agreed. "Get the secret formula, you say? Excuse me, I need a moment," Plankton faced his back to them. "With that formula, I could rule the world!" He laughed manically then cleared his throat. "You know we can hear you, right?" SpongeBob asked modestly. "And we're not gonna let you do that, either,” Twilight said sternly. "Last thing we need is for you to make things worse." Plankton rolled his eye and grumbled. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked. "Now we work together. You know, teamwork,” SpongeBob said. "What's "tee-am work"?" Plankton asked in confusion. The Mane 7 gave him weird looks. "No, Plankton, teamwork," SpongeBob assured. "Tee-am work,” Plankton responded. "Teamwork." "Tie-'em work." "Teamwork." "Tie 'em up." "Come on! You seriously have never heard of that word before?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Do I look like someone who has used tee-am work before?" Plankton asked roughly. "In a way, yeah,” Spike said. "All right,” SpongeBob said. "Say "team," like a sports..." "Team," Plankton responded. "Team. Now say "work,” SpongeBob continued. "Work,” Plankton said. "Put them together. What do you got?" SpongeBob asked. "Timebomb...work," Plankton said. "Getting better,” the sea sponge said optimistically. Rainbow face-hooved in irritation. "We're doomed." Rarity said gloomily. Sandy had gotten back to her treehouse not too long after the apocalypse started. She was unaware of what was going on as she settled down at the picnic table with her Krabby Patty meal. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television on. "Now, Bikini Bottom Action News!" the news anchor announced through the screen. Just as Sandy was about to take a bite from the greasy sandwich, she heard moaning and something bang against the glass dome. She gasped and turned to where the noise was coming from. It was Patrick, who had stuck to the wall with his tongue out in full display. "Oh, hey, Patrick!" the squirrel greeted cheerfully. She opened her mouth, ready to chow down on her meal. The sea star began banging against the glass wall angrily. "Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty!" he yelled desperately. Sandy's face contorted into confusion and concern. She moved the sandwich back away from her mouth. Patrick calmed down and stared at it with hungry eyes. Every time Sandy would move the Krabby Patty to her mouth, Patrick would get more angry and violently bang against the glass. Finally, She shoved the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed as quickly as she could. Patrick whined and whaled before turning away with his head down. "Come on, tummy, it's gonna be a long day," he said sadly. Sandy watched her friend walk away with concern until the TV drew in her attention. "We interrupt your regular program for an important news bulletin," the anchor tuna announced, before the screen transitioned to the reporter on the scene. "Perch Perkins reporting live from downtown Bikini” - aboatmobile sailed over the reporter's head and crashed through a building - “Bottom. Complete chaos here today as our town attempts to deal with a sudden shortage of Krabby Patties." The building collapsed into a pile of rubble and twisted steel. Perch Perkins yelped and ducked down. "Events here have this reporting wondering, what is the secret ingredient in Krabby Patty anyway!?" Perch was chased away by a caped fish wielding a mace. "It's love! The secret ingredient is love!" the fish screamed furiously before striking the camera. Static was all that showed on the TV before Sandy turned it off. "No more Krabby Patties?" she asked in disbelief. "If I'd have known that, I'd have chewed it slower." Suddenly, a large shadow casted itself over Sandy's home. The squirrel looked up and saw a large, rectangular object falling from the sky. It looked to be a page from a book. "What the corndog is that?" Sandy said, completely terrified. The page landed on top of Sandy's dome. All she could was stand there and stare at it. "Come on, Plankton, it's easy!" SpongeBob assured. "It means, I help you, you help me, and when we accomplish our goal, then we do hands in the middle." "Hands in the middle?" Plankton said with disgust. "No, no. Sounds idiotic." "That's okay. We can hug instead," Pinkie said happily. "That's even worse,” Plankton barked. "Besides, the...nine of us are no match for that cranky mob." He pointed to the townsfolk who were in the midst of destroying a donut shop. "Well. He's not wrong there,” Spike pointed out. "I think he underestimates us," Rainbow grinned smugly. "I-I-I'd rather...not confront those people head-on,” Fluttershy squeaked. "Agreed," Twilight said. "We're outnumbered and there's no chance they are going to listen to us." "We could probably use a few more tee-am works," Plankton said. "You mean like more ponies...erm...people to join the team?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the tiny sea creature said dismissively. "That's exactly what I was thinking," SpongeBob said. "Who would possibly want to join us, though? Everypony down there hates us." Rarity mentioned. "Let's find out shall we,” the sea sponge raised up his pointer finger. "Wait, what are you doing?" Plankton asked. SpongeBob popped the bubble and the team plummeted to the ground, right in front of three particular, yet desecrated, houses. The sea ponies and pufferfish slowly got up "Warn us next time you do that!" Rainbow yelled as she spat sand out of her mouth. "Ugh. Where even are we?" Twilight asked dizzily. "This is where I live. Alongside Squidward and Patrick," SpongeBob stated, pointing to his house. ".....Ya live in a pineapple?" Applejack asked, almost not believing what SpongeBob was implying. "Sure do,” the yellow sponge confirmed. "It's actually a funny story, I was looking for..." "I think it's best you tell us later,” Twilight put a hoof up to SpongeBob's face. "It's pretty clear we're no longer welcome in this area." "I'll say. Your house looks completely gerrymandered," Rarity said. "Who are we even here for anyways?" Spike asked. SpongeBob popped out of the self-made hole and pointed to a circular rock where Patrick was slamming his face against it. "I...need...Krabby Patties!" he yelled after every headbutt. "That's gonna leave a mark," Rainbow winced. "Patrick, what are you doing?" SpongeBob called out to his friend. "Vandalizing stuff," the sea star turned to the group. His face had taken more of a beating than the rock did. "Isn't that your house?" Plankton asked. "Hey, what's with all the questions?" Patrick snapped. "Who are you guys?" "It's me, your best friend. SpongeBob?" the sea sponge said, sounding almost hurt by the question. "And us? Twilight? Pinkie? The rest of us? You literally met us this morning," Twilight added. "He probably has amnesia from banging his head against that rock," Rainbow muttered to Fluttershy. "Oh, yeah? Well, if you're SpongeBob, then what's the secret password?" the pink starfish inquired. "Uh..." was all the group could say. "Correct! It is you! SpongeBob!" Patrick jumped from his rock and barreled right on top of the SpongeBob and Plankton. The Mane 7 got out of the way just in time. "SpongeBob,” he said joyfully. "Patrick!" SpongeBob greeted back. "SpongeBob!" Patrick said again as Plankton got up from the impact. "Why aren't you at the Krusty Krab making Krabby Patties?' "Have you forgotten what has happened this past hour?" Rainbow asked rhetorically. "Well, I'd love to, but the formula's gone," SpongeBob said. Patrick sat down, unknowingly on top of Plankton. "Yeah, Mr. Krabs says you and Plankton took it,” he recalled. "But, he's wrong," Fluttershy interjected. "Exactly. That's not what happened. It just disappeared,” SpongeBob explained. “We're putting a team together to find it." "A team?" Patrick's eyes widened. "Oh. Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" The sea star got up and hugged SpongeBob tightly. "Okay, Patrick, you're in,” SpongeBob said happily. "I don't know, SpongeBob," Plankton popped back into form. "What exactly does this clown bring to the tee-am?" "He brings loyalty, Plankton. Loyalty,” SpongeBob said coolly. "Hey! I'm literally the Element of Loyalty! If anyone here is the most loyal, it's me." Rainbow said. "But, Patrick is my best friend. There's a special kind of loyalty with that," SpongeBob said. "Isn't that right, Patrick?" "Yeah, yeah, loyalty," Patrick said. "I've got SpongeBob! Here's over here!" The sea star starting to make a whooping sound to get the other townsfolks' attention. Within the town, the people looked to where the sound was coming from. "Let's go get him!" Mr. Krabs yelled. The mob was now running toward them. Eager to finally capture the perpetrators. "Special kind of loyalty,” Rainbow said sarcastically. "Yeah, that's definitely doing you favors." "Never mind that. Come on, SpongeBob, let's get out of here!" Plankton said in a panic. "Patrick!" SpongeBob tried to say. Before they could make an escape, Plankton threw SpongeBob into Plankton and the Mane 7. Then he sat right on top of them so they couldn't escape, continuing to whoop. "I can't breath," Pinkie wheezed. "This is absolutely no way to treat a lady!" Rarity said crossly. "Patrick, why are you doing this?" SpongeBob asked, betrayed by his best friend's actions. "Because I...need...Krabby...Patties!" Patrick bellowed. "Hurry up! I'm hungry!" The mob was drawing nearer and nearer. The Mane 6 and Spike began to panic. "We got to get out of here!" Spike yelled fearfully. "Twilight, get him off of us," Fluttershy pleaded. "I-I can't! Patrick's too heavy." Twilight tried with all her might to life the starfish off of her, but she just couldn't do it. "Over here!" the overweight sea star whooped. "Whoa nelly. Here they come," Applejack warned fearfully. Thinking quickly, SpongeBob frantically dug into the sand allowing them to escape Patrick's backside. They all popped out of a hole a few feet away and ran for their lives as the angry mob arrived to give chase. "Guys, am I still on the team?" Patrick called out. "NO!" The Mane 6 yelled back. Patrick looked back at his butt that was sticking out from the other hole. "Hey, what are you looking at?" he asked threateningly. SpongeBob held on to Plankton as he and the Mane 7 desperately tried to get away from the angry mob chasing after them. "Well, that crosses Patrick off the list," Twilight said solemnly. "Is there anypony else you had in mind, SpongeBob?" "Preferably someone who won't backstab us,” Applejack suggested. "Or try to sit on us,” Rarity added. "There is someone else. We're heading for her home right now," SpongeBob said. The Mane 6 and Spike soon spotted a large, glass dome covered in paper in the distance. "There!" the yellow sea sponge said. the raced for the entrance. "Sandy!" SpongeBob opened the first door and pressed the air lock bottom. Immediately water began to drain out from the room. SpongeBob quickly put on a water-filled glass bowl over his head and put Plankton in a glass. "I don't have enough bowls for all of you," SpongeBob said. "It's okay, SpongeBob,” Twilight assured. "We can breathe air just fine." "It's the movin' part that's gonna be difficult,” Applejack looked back at her tail. Once all the water had drained out, the second door opened and our heroes found themselves in an area housing a large tree. The ground was littered with books, papers, and wax candles. "Sandy?" SpongeBob called out. "What is this place?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "Kinda reminds me of a certain egghead's old home,” Rainbow teased. "For your information, Rainbow, the library was a thousand times more organized than this,” Twilight snapped back. Spike looked through some of book covers. "Gods of the Ocean, 101 Facts About King Neptune, Atlantian Mythology,” he read through the titles. “Seems like somepony's been doing a lot of research." "But, this isn't normal for Sandy,” SpongeBob said, wary. "Sandy, are you home?" There was no answer. The team just walk around the dome, well, SpongeBob did, the Mane 7 could only drag there bodies with there front hooves. "Uff! My tummy's getting chaffed." Pinkie said. "What is all this stuff?" SpongeBob said. “Who is this Sandy fella, anyway?” Applejack asked. “Oh, did I forget to explain?” the sheepish sponge said. “She’s a squirrel conducting research about sea life.” Suddenly, a figure raced behind, disturbing the papers on the ground. The team turned only to find nothing. "Sandy?" SpongeBob gulped. "I really don't like this. I think we should leave," Fluttershy said, terrified. SpongeBob went to grab one of papers pinned on the tree when a frazzled-up squirrel in a green cloak abruptly tackled him, dredging him into the ground. The Mane 7 all screamed. "Don't touch that!" the squirrel said gruffly. "Yep. Definitely time to leave,” Twilight said. Hold on, girls,” SpongeBob pulled himself out of the ground. Taking Plankton, he carefully walked over to Sandy who was reading through a book incoherently. "Sandy? Are you okay?" SpongeBob asked softly. "Okay? Have you look outside? Does that seem "okay" to you?" Sandy asked angrily, moving a chalkboard out of the way. "I'm trying to figure out what happened to society." "The formula went missing and the entire town has gone crazy,” the purple sea pony explained. "That's we came here to see if you're willing to join us and..." "If we don't fix it soon, there won't be anything left to fix!" Sandy interrupted. "Sandy? The lack of Krabby Patties has driven her mad,” SpongeBob said. "So...no team-up with her either?" Rainbow asked. "And I think I figured it out,” Sandy tore a section of papers off the wall to reveal a giant page with the words "The End" written in large, cursive lettering on it. "When this came down from above, I knew it could only mean one thing." "And what would that be?" Rarity asked cautiously. "It means It's the end!" Sandy shrieked. "The sandwich gods are angry with us!" "Sandwich gods?" the group said. "This is really starting to get out of hand," Plankton said. "I'm gonna need so much therapy after this,” Fluttershy said quietly. "I just don't know how we're going to appease them!" Sandy began to run around, trying find any piece of information that could help. The team looked amongst themselves before slowly heading for the doorway. "All right then, good luck with that,” Rainbow said as nonchalantly as possible. "Welp, that's two-for-two on possible teammates that ain't joinin' the team," Applejack said. "You got any other friends who aren't dim bulbs or nut jobs?" Plankton asked. "If only the princesses were here,” Twilight said to herself. "We'll, I have one friend who's loyal to the very end,” SpongeBob said optimistically. "You said that with Patrick and look were that got us,” Rainbow said in annoyance. "Trust me, Rainbow, I've known him since we were kids,” SpongeBob reassured. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 found themselves hiding the sides of SpongeBob's destroyed home. The angry mob thundered passed them on the search for them. Once the coast was clear, they peered inside the ravaged remains of SpongeBob's house. "Gary, I'm home," SpongeBob called out. "Gary?" Fluttershy called out. They looked through almost every room, but all they contained was trash and destroyed furniture. "Gary. Gray?" SpongeBob accidentally walked into a drooping string of mucus, getting all over his face. "Revolting,” Plankton said in disgust. "That is just disgusting,” Rarity pressed a hoof against her mouth to keep herself from vomiting. "But it means Gary is close by,” SpongeBob said. "Gary, I'm back!" "He made all this?" Pinkie asked in disbelief. The team ran down the hallway, but then stopped and turned back to a large run that looked more like the inside of a temple than a house. Snail shells littered the floor. "Whoa," SpongeBob guffawed. "Did you always have a shrine in your house?" Spike asked. "Nope,” the confused sea sponge simply replied. Sitting on the shrine was SpongeBob's one and only pet snail, Gary. "Oh, hey, Gary, Plankton, the girls, and I need you to help us find the Krabby Patty formula and fix Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob explained. "Meow,” Gary said monotonously. "What do you mean, you don't have to do as I say anymore?" SpongeBob asked, offended. "Meow,” Gary responded. "What do you mean, "King of Snails"?" SpongeBob asked angrily. "Uh, SpongeBob,” Fluttershy eyed the shells strewn around the floor. "Gary The Snail, you get down here right now and join this team!" A now anger SpongeBob demanded. "Meow,” Gary said. "What do you mean, "Seize them"?" the sea sponge asked, now in confusion. Snails popped out from their shells, surrounding the team. "Snails do tend to travel in groups,” Fluttershy whimpered. "Wish you told us that earlier, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. Roars echoed from the pineapple. SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike all screamed at the top of their lungs and ran out of there as fast as their legs-slash-tailfins could let them. "Why are you running?" Plankton yelled. "We're being chased! Are you blind?!" Rarity said. "Because they're right on our tail," SpongeBob’s words die in his mouth and he slowly came to a stop. The Mane 6 and Spike stopped, too. "Why did you stop?" Rarity asked in a panic. They then noticed that the snails were heading toward them...at a snail's pace. Ba-doom ching! "Oh,” the white sea pony said. "Right, snails," SpongeBob said. "Well, so much for your tee-am,” Plankton chastised. "Hey! At least he's trying,” Spike defended. "Putting together a team is a lot harder than I thought it would be," SpongeBob began to tear up. "Come on. Don't be like that, Sugarcube," Applejack comforted. "We just got to keep lookin. Maybe we'll find somepony who's more trustworthy." Just then, the angry mob could be seen in the distance heading right for them. "This way!" Mr. Krabs yelled, determined to capture the guilty party. "Or maybe we should start running again,” Rarity said apprehensively. "We better get out of here until things cool off,” Plankton said. "Best thing I've heard in a while. Let's go!" Twilight said. Our heroes began running away from the angry mob and as far from Bikini Bottom as they could. Nightfall. They sky and land would've much more beautiful if the town wasn't in complete disarray. SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike all sat at the top of a rocky hill. They had gotten a fire going to keep warm. "Everything we know and love has been destroyed,” SpongeBob whimpered. "Yeah. And now we're wanted criminals, even though we did nothing wrong!" Rainbow said. "That's hardly relevant at the moment, Rainbow," Applejack said. "The point is that we need that formula back." "But, now SpongeBob and Plankton's home is gone," Fluttershy whimpered sadly. "Yeah, looks like they're gonna have to change the name of Bikini Bottom to Dirty Bottom,” Plankton joked. "Right, SpongeBob?" "That's kind of gross, Plankton,” SpongeBob said sadly. "And inappropriate. Come on we need to keep this family-friendly," Pinkie said. "Oh, wait, that was thrown out the window as soon as the second story was made. Oh, well." The others gave Pinkie weird looks. "Just Pinkie being Pinkie,” Twilight sighed. "But, still. Not the best time to make jokes like that, Plankton." "Yeah. Yeah, too soon, huh?" Plankton said guiltily. "This feels like it really is the end," SpongeBob said. "Don't worry, SpongeBob, we'll find the secret formula and everything will go back to the way it was, you know, all happy and junk," Plankton ran off and fetched a rock, moving it over to him. "Now let's try to get some sleep." "That's probably for the best. Maybe we'll come up with a plan in the morning," Twilight said. "Agreed. All this swimming has gotten me exhausted," Rainbow yawned. SpongeBob still looked out to the fire-covered town with teary eyes. Once the place that he called home had fallen into chaos, more than usual that is. "Yeah, I guess you're right,” he tipped over and laid his head over the rock. Plankton pulled out a piece of coral from the ground and laid it over SpongeBob. "Here you are. Feel comfy?" he asked. "You know, Plankton, I think you might know a little bit more about teamwork than you let on," SpongeBob snuggled up against the rock. "Goodnight, SpongeBob," Plankton said. "Goodnight, Plankton,” SpongeBob said before drifting off to sleep. "That was nicest thing I've ever seen from you, Plankton," Twilight said. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Don't ever mention it," Plankton said. "I suppose we should hit the hay, too," Applejack said. The Mane 7 began to lie down and cuddle up to each other for warmth and comfort. "Goodnight, everypony," Twilight said. "Goodnight,” The others said. Soon, they all drifted off to sleep, leaving only Plankton. He laughed deviously. "Goodnight," indeed,” the plotting sea creature hopped onto SpongeBob's side. "That's right, SpongeBob, sleep. You're hiding that formula in there somewhere." Plankton jumped in through one of SpongeBob's holes. As he crawled through, all it led him was to the sponge's brain. Plankton jumped on top of it. "Well, here goes nothing,” he dived inside and immediately found himself in a very strange place. It was bright and colorful. Each and every cloud smiled down at him and the place was littered with candy and other sweet treats. "What is this place?" Plankton asked apprehensively. Just then, a sentient bottle of syrup ran by, being chased by a waffle. Plankton walked around the place, but, the more he kept going, the more cooky it got "Ha, ha. Fudge fight,” an ice cream cone said as he splattered his friend with fudge topping. "It's all over me." Trees smiling, lollipops laughing, and cupcakes playing patty-cake was all Plankton could see. "Ugh, it's so sweet in here! I think my eyeball is getting a toothache!" he said. "Hello, Plankton,” a voice said. Plankton turned to see two popsicles holding hands standing in a field of gumdrops. "Come and play with us,” the two frozen treats said. Plankton let out a shaky breath. "Hurry." Then he gasped. "Before we melt." And he gagged. The popsicles laughed as droplets began to form on their melting bodies. Plankton screamed and began to run. He ran through a group of sentient balloons and avoided a donut and a milkshake riding a bicycle carrying a cookie. Suddenly, he found himself on top of a tower of birthday cake. Nearing the edge he tried to stop, but he fell right off, screaming as he plummeted to the ground. He smacked into the ground. As a slowly got up, large, white balls of fur popped out from the ground. Plankton screeched and watched as the furballs climbed on top of each other. They morphed into one entity that towered over Plankton. The face of a cute cat appeared on it's front, letting out a small "Meew." Plankton moaned fearfully as sweat slid down from his face. "So much sweetness. I think I'm going to be sick!" Plankton gagged, then spewed out a puddle of colors that formed into a bright rainbow. "Huh?" he moaned with disgusted, wide eyes. Arms, eyes, and a mouth formed on the top of the colorful arch. "Daddy!" it said. Plankton's face only showed pure horror. “Hi!” Plankton’s eyes shrunk. He knew that voice. He turned around to see the annoying, pink sea pony floating through the air with an unnaturally-sized grin on her face. “What’cha doin’?” Pinkie’s grin seemed to grow past the boundaries of her face. The terror in Plankton’s body overloaded. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 were still sound asleep until Plankton rocketed at of SpongeBob's head, screaming like a maniac. They all were startled awake. "Can we go ONE adventure without being interrupted from our sleep!" Rainbow said crankily. "Plankton, why in Celestia's we're ya screamin'?" Applejack asked, irritated. "Plankton? Plankton! I just had the craziest dream! And you were in it!" SpongeBob said excitedly. "I'm sure it was nothing,” the tiny being said with an innocent smile. He had cotton candy all over him with candy canes sticking out of the sides of his face. He pull a lollipop out from his backside. "Now go back to sleep," Plankton compelled. "Were you in my brain?" SpongeBob questioned accusingly as he pulled bits of cotton candy off his sleeve. "Say what?" Twilight asked. "What? No! That's crazy talk!" Plankton said, trying to sound as innocent as he could. "Then why is there cotton candy on your antenna?" SpongeBob pressed further. "Because, because..." Plankton banged his fist against his head to try and think of an explanation. Pinkie suddenly ran her tongue all over him, licking up the sugary goodness. "Mmm. Your dreams taste delicious, SpongeBob," She smacked her lips. "Okay, fine, I was in your brain,” Plankton relented. SpongeBob gasped and dropped him to the ground. "Isn't that like an invasion of privacy?" Spike wondered out loud. "What were you doing in there?" the yellow sponge asked timidly. "What do you think I was doing? Looking for the secret formula." Plankton said. "What?" the sea sponge said in surprise. "Why would it be inside his brain?" Rarity asked. "I thought it was agreed that it vanished into thin air." "Don't act so innocent. You knew what I was up to,” Plankton walked over to the edge. "That's why you're pretending not to know the formula." "I'm not pretending!" SpongeBob said defensively. "I can't believe you thought I was lying." "Was that the only reason you stuck with us? So you can nab the formula for yourself?" Rainbow accused. "Rainbow, he literally said it himself back when we were in the bubble,” Twilight pointed out. "Oh, right,” the blue sea pony said. "Hey, don't take personally. I just assume everyone is lying," Plankton said nonchalantly. "That is a horrible way to live your life,” SpongeBob reputed. "Darn tootin'," Applejack agreed. "Whatever,” Plankton rolled his eye. "It is! "SpongeBob spoke more firmly. "And if we're going to be on the same team..." "Maybe I don't want to be on the tee-am!" Plankton yelled angrily. "You think of that?" The sea ponies were completely taken aback from Plankton's outburst. "Good grief, dude. You're acting like this teamwork thing is torturing you,” Rainbow said. "But, if you want that, then you can go find the Krabby Patty secret formula by yourself." "Maybe I will,” Plankton said. "But, Plankton, everything's better when you're part of a team." SpongeBob pulled out a pitch pipe and blew in it. "You're not going to start singing, are you?" Plankton said in annoyance. "Did you always have that in your pocket?" Fluttershy asked. "Couldn't have put it better myself,” Twilight put a hoof on SpongeBob's shoulder. "All right, you can put me down,” Plankton said. SpongeBob lowered the tiny evil-doer onto a rock. "Well...That's one minute of my life I'll never get back,” He sighed. "Not without a time machine,” SpongeBob said. "Wait a minute. Hold that thought,” Plankton said. SpongeBob immediately grabbed ahold of the thought bubble. "Where did that come from?" Spike said. "Now back up,” the pebble-sized organism said. SpongeBob reversed what he said prior, but then repeated what he said way too quickly. "Slow down,” Plankton said with concern. "Not without a time machine,” SpongeBob said in a low voice. The Mane 7 all stared at the two with weirded out looks, confused from what they were witnessing, except for Pinkie, who just thought it was another Thursday. Plankton put a hand up to his chin in thought. "Yes!" Plankton snapped his fingers and leaped on top of the sea sponge. "SpongeBob, you're genius!" "I am?" the Yellow Sea sponge asked whimsically. "If we build a time machine, we could go back to before the formula disappeared,” Plankton said. “Before society broke down. Before we became the hunted!" "Time travel? That could work," Twilight pondered. "But, the only that’s possible is with a time-warping spell, which I haven't learned. And for good reason." "But this might be the breakthrough we need,” Spike said. "Can't you try to learn it?" "I don't have the spell book with me, so, no I can't,” Twilight said sadly. “Sorry, Plankton." "Didn't you hear me, your overgrown shrimp? I didn't say anything about magic spells. I said a time machine," Plankton said harshly. "A time machine?" the violet alicorn said in confusion. "Is that even possible?" "Of course. You're talking to one of the smartest people in Bikini Bottom," Plankton gloated. "That sounds great, Plankton, but how do we build a time machine?" SpongeBob asked. "Well, first we'll need a computer powerful enough to calculate the intricacies of time travel,” Plankton stated. "Where would we get one of those?" SpongeBob asked. "Hmmm,” the tiny creature thought hard. then he remembered something. "Okay, this is the plan." SpongeBob, the Mane 6, and Spike huddled in to hear Plankton's plan. It was an incredibly risky plan, but one that could set the course for the rest of the mission. It was time for a prison break To be continued Part 5: Jailbreak & Time MachinesWhen the Mane 7 first heard Plankton's plan, they thought it completely insane. Knowing how the townsfolk were now, they most likely had the entire Chum Bucket heavily guarded. That ended being an understatement. From the ledge our heroes laid on, they saw The Chum Bucket was more guarded than Canterlot Castle itself. Barded-wire and stacks of towers surrounded the building, guards covered every square foot of the premises, and there was even a crudely-made watchtower with it’s own searchlight. "There she is. My computer wife," Plankton viewed into a window with a telescope. "They've got her tied up in the back room." "Welp. We've certainly got our work cut out for us,” Applejack stated. "I've never seen this many people at The Chum Bucket," Plankton said. "I've never seen anyone there," SpongeBob said. "Now was that really necessary?" Plankton threw the telescope away. "Because the food's really bad,” SpongeBob added. "Come on! Really?" the seething microorganism shouted. Pinkie and Rainbow giggled. SpongeBob was quick to shush them. "How are we gonna sneak past those guards?" the sponge asked. "We'll need some kind of distraction," Twilight said. Plankton was hit with a simple idea and quietly shared it with the rest. The execution was simply, They threw a tire off the ledge. It rolled down the slope, catching the attention of some of the guards. A searchlight shone clearly against as it rolled to a stop and fell onto the ground. Several guards walked up to it. "Well, what do we have here?" one of the guards said angrily. They began hitting the rubber tire with their weapons. This allowed SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 to scurry past unnoticed, using a stack of tires as a form of cover. "It's so tight in here," Spike wheezed. "Move your tail, Fluttershy," Rainbow nudged forward. "That's my tail, silly,” Pinkie giggled. "We better hurry. Those guys really hate tires,” SpongeBob warned. They swiftly and quietly made their way to a back entrance. Plankton hopped out and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. "We'll never get in. The door's locked," Plankton groaned. SpongeBob threw the tire stacks away, freeing the team from their rubbery prison. "Finally! It was getting uncomfortably sweaty in there," Rarity sighed. "Such tight space like that would surely ruin my mascara." "Ah'm more confused on how you'd think we'd even get through that there door, Plankton," Applejack pointed to the tiny door. "First of all, apart from Karen, I'm the only one who lives here,” Plankton explained bitterly. “I don't need a normal sized door. Second of all, it's the only entrance other than the main which is obviously a no-go." "Well, how do we get in now?" Fluttershy asked. SpongeBob looked up and noticed something. "Wait. The window is open,” he said. "Come on, Plankton, it's time for some teamwork. Give me a boost." "Okay," Plankton then realized what SpongeBob was doing. "Wait a minute, no!" SpongeBob's foot landed right on him. Using all his strength, he heaved the sea sponge up to reach the window. He laugh triumphantly from his accomplishment, but that was short-lived when SpongeBob's full weight ended up crushing him. "Oooo. That's gotta hurt," Spike winced. "Just a little higher, Plankton,” SpongeBob requested. "Plankton." "Get off him! You're squishing him!" Twilight said in alarm. SpongeBob raised up the bottom of his foot to see Plankton's crushed body. "Why don't you boost me up instead?" he groaned in pain. "Oh, yeah. Good thinking," SpongeBob said sheepishly. He raised his foot up to the window and scraped Plankton off it against the windowsill. After getting his bearings, Plankton leaped down to the floor. He looked around to see if the coast was clear then opened the door. "Come on, guys, come on!" he ushered. SpongeBob squeezed through the tiny entrance with ease. Twilight and the others, however, simply swam through the open window. "There's no way we could squeeze ourselves through there,” Twilight pointed to the doorway. "Whatever,” Plankton said grumpily. "We're in!" SpongeBob slammed the door closed. Plankton pushed him to the wall. "Ssshh! There's a guard over there,” he pointed to the sleeping figure of Patrick. "Let's take the key from around his neck." "Great. As if he hasn't caused enough trouble already,” Rainbow whispered sarcastically. "We're gonna have to be very quiet. Let's walked on the tips of our toes,” Plankton suggested. "We don't have toes. Only tailfins and hooves,” Twilight pointed out. "Then swim quietly," Plankton hissed. He jumped off SpongeBob. The sea sponge gave a hand signal, telling Plankton he understood. The Mane 6 and Spike all nodded. Plankton tip-toed forward, but stopped when Patrick yawned and squirmed in his sleep. That's when he heard a tip-toe sound, but he wasn't moving. He turned to see SpongeBob playing with a tiny piano, recreating the sound. "Why do you have a small piano with you?" Twilight hissed. "Dramatic effect,” SpongeBob answered quietly. "Will you stop playing that tiny piano?" Plankton scolded. "You're gonna get us caught." "Exactly,” the purple sea pony agreed. "Sorry," SpongeBob put the piano away. The team made it over to Patrick without anymore noise. They eyed the key around the sea star's neck. "Now just reach over and grab it," Plankton whispered. The Mane 7 held there breaths as SpongeBob slowly moved his hand closer to the key. As he leaned in closer, SpongeBob's foot pushed against a loose floorboard, causing it to creak. "Halt! Who goes there?" Patrick whipped around sleepily. For a second, the team thought they had been caught, but, thankfully, the dreary sea star flopped back onto the chair, still snoring. They looked at each other with apprehensive looks. SpongeBob inched closer and grabbed the lanyard that held the key. He tried pulling it down, but Patrick's thick torso prohibited it from moving down his neck. "Stop! Pull it over his head!" Plankton said quietly. SpongeBob pulled up, but the lanyard still wouldn't budge, only accomplishing to push Patrick's mouth up. "Stop, stop, stop!" Plankton said. SpongeBob let go, allowing Patrick's flabby face to flop back to it's normal position. "I feel grossed out by this,” Rarity whined. "We can't leave till we get that key," Applejack said. "Let me get up there,” Plankton leaped from SpongeBob's shoulder. He silently tip-toed up Patrick's stomach and to the key. He snapped the lanyard and gave a thumbs-up the SpongeBob, who gave a thumbs-up back. "Nice one, Plankton," Twilight said. "Now grab the key." Plankton went to grab it, only to realized it was sliding down Patrick's body. He chased after, tripping and bouncing against the sea star's belly fat. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 could only watch with nervous looks as Plankton ran after the key. He tripped and landed on top of it, gasping as he saw he was heading right for Patrick's belly button. Plankton screamed as he and the key bounced into the air. SpongeBob closed his eyes, too scared to see the end result. The key plunged into the belly button and Plankton landed right on top of it. The Mane 7 breathed a sigh of relief as SpongeBob opened his eyes and smiled. Plankton smiled back, that was until the key began to sink deeper inside the belly button. "Help me,” Plankton squeaked. SpongeBob gasped and managed to grab ahold of Plankton's antenna. He pulled him and the key out, wiping away all the lint from they two. Rarity instinctively dry-heaved. The noise and sensation was enough to wake Patrick up. "What," Patrick looked around and spotted the nine intruders. He gasped and pulled out a giant whistle. "Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow tackled Patrick to the ground before he could blow on the whistle. SpongeBob and the others came in the keep the raging starfish down. Patrick, despite being overweight, was still very strong. Strong enough to give even Rainbow and Applejack a hard time. "Stay down, big guy!" Rainbow threatened. "And stay there, you brute!" Rarity added. "Plankton, help!" SpongeBob hoisted Patrick up in a cradle position. The Mane 7 helped keep him there. "I'll rock him, you tell him a bedtime story," SpongeBob said. "How is that gonna fix the situation?" Twilight asked, clearly distressed. Plankton raced up to them and stood on Patrick's belly. "Uh, uh. Once upon a time there was a big, fat, pink idiot who went to sleep. The end!" he said quickly. "That's the worst bedtime story I've ever heard!" Pinkie said with disappointment. "Maybe we could try a lullaby," Fluttershy suggested, struggling to hold Patrick up. "Nice try, but it's gonna take more than that to..." Patrick immediately went limp and flopped against the floor, fast asleep and snoring loudly. "Did....Did that seriously just work?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. "Why did that even work?" Twilight asked. "Let's just grab the key," SpongeBob said. Without further delay, They grabbed the key and opened the door Patrick was guarding, revealing Karen who was chained up against the wall. "I told you, I don't have the formula, you monsters!" Karen said angrily. "Now, that's not how you thank your saviors,” Rainbow said. "Hey, baby, how are you?" Plankton greeted sweetly. "Plankton! My hero!” Karen praised in relief. “You must need something, otherwise you wouldn't have come back." "Plankton has a plan to save Bikini Bottom," SpongeBob put the key into the shackles, unlocking them. "It's a crazy one, but one that might actually work,” Spike said. As soon as the chains were unlocked, Karen fell to the floor. SpongeBob and Twilight lifted her back up onto her wheels. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked with concern. "I'm fine. It doesn't matter, Plankton,” the computer said. “Krabs knows all your plans. He's been through my hard drive looking for the secret formula." "I never had it. But we're going to get it,” Plankton sighed. "We're gonna go back in time to steal the formula before it disappeared." "That's right!” Pinkie said excitedly. "Time travel! Where are you gonna find a computer that can do that?" Karen asked incredulously. "Wait a minute!" "There's no time to waste," Twilight said. "Let's get out of here before we get spotted." Back outside. SpongeBob lightly pushed the main entrance doors opened and peered out to see if they were safe. The guards we still preoccupied with the tire, giving our heroes the opening they needed to escape. SpongeBob carried Karen as the swiftly escaped the premises. "I've never carried a head before,” he uneasily. "You'll get used to it,” Plankton said. "What's that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked suspiciously. "Nothing. It means nothing." the tiny sea creature said quickly. "It's still warm,” SpongeBob whispered. "We need to go now,” Twilight said. The team quickly made there escape past the still distracted guards. "So you won't talk, eh?" the first guard said cruelly. "Let some air out of him." The second smiled evilly and pushed his finger against the valve stem, allowing air to escape. Not too long after, we find our heroes at a taco restaurant the stood at the top of a snowy peak. "Is this where we're gonna build our time machine?" SpongeBob asked. "I guess so,” Twilight said dubiously. "Though I'm not sure how a place like this can help us build one." "Plankton, are you sure this the optimal place to be?" Rainbow asked. "Sure. It's got everything we need,” Plankton responded confidently. "A photo booth. A cuckoo clock. Some day-old chips. Now all we have to do is build it." "I'm still not sure this will work. Time travel is very complex thing," Twilight said. "Come on, have a bit of faith, will you. Might do you some good,” the grouchy plankton responded. SpongeBob pulled out his pitch pipe to start up a tune. "Oh, no, you don't!" Plankton snatched the instrument away. "Hey, my pitch pipe!" the sea sponge exclaimed. "Uh, I need it. For the time machine." Plankton ran into the photo booth. "Oh. Okay," SpongeBob said. "Umm. SpongeBob?" Fluttershy was about to say when the team heard a crash and a toilet flushing. Plankton ran out with a hammer in-hand. "Installed!" The Mane 7 all gave him unconvinced looks. "Well. Are we gonna build the time machine or what?" Plankton said quizzically. "Let's get started,” Applejack said, bringing up the mood. And so, the team began to build the time machine; hammering in nails, cutting wood, and screwing in screws. It was hard and time-consuming work, but hopefully, it will all be worth it. Several hours in, they stopped for a lunch break, gathering up any eatable products from the restaurant kitchen. Then, it was back to work. Rarity sowed up the booth curtain back together, Applejack and Rainbow lifted the heaviest parts into position and the rest helped add the finishing touches and calibrate the machine. When it was complete, Plankton spun the cuckoo clock arms and the machine sputtered to life. "I did it!" Plankton said victoriously. "No. We did it!" SpongeBob walked out the booth. "It was a team effort!" Spike said happily. "Wait. We did do it. As a tee-am,” Plankton said in realization. "A team,” the others corrected. "Whatever,” Plankton said. "See. Now you're getting the hang of it, Plankton," Pinkie said joyfully. "Yeah, I suppose you're right,” the little organism admitted. "Okay, now for the brains!" SpongeBob hauled Karen inside the machine and slid her into the proper cavity. Plankton, Spike, and the Mane 6 all shuffled inside. "Okay, Plankton, this is it," Karen said. "It's gonna take all my processors and energy to power this time machine. So if you have anything you wanna tell me, you better tell me now." "Wait? You mean you won't come back from this?" Twilight asked hesitantly. "That's the way it has to be, I'm afraid," Plankton’s computer wife said. "Well, Karen...I know I've taken you for granted all these years, and I, I just wanted to say, I'm glad you're on my tee-am." Plankton said sadly. Karen felt very touched. "Oh, Sheldon, that's the sweetest thing you've ever..." Her sentence abruptly stopped when Plankton flipped the switch. Karen's speech line disappeared and the current time flashed on the screen. "Dude, you didn't even let her finish,” Rainbow said sternly. Plankton didn't respond. He stood there with tears in his eyes, sniffling and sobbing quietly. "Plankton, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked softly. "Plankton, are you crying?" SpongeBob asked. "No, no, no!" the weeping, little thing wiped away the tears. "It's just one of the hazards of having a giant eyeball. There's always stuff getting in there." The others gave him sorrowful and sympathetic looks. "It's okay to let out your emotions, Plankton," Twilight said gently. "This no shame or embarrassment in it." Plankton lightly shook his head. "Anyway, where were we?" he said dismissively. Twilight sighed solemnly. "Getting ready to activate the machine.” "Oh, right,” Plankton said. "Say cheese!" SpongeBob slid a quarter into the slot. "Cheese!" the group say, all flashing a big smile. The time machine spluttered and hissed. And in a flash of light and colors, it was gone. All it left was a bit of smoke floating around where the machine once stood. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 were now flying through space and time to retrieve the Krabby Patty secret formula. The only question that remained was would they succeed? Only one way to find out. To be continued Part 6: Time Travel TroubleThe first thing our heroes could feel was the feeling of weightlessness. The feeling was followed by the sudden sensation of being thrusted at insane speeds. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 zoomed through the fabric of space and time, the only visible surroundings being bright, spiraling colors. Suddenly they blasted through a giant taco that was sitting in their path, all of them too entranced from the time travel for it to register in their heads. Finally, the time machine came to a halt. The team found themselves in the middle of what appeared to be a desert in the midst of a sandstorm. The left the time travel to look around, but it was difficult to see from the severity of the sandstorm. "I think we might've went to far back in time," Spike stated. "According to my calculations, the Krusty Krab should be right here,” Plankton skimmed through the numbers on his calculator. "All ah see is nothin' but sand,” Applejack called out. "How can there even be a sandstorm underwater?" Twilight said. "And what’s that over there?" SpongeBob pointed to a pink object sticking out of the sand. When it turned around, revealed itself to be Patrick. However, he looked to have aged fifty years. Thin, grey hair surrounded his head, his eyebrows had gone ghostly grey and he had a long beard to go with it. "SpongeBob?" the sea star asked in disbelief. "Patrick?" SpongeBob asked, also in disbelief. "Is it really you?" Patrick reached out a hand. "Yes, Patrick, it's..." SpongeBob tried to say, but was interrupted by the starfish. "Finally! The Great Krabby Patty Famine is over!" He shouted. "Say what?!" Twilight asked in surprise. "Great Krabby Patty Famine? What year is it?" SpongeBob looked around hopelessly. "It's Thursday,” Patrick answered. "That is not what he meant," Rainbow said. "According to my calculations, we've only gone four days into the future,” Plankton explained. "Four days? What happened in the span four days that led to this?" Twilight asked incredulously. "More importantly, where is everybody?" SpongeBob asked. "They all gave up on you,” Patrick said. "But not me! Cause I'm not very smart." "Yeah, I think we already gathered that," the blue sea pony said flatly. "Where is the Krusty Krab?" SpongeBob asked further. "Right where it's always been,” the wind brushed away the sand to reveal that Patrick was sitting on the Krusty Krabs sign the whole time. The realization hit the team. The entirety of Bikini Bottom was now buried under tons of sand. SpongeBob and the others gasped in horror. Then came the sponge's panicked screams as they all made a mad-dash back to the time machine. Patrick waved goodbye to them as the machine disappeared. It was back to the wacky time travel. The team were now in freefall with images of artistic patterns and music sheets all around them. None of them could exactly comprehend what was going on. When it was finally over, SpongeBob moved the machine's curtain out of the way. They now found themselves in a large, dark, triangular-shaped room. Soon as SpongeBob took a step forward, the room lit up and at the end stood a tall figure wearing a majestic, red robe staring off into distant nebulas. "Where they hay are we now?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "Are we even in the same world anymore?" Fluttershy added to the confusion. "I think we may be lost in time, guys,” SpongeBob said. "That wouldn’t be surprising,” the unnerved, cyan sea pony said. “I'm over here wondering where we even are." "Let's ask him,” Pinkie bounced over to cloaked figure. "Pinkie, are you crazy? What if it's not friendly?" Rarity said fearfully. "She may be on the right track, Rarity,” SpongeBob said. “Maybe we should ask this guy for directions." "I don't know. Should we really be conversing with someone we've just seen?" Twilight questioned. "You didn't seem all that threaten when you first met me." the seas sponge argued with a knowing smirk. "Well a yellow dish sponge wearing pants isn't exactly very threatening,” Rainbow said. “Touché,” SpongeBob narrowed his eyes. "C'mon guys,” he’s pretty much are best bet at the moment,” Plankton said in slight irritation. Knowing that Plankton was right, they all hesitantly made their way over to the being. Fluttershy made sure to hide behind SpongeBob, incase things went south. "Excuse me, sir? Can you tell us when we are?" SpongeBob called out to the figure. "Who dares disturb The One Who Watches?" the figure spoke in an authoritative tone. “Back to the time machine,” Fluttershy squeaked. "The One Who Watches? Your name is The One Who Watches?" SpongeBob asked. "No, my true name is Bubbles,” the figure turned to reveal that he was, in fact, a dolphin. A brief, awkward silence permeated throughout the air. "Bubbles?" Plankton laughed. "What kind of a name is Bubbles?" "It is my ancient dolphin name,” Bubbles explained. “I think it’s kinda cute,” Fluttershy calmed down, realizing there wasn’t as a much of a threat then she thought. "So what's a dolphin doing out here in the middle of space?" SpongeBob asked curiously. "Yeah, doesn't your species need to be in water to stay alive?" Twilight asked. "We have no need for that. My kind have been watching and protecting the galaxy for..." Bubbles suddenly began to click and make other dolphin calls. "...10,000 years!" "W-What was that about?" Spike asked. "I apologize for that. Some dolphin habits..." he clicked away again. "...never go away." "Oh, so you're the one keeping the meteors from hitting us," SpongeBob said in realization. "Yes, I am," Bubbles confirmed. "And I could really do with a potty break. Would you mind keeping an eye on things? Bubbles swam away towards a restroom. "Wait, what?" Rarity asked in surprise. "Sure thing. But what am I keeping my eye on?" SpongeBob asked, but Bubbles was already gone. The Mane 7 looked amongst each other as SpongeBob and Plankton walked over to the edge of the observation area. "I'm...still reeling from the fact that our worlds have been under the observation of a dolphin," the purple sea pony said in a troubled tone. "You'll get used to that kind of stuff," Plankton turned his attention to SpongeBob. "What are you doing?" "I'm watching," the yellow sponge viewed out into the vastness of space. "We don't even know what we're watching for," Plankton argued. "Meteors...I think,” Twilight presumed, though it was obvious she didn't much of have a clue either. "Maybe we should split up the workload,” SpongeBob suggested. "You guys watch the one with the big red eye, and we'll watch the one with the ringy thingies. Like a team." And so, Plankton, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were staring the larger planet, while SpongeBob, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Spike we left staring at the ringed planet. "Ah don't think we need five separate creatures to look after one planet," Applejack said. "It's so boring, too,” Rainbow whined. "Doesn't anything interesting happen here?" "Okay, ours is moving," Plankton said. "Wait. You're right,” Twilight's eyes widened. "Ours, too,” SpongeBob concurred. Both planets were moving. And they were moving towards each other. "Uh, is this supposed to be happening?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "No, this doesn't seem right. Should we call Bubbles?" Plankton said with concern. "Let's give him a minute. He's been holding it for 10,000 years," SpongeBob said. "But, what do we do if they..." Twilight's thought was interrupted when the two planets collided with one another. The team shielded their eyes from tremendously bright explosion. "...collide.” “Welp, you got ya wish, Dashie,” Applejack half-teased, half-chastised. “Shut up, Applejack. I didn’t ask for something like this to happen,” Rainbow said defensively. Piles of rocks now lay all over the futuristic-looking floor. SpongeBob gasped at the wreckage. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen,” he said. "Come on, everyone, we got to clean this up before Bubbles gets back!" The panicking sea sponge began to pile up the rocks. He pull over a piece of the floor and tried to broom the pile underneath it. "How are we supposed to hide this from him?" Rarity pointed to the now destroyed planets. Then came the sound of a toilet flush and Bubbles floated out of the restroom with a piece of toilet paper stuck to his tail. "Much better. Yes,” he sighed in relief. "You all are free to go." The team all looked at him with apprehensive looks. SpongeBob threw away the broom and gave a, rather unconvincing, innocent smile. Bubbles noticed the pile of rocks behind him and turned to the observable universe. "What happened to Saturn and Jupiter?" he asked in shock. Saturn's ring dislodge and dropped into oblivion. "You were supposed to..." the irate dolphin clicked and squealed, while the others looked on in worry and fear. "...Keep them from smashing into each other!" "Sorry," SpongeBob squeaked. "You didn't explain to us what we had to do if something like that did happen,” Rainbow said defensively. "Now I am going to lose my job!" the ancient dolphin said angrily. "And you will lose your lives." Almost instantaneously, a laser shot out of Bubbles' blowhole. Thankfully, he missed and knocked the team away, creating a hole in the floor. "Run, run, run!" Twilight yelled. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 high-tailed it out of there as fast as they could, narrowly avoiding Bubbles's laser barrage. "Quarter me!" SpongeBob said as they neared the time machine. Plankton quickly handed him a quarter. One laser got close enough to send the team flying into the air. The screamed as the barrel right into the time machine. The quarter bounced and landed on the floor. Luckily, SpongeBob grabbed it just before it could be vaporized by another laser. The time machine spluttered and disappeared in cloud of smoke and colors. Colors spiraled around them as Sponge, Plankton, and the Mane 7 flew through time's fragile fabric. Suddenly, there was nothing but black and white, their silhouettes flashing about. SpongeBob entered Mr. Krabs's office, but then stopped. "Plankton?!" he gasped. "SpongeBob!" Plankton said in surprise, just before he could replace the real formula with the fake one. Suddenly, the time machine appeared, catching both off-guard. Plankton was the first to appear out of it. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in confusion. Then SpongeBob came out. "SpongeBob?" the other Plankton said in confusion. "Who are you two supposed to be?' "They're not alone," Twilight and her friends swam out of the time machine. "I'm you from the future,” Plankton said. "And I'm him from the future," SpongeBob pointed to his past self. "SpongeBob, what's going on,” the other Twilight peered into the office and spotted the Mane 7 from the future. Her jaw dropped. The rest of the past Mane 7 swam up with shocked looks. "Wut in Sweet Apples' name is goin' on?" Past Applejack said in surprise. "We’re from the future and to take back the secret formula," Applejack said sternly. “Wut’n tarnation…” Past Applejack muttered in shock. "So you traveled back through time to help me? Great thinking,” Past Plankton said happily. "Nope. He's helping us," SpongeBob said confidently. "But, he's the enemy!" Past SpongeBob said. "Exactly! He's probably only helping so he can take the formula for himself,” Past Rainbow accused. "Trust me, with how much this town relies on that thing, it's not really worth it at this point,” Plankton admitted. "Right. He was the enemy. Now we're a team," SpongeBob said, as Plankton hopped onto his hand. "What? A tee-am?" Past Plankton questioned. "A team!" Plankton said confidently. "All right, go get the formula." SpongeBob and the Mane 7, minus Pinkie, charged at the safe. "What have I become?" Past SpongeBob said grimly. "I still don't understand,” Twilight massaged her head. "Shouldn't the space time continuum be tearing apart since me and the same Twilight are now in the same time plane?" "That only happens in movies,” Plankton scoffed. "Oh. My. Gosh. Another Pinkie!" Past Pinkie squealed. "Yupper-doo! Isn't this amazing?" Pinkie said excitedly. "Urgh,” Past Rainbow groaned. “It was bad enough with all those Pinkie clones we had to deal with that one time." SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all tried to reach their hands-slash-hooves to grab the formula. Past Plankton ran for his life with the formula in hand. "Wait. My fins can't reach in there,” Spike realized. "Do you have flying boatmobiles in the future?" Past SpongeBob asked. "We only came back from the day after tomorrow, dimwit,” Plankton said in annoyance. "Are there rocket packs?" Past SpongeBob pressed on. "Wait. If you're not here to steal it for your own personal gain, then why are you stealing it?" Past Twilight asked suspiciously. "Long story short, a few minutes from now the formula will disappear into the thin air,” Plankton explained. “I was accused of stealing it, but then SpongeBob saved me at the last second. So, we've been traveling through time to this exact moment right before it disappears." "Disappear into thin air? Like that's believable," Past Rarity said, unconvinced. "Don't believe me all you want, you'll be thanking us in the long-term," Plankton said. SpongeBob and the Mane 6 reached all over the safe, dollar bills and coins flew all over the place as their hands and hooves swung about. "Did they outlaw clothes in the future?" Past SpongeBob asked. "No!" Plankton said. "Then why are you naked?" Past SpongeBob pointed at him. "Because they don't make clothes in my size,” Plankton said in exasperation. "Should we do something about this?" Past Spike asked. "Nah, they're doing fine,” Plankton responded nonchalantly. "Hold still, you!" SpongeBob grunted, slamming his hand against stacks of coins. "You can't run forever in there," Applejack warned. At this point, Past Plankton was trying avoid getting crushed by the onslaught of hands and hooves. "If you're from the future, what am I gonna say next?" Past SpongeBob asked curiously. "Something moronic?" Plankton said quizzically. "Wow." Past SpongeBob said, awestruck. "Hey, hurry up over there!" the one-eyed sea creature called out to the others. "Maybe instead of having small-talk with our past selves, you help us instead,” Rainbow said, annoyed. Inside the safe, SpongeBob knocked the bottle of the pressure plate, setting it off. "Uh, oh. That ain't good," Past Plankton said. "Initiating lockdown sequence," a robotic voice said from above. Sirens went off and red, flashing light hovered from the ceiling. "Come on, guys, we gotta get out of here!" Plankton yelled. Finally, SpongeBob's hand caught the familiar sensation of a glass bottle. "Got it!" he said. "Come on!" Plankton rushed into the time machine. "Let's get out of here.” Rarity beckoned the others. "Wait! What about us?" Past Twilight said. "Mr. Krabs won't be happy when he finds the formula is gone." "He won't have to for long,” Plankton answered. "You wouldn't happen to know what my favorite kind of cake is. Would you?" Pinkie asked her past self. "Nope. I've gone cooky-cuckoo thinking about what my favorite cake is,” the two Pinkie's shared a laugh. "Pinkie, let's go!" Rainbow grabbed the pink sea pony by the mane and pulled her inside the machine. “Bye, Pinkie,” the pink sea pony waved goodbye. “Bye!” Past Pinkie waved back. “Same time next week?” “Absolutely!” Pinkie replied. The time machine then disappeared in a great, big flash of light. “What nice sea ponies,” Past Pinkie hummed happily. “Pinkie, they were literally us from the future,” Past Rainbow. “I know,” the cheery sea pony giggled. The cyan sea pony turned to back to see Twilight scribbling thins down on her notebook. “Twilight, what are you doing?” Past Rainbow asked. “Writing down the breakthrough we just witnessed,” the alicorn sea pony had the widest grin on her face. “The power to time travel through machinery. This opens up so many possibilities!” “Oh, brother,” Past Spike groaned. Meanwhile, back in the Time Machine, the Mane 7, SpongeBob and Plankton were, once again, flying through space and time, but, now the mission was complete. "We did it!" Rainbow said victoriously. "That was crazy!" SpongeBob laughed. "So that's what teamwork is." Plankton said, sliding down the formula bottle. "All those years I tried to make you mine, and I finally did it." "Don't you mean..." Applejack teased. "I mean, we did it!" Plankton corrected himself. "That's right. And I can't help but be proud of you, Plankton," Twilight. "Heh. Thanks, I guess," Plankton chuckled. "And so it would seem that our heroes have accomplished all they had set out to do,” the pirate slammed the book shut. "Now that's an ending,” one of the seagulls said. "Andy, cue the music." another said. Andy pulled out an accordion and was about to sing a tune when the pirate dropped the book and kneeled down at them. The seagulls felt a little scared. "Oh, no. That's not the end,” he said cryptically. "So you mean the ending might be even happier?" the second seagull asked. The pirate stared at him and pull at his telescope. He turned forward and looked through, seeing beach filled to the brim with tourists and beach-goers. "Land ho!" he yelled, pointing to the shore. Everyone at the crowded beach were casually enjoying the bright, sunny. An older African American man was sifting through his cooling when he caught a glimpse of the oncoming pirate ship. "What?" he whispered to himself. The ship came onto the shore. Any normal ship would've crashed into the sand, but this ship was different. As it came out of the water, wheels presented themselves allowing the ship to keep going. The beach-goers had surprised or confused looks as the boat thundered toward them. "I'm coming! Come on, you lazy people!" the pirate yelled, urging people to move out of the way. "Out of the way! I'm coming!" People panicked as the moved their things and themselves out of the ship's path. Some Just ran out of the way. The ship smashed through coolers, umbrellas, and towels that were in it's way. "Sorry!" the pirate shouted. The seagulls, meanwhile, were hanging onto dear life. "Too fast!" one of the them exclaimed. "Slow down!" another cried. A lifeguard from atop his tower blew his whistle in a attempt to get the pirate to stopped. It was clear he wasn't, forcing the lifeguard to jump from the tower just before the ship crashed into it. The pirate smiled as he reached refreshment area. The ship jumped across the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding panicking roller skaters and bicyclists. He viscously turned the held, turning the ship to the right. People ran out of the way as the ship finally skidded to a stop right into between two food trucks. "Yeah!" the pirate pumped his fist. "All right, you feathered rats, time to shove off!" "What, why?" one the gulls whined. "Well, I can't have you pooping all over my restaurant, can I?" the pirate said gruffly. "Restaurant? I thought this was a pirate ship,” the gull said in surprise. "Oh, it is,” the pirate spoke softly. "But it is also..." He rushed into preparation; opening up the order window, laying out condiments, turning on the grill, setting up stanchions and rope, putting up two coolers in the shape of chests, opened the ship's sail, and put on a fry cook uniform. "My very own food truck!" he said flourishingly. "A Whaaaat?" one of the gulls asked. "You know, a restaurant on wheels,” the pirate shortly explained. "Like a garbage truck,” another gull said. "No! Are you trying to scare away my customers?" the pirate shouted. "Well, we're not leaving till we see how the story ends,” a third gull said. The pirate smiled darkly. "No problem,” he grabbed a covered plate. "You guys like a little snack while you wait?" "Sure, I'll take a curdled milk,” the gull said. "How about a fish head?" another added. "And a French fry covered in sand,” the first one finished. "Who wants some...hot wings?" the pirate uncovered the plate to revealed a pair of freshly cooked seagull wings. The gulls stood there, mouths agape. "Wait a minute. Where's Kyle?" one of the gulls asked to the others. "Which one of you is next?" the pirate asked threateningly. The gulls all screamed and took to the air. "He's a madman!" one of them shouted. "Let's get out of here! You crazy, man! You crazy!" another said in alarm. The pirate laughed, but then stopped when he heard a toilet flush. He turned to see a small porta-john sitting on a barrel. "Bye-bye, Mr. Poop,” the gull inside said. "Now I can get my gold sticker." He opened the door and looked around. "Oh, hey, Mr. Piwate,” he closed the latrine door. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." The pirate slowly leaned toward and pull out a megaphone. "BOO!" he yelled through it. The gull screamed as all his feathers left his body, revealing that he was wearing a pair of SpongeBob underwear the whole time. "I can't fly without my feathers,” the gull said in embarrassment. He whistled sharply, catching the attention of a taxi driver. It stopped and the gull climbed inside. "Where to, Mac?" the pigeon cab driver asked. "Just dwive,” the gull begged. The taxi drove away. Far away from the pirate. To be continued Part 7: Mission IncompleteThe Bikini Bottom had gotten a lot more quiet at this time. Most of the inhabitants had lost the energy to cause chaos and destruction, so most of them stayed in the rundown Krusty Krab. Patrick stared hungrily at the Krabby Patty poster he was thrown to barely a day ago. He let out a moan of despair and yearning. "Squidward,” he turned to the octopus. "Still out of Krabby Patties," Squidward said, not looking up from his magazine. Patrick turned back to the poster and licked it. He smacked his lips, desperate to search for any amount of taste that even vaguely compared to the greasy sandwich. "Does anyone have a picture of ketchup?" he asked. Suddenly, the front doors slammed open. "I done figgered it out!" Sandy announced, her voiced had become raspy from the lack of proper care. The occupants looked at her with varying looks of confusion and surprise. The crazed squirrel leapt onto a table. "We have angered the sandwich gods and only a sacrifice will appease them!" she said. "Well, that sounds reasonable,” one of the fish said. "Soon our post-apoca-whatchamacalit will be over, and Krabby Patties will rain down from above!" Sandy finished with a twisted smile. "Rain down? Well, that's no good," Mr. Krabs complained. "How will I get me money?" "Oh, you don't like that idea? Then we'll sacrifice you!" one of the fish said angrily. The other folk were in agreeance and began chanting "sacrifice" as the hauled Kr. Krabs to the front entrance. A bright light suddenly blocked the front doors. The mob stood shocked, dropping the greedy crustacean to the ground. A scuffed time machine appeared in front of the entrance. The curtain opened and revealed SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7. "It's not a good idea to have a sacrifice on an empty stomach," SpongeBob held up the bottled formula. "Who wants a Krabby Patty?" As soon as they saw the bottled up formula, the crowd cheered with joy and relief. Mr. Krabs zoomed up to the team with star-spangled eyes. "SpongeBob, is that me formuler? Oh, happy day," Mr. Krabs took the bottled and kissed several times. "Sweet Celestia. Even I'm not that vain," Rarity muttered under her breath. "I missed you so much,” Mr. Krabs said. "Where was it? Where did you find it?" "Uhm...interesting story, actually..." Twilight rubbed her neck. "Well, Plankton, Spike, the girls, and I built a time machine out of an old photo booth and then we added..." SpongeBob was interrupted by Patrick, who was sitting in the machine. "Cheese!" he said. "Patrick, No!" Twilight gasped. In a flash of light and color, the time machine disappeared. Some of the folks gasped in horror. "Well, there goes our time machine,” Spike grumbled. "It's okay, everyone. The post-apocalypse is almost over!" Mr. Krabs declared. the crowd cheered once again. Mr. Krabs yanked out the cork and opened the formula up. "Ain't that right, SpongeBob,” he said. SpongeBob and Plankton high-fived each other. Mission accomplished. "I'm just glad this nightmare is officially over," Twilight said. "Now everything can go back to normal," Pinkie said joyfully. What neither of the two sea ponies realized was that they had spoken too soon. "Eugene, eat my subaquatic air bubbles. Love, Plankton"?" Mr. Krabs read the paper. He glared back at the team. The once happy atmosphere of the building soured almost immediately. "That's a weird list of ingredients," Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. "Ooo! Maybe I should try it." "That's because it's not the formula," Twilight realized. "You grabbed the wrong bottle!" Plankton said. "Since when was there a "wrong bottle"?" Applejack gave Plankton a suspicious look. "Well, In that time I had to replace the real formula with a fake one,” Plankton explained. “SpongeBob must've grabbed by mistake." "Are you kidding me?" Rainbow said in angered disbelief. "I'm sorry, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob fell to his stomach, tears forming in his eyes. "That's okay, SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said calmly. "We'll just have to sacrifice you and your friends then. Prepare them for the sacrifice!" "Guys, can't we just talk this out,” Fluttershy pleaded. "What do we do now? We're in the middle of enemy territory,” Rarity trembled. "If only Patrick hadn't taken the time machine,” Rainbow grumbled. The team began to make a run for it through the front doors when the time machine re-appeared in front of it. "I bring a message from the dawn of time!" Patrick announced. "What is it, Patrick?" SpongeBob asked. "Run!" the sea star ran from the machine. Something poked through the curtain, then a it broke threw the machine, sending pieces of the machine flying everywhere. The creature was large and had Squidward's face. It roared viscously. "Squidosaurus rex!" Squidward yelled fearfully. Everyone was now running for their lives as the Squidosaurus stomped and roared. "Well that's just great!” Rainbow exclaimed in frustration. “We still don't have the formula, the people want to kill us, and now we run the risk of getting eaten by that thing." "Ah don't see how yellin' is gonna fix things,” Applejack said dodging a table that sailed over them and through the wall. "There has to be a way to fix this,” Twilight said hopefully. "How? The time machine has been destroyed,” Rarity cried. "Well, guys, I guess we failed to accomplish our goals," SpongeBob said sadly. "We"?" Plankton asked incredulously. "Come on, SpongeBob. There's got to be a way to get the real formula,” the purple sea pony pressed on. "Twi, ah don't think there is," Applejack placed her hat over her chest. "I've had faith with dire situations before, but, are one and only option we had to get the formula back is now gone. Now these people want to make us their sacrifice and that prehistoric whatchamacalit wants to make all of us into it's food. Ah just don't see how this is fixable." "Be fair, Applejack, their might be a miracle somewhere among all of this,” Rarity tried to lighten the situation. "I mean, we could definitely take down Mr. tall, dark, and ugly over there," Rainbow pointed to the rampaging dinosaur. "Hey!" Squidward yelled. Twilight lowered her head in defeat. Had she really failed again? "But even failure hurts a little less when you do it as a team, right?" SpongeBob said with a hint of fairness. "This is all your fault!" Plankton yelled angrily. Twilight and her friends all gasped at Plankton's outburst. The other folk and even the Squidosaurus rex stopped trying to eat Mr. Krabs. "Plankton, what in Equestria do you mean?" Rarity asked with an offended tone. "My fault?" SpongeBob said, his tone conveyed more hurt. Plankton hopped onto a nearby table. "You're the one who stole the wrong secret formula,” he pointed an accusatory finger at the sponge. "I didn't know there were two bottles," SpongeBob defended. "Of course you didn't!" Plankton snapped. "Because you got cotton candy for brains!" "Oooo,” some of the fish winced. "No, seriously, he really does," Plankton said. "Now that's just uncalled for," Applejack swam up to Plankton with an angry look. "It's not like you helped us in that situation. You were just makin' small-talk with our past selves." "Yeah, maybe if you had went in the safe you could've gotten the real one," Rainbow added, equally upset. "Oh, please. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to with all your fat hands in the way,” Plankton shot back. "Fat?! Why I never!" Rarity screeched. "Girls, please. Let's not fight," Fluttershy pleaded. "Well, we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place, if you weren't so selfish and evil,” SpongeBob defended. "I was selfish and evil, until you ruined everything with your "teamwork," Plankton said in a mocking tone. "You take that back!" SpongeBob whimpered with a trembling hand. "You are the worst teammate ever!" Plankton screamed in fury. "No!" SpongeBob shrieked. He stepped back. The Mane 7 swam out of his way as he violently kicked over a garbage can. The crowd gasped in shock as SpongeBob grunted and wheezed hysterically. He grabbed a recycling bin and unloaded it's content onto the floor. He began mashing and mixing the two piles of trash together, all the while screaming like a maniac. The crowd was taken aback, even Plankton. "W-What is he doing?" Spike asked with apprehension. "Oh, my Neptune, he's mixing garbage and recycling!" one of the fish said. "Well, that's...gross, but not horrifically egregious," Twilight said. "I beg to differ," Rarity whispered. "Are you kidding me? No one should ever mix garbage and recycling,” Pinkie said. “I learned that the hard way.” SpongeBob then let out another maniacal scream whilst holding two lumps of trash in his hands. The crowd gasped again, SpongeBob breathed heavily for a few seconds and then looked around. He saw the shocked looks of the crowd and the mystified looks of his pony friends, even Fluttershy looked a little scared of him. He looked down at his hands. "Look at me. Why, I've become like all of you. Savage. Fear-ridden. Selfish." SpongeBob looked amongst the townsfolk. "An entire town of formerly good citizens turned into heartless freaks bent on their own self-prever...self-preter..." "Self-preservation?" Twilight said. "Yes!" SpongeBob responded. "We've become alienated from each other. Each one an island unto himself, concerned only with ourselves. And in the name of all fishhood, I am not about to let that happen!" SpongeBob tore off a piece of a fish's shirt and put it on as a headband. "And so, if a sacrifice is needed to restore Bikini Bottom to its former glory. Then I am willing to take one for the team!" "Wait. You mean you're willingly giving himself up as the sacrifice?" Twilight said with dread. "B-But, you can't!” Pinkie wailed. “You're our friend, SpongeBob." "But, he's decided to give himself up to help us. Should we really challenge that?" Applejack wondered out loud. "Not if I can help it! I'm not losing a friend over some piece of paper," Rainbow gritted her teeth. "It's okay, girls. I willing to do this if it means saving this place from this apocalypse," SpongeBob reassured. The crowd all looked on with looks of shame, shock, and regret. All except for one. "You heard him!" Squidward said cruelly and happily. Several townsfolk grabbed SpongeBob and pulled him off the ordering station, dragging him outside. "We have to save him! We can't let him die!" Rainbow yelled, determined. "Hey, how about we sacrifice that group of weird seahorses and pufferfish, too,” one of the fish pointed to the Mane 6 and Spike. "Ever since they've been here, it's been nothing but problems and chaos. They're like a bad omen. Why not kill two clams with one stone." "Wait, no! Don't drag them into this!" SpongeBob panicked. The mob began swarming the Main 6 and Spike. "Agh. No! We bring no harm! Please!" Twilight begged. "Somepony help!" Fluttershy cried out. "Get you wretched fins off me!" Rarity demanded desperately. The sea ponies and pufferfish fought against the grasping hands, but it was no use. They were all dragged out the Krusty Krabs where they would meet their sacrificial fate. The sky had darkened considerably now that the dark ritual was inevitable. The entire populace of Bikini Bottom had surrounded a giant stone tower. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 stood with cuffs on their hands and hoofs. The cuffs were chained to the floor of the tower. A wooden pully stood atop, holding a stone, chiseled into the shape of a Krabby Patty bun. "Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" the mob chanted maliciously. "This cannot be happening,” Rarity whimpered. "I'm too young to die!" "Come on, everypony. Surely there's a better way out of this,”" Twilight begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Let the sacrifice begin!" Mr. Krabs hollered. "Patties! Patties! Patties!" the crowd cheered and chanted. "And I thought my friends were primitive,” the Squidosaurus said. "This can't end like this," Rainbow strained against the chains. "You can't do this to us." "Who...Who's going to look after my animals if I'm gone forever," Fluttershy sobbed. "Won't be able to bake any matter or babysit the twins or...or hang out with my bestest friends,” Pinkie wailed as two geysers of tears sprayed from her eyes. "I'm sorry for this, girls. I failed yet again," Twilight cried. Applejack stared directly into her friend's eyes with a firm yet comforting look. "It ain't yer fault, Twi. And none of us blame ya,” she said. "Those folks are just crazy. Crazier than a chicken on hard cider." Twilight blinked the tears from her eyes. She gave a weak smile. "I know, but I still feel terrible,” she said. "I guess the one good thing is that we're going out together." "Yeah, that soothes the pain a little," Pinkie acknowledged. "Ah just wish ah could say goodbye to mah family one last time,” Applejack said sadly. "I hope Scootaloo's in good hooves,” Rainbow added. "You girls have been amazing. Thank you, for everything," Twilight said. "Same ta you, Twi. Same ta you,” Applejack answered kindly. "And you've been the greatest thing to happen to me, Spike,” the purple sea pony smiled. "Oh, Twilight. That means the world to me,” Spike whimpered, his heart melted by Twilight's words. "Sweetie Belle, wherever you are, just know I love you," Rarity said. As the Mane 7's accepted their twisted fate, SpongeBob caught a whiff of something peculiar. He sniffed several times. The smell was odd, yet recognizable. "Don't cry, me boy," Mr. Krabs came up to him. "Everything's going to be fine...for us." "Oh, I'm not crying, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob sniffed the air once more." I smell Krabby Patties!" "Wait, what!?" Twilight said in surprise. "That's right. Keep thinking happy thoughts," Mr. Krabs smirked. "Now!" Squidward, now adorned with an axe-man's mask, grabbed a giant axe and sliced the rope holding the Krabby Patty rock. The rock dropped down onto our heroes. The Mane 7 and SpongeBob all shut their eyes and huddled as close as possible, waiting to be crushed. There was a mighty smash and the crowd winced and closed their eyes. When the opened them, they found two pairs of eyes sticking out of the platform. One pair belonged to SpongeBob and the others belonged to...Mr. Krabs! The crustacean heaved the rock off the team. The Mane 7 stood aghast. "W-W-W-We're alive!" Spike said in triumph. "Mr. Krabs?!" Rainbow yelled in shock. The red crab sniffed the air. "The boy's right,” he said in astonishment, throwing the rock away. "My leg!" A bystander cried in pain. "I smell 'em, too!" Mr. Krabs jumped from the platform. "Okay, SpongeBob, go get it!" Mr. Krabs tore off his leather straps, now replaced with his normal manager attire. "Wait. You mean we can just take this stuff off?" Squidward said, before tearing the clothing off. "We're alive! We're actually alive!" Spike said joyfully. "Guess not all hope was lost after all," Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes. "Go find that Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs threw SpongeBob off the tower. The yellow sponge bounced and tumbled to the ground. Instantly, he was on the move, tracking down the smell. "Come on, everybody! I've got some Krabby Patty orders to fill!" SpongeBob said with determination. The crowd all cheered with excitement as the tore off their apocalyptic attire and followed after SpongeBob. The Mane 7 were swift to catch up to him first. "How is it that you can smell a Krabby Patty from this far away?" Rarity asked. "I suppose it's my intuition," SpongeBob said. His nose suddenly separated from his body and hopped away. "It's coming from over there!" "Welp, that's something I can't unsee,” Rainbow said, a little disturbed at what had transpired. "By the way, thank you for saving us at that alter,” Twilight turned to Mr. Krabs. "Huh? I only did that to save SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said, but then saw the disheartened looks on the sea ponies' faces." But...uh...appreciate the...thankfulness. You're welcome...I guess." "Psh. Modest much," Rainbow rolled her eyes. With that now behind them, SpongeBob, the Mane 7, along with the people of Bikini Bottom were now on the trail of the Krabby Patty. They trekked through tall hills and foggy canyons. Amongst shipwrecks and and through snow-covered mountains. They journeyed through jagged rocks and other planets. They even hitched a ride on a bald eagle and scaled slippery slopes. "Come on, guys, I think it's just over this hill,” SpongeBob encouraged, but when reached the topped, they discovered the scent broke through the water's surface. That meant the trail continued on land. The crowd all moaned in disappointment. "Wait. What's the problem there?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "How do you expect us to go up to the surface?" Squidward asked in frustration. "We won't be able to breath!" "Perhaps maybe we could take over for ya. We can still breath just fine,” Applejack suggested. "Would you be able to track the Krabby Patties from their?" SpongeBob asked. "Uuuhhhhh..." Applejack couldn't find the answer to that. "All right, all secondary characters come with me,” A fish said in disappointment. The crowd began to make there way back home. "Yeah, I'm with you guys,” Squidward followed after, but was pulled back by a claw. "No way, Squidward. You're going up there with us,” Mr. Krabs said threateningly. "But, didn't Squidward just say you couldn't breath up there?" Spike questioned. "Exactly! We won't survive out there," Squidward yelled. "My feet hurt,” Patrick complained. "Patrick, you don't have feet,” SpongeBob pointed out, tiredly. The pink star lifted his leg and gasped when he saw that his yellow friend was right. "It's not fair!" the starfish fussed. "You have feet. Sandy has feet. Squidward has feet." "Actually, I have four feet,” Squidward corrected. Patrick plopped onto the ground and grumbled. None of them realized that a rock whizzed behind them. It came to a sudden stop. Plankton peered over it, surveying the group. "It's not about feet,” SpongeBob reasoned. "What is it about, then?" Squidward asked harshly. "We're supposed to be finding those Krabby Patties and hopefully, by proxy, the secret formula,” Twilight explained. "Exactly. We can't just give up now that we have gotten this far,” Fluttershy added, softly. "Right. It's about being a team and sticking together, no matter what!" SpongeBob said with confidence. Without anyone spotting him, Plankton quickly scurried over to SpongeBob's feet and stowed himself away in one of the socks. "The only way we're going up there is if some fairy godmother shows up and helps us breath air," Squidward said bitterly As soon as Squidward finished talking, a bright orb of light appeared and descended down upon them. The team now stood in a crater with a dolphin staring down at them. That dolphin was Bubbles, who still had a line of toilet paper stuck to his tail. "Bubbles!" SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all gasped. "Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked. "SpongeBob, you and your friends know this guy?" Squidward asked, petrified. "He's here to kill us!" Rarity wailed dramatically. "Don't hurt us! We're sorry we got you fired," SpongeBob begged on his knees. "Hurt you?" Bubbles let out a dolphin-like laugh. "Why, I traveled back through time to thank you." "Thank us? Thank us for what?" Spike asked. "I've been stuck in that job for eons. I needed a change, but I was too afraid to go for it," The ancient dolphin explained. "Well, Bubbles, I'm glad we could help," SpongeBob said happily. "Now it is my turn to help,” Bubbles said. "I can get you safely to the surface." "Really? You'd do that for us?" Fluttershy said, mesmerized. "Of course. You helped me with my predicament and I shall help you with yours," Bubbles said. "Now! Quick, all of you, get in my mouth." He leveled to the sand and opened his mouth wide. "Come on, guys, let's go!" SpongeBob waved over the others. "In there?!" Rarity said in disgust. "Not a chance!" "There's no way I'm climbing into some dolphin's mouth," Squidward said. "Yeah. This guy just wants a free lunch," Mr. Krabs glared. "But, he may be our only shot of continuing our mission,” Twilight tried to reason with them. "Sorry, Twilight, but there are something that I will refuse to do no matter how desperate the situation is,” Rarity said firmly. "This is one of them." "Guys, if Bubbles has the courage to quit his dead-end, nowhere job and travel back through time to help us, then we need to have the courage to..." SpongeBob was interrupted when Bubbles took initiative scooped up the team into his mouth. He made his ascend and began swimming up to the surface. "Well, I never thought I'd be eaten by a dolphin,” Mr. Krabs said flatly. "No, if he was eating us, he'd be chewing us up and we'd be going down there," SpongeBob down the dolphin's throat. "This is what you call riding in style." "Speak for yourself. Those teeth are terrifying," Spike shivered. "You're a dragon, or, you were a dragon. Your teeth are like ten times sharper than that," Rainbow argued. "So?” Spike asked, giving the sea pony a criticizing look. "Eugh! It smells absolutely revolting in here,” Rarity covered her nose. "Honestly, these missions keep getting worse and worse." "Rarity, will ya stop yer complainin'?" Applejack said in frustration. "Not a lot of legroom in here," Squidward groaned. "Well, maybe if you didn't have four feet!" Patrick retorted. Plankton peered out of SpongeBob's sock. "Note to self: Never stow away in a gym sock," he said to himself. Bubbles picked up some speed and finally breeched the surface, flipping in the air. SpongeBob, the Mane 7, and the rest of the gang looked up as Bubbles's blowhole opening up. Magical sparks drizzled down over them. "What's happening? I feel tingly!" Patrick said. Bubbles shot the team out of his blowhole. They flew high into the air then began to drop back down. The team screamed in fear. Bubbles readied himself and delivered a tail-strike that sent the ponies, dragon, and sea creatures sailing across the water and onto the shoreline. "Ugh. He gives the friendship portal a run for it's money,” Rainbow coughed out a pile of wet sand. "Girls, check it out!" Spike said. "What is it, Spike?" Twilight looked at her friend and then realized that he was back to his normal dragon form. The Mane 6 looked at each other. All of them had transformed back to their pony forms. "Well, ah'll be,” Applejack said in amazement. "Bubbles's magic must've transformed us." "That's probably for the best," Twilight said. "We wouldn't get far with those sea pony forms." "No way!" Pinkie gasped. "SpongeBob, you've transformed to CGI!" "CG...whu?" Rainbow looked abashed. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to you," Bubbles said "Thank you, Bubbles!" SpongeBob waved. "Farewell, SpongeBob,” the wise dolphin said. "Farewell, Bubbles." the yellow sponge said. "Now to update my..." Bubbles let out a couple clicks and squeals. "...Resume!" With that, a triangular portal opened up in the sky and Bubbles flew right into it before disappearing. Now that they were on dry land, Sandy decided to take off her helmet. "Ah, fresh air! Oh, how I've missed you," She said blissfully. "Eugh! This place smells awful!" Squidward clenched his nose. SpongeBob caught a whiff of the Krabby Patties. "Come on, guys,” he said turning to them. "Let's get the Krabby Patty formula and save Bikini Bottom." "Right. It should be easier thanks to Bubbles,” Twilight said. "Uhm, Twilight. I don't mean to rain on your parade but..." Rarity said. "Check it out!" Pinkie hopped forward. Twilight noticed that the beach was crowded with familiar-looking creatures. Though they all mostly shared the same skin color, they body structure was undeniable. The alicorn's eyes widened, she knew exactly what those creatures were: Humans. And they were huge, much larger compared to her or any of her friends. Twilight's confident smiled faded. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought. To be continued Author's Note This will be the last chapter for a while. I'll be taking a break for the Christmas season. Should come back around the end of December. Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! Part 8: A New Human WorldThe team slowly and cautiously treaded through the labyrinth of sunbathing humans. Twilight was the most accustomed to the sight of the humans, but even then, considering that these weren't the same humans as Sunset's world, this was still uncharted territory for her. The rest of the Main 6 were a little taken aback from the strange discovery. Spike, however, was mostly on the same level with Twilight in terms of knowing such creatures. "What is this place?" SpongeBob said with caution. "I have a bad feeling about this place," Mr. Krabs said nervously. "Ain't these those...hoo-mans you were tellin' us about from that crystal mirror 'bout a year ago, Twi?" Applejack looked around. "Yeah, but these humans are much bigger compared to you and me. And they’re all tan or brown,” Twilight studied the humans' characteristics. "I don't think they're the same kind of humans back in Sunset's home." “We’re they this big, too?” Fluttershy wavered, slightly hiding behind Rarity. “No?” Twilight answered, though questioned if she knew the answer, herself. “I don’t actually know, since I was also turned to a human when I went through the portal.” “I was turned to a dog,” Spike grumbly reminisced. "Maybe this guy knows where we are,” Patrick came up to a middle-aged man's foot. “He looks smart. He's got five heads." "Those aren't heads. I think those are called...toes if I remember correctly,” the alicorn pointed out. "Heads, toes. I don't see a difference," Patrick responded. Twilight gave him a questionable look. SpongeBob came up to his starfish friend. "Sir? Could you tell us where to find a Krabby Patty?" He asked the foot. The foot didn't answer. "Hey, my friend's talking to you!" Patrick poked the foot angrily. "That's not its head, guy,” Twilight said, sounding more frustrated. "What?" SpongeBob peered aside the foot and walked along it's length. As he did so, he found of what it was connected to. The creature was lying on it's back, fast asleep. SpongeBob gasped. "A giant, hairy porpoise!" the sea sponge cried. "It's beached! It's suffering. Poor thing." "Do you even know what a human is?" Twilight was in awe of the fact the SpongeBob and his sea friends had no knowledge of the creatures around them. "Clearly not," Spike came up beside the alicorn. "Because if they did, he certainly wouldn't think it’s a porpoise." "Is it just me or do they all seem kinda ugly-looking?" Rainbow poked the sleeping human's side. "What Twilight said earlier, ya’ll. Those aren't porpoises," Sandy explained. "All hands on deck!" Mr. Krabs shouted and raced over to the slumbering giant. The others followed after. Sandy groaned. "Oh, brother.” "We need to get these guys back in the water," Mr. Krabs said sternly. "What? No! Guys, it's okay. It's just sleeping," Twilight tried to convince her sea friends. "But, it'll dry out. We have to save them,” SpongeBob argued. "Did ya'll not hear what Twilight said?” Applejack asked. “Those are humans not porpoises." "Uhm. Are they supposed to be laying around like that?" Fluttershy asked. "It's the beach, Fluttershy,” Rainbow replied flatly. “It's no different than us relaxing on the sand." "Come on. Push!" SpongeBob urged. SpongeBob and his friends began to roll the human toward the shore. "Heave!" Mr. Krabs yelled. "Ho!" the others said. "Guys, this isn't necessary. They don't even live in the water," Twilight argued. It became apparent, however, that the others were too busy pushing the human forward to listen. "Put you back into it!" Mr. Krabs heaved. "Come on, Push!" SpongeBob wheezed. "Ugh, these guys are morons,” Rainbow complained. The team were all struggling under the human's weight. Finally, the weight became too overbearing and the human rolled back on top of them. "Gah! Get it off of me!" Rarity let out a muffled wail. "Well, I guess this is where that horrible smell was coming from," Squidward said. "Now what? We're stuck." Spike said. "Come on, everyone. Help me dig," SpongeBob began digging into the sand. Without much choice, the others began to dig as well. The large lump in the sand traveled across the beach. It raced underneath another pair legs, but before it could get much larger, the gang dig right into a half-buried shovel. The team groaned in pain, but continued with the digging. Eventually, the team split into five, taking individual routes. They unknowingly began digging into a large sand castle that was currently being built by a young girl. Once the reach the top, the gang all popped out into the open. The girl was surprised, but also in awe of what was in front of her. The gang all turned to see the girl, mouth agape. "Whoa,” she said in awe. “Hi!” Pinkie waved enthusiastically. "Excuse me, do you know where we can get a Krabby Patty around here?" SpongeBob asked. "You look familiar,” the girl said to the ponies and dragon. "We do?" Rainbow said in confusion. "Of course we do, Dashie. After all we are from..." Before Pinkie could finish her sentence a young boy stomped over to the castle. "Invaders!" he said aggressively. "Uh, oh,” SpongeBob grimaced. "Wait, this is just a misunderstanding!" Twilight tried to quell the escalating situation. "You get out of my sister's sand castle!” the boy kicked the castle violently, sending the entire team flying through the air. Patrick and Pinkie Pie landed on a unsuspecting boy's ice cream cone and Mr. Krabs, Fluttershy, and Applejack smacked into a cotton candy stand. Squidward found he had landed on a lady's back. Rainbow managed stop her momentum and flew over to Squidward. "You alright?" she hovered over him. "Too bad that didn't kill me,” he grumbled. SpongeBob, Sandy, Spike, and Twilight all landed on a beach umbrella. Rarity flew the farthest, bouncing off a beach ball and into a trash bin. The stench of rancid fast food assaulted her nose and she gagged. "Get me out of here!" the pristine unicorn cried dramatically. Patrick and Pinkie slowly got to there senses. "Somepony...get the number...on that...human," Pinkie said as stars danced around her head. Patrick shook the dizziness away. His eyes widened when he realized he was face-to-face with a large scoop of the pink, strawberry flavored, ice creamy goodness. "Where have you been all my life?" Patrick said with twinkling eyes. Pinkie soon discovered the pile of ice cream they were on and gasped deeply with shock and delight. "OMC! I'm in heaven! Come to momma!" the pink mare squealed. The two pink friends began devouring the frozen treat. Not far from them, Squidward tried to stand up, but the woman's slippery back almost made that impossible. The grumpy squid slipped and slid, trying to get his footing. Rainbow stood by, trying to hold in her laugh. "Oh, Frank. That feels so good,” the women cooed, unaware of what was going on. "Oh, this is too good," Rainbow giggled. "Just help me off this thing,” Squidward vainly tried to hold himself upright. Rainbow gave a smug smile and rolled her eyes. She grabbed onto Squidward's arms and began to pull him away. At the same time, Patrick and Pinkie were still going to town on the strawberry ice cream. The boy looked down and finally noticed the two creatures. He grimaced with disgust. "Gross!" he threw to cone away. The cone, along with Patrick and Pinkie, sailed across the air and crashed in Rainbow and Squidward. The ponies, sea star, and squid all smack into the sand. Patrick broke through the cone. "Oh, hey, Squidward,” he said happily. Squidward groaned into the sand. "Hi, Dashie,” Pinkie hopped around her pegasus friend. "Hi, Pinkie." Rainbow spat some sand out of her mouth. “So this what you and Patrick been doing? Eating ice cream?” “Yeah! It’s great stuff,” the party pony broke a piece of the cone and stuffed it in Rainbow’s mouth. “Try it!” Meanwhile, SpongeBob, Sandy, Twilight, and Spike all got to there bearings. "Sandy!" SpongeBob began to run forward. "The Krabby Patty! I think I see where it's coming from!" SpongeBob ran faster and faster, but all that accomplished was spinning the beach umbrella faster and faster. "SpongeBob, what are you doing?" Twilight said as she was spun around the umbrella. "I'm getting dizzy," Spike struggled to stay steady. The dragon began teetering over the edge. Twilight saw Spike was about to fall over and she took to the air. "Whoa!" Spike gasped as he lost his footing and fell from the umbrella. Thankfully, Twilight reached him in time to scoop him up. "Are you okay, Spike?" She asked in concern. "Yeah. Thank you," Spike said. The alicorn smiled, but the warm moment was cut short when the umbrella suddenly closed. SpongeBob and Sandy slid down, shrieking in surprise. They both came to a sudden halt when the umbrella panels snapped together. The man underneath the the umbrella pushed it open, catapulting the sea sponge and squirrel across the beach. Twilight, with Spike on her back, flew after them. The two smacked into the cotton candy stand where Mr. Krabs, Fluttershy, and Applejack were still stuck to. They all slid off and tumbled to the ground. Twilight was there in an instant to check on her friends. "Applejack, Fluttershy, are you two alright?" She asked worriedly. "All good here, Twilight. Fluttershy?" Applejack turned to the pegasus. "I...I think so,” Fluttershy said. "Wait. Where's Rarity?" Spike asked. "Over here,” a voice called out. The others turned to see the white unicorn bitterly walking over to them. The others caught a whiff of the disgusting smell. "Augh! Land's sakes, Rarity. Is that you?" Applejack covered her nose. "Unfortunately, yes, Applejack." Rarity huffed. "Because during whatever fiasco you all were doing, I was desperately trying to get myself out of a garbage can." Her face went as red as a tomato. "Never in my life have been so disgraced." "Don't worry, Rarity. There must be some place to wash up...somewhere," Spike tried to calm down the enraged unicorn. Rarity gave a frustrated sigh. Just then, Patrick, Squidward, Pinkie, and Rainbow came up to the team. "SpongeBob, you will not believe the size of the ice cream here," Patrick said. "I wonder what other giant snacks they have." "We’re not here to try out their food, Patrick,” Twilight pointed out. Patrick was too distracted as his eyes casted over the cotton candy stand behind them. "Cotton candy!" he said in disbelief. Pinkie gasped once again. "Where? Where!?" She looked around ecstatically. "Oh, no. No, no, no,” Rainbow waved her hooves to try and dissuade the three. “The last thing we need is Pinkie getting jacked up on more sugar." The three weren't listening. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie quickly leapt up the the stand. They stared into the machine, licking their lips at the sugary, silking, candy floss. Sandy joined them up on the cart. "If you ate all that, you'd have enough energy to run around the whole world,” Sandy said. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie all dove into the machine. They swirled around, cumulating cotton candy around their bodies. Sandy watched as the three spun around inside the machine. Once their bodies were covered in the sugary silk, they all slurped it into their mouths. The sugar rush was instantaneous. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie laughed with glee as the raced out of the cart and down the boardwalk. The seemingly traveled across the entire globe; Japan, Canada, France, Mexico, USA, Italy, Germany, Egypt, India, China. The traveled far and wide, at least that's what they thought. They were simply standing in place, laughing as Sandy would occasionally change to a different city backdrop using souvenir cards on a rack from a gift shop "Ergh. When is this sugar gonna wear off?" Squidward pressed his hands against his ears. "With Pinkie, it never ends,” Rainbow grumbled, an annoyed look on her face. The three friends suddenly dropped to the ground. The sugar crash took over. "I think it's over," Fluttershy said. "Took them long enough,” the annoyed pegasus said in exasperation. “Their laughter was starting to get annoying,” Spike added. “You’re telling me,” Squidward said. SpongeBob lifted his head when he caught a whiff of the all to familiar smell. He climbed up the souvenir rack and took in a deep sniff. “Hey, guys, I smell Krabby Patties!” he jumped off the rack. “I think it’s this way!” “Least we’re back on track now,” Applejack said. As the team began crossing the sidewalk, they suddenly found themselves within the crosshairs of fast-moving roller skaters and bicyclists. Panic ensued as the gang ran about, avoiding getting flatten by the rushing sport traffic. “Don’t leave me, Squidward,” Mr. Krabs wailed. “Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow cried out in frustration, narrowly avoiding a skateboarder. “Get clear! Get clear!” Twilight held onto Spike. The team was all over the place, running and jumping out of the way of pedestrians on their bikes and roller skates. There was no way for the team could safely travel down the sidewalk without the risk of becoming roadkill. They frantically ran back to the edge, breathing heavily and some even fell to their knees from exhaustion. “Now what?” SpongeBob asked in despair. “We’re never going to make it!” Squidward wheezed. “Not without gettin’ flattened. That’s fer sure,” Applejack said. “But we have to get out of here somehow,” Twilight argued. “We’re so close to that Krabby Patty smell according to SpongeBob.” “What could possibly help us in this situation?” Rainbow said. As Patrick began to stand back up, he bonked his head against something overhead. The team looked up to see what it was. An unsupervised bicycle stood parked against a light pole. As fate would have it, the team mostly came to the same idea. One thing led to another, and now SpongBob, Twilight, and the others were piloting the bicycle down the sidewalk. SpongeBob and Rainbow pressed down on one of the bike pedals. “Heave!” SpongeBob shouted. “Ho!” Patrick and Pinkie pushed down on the other pedal. “Whee! This is fun!” Pinkie exclaimed happily. Up above, Mr. Krabs, Twilight, Squidward, Applejack held onto the handlebars to keep the bike steady. Sandy clasped the middle connection, keeping a close eye on what was in front of them. As for Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike, they were content with sitting on the bike’s seat to stay safe. “We’re doing it guys!” SpongeBob exclaimed. “Just keep things steady,” Twilight acknowledged. The bicycle rushed past other bicyclists and roller skaters, causing them to look on in confusion. One particular roller skater got so distracted by the seemingly unmanned bike, he wasn’t watching where he was going and smacked right into a street sign. Several other riders crashed into him, causing a pile-up. “That’s gonna leave a mark,” Spike winced. “Oh! I hope they’re okay.” Fluttershy gasped at the accident. Hold on!” Sandy cried out. The bike was heading right for a lady pushing a baby stroller. To make matters worse, there was a toddler inside. Mr. Krabs shrieked and sounded the bike’s bell in a panic. “Get out of the way!” Twilight shouted in alarm. The toddler merely smiled and pointed at the bike. Thinking on his feet, SpongeBob leaned to the left on the pedal. “Lean!” he yelled. Rainbow also began leaning. “Starboard!” Mr. Krabs leapt onto the other handlebar. The others pitched in on leaning as far to the left as possible. The bike titled and turned just in time, barely missing the woman and toddler. “Phew! That was close,” Spike wiped his forehead. No sooner had he said that, the bike raced up a surfboard lying against a truck. The bike shot into the air. The team held on for dear life as they sailed across the street, screaming and holding onto each other. As the bike began to dip down, the volley of friends fell off the bike. Luckily, they all landed into a supply wagon, while the bike crashed onto the road. “That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow yelled triumphantly. “No, it certainly was not!” Rarity snapped back. “That was the terrifying ordeal I’ve ever gone through.” “Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked. “For the most part, yes,” Sandy answered. SpongeBob peered over the wagon and soon spotted the origin of where the Krabby Patty smell was coming from. “What the?” Mr. Krabs gasped. “What?” SpongeBob said in disbelief. In front of them was a giant food truck in the shape of a pirate ship. People crowded around the ordering window. The team was in shock. “What’n the hay is that?” Applejack said in confusion. “Home of the Krabby Patty”?” SpongeBob read the bold, red lettering on the ship’s sail. “But The Krusty Krab is the home of the Krabby Patty!” “Didn’t you say The Krusty Krab was the only place to get a Krabby Patty?” Twilight asked. “Exactly! This doesn’t make any sense,” SpongeBob said. “Wait. You also said it was the secret formula that made the Krabby Patties so delicious,” Spike said. “Whoever owns this thing might have the secret formula with them.” “That’s actually a good assumption, Spike,” the purple alicorn agreed. “Mr. Krabs, what are we gonna do?” SpongeBob asked eagerly. “8.99 for a Krabby Patty?” the greedy crustacean pushed SpongeBob out of the way. “Why didn’t I think of that.” “Oh, for crying out all. What is it with you and money,” Rainbow asked, exasperated. “Now’s not the time for that,” Applejack said firmly. “We need to get to the bottom of this.” The others were in agreement and made their way over to the food truck. Inside the food truck, the pirate was busily flipping burger patties on the grill while singing a happy tune. Meanwhile, the team shuffled up onto a ventilation window. “You!” Mr. Krabs growled. The pirate turned and noticed the team. He froze in shock and confusion, letting a patty nearly drop off the grill. “So you’re the one behind this!” Rainbow pointed an accusatory hoof at him. “Cease and desist that unauthorized patty flipping!” Mr. Krabs ordered. “Yeah, that’s my job!” SpongeBob added. “How did you get here?” the pirate asked, still taken aback by the unexpected visitors. “You cannot breathe air. And what’s with the miniature horses and the lizard?” “Horses!? I’ll have you know we are ponies!” Rarity stomped her hoof. “And I’m not a lizard! I’m a dragon!” Spike added angrily. “That doesn’t explain what’s going on here?” The pirate banged his fist against the counter. “We were brought here on a mission. And it seems that you’re part of completing the mission,” Twilight spoke firmly. “Also, there was this magic dolphin from the future who shot us out of his blowhole, and…” SpongeBob explained further until the pirate cut him off. “Wait! Wait,” the pirate scurried to the back on grabbed a book. He looked through the last couple of pages as if to look for something. “That’s not in the book,” the pirate fry-cook said. “Book?” Twilight asked. “There is no magical dolphin in this story,” the pirate asserted. “What story?” Mr. Krabs asked skeptically. The pirate snapped the book shut. “The story of how Bikini Bottom was brought to its knees when its beloved Krabby Patty formula was stolen by me, Burger Beard.” The team all had completed shocked looks, except for Patrick who was sitting down with a childish smile. “How does it end?” the sea star asked with starry eyes. Applejack gave him an annoyed look. “Well, let me see.”,” Burger Beard stroked his beard. “It looks like…Burger Beard becomes the richest food truck proprietor in all the land.” “But how did you steal the formula?” SpongeBob asked. “Yeah. We didn’t see you at all until now,” Twilight said. “And in my experience, humans can’t breathe underwater.” “I don’t need to,” Burger Beard replied bluntly. “It was easy stealing the formula. I simply rewrote the story, and…Poof!” He revealed a tiny glass bottle with a rolled up paper inside. The team all gasped. “Me formuler,” Mr. Krabs said longingly. “So I was right! You did steal the formula!” Spike said. Burger Beard merely chuckled. “What do you mean, rewrote the story?” Squidward asked skeptically. “Watch this,” the fry-cook pirate took a feather pen out of a bottle and ink and began to write. “The brave and handsome Burger Beard banished our poor heroes to be stranded on Pelican Island!” As soon as he finished writing the sentence. The team slowly began to disappear within a cloud of magical sparks. They panicked and yelled, but they vanished before anything coherent could be done. Burger Beard gave an arrogant laugh. “The End”!” he slammed the book shut. Far out into the sea, our heroes found themselves at the top of a vertical rock formation with dozens of brown pelicans circling the top. “Oh, this looks bad. And these guys look hungry!” SpongeBob said fearfully. “We can take them on! Come on, girls,” Rainbow said with determination. “I would rather just leave now than confront those beasts!” Rarity shrieked. “Look out!” SpongeBob pointed to a pelican swooping down in the them. “Duck!” Rarity called out. “Duck? That’s a pelican, silly,” Pinkie said. The white unicorn pulled her friend down against the ground. They all ducked, except for Patrick. The pelican rammed in the pink sea star. He tumbled, barely tipping over the edge. A piece of it broke off, causing Patrick to fall. Thankfully, he grabbed hold of the ledge just time. He looked down at the rocky spikes at the bottom and screamed in terror. “Well this is just great,” Rainbow yelled in frustration. “We’re trapped in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by hungry pelicans with no way of knowing where we should even go.” “But you got wings. Can’t you fly us out?” SpongeBob. “I can’t carry all of you in one go,” the blue pegasus argued. “Plus, that pirate can just send us back with the book,” Twilight added. “Nice. So this is what teamwork gets you,” Squidward grumbled. “Here! Take Squidward, you vile beasts!” Mr. Krabs grabbed Squidward and held him in the air. “I want to be on a new team. This one’s broken,” Patrick tried pulling himself back to the ledge. Fluttershy and SpongeBob both grabbed him and pulled with their strength. “It’s okay, Patrick, we’ll figure something out,” Fluttershy did her best to comfort the big starfish, but it was clear she didn’t have much faith either. “Sandy, you’re smart. You have any ideas?” SpongeBob asked. “I ain’t been too smart since I found this old piece of paper!” the upset squirrel smacked the page to the ground. Plankton carefully peered out of SpongeBob sock. Spotting the paper, he chuckled evilly before hiding himself back into the sock. “What?” SpongeBob scratched his head in confusion. “Incoming!” Mr. Krabs cried out. Another pelican was swooping down on them. SpongeBob sunk into his shorts to protect himself. Pelican was about to pounce when Rainbow barreled into it, sending it spiraling away. “Pick on Somepony your own size!” she shouted. “Omigosh! SpongeBob! Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, thinking the pelican had got him. SpongeBob’s body popped out of his shorts. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. The sea sponge stood there dazed, but then the thoughts came back to him. “Wait a minute!” the yellow sponge caught sight of a low-flying pelican heading for him. He ran for it, jumped after it, plucked a feather off of it. “What are you thinkin’, SpongeBob?” Applejack asked. “I think this page came from the book Burger Beard has,” SpongeBob explained. “That means if we write on this page, the story will continue the way we want it.” “As long as it gets us out of here, I’m all for it,” Rarity. “Rarity, remember we still need to get the secret formula back,” Twilight pointed out. “Correct! Now all we need is some ink!” SpongeBob said. SPLURT! “Oh! Which Squidward has helpfully provided,” SpongeBob added. The others gave the squid looks of confusion and disgust. “It happens when I’m nervous,” Squidward admitted in embarrassment. SpongeBob dipped the feather into the ink. “Whatever you’re going to do, make it quick! They’re closing in on us!” Mr. Krabs said fearfully. The pelicans began landing and surrounding the team. “I’m gonna write us an ending,” SpongeBob began writing on the paper. Pelicans squawked and shrieked hungrily as they closed in on the out heroes. Spike saw what SpongeBob was writing. Then, an idea came to him. He grinned excitedly. “Hmm. Now for Twilight and her friends,” SpongeBob said. “Oh! Oh! I got the perfect idea for that. Can I write on the paper, SpongeBob? Please.” The young dragon pleaded. “Sure thing, Spike,” the sea sponge handed him the feather. Spike hastily wrote down his idea onto the paper. “Spike? What are you writing?” Twilight asked cautiously. “We’re both writing an ending,” SpongeBob answered. “Will it be a happy ending?” Patrick asked fearfully. “It’s going to be super-powered!” SpongeBob and Spike said together. As soon as Spike finished writing, a bright light began to engulf the island. The pelicans all fled in fright as the light intensified. The team disappeared from the island in a cloud of magic sparks. However, Plankton was still on the island, but the feather and paper were still on the island. He laughed deviously, grabbing the feather. “I’ll show you a happy ending.” He began to write something on the paper. Two could play at the game the heroes were playing. To be continued Part 9: Super-powered ShowdownBurger Beard's new food joint had become a huge success in the span of just a few hours. Customers piled against the service window while literally shoving their money to the pirate just to get a taste of those juicy burgers. Burger Beard happily took there money, hastily cooked the patties to perfection, and served out the sandwiches by the dozen to the waiting customers. As the happy consumers munched on the new food item on the block, a strong wind began to pick up. Some turned to where it was coming from. In a flash of light, our heroes dropped to the ground, but in a much more different form. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward now sported a very muscular physique and Mr. Krabs had transformed into a robot. As for the Mane 7... "Oh, my gosh! It worked! It actually worked!" Spike said excitedly. SpongeBob ideas of super-powers gave Spike the nostalgic idea to bring back and re-live a form he and his friends had a for an adventure a while ago. They had transformed into the Power Ponies: Twilight had become Masked Matterhorn, Applejack became Mistress Mare-velous, Rarity became Radiance, Pinkie became Fili-second, Rainbow became Zapp, Fluttershy became Saddle-Rager, and Spike, himself, became Humdrum. "This again? Ah thought we all agreed to not do this again," Applejack said flatly. "Wait, I don't remember that," Spike said, a little surprised. "Well it was more about being sucked into a one of your comics again than being...y'know, the Power Ponies,” Twilight explained. "Come on, girls. Wasn't this, at least, a little excited for you?" Spike asked in a pleading tone. For a second, the girls didn't reply. Then Rainbow decided to speak up. "To be fair, it was kind of cool to control the weather,” Rainbow admitted. "Besides, being super heroes is pretty awesome." "And these costumes are pretty stylish,” Rarity added, admiring her outfit. "Right. Plus it did make coming up with powers for us all much easier,” SpongeBob said. "Duh, duh, duh-duh!" Patrick said, striking a pose. Unfortunately, he was facing backwards. "Patrick!" the super-powered sponge said sharply. Patrick turned around and the team made a heroic pose together. "Hey, I got feet!" the sea star looked down at his new shoes. "Good for you, Patrick," Rainbow said semi-sarcastically. "Agh! What are in these things?" a customer looked at his burger. Another customer just shrugged as he happily ate his burger. The team of heroes slowly came up to the food truck. "We'll take one secret formula to go!" SpongeBob demanded. "And if you don't comply, then you will face our wrath!" Spike added. The Mane 6 all give him weird looks. "I tried to sound like we meant business,” the caped dragon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Burger Beard spotted the team and walked over to the service window in disbelief. "Clear the area, citizens. There's going to be some serious aft-kicking here,” SpongeBob struck his fist with his palm. The citizens just stood there, confused and perplexed. One even took a picture of the anomaly. "Aft-kicking?" Rainbow said with confusion. "Gotta keep this family-friendly, Dashie. Or at least this part of the series,” Pinkie said. "Pinkie, what in Equestria are you talking about?" The lightning pegasus asked. The, now souped up, earth pony just giggled in response. "But...I banished you," Burger Beard whispered in confused bitterness. "Time to take action! What's the plan, SpongeBob?" Spike asked. "Sour Note?" SpongeBob called out. Squidward stepped forward. He slammed his fists together and as he drew them apart, a clarinet constructed itself. Grabbing the musical instrument, Squidward took in long and deep inhale and then blew into the clarinet with all his might. A cacophony of sound spilled from the instrument, assaulting the citizens' ears. The sound was unbearably loud, forcing the people to run away in a deafening panic. Even the seagulls, perched on a high-tension wire, couldn't take the horrid noise. "My tiny little eardrums!" one of them wailed. As the citizen vacated the premises, Burger Beard ran out of his food ship. "Hey, hey, wait! Hold on! Hold on!" He begged to his fleeing customers. "Wait! Wait! Customers! Wait, please!" Squidward's musical came to a halt, leaving only Burger Beard and our super-powered friends. The fast food pirate gritted his teeth in anger and stomped over to the team. "Oh, my. He's really angry," Fluttershy stepped back. "Mr. Superawesomeness, take him down," SpongeBob said to Patrick. "Superawesomeness? What kind of name is that?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "He's a super awesome friend. It fits,” SpongeBob answered. "Yeah, but there's got to be like a better name than that,” the cyan pegasus argued. "That just sounds like a five-year come up with that." While the pony and sea sponge argued, Patrick was already using his psychic powers to use. From far away, two ice cream cones flew out of two peoples' hand and into the sea star's hands. Dark clouds began to form. Thunder roared and lightning crackled as Patrick held the two cones in his hands. The others watch with excitement and a bit of apprehension. Burger Beard, fearing the worst, held an umbrella over his head. Just as the storm was about to reach a crescendo, Patrick began happily licking away at the ice cream. He giggled in satisfaction from the creamy goodness. "Well that was lame,” Applejack said bluntly. “Hey! Save some for me,” Pinie zipped up to him. “Here you go,” Patrick handed her one of the cones. The two pink friends happily licked on the frozen treats. "Maybe we should have picked a better superpower for you, Patrick," SpongeBob said in disappointment. Taking it as his initiative to act, Burger Beard hastily went back to his food ship to fetch something. Patrick licked his hands, satisfied with himself. "Maybe it's time we did our thing,” Twilight said. "Let's see you get out of this one!" Burger Beard was now holding the book and quill. The Mane 7 gasped. "He's going to strip us of our powers!" Rainbow shouted. "And probably send us back to that horrendous island!" Rarity cried. But, before Burger Beard could write anything down, Mr. Krabs acted first. He launched one of his detachable claws right at him. It caught Burger Beard by his left arm and trapped him against his ship. His right arm was still free and still held the feather quill. He chuckled evilly and lifted the quill toward the book. That was until Mr. Krabs launched his other claw, trapping Burger Beard's right arm. "And just for good measure,” Twilight conjured up a spell and froze the pirate’s legs to the ship. "Get ready for the Invinci-bubble," SpongeBob held his breath and popped out a bubble from the bubble wand on his masked head. The bubble enveloped the book from Burger Beard's hand and flew away into the sky. "No!" Burger Beard yelled. "My book!" The pirate-slash-fry cook struggled to break from the ice and claws. "Well that was easier than I thought, but, I'm not complaining," Twilight said. "But we didn't get to do anything,” Rainbow complained. “What's the point of gaining these powers if I'm not gonna use them?" "Oh, quit yer whinin', Dash. The whole point was to stop Burger Beard, not flex off our powers,” Applejack rebuked. "All right, team, time for hands in the middle," SpongeBob held out his hand. "Yes!" Mr. Krabs then realized he didn't have a spare claw. "Oh, yeah." His left claw flew back over and reattached itself to his arm. But, now that one of his arms was free, Burger Beard was set to free the rest of his limbs. He carefully pulled the other claw off the ship, setting his right arm free. Then, he broke the ice casing around his legs. Our heroes, however, we too distracted to notice his escape. "Great job, guys. We did it!" SpongeBob congratulated. The team put their hands and hooves together. But, then a paw was added to the pile of hands. The others pulled their hands and hooves away in fear and disgust. They all turned to see who the paw belonged to. It was giant live-action squirrel. "Huh?" Patrick said. "What?" the squirrel said in a familiar southern accent. "Where did you come from?" Fluttershy asked. "Sandy? Is that you?" SpongeBob asked in shock. "You can call me...The Rodent!" Sandy showed off her karate. "I thought we were missing somepony...or some-squirrel I should say," Twilight said. "Hey, where'd the pirate go?" Patrick asked. The others looked to see an empty parking space where a food truck ship should've been. All that was left was Mr. Krabs's right claw rolled to a stand-still and a puddle of melted ice. "He's gone!" Spike said in astonishment. "How did we not notice that?" Rainbow wonder out loud. SpongeBob surveyed the area. "And who had their accident there?" the cyan pegasus pointed to a puddle of yellow-ish fluid. The muscular sea sponge gasped and leaned over it. He dipped his finger and licked it, getting a good taste of the fluid. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is," Rarity dry heaved. "It looks like Burger Beard forgot the first rule of mobile fry cooking,” the heroic sponge concluded. "Always batten down your grease traps." He pointed to a trail of grease that snaked down the road. "Oh. Grease. That's what it was,” Rarity said, relieved. "Follow that grease, team!" Mr. Krabs shouted in determination. The robotic crab's legs transformed into a pair of small rocket boosters. He balanced himself on a single, small wheel as he readied himself. "Ladies." he said politely. Applejack was the first to understand. "Way ahead of ya," she jumped onto the robot crab’s shoulder. "Do we HAVE to do this?" Rarity whimpered. "Well you ain't gonna keep up with us with ya own hooves,” Applejack persuaded. The white unicorn gave a reluctant sigh. "Fine. But only because I have no choice,” She jumped onto Mr. Krabs other shoulder. "Then again I can probably just create my own form of transp-AHHHHHHH!" Rarity screamed to the heavens as Mr. Krabs took off at Mach speed following the grease trail. The others followed after: Squidward and Fluttershy rode Sandy as she ran down the street, Patrick stood atop SpongeBob as he used his bubbles as rocket propulsion, Spike rode on Pinkie Pie while she used her breakneck speed. Rainbow and Twilight could fly fast enough to keep up on their own. Burger Beard drove his ship down the coastal streets, dead set on retrieving the book. His shipped weaved down the road, trying to pick up speed. He pulled out his telescope get a closer look of the book flying in the air. "There she blows," Burger Beard laughed. His victory was almost in his grasp. Our superheroes, however, were not too far behind. Burger Beard looked into his rearview mirror to see the gaggle of unlikely creature gaining on him. He grunted and loosened a rope and several small sails opened up. With the extra wind power, his ship shot forward in a great burst of speed, even catching some air time. The ship bounced down the road. Several cars swerved out of the way to avoid it, but the team didn't give in. SpongeBob drew in a deep breath, forcing out my bubbles for increased speed. Mr. Krabs activated a second set of rocket boosters. Pinkie, Rainbow, Twilight kicked into high gear to keep up. Burger Beard looked over his shoulder to see SpongeBob, Patrick, Rainbow, and Twilight flying up alongside the ship. While Twilight kept Patrick in balance, He tried to grab onto the ship. "Oh, no, you don't!" Burger Beard violently veered to the left. Patrick lost his balance. He managed to grab hold of the ship, but now he was kicking a feet up to stay upright causing SpongeBob to go into a horizontal spin. "Hang on, Patrick!" Twilight clutched onto the star's tiny cape to try to hoist him up. Patrick accidentally kicked SpongeBob away. SpongeBob lost control, colliding into Twilight and sent the two crashing into the crow's nest of the ship. They both began to fall, but SpongeBob was able to grab Patrick's short while Twilight held SpongeBob's leg. Patrick's shorts began to slip which started to reveal his bare backside. SpongeBob shriek in disgust. "Agh! I do not need to see that!" Twilight closed her eyes. Rainbow tried to get face-to-face with Burger Beard. "Don't forget about me, Grease-face!" she said haughtily. "Don't worry. I didn't," Burger Beard replied. He stomped his foot against a pedal. The ship's anchor dropped, smashing into the pegasus along with SpongeBob, Patrick, and Twilight. The four careened down the road and into the rest of the team, causing them to tumble down the street. Burger Beard laughed maniacally, then set his sights to the bubbled book, which was floating closer to the crow's nest. He hastily ran to the ship's mast and started climbing. Unknown to him, our heroes weren't down just yet. Mr. Krabs held on the anchor while the rest kept their balance on him and the chain. "He's after the book!" SpongeBob gasped. "Sandy, use your squirrel powers!" "Roger that!" Sandy leapt onto the chain and began carefully crawling up it. Burger Beard was already up on the crow's nest, just inches away from getting the book. "Oh, she's never gonna make it!" SpongeBob said. "Leave this to me, guys,” Rainbow began flying up to the book. "No! get away from my book!" Burger Beard wacked her away. "Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh?" Rainbow said angrily. The two starting floundering at each other. "Consarnit, Dash!" Applejack said. While brainstorming for more ideas, SpongeBob spotted a large statue of a fish sitting at a park entrance. The perfect idea then came to him "Everyone...lean!" SpongeBob called out. "Wait! Why?" Rarity asked. There was no time for questions. The team leaned drastically to the left and zeroed in on the fish statue. "This is gonna hurt,” Spike braced himself. The team slammed into the statue. The anchor lodged inside the fish's mouth. The team was sent flying while the statue was ripped from it's foundation. The sudden pulled back caused the ship to jump into the air. "Woah!" Sandy yelped as she tumbled off the chain. The rest of the team tumbled onto the street. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight yelled with concern. "I am," Spike came up to the purple alicorn. Fluttershy checked herself over. "I think we're all okay..." "Get out of the way!" Rainbow flew in and pulled Fluttershy away just as the fish statue tore down the street. The others stumbled out of the statue's path. The ship began to turn, facing the opposite direction. Burger beard held onto the mast for dear life as to not fall. The seagulls from earlier were watching the spectacle with popcorn in-hand. "That's what you get,”’ one of them said. Finally, the ship came to a screeching halt. It had turned a complete 180 degrees. Burger Beard gave a shrewd laugh then noticed the bubbled book was floating toward him. He reached at his hands, ready to grab it. "Come here. Come here,” he muttered. "SpongeBob! The book!" Spike cried out. SpongeBob lifted Patrick off of him. "The book!" he gasped. "Sour Note!" Squidward quickly inhaled and blew into his clarinet. The disrupting wave of sound tore across the street, shredding the ship's sails and popping the bubble. The book fell and tumbled into the ship's hatch. Burger Beard yelled in frustration. Squidward dropped to the ground, out of breath. Burger Beard quickly climbed down the mast onto the ship's deck. He looked to see the book landed squarely on the active grill. It erupted into flames, slowly burning into ash and soot. "Nooooaaarrgghh!" Burger Beard shouted. He angrily looked back at the team, who were now walking toward the ship. "It's over, Burger Beard!" Twilight yelled. "All right, Burger Beard, prepare to be teamworked!" SpongeBob said with confidence. "I'm going to scrub my armpits with you,” The pirate growled menacingly. "Uh. I don't get it," SpongeBob said in confusion. "Because you're a sponge,” Squidward deadpanned. "Duh," Burger Beard said dumbly. "Welp, that’s an image I won't be able to get out of my head,” Rainbow said, grossed out by such a prospect. "Oh,” the muscular sea sponge said meekly "Get him, The Rodent!" "Consider him roasted!" Sandy dipped her head into a peanut cart. Bystanders ran away in a panic. Burger Beard realized what was going to happen as soon as Sandy came back up with a mouthful of peanuts. She spat one out like a bullet right toward the fast food pirate. Burger Beard dodged it. Dodging a couple more, he pulled out his trusty spatula. Sandy was surprised and confused. She began shooting them in rapid succession. "Count me in," Twilight began shooting orbs of magic ice at the pirate. Burger Beard, however, deflected the peanuts and ice. He leapt to the side and grabbed onto a rope. Sandy suddenly stopped. "Ah, nuts! I'm all out of nuts!" she said. “I’ll handle this,” Twilight said, determined to take down the thieving pirate. She maintained shooting magic at Burger Beard. That was until he deflected a magic orb right back at the alicorn. Before she could even react, Twilight was frozen in a solid block of ice. The rest of the team gasped, while Burger Beard rode the rope up to the crow's nest and laughed mockingly. "Twilight! Are you okay?" Spike ran up to the frozen alicorn, frantically trying to find a way to get her out of her predicament. "Yer gonna pay fer that," Applejack said angrily to the fast food pirate. Burger Beard just laughed even harder. "Justice is best soft served,” Patrick put his hands to his head. From a nearby ice cream parlor, hundreds of ice cream cones shot through the windows on Patrick's command. Bystanders ducked for cover as the sea star signaled the cones right for Burger Beard. "Patrick, I should have never doubted your powers!" SpongeBob said. Burger Beard was one step ahead, however. Grabbing the rope, he swung around the mast of the ship. The volley of soft served ice cream chased after him, but he managed to evade it. Now the ice cream was headed right for the team. The rest of the team, except Patrick, scrambled out of the way. Patrick tried to commanded them to turn away, but it was too late. He was bombarded to the ground by the onslaught of frozen treats. He laid there, covered in melting ice cream. "I can't think of a sweeter way to go," Patrick said weakly. "You're not gonna die, Patrick," Rainbow deadpanned. "Well I still feel bad,” the starfish whined. "Ha! It's all mine!" Burger Beard held the secret formula, almost as if to taunt our heroes even further. "Not so fast, Booger Beard," Mr. Krabs launched his claw rockets at the ship. They sliced through the mast. It teetered a little. Burger Beard held on for dear life. "Take this, you ruffian,” Rarity summoned a giant pair of scissors, which expertly cut into the mast like a ribbon. Finally, the entire tower gave way. Burger Beard fell to the ship's deck as the mast crashed onto the road. The formula bounced and rolled onto the road, right in front of the crab and unicorn. "That ought to teach him,” Rarity huffed. Mr. Krabs reattached his claws and went to grab the tiny bottle. "Me formuler,” he said, relieved to finally get back his precious item. Just then, Burger Beard slid out from the service window with a medieval gun. Giant sticks of butter were fitted into the magazine of the gun. "This will make you feel a little butter,” he sadistically joked. The gun revved up, ready to fire. "Not melted butter!" Mr. Krabs said fearfully. "Anything but that! It'll ruin the latex!" Rarity clung to the robotic crab. The gun shot out a blast of hot, melted butter. Mr. Krabs and Rarity were sent flying into the horizon, screaming. "Mr. Krabs! Rarity!" SpongeBob cried out. He then noticed the formula and went to grab it. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew up to the sky. "This ends now!" She yelled. She grabbed her lightning amulet with her mouth and held it up high. Storm clouds began to form and lightning began to strike. "I've got my own dispensable weapons!" Burger Beard pulled a lever on the side of his ship. The bow of the ship opened up and revealed dozens of primmed cannons. Burger Beard unhook a trigger rope and pulled it down, activating one of the cannons. It shot out a cannonball which hit the electrical pegasus right in the stomach. Rainbow dropped to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. "Uh, oh," SpongeBob said. He gave an innocent smile and softly put the bottle back onto the road. The pirate pulled the rope again, unleashing a blitz of cannonballs at the sponge. SpongeBob barely dodged them as they whizzed past him. Burger Beard let out a "got you" laugh and pulled once again. "Oh, yeah!" he shouted victoriously. The cannonball shot forward. It flew through SpongeBob's bubble wand, but now enveloped in a bubble. SpongeBob looked at it then smiled, realizing what he could do with that knowledge. Burger Beard shot more cannonballs, but this time, SpongeBob made sure each one flew into his bubble wand. He laughed, acting like it was some kind of game. Burger Beard just gave a incredulous frown as he pulled the trigger again, though not with the same gusto. Suddenly, his hand was caught in a golden lasso. "That's enough of all the cannon fodder," Applejack spoke severely, holding the lasso in her mouth. "What makes you think you have a say in the matter,” Burger Beard violently pulled his hand back. The two got into a tug-of-war scenario. Pinkie took this opportunity to grab the secret formula. "I got it, guys!" She said, holding up the bottle. "Nice one, Pinkie,” Applejack said happily, through gritted teeth. The fry cook pirate growled in frustration. Meanwhile, Patrick had just finished the last of the ice cream strewn around the area. He then noticed a bubbled up cannonball floating over his face. "They're beautiful!" he said, mesmerized. He made the mistake of touching it. The bubble popped and the cannonball smashed onto his face. "Patrick!" SpongeBob cried out. That was all the distraction Burger Beard needed. He pulled the trigger with his free hand. A cannonball shot out right at SpongeBob. It was a direct that sent the sponge sprawling to the ground. "SpongeBob!" Applejack said, alarmed through gritted teeth. Now that she was distracted, Burger Beard grabbed the lasso and pulled the earth pony forward, causing her to step on a puddle of melted butter from his previous assault. Applejack slipped and fell onto her back, groaning in pain. Fluttershy was in complete shock. Most of her friends lay on the ground, hurt or subdued. Her shock slowly transformed into anger. She glared at Burger Beard and she could feel her body begin to change; her muscles bulged and her body grew. The Saddle-Rager part of her was starting to come into fruition. Suddenly, Burger Beard swung Applejack's lasso at her. It wrapped around her neck, not to the point that she couldn't breath, but enough that her anger transformed right back to panic and her body changed back it her normal form. Pinkie tried to make a run for it, but Burger Beard used the other end of the lasso and swung and wrapped around Pinkie's legs. Both ponies and the formula flopped to the ground. "Hey! No fair!" she pouted, trying to untangle herself. SpongeBob lay in a daze. The bubbles popped and cannonballs smashed into the asphalt around him. Burger Beard laughed victoriously. he kicked Applejack out of the way and swiped the formula. His laughter turned more maniacal now that the formula was back in his possession. As he began to walk away, Patrick came to SpongeBob's side in an instant. "SpongeBob!" he said in despair. "Patrick?" SpongeBob said weakly. "Talk to me buddy," Patrick spoke softly. "I'm...I'm seeing a bright light,” the sponge said. Patrick turn his head to block out the sun. "Is this better?" "Much. Thank you,” SpongeBob said. "But the discomfort I feel in my eyes is nothing compared to the shame I feel for letting down the Patty. For letting down Bikini Bottom." "Yeah, SpongeBob, you really blew it," Patrick agreed. "No, Patrick, we blew it, as a team," SpongeBob said with a weak smile. "Nope. This one's on you,” the sea star said bluntly. As Burger Beard headed over to his ship, Spike tried one last ditch effort to get the formula. "Hey! We're not all down for the count!" he shouted at him. Burger Beard turned to him and let out another maniacal laugh. "Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it?" he said in a taunting matter. Spike was about to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure what he could do. "I'll tell you what you can do! Nothing!" Burger Beard said cruelly. "There's no way you can beat me, little lizard. Not even you friends could beat me. You’re nothing! Why don't you scamper off before you hurt yourself." Spike was hurt by Burger Beard's heartless words. But, he was right. There wasn't much he could do. He was just Humdrum, the one hero of the team that didn't have any powers. There was no way to even contest Burger Beard, not with his assortment of weapons. Spike lowered his head in defeat and the fry cook pirate laughed while heading back to his ship. Twilight looked on from inside her icy prison. She was enraged that Burger Beard had insulted and belittled Spike. She wanted nothing more than to incinerate him, to show him the true wrath of a protective mother. Most importantly, she wanted to comfort Spike, to tell him that he wasn’t nothing or weak. But, she knew she couldn’t do anything. She was stuck there, frozen in one place, one position. Helpless against the ice block’s unforgiving hold. She stared at Spike with a sorrowful expression. "Oh, Spike. You aren't nothing. You mean so much to us, to me,” she could only think to herself. It seems like our heroes have been defeated for good this time. Has Burger Beard really won? Is Bikini Bottom doomed with a Krabby Patty famine? Will Rarity even get over her ruined latex? We'll found out soon enough. To be continued Author's Note Rainbow Dash: Really? That's how you want to end this part? A shoddy cliffhanger? IndyWriter Productions: Come on! It fits with the direction of the story. It being a callback to the DC comics approach. Sounded good in my head. Rainbow Dash: Maybe it should've stayed in your head. IndyWriter Productions:.......Shut up. Part 10: The Power of TeamworkAs it stood, our team of superheroes now stood in utter defeat. There was no denying it as Spike looked amongst all his downed friends. He was pretty much the only one left standing, and the rest were either injured or exhausted. But, what could he do? He watched Burger Beard reach the deck of his food truck ship, fiddling with the ignition keys. The pirate's harsh words were still fresh in his mind. What good was he without any powers? Spike then look over to Twilight, who was still frozen in ice. He didn't know why or how, but he swore he could hear the words of comfort and encouragement just by looking at her. He set his eyes on himself. He may have been Humdrum; the hero without any powers, but, Spike was also a dragon. A baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. He still had claws and his fire breath, and as he looked down at his hands, Spike came to the realization. Burger beard was wrong about him. Spike had powers, not just his claws and fire, but the power to never give up. Spike balled his fist. He looked back up at the pirate with a confident glare. With a whole new vigor, Spike ran over to the ship. He quickly clambered up the side and in front of Burger Beard, much to the pirate shock. "What the..." he stepped back. "That's where you're wrong, Burger Beard," Spike proclaimed. "I may not have gotten powers when I became Humdrum, but I have capabilities that none of them have." "And what's that?" the amused pirate asked in a mocking tone. "These!" Spike raised his clawed hands and gripped onto the ship's helm and the keys. "Not only that, but the power of never giving up!" "Let go, you scaly brat!" Burger Beard wrestled with the dragon to get the keys. "I'm not giving up until the formula is back where it belongs!" Spike spew out a wave of fire right at the pirate's face. Burger Beard furiously waved the flames back. "Well I'm not going to let some fire-breathing lizard-freak, like you, take it from me!" He shouted, putting flames that had formed on his beard. "You should probably listen to the little one,” a voice warned from behind them. The pirate and dragon turned to see he it was. It was Plankton, who was glaring at Burger Beard. "Where do you think you're going, anyways?" he said forebodingly. Burger Beard shoved Spike off the helm while he was distracted. Burger Beard laughed at Plankton, like it was some kind of joke. "Why don't you get going, little fella, before you hurt yourself?" he mocked, then he turned to Spike. "Same goes for you." Spike got up, not willing to throw in the towel. Then Plankton spoke up. "I think you should get off the boat." he urged "What?! Why?" Spike asked in surprise. "Trust me. You'll see," Plankton smirked. "Yeah. Listen to your friend," Burger Beard added with a condescending tone. "I'm not talking to you. You've already sealed your fate," Plankton barked. Spike wasn't sure if should trust Plankton, especially with how he blamed him, SpongeBob, and the rest with the botched time travel plan. But, hearing how confident he sounded, he decided to trust him, just this once. Spike hastily jumped off the ship and over to the frozen Twilight. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll get you out of there,” Spike drew in a breath and let out a gust of fire on the block of ice. Meanwhile, Burger Beard was chuckling to himself as he got the ship in gear. Plankton just gave a devious smirk as he lowered himself under the ship. Suddenly, the ship shuddered and shook. Burger Beard was in a state of fright when his ship began to lift up into the air. Plankton grunted as he heaved the ship over his tiny head, allowing the others to get a good look at him. Plankton's body was ripped, he had proper hands and feet, and now was hundred's of times his original size. The only thing that stayed the same was his tiny head. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in mild surprise. "It's Plank-Ton!" he corrected with a confident smile. "Sweet Faust,” Rarity whispered in horrified shock. Spike stood there, his jawed almost hitting the floor in shock and astonishment. Plankton began shaking the ship. "Come on down from there, little fella,” Plankton said to Burger Beard. "You wouldn't want to get hurt." Burger Beard held on to the helm, trying his absolute best not to fall. He climbed up the ship, much to Plankton's confusion. He opened the hatch doors and crawled inside, but not before waving his fist at the hulking beast below him in a derogatory manner. Plankton growled and threw the ship high into the air. Burger Beard was left flying around inside helplessly. Plankton caught the ship, turned it upright, and spun it around like a basketball. Burger Beard slammed against the wall along with many sharp kitchen utensils, which all barely missed. At this point, the others were cheering Plankton on. "Teach that no-good thief a lesson!" Rarity yelled. "Yeah! Kick him right in the flanks for me!" Rainbow said in excitement. Quickly growing bored, Plankton held the ship on it's side. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he peaked his head through an open window. He turned to see he was face-to-face with Burger Beard, who was also holding a bottle of ketchup. He squirting the tangy condiment in Plankton's face. "My eye!" the small-headed superhero yelled in agony. He tossed the ship away and clutched his face, trying to lessen the searing pain. Burger Beard's ship smash onto the road. Burger Beard, himself, dizzily clambered out of the interior and began running down the street. "Hey! The coward's running. We got to do something!" Rainbow turned SpongeBob and Patrick. "Patrick, wut are ya doin'?" Applejack eye the sea star who was...doing something. "Uh...nothing," Patrick said hastily. "He's getting away!" SpongeBob cried out. Spike quickly melted the rest of the ice around Twilight. "Are you okay, Twilight?" He asked in concern. "A little chilly, but, I'll be alright,” the alicorn shivered. "But, more importantly, we need to stop him!" Twilight pointed at the fleeing Burger Beard. That's when Plankton hopped over the ship. "Ready for a Plank-Ton of bubbles?" Plankton held out his hand to SpongeBob. SpongeBob smiled, knowing exactly what his friend meant. Plankton grabbed SpongeBob's legs and sucked in a deep breath. He exhaled and SpongeBob laughed as bubbles spewed out of his bubble wand. Burger Beard ran as fast as he could as he saw the tidal wave of bubbles barreling toward him. He wasn't fast enough and was subsequently swept up by the bubble wave. He kept trying to run, only to realize he was suspended in midair by Plankton. He grumbled in defeat. "The formula, please,” Plankton requested. "Come on. Team up with me. We'll be rich and powerful!" Burger Beard beckoned in one last attempt keep his victory. "No, thanks. I'm already part of a teamwork," the muscular sea plankton pointed out. He held out his other hand expectantly. Burger Beard sighed in frustration and handed the formula to Plankton. He grabbed it, then, with a devious grin, he ran forward and kicked the fast food pirate far out into the horizon. Burger Beard yelled and screamed as he flew through the air. He landed back on the island where he first got the book. He mumbled incoherently, his head being the other part of him that wasn't buried in the sand. the rest of the team came to the shore. The Mane 7 all cheered in victory. "That was awesome!" Rainbow said. "They should make a movie about this!" Pinkie hopped around. "Oh, wait. That's already happened." "I'm just glad we got the formula back," Fluttershy turned over to Rainbow with a worried expression. "Are you hurt, Rainbow?" "A little sore in the middle, but I'll be right as rain soon,” the cyan pegasus admitted. "Speak for yourself! My suit is thoroughly ruined by all that butter!" Rarity complained. "Yes. You were complaining about that almost the entire time," Mr. Krabs groaned. "Don't worry, Rarity. It will all be fixed up the next time this happens,” Pinkie assured happily. "And when's that going to be?" Rarity rhetorically asked. "Not anytime soon. But, it's going to happen,” the party pony giggled. "You goin' to be alright, Twi?" Applejack asked. "Don't worry. I'll be okay," Twilight replied. "Though, I may catch a cold later. But, my little Spike makes an excellent vegetable soup." Spike smiled warmly at the compliment. "Can we do hands in the middle again?" Patrick pleaded. "Yes, we can, Patrick. But this time, there's one more hand to go in the middle," SpongeBob pointed to Plankton. And so, a wide range of hands and hooves came to together, but there was an obvious one missing. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in confusion. The others looked over to Plankton, who was holding the formula bottle up to his face. He smiled smugly as the others gasped at the realization. The formula was in his hands, the one person who strived for it for years. "Oh, no," Mr. Krabs looked away, not willing to see his worst fear to fruition. "Don't tell me you're gonna backstab us now?" Rainbow said in disbelief. "And what if he does?" Twilight whispered to her. "How are we going to stop him?" She pointed to Plankton's overly-muscular body. Mr. Krabs still looked away, whimpering. "Here you go, Krabs,” Surprising everybody, Plankton handed the formula over to the robotic crab. "She's all yours." Mr. Krabs hesitantly took the bottle. "This doesn't have another insulting note in it, does it?" he asked skeptically. "No, that's the old me. The one who turned his back on everything important just to have that formula all to himself," Plankton repented. "But I realize now that keeping something to myself is...selfish." "Especially when that something is the Krabby Patty," SpongeBob said. "Exactly. You'll never find true happiness unless you focus on what's truly important,” Twilight said. "Such as...friendship." "Eh, I wouldn't go that far," Plankton said dismissively. "Just give a try. I'm sure you'll realize a lot of new things by just having a friend,” the princess persuaded. "Okay, everybody, let's get back to Bikini Bottom and..." SpongeBob then gasped. "Oh, no! I don't have the page!" "Oh, no!" Sandy exclaimed. "It must be back on Pelican Island!" SpongeBob said. "But that means we'll be stuck here forever!" Rarity cried out. "Don't worry. I thought of everything,” Plankton pulled out the page. "Phew. I guess we owe you one for that." Spike said. "Two. If you want to count me coming in to stop that fry cook wannabe from getting away," Plankton clarified as he handed the page to SpongeBob. "All right, SpongeBob, take us home." "Thanks,” the sponge said. He turned to Squidward, who was busy flexing his muscles. "Oh, yeah,” the squid said haughtily. "Squidward!" SpongeBob reprimanded. "Come on, it's time to go back and open the Krusty Krab!" "Are you out of your patty-flipping mind? I'll never leave this place!" Squidward said sharply. "I mean, look at me. I'm a god!" "But, the rest of us want to go home," Applejack said matter-of-factly. "No, Squidward, You're a cashier," SpongeBob began writing on the page. Magic began to take over Squidward's body. "Wait a minute! What? No!" Squidward yelled. He reappeared back at the Krusty Krab cash register back to his normal self. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," the grumpy octopus sighed depressingly. The rest of our friends reappeared back to their regular forms. Except for the Mane 7, who were back to there sea pony forms. "For a second I thought we'd back to our normal forms and we'd all drown,” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, you know what they say, Squidward. Don't be sad it ended. Be happy it happened,” Twilight said. "Don't be sad, Squidward,” SpongeBob comforted. "I left you a little surprise under your shirt!" Squidward was confused and lifted his shirt. "Rock-hard abs!" he said in amazement. "Oh, wow," Spike said to himself. "I wonder if I can get like that one day." "Aw, SpongeBob, you're okay in my book," Squidward playfully punch SpongeBob in the shoulder. "Aw, shucks," SpongeBob smiled. "Excuse us!" a voice said. "We'd like 3,000 Krabby Patties, please!" An entire crowd was in and around the restaurant, all of them aching for the sweet taste of a Krabby Patty. "Looks like they don't hate us anymore,” Fluttershy spoke softly. Mr. Krabs's eyes turned into giant dollar sign with an audible "cha-ching" to go with it. "That sound must mean things are back to normal,” Squidward grumbled. "Ah couldn't have it any other way," Applejack said. “’Unless you wish we were still bein’ sacrificed.” “Okay, maybe leave that part out,” Squidward sighed. "Who wants 3,000 Krabby Patties?" SpongeBob held a giant plate with hundreds of the burgers, forming the shape of a giant Krabby Patty. "How did you do that so quickly?" Rarity asked in shock. "Fry cook intuition. I have been doing this for years after all," the fry cook sponge said. The customers all cheered with excitement. It was a celebration. "First one's for you, Gary," SpongeBob came over to his pet snail. "Extra mayo, just the way you like it." Gary meowed out a thank you and took the sandwich in his mouth. "Ah-ha! Caught you red-handed! Gary hates mayo,” SpongeBob opened the shell which revealed Plankton. "Plankton! Up to your old tricks again already, eh?" "What!? Are you serious?” Twilight came up to the two with a disappointed look. "You admit to learning your lesson, but here you are going against that." "Hey, I'm just putting things back the way they were," Plankton said. "That's not an excuse!" the irate alicorn exclaimed. "What do you have to say about this, Gary?" SpongeBob looked to his real pet snail. Gary let out an angry roar. "Oh, shrimp," Plankton whimpered. He rode the fake Gary out of thew Krusty Krab, screaming in fear. The real Gary trailed behind in hot pursuit, roaring. "Will he ever learn his lesson?" Twilight asked hopelessly. "Maybe one day, but I have a feeling that won't be for a long time,” SpongeBob answered happily. Twilight breathed out a sigh. “Don’t worry, your majesty. He’ll come around eventually,” SpongeBob put a hand on her shoulder. “Besides, since you said you were the Princess of Friendship, it sounded like you knew what you were talking about. Nothing compares to the powers of friendship.” Twilight let SpongeBob’s word sink in. Despite the fact that she had friends and family that would’ve said the same thing, it was nice having someone else, especially someone from an entirely different world, share the same sentiments. It made her internally happy that there were some people from other worlds that finally understood true friendship. Twilight’s frown slowly turned into an aspired smile. “Yeah. You’re right, SpongeBob. I’m glad you understand that ideology,” she said happily. “I don’t know what an ideology is, but I’m glad I made you happy.” SpongeBob said. The purple alicorn just rolled her eyes and smiled. SpongeBob smiled back and looked over at the fleeing Plankton. "See you later, tee-am-mate." he joked. The sponge and alicorn shared a good laugh. Back at old island, Burger Beard had finally came back to his senses. The seagulls came around him, putting his pirate hat back on his head. "Now can we sing it?" one of them asked. "Yeah!" the others cheered in agreement. "Pwease, Mr. Piwate?" Kyle pleaded. Burger Beard turned to the seagull. "Oh, Kyle...How can I say no to you?" he spoke softly. The seagulls all cheered with excitement. One of them put an empty picture frame in front Burger Beard's head. "Are you ready, kids?" the pirate asked. "Aye-aye, Captain!" the seagulls yelled. "Uh, what did you say?" the pirate asked playfully. "There's sand in my ears and I can't hear you!" "Aye-aye, Captain!" the seagulls yelled again. "OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!" Bubbles appeared from his triangle portal. "That was pretty good, actually,” he admitted. "I know right!" Pinkie appeared right next to him. "It was my idea." "What the? How did you even get here!?" Bubbles asked angrily. Pinkie just giggled and gave a big grin. Bubbles gave her an annoyed look. Then, an idea came to him. "Actually, you being here has reminded me that I should visit an old friend of mine. But, first..." Bubbles tossed Pinkie through the portal back to her friends. "Weeee!" she screamed in excitement. Bubbles then went through his space triangle and disappeared. "What was that about?" one of the seagulls asked. The others shrugged. It was nearing the end of the day in Equestria. Princess Celestia was busy in her bedroom, signing papers, writing documents, and scheduling appointments. It was tiring work, but, it had to be done and there was no point complaining about it. As she finished signing one of the many tax documents, she heard a knock at her door. The Solar Princess stood up, confused as to who it could be. "Luna? Is that you?" she walked to the door. "If you here to ask of the Elements' whereabouts, I assure you they're..." She opened the door to see that it wasn't her sister at her front. Bubbles stood with a formal smile. "Hello, Celestia. It has been ages since we last met," the ancient dolphin greeted. The Princess stood silent, her mouth agape. She did a double-take, as if she couldn't believe who was in front of her. "Bubbles? How could this be? I thought I'd never get to see you again,” Celestia said in shock. "So did I, your majesty. But, I now have a new lease on life," Bubbles said. "I have gotten out of that dead-end job. Though, I couldn't do it without that purple pony and her friends' help." "You've met Twilight and her friends?" the white alicorn asked inquisitively. "Yes, I have. And I believe now I should catch up with an old friend of mine,” the dolphin said. A smile grew on Celestia's muzzle. She stepped aside to let her guest in. "Then come on in,” she said. "There is much to talk about, old friend." "Thank you," Bubbles said. "You've certainly have grown the last time we've seen each other." "Well that was such a long time ago, I've lost count,” Celestia replied happily. "But, I'm glad to see you after all this time." "As am I, Celestia,” Bubbles said warmly. For a brief second, Celestia looked at the pile of papers stacked on her table. She grew hesitant at first, those papers were important. But, this was something that she thought would never get to happen again. The papers could wait just a little while. "So what happened that made you want to stop tracking all the planets," Celestia asked. Bubbles chuckled. "Now that is a long story. And it's mostly thanks to those ponies and sea sponge that helped me out of it..." Tara Strong - Twilight Sparkle Cathy Weseluck - Spike Ashleigh Ball - Rainbow Dash & Applejack Andrea Libman - Pinkie Pie & Fluttershy Tabitha St. Germain - Rarity Nicole Oliver - Princess Celestia Kelly Sheridan - Starlight Glimmer Tom Kenny - SpongeBob & Gary Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick Clancy Brown - Mr. Krabs Roger Bumpass - Squidward Carolyn Lawrence - Sandy Mr. Lawrence - Plankton Antonio Banderas - Burger Beard Jill Talley - Karen Matt Berry - Bubbles Dee Bradley Baker - Perch Perkins Mary Jo Catlett - Mrs. Puff Paul Tibbitt - Kyle Carlos Alazraqui - Seagull #9 Kevin Michael Richardson - Seagull #5 Eddie Deezen - Seagull #3 Tim Conway - Seagull #2 Cree Summer - Seagull #7 Rob Paulsen - Seagull #4 Eric Bauza - Seagull #1 April Stewart - Seagull #6 Part 1: A Sea Tale BeginsIt was the late morning as we make our way to Ponyville. Most of the inhabitants were already bustling about with work and errands. In the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was no exception. She was in the middle of a friendship lesson with Starlight Glimmer. "And even though the truth might hurt, it's better to be honest with them instead of trying to sugarcoat the problem or even lie to them." The alicorn drew on a chalkboard, conceptualizing the idea of honesty over lying. Starlight studied the the chalk drawings. "But, even if the truth is the better, what if the friend still ends the friendship right then and there anyways?" The lavender unicorn asked. "There's always that possibility,” Twilight admitted. "But, Applejack and I can attest to the fact that lying is the worst thing you can do to a friend. Honesty shows great faith and trust in any relationship." "I...still am not one-hundred percent sure about this, Twilight," Starlight said hesitantly. "Trust me, Starlight. The honest truth is much better to heal from than breaking the trust of a friend from lying," Twilight reassured. Starlight sighed calmly. "Alright. I'll be sure to remember that the next time I get into a situation like that,” Starlight affirmed. "Alright, that will do it for today,” the purple alicorn said. "Oh, good. I promised Trixie I would help her with some magic spells today,” Starlight explained. "I suppose I can head over to her cart now." "Alright then. Don't go too crazy though," Twilight warned. "You know how she is." "Believe me. She's always aiming for the stars and I always have to bring back down to the ground. If you know what I mean," Starlight said as she began to head for the front doors. "Don't worry, I know exactly what you mean," the alicorn chuckled a little. Once Starlight was gone, Twilight was left in the room by herself with her thoughts. Only a month had gone by since there last adventure with Pooh, Piglet and the others. While the mission was riddled with danger, it was that adventure that helped Twilight gain some self-confidence. It was thanks to her talks with Rabbit and Celestia that made her feel a lot more capable as a friend, a leader, and most importantly a mother-figure. With her relationship with her friends getting stronger, her bond with Spike being seen in a new light, and Starlight getting better day after day, Twilight felt more than ready for the next adventure into the multiverse. Fate could not have timed the situation better. Twilight felt the familiar sensation on her flanks. She turned her head back and noticed that her cutie marks were glowing once again. "I couldn't ask for a better time,” she said to herself. The purple alicorn walked out of the study where she spotted Spike heading down the hall. His spines were glowing, just like her cutie mark "Another adventure awaits,” she commented. "Definitely seems to be the case," Spike responded. "I hope it isn't as daunting as last time." Memories of hanging over the gorge and being stuck in the crystal-covered cavern came flooding back. The little dragon winced. "Don't worry, Spike, I won't let anything like that ever happen again,” Twilight put a wing of Spike's back which made him feel a little better. The pony and dragon made their way to the Cutie Map room and entered. To neither of there surprise, the entire table was glowing brightly. "Are the others coming along, too?" Spike wondered out loud. "We'll just have to see," Twilight answered simply. And so the two waited. In the span of a few minutes, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all arrived at the room. Each of their cutie marks glowing. Welp, it was bound ta happen eventually,” Applejack stated. "No kidding, I even made the mark the day on the calendar extra big,” Pinkie pulled out a calendar from her mane and pointed at the big, red cross on the current date. It was so large it covered several other days of the month. "Let's just hope it won't be perilous or be some silly misinterpretation like last time,” Rarity said distastefully. "You and me both, Rarity,” Spike agreed, a slight blush appearing on his face. "Agreed, I hope I never see that bird ever again," Rainbow grunted. "Well, let's not waste anymore time. We have a friendship mission to complete," Twilight charged up her horn with the proper spell and casted onto the map. The portal began to take form. First covering the top of the map and then enveloping it altogether. "Aw, yeah! I've been itching for another friendship mission like this,” Rainbow said excitedly. "Ah feel like you say that every time this happens," Applejack said skeptically. "So? It's not like I can't be excited for it,” the rainbow-maned pegasus countered. "I wouldn't mind if it was more relaxing than the prior ones," Fluttershy quietly interjected. "Here's hoping, Fluttershy,” Rarity said. "All right, is everypony ready?" Twilight asked. The others nodded. "Then let's go!" Together they all jumped through the portal for the next adventure. As they traveled within the portal, The Mane 7 began to talk amongst themselves. "So, what do you think this world is gonna be this time?" Rainbow asked playfully. "One of candy and sweets!" Pinkie shouted joyfully. "That won't give you a reason to eat them though,” Twilight responded. Then something began to happen. A blinding light began to envelop the ponies and dragon. They were all taken by surprise. "What's going on?" Rarity asked fearfully. "I don't know!" Twilight answered with just as much fear. The Mane 7 could only watch as the light swallowed their entire bodies. Transformation had begun. We arrive in a different world, but this time, we abandon the precious land for now and journey far into the heart of the Pacific Ocean. amidst the miles of calm, salty seawater, we find what looks to be a small island with shrubbery and a few palm trees. As we get closer however, we find the island is much bigger than anticipated. Through the humid, misty air and jungle-like plant life we find an unsuspecting human pulling a rowboat onto the shore of the island. He was wearing the quintessential pirate clothing, but his most eye-catching feature was the large and grizzly, rusty-orange beard that covered his chin and sideburns. Not far from the island a pirate ship lay anchored to it's spot. The pirate rolled out a map of the island and chuckled deviously. With the map in hand he began to venture to the inner-most part of the island. Armed with a sword, the pirate slashed his way through the thick vegetation. through an opening in the foliage he pulled out the map and looked through it again. That's when he noticed a sign with a skull on top of the post. In big, red lettering it read... "Booby Traps"?" the pirate said aloud. He cut down the sign and laughed arrogantly. The pirate continued to cut a path through the jungle plants before finally reaching his intended destination. In front of him was the overgrown remains of an ancient tribe grounds. Stone pillars littered the area and at the far end lay a skeleton in a clad, red coat sitting on a mossy throne. It was holding a book that depicted a bottled-up roll of paper in the title cover. "There you are, my lovely,” the pirate murmured. Slowly, he crept out of the foliage before his stride turned into more of a dance routine, avoiding giant spikes that shot out of the ground. He sidestpped and tip-toed across the trap-riddled floor. With that out of the way, the pirate walked up the steps to the throne. "What's that? Take the book?" he asked jokingly. "I don't mind if I do." He hastily snatched the book out of the skeleton's hand, causing it to fall and tumble to the ground. The pirate chuckled triumphantly down the steps. "At last, it is mine,” he stared at the book. "Finally, you are mine." Suddenly, the skeleton began to shake. Broken joints reconnected themselves and the skull reattached to the spine. It stood up, relocating it's jawbone. The pirate watched it with challenging eyes. "All right. Let's do this. Bare knuckles,” he taunted, ready for a fight. The skeleton pumped its bony fists up. "Bring it on, skinny. You don't scare me." The skeleton struck first with a one-two combo, but the pirate dodged both punches. The skeleton went in for a third. This time, the pirate used the book as a shield and laughed pompously. The skeleton retaliated with an uppercut that sent the pirate rocketing off the island and into the air. Meanwhile, back at the ship, several seagulls were playing a friendly game of cards. "You got any sevens?" one of them asked. "Go fish," another answered. Just then, the pirate crashed onto the the deck of the boat, scaring off all the seagulls. The pirate dizzily got back up. "Is that all you got?" he yelled toward the island. He laughed and kissed the book. His journey was complete. Taking a rope, he swung from the bow to the stern of the ship. With the anchor hoisted and the sails wide open, the ship lurched forward. The pirate looked from atop the crow's nest with a telescope. He walk off it and landed on the poop deck. Turning to the helm, he pressed the "Auto Pirate" setting, allowing the ship to drive itself. The pirate sat down and opened the book. "Man, this is way overdue,” he said to himself. "Once upon a time, under the sea, there was a little town called Bikini Bottom. In this town, there was a place called The Krusty Krab, where folks come to eat a thing called the Krabby Patty. Every greasy spoon has a fry cook, and the one who worked here was named SpongeBob Squarepants." "There's only one thing worse than talking birds, and the would be...singing birds!" the pirate yelled irately. "Okay, I promise not to si-i-i-ng!" one of the seagulls taunted. Another cleared their throat, grabbing the singing one's attention. The second gull pointed to a cage that housed three parrot skeletons with musical instruments. "Take it from us,” one of the parrots said. "He really does hate singing birds,” another confirmed. The first seagull squawked, dropping his "droppings" in fear. "just keep weading. Pwease, Mr. Piwate, sir,” the second gull pleaded with an obvious speech impediment. "Come closer while I tell you the tale,” the pirate relented. "Okay, start reading,” another seagull demanded. "Not that close!" the pirate shouted. A few of the gulls back away to give him space. "Yeah. All right, here we go,” he turned to the next page. "Now, SpongeBob loved his job as a fry cook more than anything. And that is saying a lot because he loved everything! He loved his pet snail, Gary. He loved his best friend, Patrick. He loved blowing bubbles and jellyfishing. He loved making Krabby Patties for the folks of Bikini Bottom just as much as they loved eating them. Why, you may ask, do they love this greasy little sandwich so much? Why did they eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner despite the doctor's warnings?" "He'll be gone in a week,” the fish doctor said solemnly, watching the patient munch on a Krabby Patty. "Oh, Harold!" the female fish sobbed. Even with the heartbreaking news, both helped themselves to a Krabby Patty. "It was a secret. No one was sure what was in these patties that made them so delicious. And, frankly, no one cared, except for Plankton. "Eh,” the little green being groaned. "Plankton owned a restaurant right across the street from the Krusty Krab, where no one ate because the food was really bad." "Now, is that really necessary?" Plankton asked crossly. The musty sandwich next to him deflated in a pool of disgusting fluids just to prove the pirate's point. "Plankton had made it his life's work to steal the recipe." Plankton hung by a rope, ready to snatch the formula from the open safe. That was until something began to force him away. It was SpongeBob with a reef blower. "SpongeBob, please, let's talk about this!" The would-be thief pleaded. He was sucked into the reef blower before he could say anything else. SpongeBob blew the dust off the vacuum nozzle. "And SpongeBob was always there to protect it. But today, things would be different." The pirate was not exaggerating. Plankton had a brand new plan cooked up for the yellow sponge. What wasn't known yet, however, was that a group of inter-dimensional heroes will be coming to SpongeBob's aid. To be continued Part 2: Battle in Bikini BottomBehind the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob chucked the last garbage bag into the dumpster with a mighty heave. He was dusting off his hands when he heard something behind him. The yellow sponge turned around a saw, what looked to be, some kind of portal appearing before his very eyes. "Well, that's something you don't see every day,” he said to himself. SpongeBob walked closer to get a better look. He put a hand up to his chin, studying the peculiar sight. He looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. Realizing he was all by himself, SpongeBob slowly inched his hand closer to the portal opening. Before he could touch it, however, a mass of colorful creatures shot out of the portal and collided into the sea sponge. The creatures happened to be the Mane 6 and Spike. They all lay in a dazed pile. "Ugh. That's got to take some getting used to,” Twilight said dizzily. "Speak for yourself," Rainbow flying up into the air. Then she realize what happened to them. She looked all over herself; her back hooves were replaced with a large tailfin. Fins lined her back, sporting her cutie mark and her wings had become sleek and translucent. "What the? What the hay is going on?" she said in shocked confusion. The Mane 6 were quick to realize what was going on. "The portal...changed us,” Twilight said in awe. "But, why? Why did it transform us into...What are we supposed ta be?" Applejack asked. Twilight studied their new features. Then she looked around. The ground was nothing but sand and she could see coral and algae-covered rocks here and there. "Well, it seems that we're underwater. So, we've taken on a more aquatic design,” the alicorn, turned sea pony, explained. “I guess we've become like sea ponies now.” "Is that where we are?" Fluttershy waved a hoof against the water. "I guess that explains how we are breathing underwater." "These fins are simply divine,” Rarity inspected her majestic, royal purple fins and tail with star-spangled eyes. "Uh, girls? What's going on with me?" Spike asked. He hadn't been turned into a sea pony like the others. the baby dragon now had small fins on his back and behind with spines protruding all over his small, round body. As fear slowly crept into him. Spike involuntarily, and rapidly, puffed up like a balloon. The ponies couldn’t help but giggle in amusement. His face turned from purple to red as he blushed in embarrassment. “Don’t be ashamed, Spikey-Wikey,” Rarity patted the youngling’s head. “You look adorable.” Now Spike’s crimson blush changed one out of embarrassment to one of fluster. The feeling of Rarity’s smooth and soft arm cascading down his head was sublime. "Mmm. Fmm,” Twilight heard a muffled voice underneath her. She looked down and noticed she was laying on top of someone. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" the purple sea pony gasped. She leapt off of the sea sponge and pulled him back onto his feet. "That's okay. No harm done,” the sea sponge said happily. "And by the way, you wouldn't happened to be related to Mrs. Puff would you? She's a pufferfish just like you." "Umm...no. I have no idea who that is,” Spike said in confusion. "But, who are you?" "The name's SpongeBob. SpongeBob Squarepants,” the sea sponge shook Twilight's hoof. "Interesting name,” Twilight said to herself. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends; Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike." "Howdy," Applejack greeted. "It's super-duper nice to meet,” Pinkie swam up to the SpongeBob excitedly. the yellow sea sponge chuckled. "Hi,” Fluttershy said quietly. "Greetings, darling,” Rarity said politely. "Hello,” Spike said. "Fastest flyer in all of Equestria,” Rainbow said confidently. "Uh, 'xcuse me, Mr. Squarepants. Would ya mind tellin' us where we are?" Applejack politely asked. The sponge gave a small gasp. "Well, you're in Bikini Bottom, of course. Home of the Krusty Krab,” Spongebob raised his arms to the restaurant behind him. "I see,” Twilight said. "What's with this place and it's weird names?" "By the way, what's with the portal. Are you guys time-travelers something?" SpongeBob asked. "No, we're from a different world,” the purple sea pony carefully explained. “We were brought here on a friendship mission, to help with anything bad that might happen." "Oh, boy. I'm all for friendship,” SpongeBob gave a wide grin. "But, I got to get back to work." "Wait, you work here?" Rainbow asked. "Sure do,” the sponge confirmed. Just then, a rotund, pink starfish walked up to them. "Good morning, SpongeBob!" the starfish greeted. "Morning, Patrick,” SpongeBob greeted back. "Girls, this my best friend, Patrick. Patrick this Twilight and her friends." "Hello,” The Mane 7 greeted. "Hello, I'm Patrick," Patrick said. "...We know that. SpongeBob already told us,” Rarity said. Patrick chuckled a little. "Heh, yeah." "So, you here for your pre-lunch Krabby Patty?" SpongeBob asked his best friend. "I'm getting two today. One for me and one for my friend,” Patrick said. "Oh. Have I met this friend?" SpongeBob asked playfully. "You know me, SpongeBob,” Patrick said in a fake voice, pushing his belly fat together to form a mouth. The two laughed together at the joke. "Enjoy, Patrick's tummy,” SpongeBob waved his Patrick goodbye as the starfish made his way to the Krusty Krab's main entrance. "Yup. You two definitely act like best friends,” Applejack chuckled in amusement. "He seems a bit...educationally challenged," Rarity admitted. "He's not the sharpest clam in the sand, but that's what I love about him," SpongeBob said. The Mane 7 and SpongeBob heard a loud whirring sound coming from above. They looked up in confusion. High above, a giant airplane circled around the restaurant. As it neared the front end, the bottom cargo doors opened and a massive jar of tartar sauce plunged right for the Krusty Krab. Down below, the manager of the burger joint was busy counting today's profit to notice the falling condiment jar. "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..." he counted. "Hey, Mr. Krabs, I thought we got our tartar sauce delivery on Thursday,” SpongeBob and the others came through the front doors. "You guys airlift your ingredients?" Twilight asked. "Oh, I tried that once,” Pinkie said. The red crab looked up with a puzzled look. "Tartar..." the jar smashed to the ground, shattering instantly. SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, and the Krusty Krab were now covered in the creamy condiment. "...sauce," Mr. Krabs croaked. "Are you serious?!" Rarity screeched, pulling her red sofa out of nowhere and flopped onto it "Why must every mission ruin my mane." "I think a better question is why somepony would just drop a jar of...tartar sauce is it?" Twilight said. "Taste tangy,” Pinkie licked the sauce off her front hoof. "Bull's-eye!" a voice laughed from the plane. "Plankton!" SpongeBob said, alarmed. "So it's a food fight he wants, eh?" Mr. Krabs glared up at the airplane. "Wait. Who's Plankton?" Spike asked. "A rival restaurant owner. He's been trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula for years," the yellow sea sponge explained. "What's so special about a special recipe?" Rainbow asked blandly. "It be the backbone of this establishment. If Plankton gets his hands on it, it spells the end of the Krusty Krab. And it will bring his failing restaurant to success," the old crab explained further. "What are we going to do?" Fluttershy asked. "If he wants to play dirty, then I'm happy to oblige,” Mr. Krabs growled. High above, the airplane began to hone in on the Krusty Krab. "Welcome to Air Plankton. Please put your seats back and tray tables up as we're now approaching our final destination,” Plankton mocked. In an instant, a trench encircled the restaurant. Sandbags, wooden stakes, and barbwire littered the area. An air raid siren went off as the chimney was replaced with a machine gun with Mane 7 stood with SpongeBob and Patrick in military attire. "We're not even here for five minutes and we're already in a war?!" Rarity asked in astoundment. "I know, right? It's so awesome," Rainbow said eagerly. "No it's not!" Rarity snapped back. "Okay, Patrick, load the potatoes!" SpongeBob commanded. "Mashed or scalloped, sir?" Patrick asked. "No, Patrick. Raw,” SpongeBob sneered. "Sir, yes, sir!" Patrick dumped a bag of raw potatoes into the ammunition dock. "Locked and loaded!" the starfish yelled. "Can't we just talk these out peacefully with him?" the timid mare asked fearfully. "Peace was never an option,” SpongeBob said coldly. Down below, Mr. Krabs, in his own military attire, peered into the safe where the secret formula was sitting amongst piles of cash. "Don't worry, little formuler, you'll be safe in this...safe," Mr. Krabs locked the door and grabbed a speaker on his desk. "Fire!" With the order given, SpongeBob shot at Plankton's plane with a barrage of raw spuds. "Potatoes?!" Plankton cried. Grabbing the controls, he swung the plane from side-to-side to avoid the storm of spuds. "He's closing in!" SpongeBob yelled. "I think we have a few minutes before he gets here,” Patrick viewed through one of the binocular's lenses. "Yeah, we have all the time in the world." Pinkie viewed through the other. "That's because you two are using the binoculars wrong,” Rainbow said in a flat tone. SpongeBob turned the binoculars around for the two. "He's right on top of us!" Patrick and Pinkie held each other in a panic. Potatoes zeroed I’m on the plane's propellers. But, all that accomplished was shredding them into fries. An unsuspecting civilian fish was on a leisurely walk when hundreds of fries rained down from above. "Hey, it's raining fries!" he said whimsically. "It's gonna take a lot more than potatoes to bring this baby down,” Plankton taunted. More potatoes splattered against the front end and tore through the wings, causing them to rip away from the main body. "Or maybe not," Plankton said plainly. The plane dropped to the ground in a tremendous explosion. Customers from inside the Krusty Krab gasped, then cheered in victory. SpongeBob and Patrick were jumping for joy. "Well, that was short-lived," Rainbow said flatly. "That's supposed to be a good thing,” Applejack said, irritated. "Wait a minute, guys, look! He's got a tank!" SpongeBob pointed at a large, green machine slowly parachuting down to the ground. Inside, Plankton loaded a pickle into the cannon. "Well, Krabs, you're certainly in a pickle now!" he joked cynically. He aimed the cannon right at SpongeBob and the others. Once he was locked on, Plankton fired the massive pickle. It zeroed in on our heroes. They all gasped. "Take cover!" Twilight screamed. They all jumped from the roof just as the pickled slammed into the sandbags and exploded. They all landed inside the trench. SpongeBob and Patrick founded themselves in the wall. Pickle pieces pelted the ground around them. "Oh, this is degrading,” Rarity whined. More pickle slices rained down on the fish civilian. "Hey, it's raining pickles!" he said. A large shadow casted over him. "Ha, ha, now it's raining..." BAM Plankton's tank landed right on top of him. "...tanks," the fish groaned in pain. "You're welcome," Plankton said sarcastically as he drove the machine forward. Back at the trench, Twilight and Rainbow pulled Patrick from the hole. "You okay, Patrick?" Spike asked in concern. "Finland,” The starfish groaned. SpongeBob popped out of the hole soon after. The nine friends peered over the wall. They shrieked and ducked for cover as more pickles rocketed passed them. A telephone sat close by them, SpongeBob quickly turned the handle. "Your order, sir!" he said. "I'll have two Krabby Patties-extra ketchup, extra mustard, and hold the mayo,” A squirrel in a white suit said. Her name was Sandy. SpongeBob realized he was talking through the drive thru speaker. "Wrong channel!" he turned the handle again. "Your order, sir?" "Extra ketchup! Extra mustard! Hold the mayo!” Mr. Krabs ordered authoritatively. "Yes, sir!" SpongeBob saluted. He appeared over the wall with a giant, ketchup bottle-shaped cannon in his hand. "Extra ketchup! Extra mustard!" SpongeBob repeated. "Hold the mayo," Patrick heaved, struggling to hold up a giant jar of mayonnaise. The Mane 6 and Spike stood there in bewilderment. "Where do you get these things?" Twilight asked in utter confusion. "Unleash the condiments!" Mr. Krabs ordered. "With relish," SpongeBob replied. He let out a war cry and shot rounds of ketchup and mustard at the armored tank. It became apparent, however, that it had no effect on Plankton's tank. "Uh, guys, I don't think this is working," Spike said. "Ya think,” Rainbow said, exasperated. “They’re just shooting condiments at that thing.” Suddenly, SpongeBob ran out of ammo and the ketchup sputtered to a stop. "Excuse me,” he joked. He, Patrick, and Pinkie shared a good laugh. "This is not the time for immature jokes!" Twilight warned. SpongeBob reloaded and continued shooting more ketchup and mustard at Plankton. "Hello? Hello?" Sandy called through the drive-thru window. Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs was studying a map on the bunker wall. "Guess ya'll don't want my money," Sandy's voice could be heard through the speaker. "Money?" Mr. Krabs stopped what he was doing. As quickly as he could, he raced to the drive-thru window, grabbed Sandy's money, and handing her the bagged meal. "Thank you, come again,” he said before racing away. Sandy sat there in her vehicle, confused. Back at the battle, SpongeBob continued to shoot red and yellow condiments at the incoming tank, all the while he and the others ducked to avoiding incoming pickles. "We have to do somethin'. We can't leave SpongeBob to do all the work,” Applejack said. "But, what can we do?" Twilight asked, pointing to the ketchup gun. “It's not like we carry around weapons as wacky as this." Pinkie then threw a cupcake right at the tank. The sugary treat plastered itself against the front. "Can I have that back please?" Pinkie cried out. "Oh, for Celestia's sake," Rainbow face-hoofed. "I can't hold the mayo any longer," Patrick wheezed, before throwing the hulking jar through the air. It landed right in Plankton's path, shattering on contact with the ground. "Mayo? Well, it's going to take a lot more than mayo to stop..." Plankton rammed into the mountain of creamy mayo causing a large explosion, sending mayo and tank pieces everywhere. "Oh, my,” Fluttershy whispered, just as a wave of mayonnaise splashed into them. Rarity teetered over onto her fainting couch. "Why! Why-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y!" She cried into the pillows, staining them with the pure white condiment. Just then, the ground began to shake and rumble. "Now what?" SpongeBob winced. From the pile of mayonnaise, a ginormous, plankton-themed robot emerged. Plankton laughed maniacally down at the puny creatures. The robot's shadow loomed over them as the stood, slack-jawed. "Uh, I just remembered I don't work for Mr. Krabs!" Patrick handed SpongeBob his hat before running for his life. "Coward," Rainbow growled. "But, probably the smart thing to do," Twilight squealed. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 ran, or in the Mane 7's case swam, for their lives for the Krusty Krab as the robot stomped toward them. "Robot! Robot! Robot! Giant robot!" SpongeBob yelled. Inside his office, Mr. Krabs stood behind the safe. He could here the massive steps from whatever was outside and SpongeBob's cries of panic. Sweat slid down his face, fear enveloping his entire crustaceous body. Suddenly, SpongeBob barged through the door. "Mr. Krabs, Plankton's here and he's got a giant robot!" the sea sponge explained. "Quick, boy, bar the door," Mr. Krabs ordered swiftly. SpongeBob took action and lodge a chair against the doorknob. "Got it,” he exclaimed happily, only for a giant, robotic foot to crash through the wall. Plankton laughed evilly, stepping closer to Mr. Krabs. Rainbow swam up and open the crushed door off SpongeBob. "Are you going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "I'm more worried about, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob gasped. "I'll take one secret formula,” Plankton requested. "To go." Mr. Krabs gasped in fear. Rainbow dash swam up in front of him and raised her hooves in defense. "You want the formula? You'll have to go through me,” She challenged. Not willing to leave their friend alone, The rest of the Mane 7 swam up and join her. "And me,” Applejack added confidently "Count me in," Pinkie said. "And me, too," Twilight said firmly. "Don't forget about me," Rarity chimed in. "And me, as well,” Fluttershy said as firmly as she could. "And me," Spike puffed up his body. Plankton stared at them for a second then laughed insanely. "What? You think a group of pastel-colored seahorses and your pet pufferfish can stop me?" he mocked. "What are you going to do? Slap me with your tailfins? Oh, I'm so scared." Plankton laughed even harder, the robot's hand reached for them. The Mane 7 stood there ground. Mr. Krabs closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But then, the machine stopped. Sparks danced around and the giant robot fell onto its knee. The light on its head turned dark, signifying only one thing. "Oh, barnacles. I'm out of gas?" Plankton asked angrily. The light showed "E" for empty. "That was close,” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The other sea ponies breathed a collective sigh of relief. SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs, on the other hand, gave a heart laugh. Plankton walked down the reaching arm with a determined look. "I'm not through yet. I've got something that will make you hand over that formula. Something you can't resist,” Plankton pulled out his wallet. "Money!" Mr. Krabs gasped in shock. "You're gonna try and bribe him?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Mr. Krabs does love money,” SpongeBob said. “It's like a blessing and a curse.” "Yes!" Plankton opened his wallet only to find it was empty. "Wha!? That's...that's...that's impossible!" He looked all around inside his wallet, but there wasn't so much as a dime in there. "Well, it was full of money just last week," the tiny sea creature stated. "And then I brought that airplane and built that tank." The realization came to him. He had spent all his life savings for that one, final assault. "Sounds to me like someone's just a wee bit broke!" Mr. Krabs said with a cynical grin. "So, that's it. You got nothing left to throw at us?" Twilight asked Plankton. Plankton gave a sad sigh. "Well, Krabs, I guess you've won. I've spent every penny I've ever made trying to put you out of business,” he lamented, fishing something out of his pocket. "Except this one. My last penny. Besides, what can i do with one measly cent anyway?" "You could give it to me. Just a suggestion,” Mr. Krabs offered. "Here, take it,” Plankton flipped the coin to his rival. Mr. Krabs caught it, dropped it into the safe, and locked it for good. "You've taken everything else. Why not?" Plankton began to sob. Mr. Krabs grabbed him by his antenna and walked out of the destroyed office room. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 followed. "Well, Plankton, like a reheated Krabby Patty, you've been foiled again,” the red crab dropped him to the floor. Plankton sat there and gave a sad groan. The customers all looked down at him with amused smiles. "I guess this means the secret formula is safe forever, right, Mr. Krabs?" SpongeBob said to his boss. "It sure does, boy,” Mr. Krabs patted SpongeBob's head. "And, uh, thanks for coming to my aid." He said to the Mane 7. "It was the right thing to do," Twilight smiled. "Why don't you scurry along?" Mr. Krabs nudged Plankton forward before laughing. "Thanks for coming! Have a nice day." The customers laughed, too, as Plankton slowly and sadly made his way to the front entrance. Despite all the he had done, Fluttershy couldn't but feel a little sorry for Plankton. "Don't you girls think that was a little cruel?" Fluttershy asked. "He ruined my main. He gets no sympathy from me,” Rarity huffed. "Ah would've done the same thing if that varmin’ tried to put me outta business," Applejack stated firmly. "But, that's it? That battle barely lasted five minutes,” Rainbow said. "The map summoned us just to be part of some epic-proportion food fight?" "I have a feeling there's more to it than this,” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "I think we should keep an eye on Plankton." "Whatever you say, Twi," the rainbow-maned sea pony said. If only Twilight knew how right she was. To be continued
Part 3: The Formula Goes MissingFluttershy still couldn't shake the guilt away. The yellow sea pony watched as Plankton sobbed out a river against the Krusty Krab sign. The others didn't really seem to share her guilt or sympathy, however. "If he's poured all his time and effort into stealing this one object, then sympathy is the last thing he deserves. it's just pathetic by now," is what Rainbow had said earlier. Fluttershy thought that way of thinking was a little hypocritical. They all had goals that were just as important to them. Admittedly, none were cynical or selfish goals like Plankton's, but that was besides the point. And even then, they still allow to let Discord roam free despite his mischievousness. And while it took some time to warm up to Starlight, Twilight was willing to take her in despite what she was willing to do to keep her equality village intact. And so, she could only watch Plankton cry his eyes out. However, Fluttershy wasn't only one watching him. "He's been out there crying for 20 minutes," Mr. Krabs said, holding up a spyglass. "Pathetic. I'm just going to go out there and gloat a little." Handing the spyglass to SpongeBob, he walked outside with an cheeky smile. "Um...SpongeBob? I want to ask you a question. If that's alright with you," Fluttershy said softly. "Sure, Fluttershy,” SpongeBob responded. "Is this what usually happens when Plankton...attacks?" The sea pony asked. "Well not every time. And the times it does happens, Plankton always bounces back with another plan to steal the formula,” SpongeBob answered. "Wait. So it's all just an act?" Fluttershy questioned. "No, not really, but, it wouldn't surprise me if he was scheming up another plan right this minute,” the sea sponge said confidently. Fluttershy looked back at Plankton who was still crying against the sign. That's when Applejack swam up to her. "Mind if ah talk to ya for a second, Fluttershy," the orange sea pony asked. "Oh. Of course, Applejack,” Fluttershy said politely. The two swam away for some privacy, leaving SpongeBob by himself. From inside the safe in Mr. Krabs office, the penny Plankton had given to the restaurant owner popped open and out came...Plankton? He laughed victoriously which was quickly halted when he felt a sharp pain down his back. Plankton grunted as he cracked his back, relieving himself of the cramped soreness. "Cyclops to Laptop. Come in, Laptop,” Plankton said through the headset microphone. Meanwhile, back at the Chum Bucket, Karen, Plankton's computer wife, was playing solitaire with a deck of cards. "Laptop." you do realize that nickname is demeaning?" she replied sharply. "I have twice the processing power of a laptop." "Never mind. Maintain radio silence,” Plankton said quietly. He gasped when he spotted the secret formula sitting in the center of the safe. He threw the headset to the side and slowly walked over to the bottle. "Finally!" Plankton said, rubbing his hands together. He stopped and look down, noticing an elevated portion of the safe's floor that surrounded the bottle with wires attached to it. "A pressure plate, eh, Krabs?" the evil organism said smugly. "Amateur hour." He opened the safe door and looked around Krabs's office, trying to spot anything he could use as a substitute for formula. Lo and behold, on Mr. Krabs's desk, sat another bottle that held a miniature pirate ship. "Perfect," Plankton said with a devilish grin. He got to work. He pushed the ship out and stood the bottle upright. Taking a pen, he wrote something down on a piece of paper, rolled it up, put it in the bottle, and corked it shut. "Not a bad likeness," Plankton said to himself. He made his way back to pressure plate with the fake formula bottle. "Good enough to fool that idiot Krabs,” he carefully slid the fake bottle in place of the real formula. "Easy, easy." The fake formula now sat on the pressure plate. It beeped several times with a green light flashing, then it stopped. Plankton stood with an accomplished smile. Now it was time to take the real formula back to the Chum Bucket. Back outside, the other Plankton was still crying while Mr. Krabs moonwalked around him in a gloating manner. "Plankton's broke! Ha, ha!" the red crab sang. "Look at Mr. Krabs go," SpongeBob said. "I've never seen him gloat this hard before." "Really?" Rainbow swam up to the sea sponge. "With how arrogant he is, that's surprising to hear." "C'mon, he's not that bad,” SpongeBob replied. Back outside, Mr. Krabs laughed once more at Plankton’s misery. "Hey, well, Plankton, me bunions are telling me it's time to stop gloating,” he grabbed Plankton by the antenna, but then noticed a thin piece of string out of his head. "Looks like you're falling apart at the seams." Mr. Krabs pulled on the string. It unraveled Plankton's skin revealing that it wasn't Plankton at all. Mr. Krabs stood there dumbfounded. "Poor me. Sob, sob,” the fake Plankton sparked. "A robot?" the greedy restaurant owner said in disbelief. To make matters worse, SpongeBob had just entered Mr. Krabs office. He spotted the real Plankton with the secret formula in-hand. "Plankton?!" the sponge gasped. "Uh, oh," Plankton turned around too quickly and knocked the fake bottle off the pressure plate. It rolled out of the safe and onto the floor. "That ain't good." "Initiating lockdown sequence" a robotic speaker announced. A siren went off and a red light craned down from the ceiling, flashing every so often. The Mane 7 all looked around in confusion and apprehension, when they noticed SpongeBob in a panicked state. The quickly rushed over to him. "SpongeBob what's going on?" Twilight asked in concern. SpongeBob pointed at the safe where Plankton stood with the secret formula. The sea ponies and pufferfish all gasped in shock. "How did you get in there?!" Spike asked in shock. "Wouldn't you like to know, bloatboy," Plankton said harshly. "Me Formuler!" Mr. Krabs said with a horrified look. He turned to see the Krusty Krab's interior flashing red, signaling to the crab that someone was taking the formula. Inside the restaurant, metal bars and doors encased windows, doorways, and every possible escape route. Customers panicked as metal walls encased themselves around the Krusty Krab. Even Squidward was encased by them. He groaned, realizing what was going on. Mr. Krabs raced to the front entrance to get inside. "No, no, no! No!" Mr. Krabs arrived too late. He banged on the metal wall. "Squidward! Open up!" The Plankton robot stood back up and began to dance. "Ha, ha. Victory dance. Boo-ya,” it said. Back inside, SpongeBob ran over and grabbed the formula bottle. "Give me that!" he strained, trying to pull the bottle away from Plankton's clutches. The Mane 7 joined in, grabbing hold of the sponge and pulling back. "That doesn't belong to you," Twilight grunted. "Come on, SpongeBob, ladies, Join me!" Plankton yelled. "And we'll be rich and powerful, until I eventually betray you all.” He looked around, trying to think of anything else to say to convince them. “Join me!" "No! Never! I'm on Team Krabs for life!" SpongeBob resisted. "Exactly!" Pinkie held up a foam hand with Team Krabs written on it. "We ain't ever joinin' you, ya thievin' varmint,” Applejack said. "Geez, for someone as small as him, he sure is strong,” Rarity admitted. While that was going on, Mr. Krabs had finally pulled the wall apart and opened the front doors. "Plankton!" he bellowed. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all pulled back hard, but Plankton didn't relent. "Give it up already,” Rainbow growled. "Never!" Plankton seethed. Back and forth the tug-of-war went, both sides sweating and straining to take the bottle. All of a sudden, the Krabby Patty secret formula disappeared in a cloud of magic sparks and bubbles. The nine sea creatures stood there in complete surprise and confusion. "What? Where'd it go?" SpongeBob wondered. "Ooo. Is this a magic trick?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "Read the room, Pinkie," Twilight said. "Wait a minute. Molecular deconstruction? I proved that to be a scientific impossibility seven times!" Plankton thought to himself. "Wait a minute. I think I forgot to empty Gary's litter box today." SpongeBob thought to himself. "Was that some kind of vanishing spell? If it was, where did it go?" Twilight thought to herself. "Did that stupid green bean do that? No, he looks just as confused as we do," Rainbow thought to herself. " You know. I think I should try a Krabby Patty myself," Pinkie thought to herself. Their thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Krabs barged through the office door. He gasped when he saw that the formula was gone. "Where's me formuler, Plankton?" the irate crustacean demanded angrily. "I...I don't know! It just disappeared!" Plankton answered. "Why should I believe you, you lying liar?" Mr. Krabs asked, getting angrier by the second. "He ain't lyin', Mr. Krabs. He speaks the truth." Applejack defended. "Normally, I'd agree with you, Mr. Krabs, but this time he's telling the truth. It just vanished!" SpongeBob said. "Yeah. Into thin air,” Fluttershy added. "It's true!" Plankton shouted. Mr. Krabs wasn't listening. He grabbed Plankton and taped him to his office desk. Plankton looked around fearfully, sweat pouring down his body. "Mr. Krabs, I'm telling you he's innocent!" SpongeBob affirmed. "You're jumping to conclusions, dude,” Rainbow said. "Not now, dear. Leave this to the adults,” Mr. Krabs said sternly. "I am an adult!" the sea pony argued angrily. "What are you gonna do, Krabs?" Plankton asked nervously. "Pour hot oil on me? or put bamboo shoots under my nails?" "Dear, Faust, are you actually going to do that?" Rarity asked with a distraught tone. "No,” Mr. Krabs answered simply. "Knock, knock." The others stood around with perplexed looks. "Knock-knock jokes? I can do this all day, Krabs,” Plankton smiled smugly. "Mr. Krabs, with all due respect, this isn't..." Twilight’s explanation fell on deaf ears. "Knock, knock," Mr. Krabs growled. "Oh, boy. Who's there,” Plankton asked tiredly. "Jimmy," "Jimmy who?" "Jimmy back my formuler, Plankton!" Mr. Krabs shouted furiously. “That was so lame,” Rainbow face-hooved. "...Well, that's stupid, but how is it torture?" Plankton asked. "You'll see,” Mr. Krabs snickered, putting a set of earmuffs on. "Jimmy back my formula?" SpongeBob said to himself. Pinkie came up to him and whispered the explanation to his ear. "Ohhhhh. I get it!" SpongeBob said in realization. "See. It's funny, isn't it?" the sponge and sea pony began to laugh uncontrollably. Plankton let out a scream of agony as soon as the cacophony of laughter hit his ears. Mr. Krabs stood with closed eyes and a complacent smile. "Make it stop, Krabs! Make it stop!" Plankton pleaded. "Would you two please quit. We've got a situation on our hooves," Twilight said. SpongeBob and Pinkie just laughed and laughed. It seemed like nothing could stop them. "Okay, this is really starting to get irritating," Rainbow said. "No, kidding,” Spike agreed. Plankton screamed torturously from the heinous laughter. His saving grace would come in the form of Squidward barging through the door with a mass of angry customers behind him. "Mr. Krabs? SpongeBob, Pinkie, zip it!" he yelled. The two immediately stopped laughing. "Thank, goodness,” Rarity sighed. "Thank you, Squidward,” Plankton let out a relieved groan. The customers are getting restless! They're asking for...refunds." Squidward said with a pretentious smile, before closing the door. Refunds That single word made it through Mr. Krabs's earmuffs. His eyes bulged out and he spat the letters out on his claws. "Refunds?" he said in disgust. "Refunds! Refunds!" the customers chanted outside. "Now what?" Spike asked. "Listen up, boy. Get in there and make me customers some Krabby Patties!" Mr. Krabs nudged SpongeBob to the kitchen. "Maybe we could help him out,” Pinkie said eagerly. "Huh? Oh, sure, fine, whatever. Just get out me office." Mr. Krabs ushered the gang out. The Mane 7 all filed through the kitchen door. "All right, Plankton..." the already upset crab looked back at his desk, but saw that Plankton had already escaped. He gasped and clasped his claws to the sides of his face. Back in the kitchen, SpongeBob was hurriedly preparing the grill. “What can we do to help, SpongeBob?” Applejack asked. “Get some Krabby Patties from the freezer,” SpongeBob ordered AJ and Rainbow went over to the freezer door and opened it. “Uh. What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?” Rainbow asked with an uneasy tone. “Brownish-red, circular slabs of meat,” the yellow sponge explained. “Meat!?” Rarity guffawed. “Well, yeah. Most of the folks around here are meat-eaters,” the sea sponge said. “Well, we don’t eat meat. And some of us aren’t really comfortable with even thinking about it,” Twilight pointed to a paled Fluttershy. “Really?” SpongeBob said with curiosity. “Well, all ah see is a pile of nothin’,” Applejack said. “What!?” SpongeBob pushed the two sea ponies out of the way and took a look. He let out a girlish scream. Mr. Krabs heard the commotion and raced over to see SpongeBob shaking while staring into the freezer. The Mane 7 all looked on with surprise and confusion. "SpongeBob! What's wrong, boy?" Mr. Krabs asked. “See for yourself,” Spike said, a little confusion over the reaction from the horrified sponge. He moved him out of the way and peered into the freezer. He let out a girlish scream from the horrific sight "We're out of Krabby Patties!?" he said staring into the empty freezer. "Wait,” can’t you guys just resupply,” Twilight tried to de-escalate the situation. “Those Krabby Patties have to come from somewhere." "Yeah, it’s not like they appear out of nowhere," Applejack added. "Yes, but, how can we make more Krabby Patties without the secret formula?" SpongeBob asked, panicked. "You've got to have that formuler memorized by now!" Mr. Krabs turned to the sea sponge. "But as you are aware, sir, the employee handbook clearly states and I quote..." SpongeBob pulled out a book and flipped to a specific part. "No employee may, in part or in whole, commit the Krabby Patty secret formula to any recorded written or visual form, including memories, dreams, and/or needlepoint." "What kind of rule is that?" Rarity looked over the page. "A stupid rule that's what,” Rainbow replied. "Why is it such a crime to memorize a, flipping, recipe?" "It’s a sacred recipe. Not even Mr. Krabs is allowed to memorize it,” SpongeBob argued. "Well, if you could memorize it, we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?" Rainbow countered. "Girls, please. Don't start fighting," Fluttershy quietly pleaded. "Curse you, fine print!" Mr. Krabs cried. The angry customers continued to demand for refunds. Some even held up the ordering station in rebellion. Squidward, who was reading a magazine, paid no mind. "Stop!" Mr. Krabs shouted as he came out of the kitchen area. The customers all stopped, dropping the ordering station to the floor. It crashed into pieces taking Squidward with it. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 peered out through the doorway. "I'm not your enemy! Plankton is your enemy!" the crustacean held up a wanted poster with Plankton on it. "So is he an anemone or a plankton?" Squidward asked. Ba-doom ching! In the the corner of the restaurant was a familiar pufferfish with a drum set. "Well, someone had to do it,” she said. "But, Mr. Krabs..." SpongeBob tried to say. "He took this from you!" Mr. Krabs then held up a poster that depicted a Krabby Patty. "Krabby Patty,” one customer said whimsically. "I can almost taste it,” another said. "Mr. Krabs, Plankton didn't take the secret formula,” SpongeBob explained. "We saw it disappear with our own eyes,” Applejack added. "Not now, you lot,” Mr. Krabs tossed the poster away. Patrick, who was sitting at one of the tables, managed to grab it. "Hey! I ordered a double Krabby Patty!" he complained bitterly. "So join me! Help get the formuler back, and I'll give each and every one of a you a free Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs announced. The customers all cheered in joy and agreement. "No! Wait! Even better, a slight discount!" he backtracked. The customers all groaned in disappointment, but that didn't dissuade them from joining Mr. Krabs. "To the Chum Bucket!" Mr. Krabs and the customers all marched out the Krusty Krab, ready to confront Plankton. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 looked through the glass doors. "But he didn't do it,” SpongeBob said softly. "We got to do something. It isn't right for them persecute Plankton for something he didn't do,” Twilight said. "Well, to be fair, darling, he did try to steal the formula with a giant robot,” Rarity clarified. "Yeah, but he didn't succeed and now they think that he did steal it," Twilight responded. "Plankton's innocent and we can't stand here and do nothing." "You're right, Twilight, I think it's time we take matters into our own hands,” SpongeBob struck his palm with his fist. "Even after what he did today and all the things he's done before," Rarity argued. "Land sake's, Rarity. We know he ain't a saint, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be framed." Applejack snapped back. "Let me ask ya somethin'. How would you feel if a bunch of ponies came up and started blamin' ya for a crime ya didn't commit?" Rarity pondered over the question for a bit. "Confused, offended, maybe a little scared. I would never do something as heinous as stealing,” the pristine sea pony answered. "Exactly. Whether we like him or not, Plankton is being blamed for something he didn't do,” Twilight spoke firmly. “It isn't right for us to be silent about, either." "We need to save him for those angry fish," Fluttershy pleaded. Rarity gave a slow, disappointed sigh. "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry,” she said. “I really need to stop thinking about the past and look at the present." "There ya go, Rares,” Applejack said happily. "But, now how do we save Plankton?" Spike asked. "Don’t worry, guys, I already have an idea in mind,” SpongeBob replied. At the Chum Bucket, Plankton was lamenting to his computer wife about today's escapade. "I had it right in my greedy little mitts, and then...Poof! And now it's gone. Gone forever. I was so close to gaining the people's respect-slash-fear." "Um, Plankton?" Karen tried to get his attention. "Oh, when will my frustration-slash-humiliation end?" Plankton continued. "Plankton?" she pressed on. "Not now, hon! I'm ranting-slash-raving." the bitter sea creature sighed. "All right, what is it?" "Well, I was trying to tell you there's an angry mob outside," Karen and Plankton looked amongst the angry people inside the Chum Bucket. "But now they're inside." "Oh,” Plankton said, just as Mr. Krabs grabbed him. The angry mob then glared at Karen. "I…just work here,” she said unconvincingly. "We'd like to have a word with you!" Mr. Krabs stormed at of the Chum Bucket. The angry mob followed behind, carrying Karen with them. Mr. Krabs then threw Plankton to the ground. "You all look very hungry," Plankton said uneasily, sweat sliding down his face. "Can I get anybody a Chum Burger?" "Enough with the niceties, Plankton," Mr. Krabs poked is little, green rival. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is me formuler!?" "I told you, Krabs, I don't have it," Plankton weakly crawled backward. "Wrong answer," Mr. Krabs growled cruelly. He lifted his foot up, ready to stomp Plankton into oblivion. "Stop!" a voice called out. The crowd looked to see SpongeBob with the Mane 6 and Spike behind him. "All right, Mr. Krabs, let me get in on this,” he growled, walking over to them. "What's going on around here?" Plankton said to himself. "You may want to step back a little, Mr. Krabs," SpongeBob encouraged his boss. "This could get messy." "Let's hope so," Mr. Krabs said with a cold smile. "Are we sure this plan will work?" Spike whispered to Twilight. "It's an...interesting plan, to say the least,” Twilight admitted. "But, I'm putting all my faith in SpongeBob." "Same here,” Rainbow agreed. "Me, too," Pinkie added. "So you won't talk, eh, Plankton?" SpongeBob kneeled down, pulling out a bottle of bubble solution and bubble wand. "I didn't want to have to do this. Plankton, here comes the pain." The sea sponge dipped the bubble wand into the solution. "Soap in the eye, eh? Diabolical,” Mr. Krabs grinned. SpongeBob took in a deep breath. "No! Stop! Don't!" Plankton pleaded. SpongeBob blew a large bubble, trapping plankton inside. He sat inside with a neutral expression. "Wait. That didn't look painful,” the confused crab criticized. "Now, everypony," Twilight said quietly. The quickly swam forward and entered the bubble with Plankton still in it. because Spike was a pufferfish, Twilight covered her body over him to keep his spines from puncturing the bubble. "Seriously. What is going on?" Plankton asked. SpongeBob turned to his boss. "Mr. Krabs, you may not understand what I'm about to do today, but someday we'll look back and have a good laugh," SpongeBob back up into the bubble. Once inside, the bubble began to lift into the air. "Wait a minute,” Mr. Krabs said suspiciously. "Hey, they're getting away!" one the fish shouted. "Sorry, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob said apologetically. "It was nice knowing you,” Rainbow said. "Not really." "So, you've been running a long con on me, eh?" Mr. Krabs accused. "All these years you've been working for Plankton! And I bet those seahorses and pufferfish were in on it, too. All that "from another world for a special mission" mumbo jumbo was just a cover-up story." "They're in cahoots!" another fish yelled. "Yeah, I guess that's a short way of saying it," Mr. Krabs said. "Stop that bubble!" The angry mob chased after SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7. The sea sponge and sea ponies ran-slash-swam forward, trying to make the bubble go faster. "Good grief, they act like wild animals," Rainbow observed. "Just keep swimming," Twilight said. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Pinkie sang. The mob started throwing random object at them. One object, a football, bounced into them, sending the bubble rolling forward. Our heroes felt as if they were in a washing machine. A muscular fish grabbed another unsuspecting fish and threw him at the bubble. The fish hit the bubble, but it still didn't pop. He held on for dear life. "Please tell me there's something soft below me,” the fish said. "Nope,” they all said. The fish lost his grip and dropped to the ground. SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs's voice echoed throughout the reef. They all watched as the bubble float away into the distance. "Oh, you were like an underpaid son to me,” the crab said sadly. "I would've expected Squidward to stab me in the back." "Huh, what, huh,” Squidward awoke from his upright nap. "But SpongeBob? me most trusted employee? Working with me sworn enemy? Along with his new group of friends that randomly showed up today?" Mr. Krabs looked up. "You know what this means, Mr. Squidward." "We get the rest of the day off?" the grumpy octopus grumbled. "No!" Mr. Krabs raced up to the him "This be but a harbinger of what I fear lies ahead. For you. For me. For all of Bikini Bottom! The Krabby Patty is what ties us all together! Without it, there will be a complete breakdown of social order. A war of all against all! Dark times are ahead. Dark times indeed!" The old crab flopped to the ground face-first. Seriously?" Squidward asked incredulously. "Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Instantaneously, the entire atmosphere changed. Everyone was now where gnarly, apocalyptic clothing, the sky changed from blue to brown, and buildings were collapsed or on fire. "Welcome to the apocalypse, Mr. Squidward,” Mr. Krabs said, as everyone else began running around in maddened states. "I hope you like leather." "I prefer suede," Squidward said matter-of-factly. "And so Bikini Bottom became an apocalyptic cesspool forevermore," the pirate closed the book. "The end." The pirate stood up and cracked his back. "Wait a minute. That's a terrible end,” one of the seagulls said. "Oh. This is bad. Really bad,” another said. "SpongeBob and his friends are in trouble and the story's over." The seagulls began to panic over the situation. "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch,” one seagull banged its head against the ship's bell. "Hey, call a therapist. I have anxiety!" another said. The pirate jaunted over to the helm when one of the seagulls flew up to him. "There is no way that that's the end of this story,” the beach-faring bird said. "Of course it is. I'll show you,” the pirate said. "Just turn around." "Oh, all right," the gull turned around allowing the pirate to pluck a tailfeather off him. The gull yelped. "Hey! I need that to fly, you jerk,” he said angrily. The pirate didn't listen and dipped the feather in a bottle of ink. He opened the book and in big, bold lettering he wrote... "The End!" the pirate said. "That's not the end!" the seagull grabbed the page with its beak. "Of course it is!" the pirate pulled back. "Unhand that book!" the gull demanded. "You let go of that!" the bearded pirate said. "Let go, you numbskull!" the gull shouted. The two pulled back and forth until the page tore from the book. The pirate lost his balance, fell and crashed through a cargo door that led to the lower deck. The other gulls gathered around the opening. "You better keep reading, Mr. Pirate..." the gulls turned around and pointed their backsides to him. "Or else." The gull from earlier left the ship with the torn paper. "I know I shouldn't be littering, but that ending was rubbish!" he dropped the paper, which sank into the salty waters below. "Rubbish!" The page sank further onto the apocalyptic Bikini Bottom. With our heroes left free-floating and the town in ruins, things could only get better from here on out. Right? To be continued
Part 4: On The RunBikini Bottom had fallen into utter chaos. Buildings were being destroyed, fires littered the landscape, and people ran for survival or attacked one another. The Krusty Krab had suffered no merciful fate. the windows were shattered and giant, metal contraptions covered the exterior. Squidward was inside, sitting in the register area. He saw Patrick enter the restaurant as if he was oblivious to what was going on. "Good morning, Squidward. I'll have the usual,” the pink star requested. Just then, a flaming boatmobile smashed through the wall and crashed against the opposite side. Burning fuel leaked out from the tanks. "With cheese," Patrick added. "We're out of Krabby Patties right now!" Squidward said in a panic. "No...Krabby Patties?" Patrick stepped back, horrified. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" As if by magic, a thick vest appeared on his body and a hammer was taped up on his forehead. Meanwhile, SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike were viewing the carnage from down below as their bubble carried them across the town. "Look what's become of Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob said in a state of shock. "It's like actual Tartarus down there,” Rainbow said. "I don't know what that is, but, it sounds terrifying," SpongeBob said. "We've really got to get that formula back." "No kiddin'," Applejack agreed. "Get the secret formula, you say? Excuse me, I need a moment," Plankton faced his back to them. "With that formula, I could rule the world!" He laughed manically then cleared his throat. "You know we can hear you, right?" SpongeBob asked modestly. "And we're not gonna let you do that, either,” Twilight said sternly. "Last thing we need is for you to make things worse." Plankton rolled his eye and grumbled. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked. "Now we work together. You know, teamwork,” SpongeBob said. "What's "tee-am work"?" Plankton asked in confusion. The Mane 7 gave him weird looks. "No, Plankton, teamwork," SpongeBob assured. "Tee-am work,” Plankton responded. "Teamwork." "Tie-'em work." "Teamwork." "Tie 'em up." "Come on! You seriously have never heard of that word before?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Do I look like someone who has used tee-am work before?" Plankton asked roughly. "In a way, yeah,” Spike said. "All right,” SpongeBob said. "Say "team," like a sports..." "Team," Plankton responded. "Team. Now say "work,” SpongeBob continued. "Work,” Plankton said. "Put them together. What do you got?" SpongeBob asked. "Timebomb...work," Plankton said. "Getting better,” the sea sponge said optimistically. Rainbow face-hooved in irritation. "We're doomed." Rarity said gloomily. Sandy had gotten back to her treehouse not too long after the apocalypse started. She was unaware of what was going on as she settled down at the picnic table with her Krabby Patty meal. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television on. "Now, Bikini Bottom Action News!" the news anchor announced through the screen. Just as Sandy was about to take a bite from the greasy sandwich, she heard moaning and something bang against the glass dome. She gasped and turned to where the noise was coming from. It was Patrick, who had stuck to the wall with his tongue out in full display. "Oh, hey, Patrick!" the squirrel greeted cheerfully. She opened her mouth, ready to chow down on her meal. The sea star began banging against the glass wall angrily. "Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty, Krabby Patty!" he yelled desperately. Sandy's face contorted into confusion and concern. She moved the sandwich back away from her mouth. Patrick calmed down and stared at it with hungry eyes. Every time Sandy would move the Krabby Patty to her mouth, Patrick would get more angry and violently bang against the glass. Finally, She shoved the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed as quickly as she could. Patrick whined and whaled before turning away with his head down. "Come on, tummy, it's gonna be a long day," he said sadly. Sandy watched her friend walk away with concern until the TV drew in her attention. "We interrupt your regular program for an important news bulletin," the anchor tuna announced, before the screen transitioned to the reporter on the scene. "Perch Perkins reporting live from downtown Bikini” - aboatmobile sailed over the reporter's head and crashed through a building - “Bottom. Complete chaos here today as our town attempts to deal with a sudden shortage of Krabby Patties." The building collapsed into a pile of rubble and twisted steel. Perch Perkins yelped and ducked down. "Events here have this reporting wondering, what is the secret ingredient in Krabby Patty anyway!?" Perch was chased away by a caped fish wielding a mace. "It's love! The secret ingredient is love!" the fish screamed furiously before striking the camera. Static was all that showed on the TV before Sandy turned it off. "No more Krabby Patties?" she asked in disbelief. "If I'd have known that, I'd have chewed it slower." Suddenly, a large shadow casted itself over Sandy's home. The squirrel looked up and saw a large, rectangular object falling from the sky. It looked to be a page from a book. "What the corndog is that?" Sandy said, completely terrified. The page landed on top of Sandy's dome. All she could was stand there and stare at it. "Come on, Plankton, it's easy!" SpongeBob assured. "It means, I help you, you help me, and when we accomplish our goal, then we do hands in the middle." "Hands in the middle?" Plankton said with disgust. "No, no. Sounds idiotic." "That's okay. We can hug instead," Pinkie said happily. "That's even worse,” Plankton barked. "Besides, the...nine of us are no match for that cranky mob." He pointed to the townsfolk who were in the midst of destroying a donut shop. "Well. He's not wrong there,” Spike pointed out. "I think he underestimates us," Rainbow grinned smugly. "I-I-I'd rather...not confront those people head-on,” Fluttershy squeaked. "Agreed," Twilight said. "We're outnumbered and there's no chance they are going to listen to us." "We could probably use a few more tee-am works," Plankton said. "You mean like more ponies...erm...people to join the team?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the tiny sea creature said dismissively. "That's exactly what I was thinking," SpongeBob said. "Who would possibly want to join us, though? Everypony down there hates us." Rarity mentioned. "Let's find out shall we,” the sea sponge raised up his pointer finger. "Wait, what are you doing?" Plankton asked. SpongeBob popped the bubble and the team plummeted to the ground, right in front of three particular, yet desecrated, houses. The sea ponies and pufferfish slowly got up "Warn us next time you do that!" Rainbow yelled as she spat sand out of her mouth. "Ugh. Where even are we?" Twilight asked dizzily. "This is where I live. Alongside Squidward and Patrick," SpongeBob stated, pointing to his house. ".....Ya live in a pineapple?" Applejack asked, almost not believing what SpongeBob was implying. "Sure do,” the yellow sponge confirmed. "It's actually a funny story, I was looking for..." "I think it's best you tell us later,” Twilight put a hoof up to SpongeBob's face. "It's pretty clear we're no longer welcome in this area." "I'll say. Your house looks completely gerrymandered," Rarity said. "Who are we even here for anyways?" Spike asked. SpongeBob popped out of the self-made hole and pointed to a circular rock where Patrick was slamming his face against it. "I...need...Krabby Patties!" he yelled after every headbutt. "That's gonna leave a mark," Rainbow winced. "Patrick, what are you doing?" SpongeBob called out to his friend. "Vandalizing stuff," the sea star turned to the group. His face had taken more of a beating than the rock did. "Isn't that your house?" Plankton asked. "Hey, what's with all the questions?" Patrick snapped. "Who are you guys?" "It's me, your best friend. SpongeBob?" the sea sponge said, sounding almost hurt by the question. "And us? Twilight? Pinkie? The rest of us? You literally met us this morning," Twilight added. "He probably has amnesia from banging his head against that rock," Rainbow muttered to Fluttershy. "Oh, yeah? Well, if you're SpongeBob, then what's the secret password?" the pink starfish inquired. "Uh..." was all the group could say. "Correct! It is you! SpongeBob!" Patrick jumped from his rock and barreled right on top of the SpongeBob and Plankton. The Mane 7 got out of the way just in time. "SpongeBob,” he said joyfully. "Patrick!" SpongeBob greeted back. "SpongeBob!" Patrick said again as Plankton got up from the impact. "Why aren't you at the Krusty Krab making Krabby Patties?' "Have you forgotten what has happened this past hour?" Rainbow asked rhetorically. "Well, I'd love to, but the formula's gone," SpongeBob said. Patrick sat down, unknowingly on top of Plankton. "Yeah, Mr. Krabs says you and Plankton took it,” he recalled. "But, he's wrong," Fluttershy interjected. "Exactly. That's not what happened. It just disappeared,” SpongeBob explained. “We're putting a team together to find it." "A team?" Patrick's eyes widened. "Oh. Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" The sea star got up and hugged SpongeBob tightly. "Okay, Patrick, you're in,” SpongeBob said happily. "I don't know, SpongeBob," Plankton popped back into form. "What exactly does this clown bring to the tee-am?" "He brings loyalty, Plankton. Loyalty,” SpongeBob said coolly. "Hey! I'm literally the Element of Loyalty! If anyone here is the most loyal, it's me." Rainbow said. "But, Patrick is my best friend. There's a special kind of loyalty with that," SpongeBob said. "Isn't that right, Patrick?" "Yeah, yeah, loyalty," Patrick said. "I've got SpongeBob! Here's over here!" The sea star starting to make a whooping sound to get the other townsfolks' attention. Within the town, the people looked to where the sound was coming from. "Let's go get him!" Mr. Krabs yelled. The mob was now running toward them. Eager to finally capture the perpetrators. "Special kind of loyalty,” Rainbow said sarcastically. "Yeah, that's definitely doing you favors." "Never mind that. Come on, SpongeBob, let's get out of here!" Plankton said in a panic. "Patrick!" SpongeBob tried to say. Before they could make an escape, Plankton threw SpongeBob into Plankton and the Mane 7. Then he sat right on top of them so they couldn't escape, continuing to whoop. "I can't breath," Pinkie wheezed. "This is absolutely no way to treat a lady!" Rarity said crossly. "Patrick, why are you doing this?" SpongeBob asked, betrayed by his best friend's actions. "Because I...need...Krabby...Patties!" Patrick bellowed. "Hurry up! I'm hungry!" The mob was drawing nearer and nearer. The Mane 6 and Spike began to panic. "We got to get out of here!" Spike yelled fearfully. "Twilight, get him off of us," Fluttershy pleaded. "I-I can't! Patrick's too heavy." Twilight tried with all her might to life the starfish off of her, but she just couldn't do it. "Over here!" the overweight sea star whooped. "Whoa nelly. Here they come," Applejack warned fearfully. Thinking quickly, SpongeBob frantically dug into the sand allowing them to escape Patrick's backside. They all popped out of a hole a few feet away and ran for their lives as the angry mob arrived to give chase. "Guys, am I still on the team?" Patrick called out. "NO!" The Mane 6 yelled back. Patrick looked back at his butt that was sticking out from the other hole. "Hey, what are you looking at?" he asked threateningly. SpongeBob held on to Plankton as he and the Mane 7 desperately tried to get away from the angry mob chasing after them. "Well, that crosses Patrick off the list," Twilight said solemnly. "Is there anypony else you had in mind, SpongeBob?" "Preferably someone who won't backstab us,” Applejack suggested. "Or try to sit on us,” Rarity added. "There is someone else. We're heading for her home right now," SpongeBob said. The Mane 6 and Spike soon spotted a large, glass dome covered in paper in the distance. "There!" the yellow sea sponge said. the raced for the entrance. "Sandy!" SpongeBob opened the first door and pressed the air lock bottom. Immediately water began to drain out from the room. SpongeBob quickly put on a water-filled glass bowl over his head and put Plankton in a glass. "I don't have enough bowls for all of you," SpongeBob said. "It's okay, SpongeBob,” Twilight assured. "We can breathe air just fine." "It's the movin' part that's gonna be difficult,” Applejack looked back at her tail. Once all the water had drained out, the second door opened and our heroes found themselves in an area housing a large tree. The ground was littered with books, papers, and wax candles. "Sandy?" SpongeBob called out. "What is this place?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "Kinda reminds me of a certain egghead's old home,” Rainbow teased. "For your information, Rainbow, the library was a thousand times more organized than this,” Twilight snapped back. Spike looked through some of book covers. "Gods of the Ocean, 101 Facts About King Neptune, Atlantian Mythology,” he read through the titles. “Seems like somepony's been doing a lot of research." "But, this isn't normal for Sandy,” SpongeBob said, wary. "Sandy, are you home?" There was no answer. The team just walk around the dome, well, SpongeBob did, the Mane 7 could only drag there bodies with there front hooves. "Uff! My tummy's getting chaffed." Pinkie said. "What is all this stuff?" SpongeBob said. “Who is this Sandy fella, anyway?” Applejack asked. “Oh, did I forget to explain?” the sheepish sponge said. “She’s a squirrel conducting research about sea life.” Suddenly, a figure raced behind, disturbing the papers on the ground. The team turned only to find nothing. "Sandy?" SpongeBob gulped. "I really don't like this. I think we should leave," Fluttershy said, terrified. SpongeBob went to grab one of papers pinned on the tree when a frazzled-up squirrel in a green cloak abruptly tackled him, dredging him into the ground. The Mane 7 all screamed. "Don't touch that!" the squirrel said gruffly. "Yep. Definitely time to leave,” Twilight said. Hold on, girls,” SpongeBob pulled himself out of the ground. Taking Plankton, he carefully walked over to Sandy who was reading through a book incoherently. "Sandy? Are you okay?" SpongeBob asked softly. "Okay? Have you look outside? Does that seem "okay" to you?" Sandy asked angrily, moving a chalkboard out of the way. "I'm trying to figure out what happened to society." "The formula went missing and the entire town has gone crazy,” the purple sea pony explained. "That's we came here to see if you're willing to join us and..." "If we don't fix it soon, there won't be anything left to fix!" Sandy interrupted. "Sandy? The lack of Krabby Patties has driven her mad,” SpongeBob said. "So...no team-up with her either?" Rainbow asked. "And I think I figured it out,” Sandy tore a section of papers off the wall to reveal a giant page with the words "The End" written in large, cursive lettering on it. "When this came down from above, I knew it could only mean one thing." "And what would that be?" Rarity asked cautiously. "It means It's the end!" Sandy shrieked. "The sandwich gods are angry with us!" "Sandwich gods?" the group said. "This is really starting to get out of hand," Plankton said. "I'm gonna need so much therapy after this,” Fluttershy said quietly. "I just don't know how we're going to appease them!" Sandy began to run around, trying find any piece of information that could help. The team looked amongst themselves before slowly heading for the doorway. "All right then, good luck with that,” Rainbow said as nonchalantly as possible. "Welp, that's two-for-two on possible teammates that ain't joinin' the team," Applejack said. "You got any other friends who aren't dim bulbs or nut jobs?" Plankton asked. "If only the princesses were here,” Twilight said to herself. "We'll, I have one friend who's loyal to the very end,” SpongeBob said optimistically. "You said that with Patrick and look were that got us,” Rainbow said in annoyance. "Trust me, Rainbow, I've known him since we were kids,” SpongeBob reassured. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 found themselves hiding the sides of SpongeBob's destroyed home. The angry mob thundered passed them on the search for them. Once the coast was clear, they peered inside the ravaged remains of SpongeBob's house. "Gary, I'm home," SpongeBob called out. "Gary?" Fluttershy called out. They looked through almost every room, but all they contained was trash and destroyed furniture. "Gary. Gray?" SpongeBob accidentally walked into a drooping string of mucus, getting all over his face. "Revolting,” Plankton said in disgust. "That is just disgusting,” Rarity pressed a hoof against her mouth to keep herself from vomiting. "But it means Gary is close by,” SpongeBob said. "Gary, I'm back!" "He made all this?" Pinkie asked in disbelief. The team ran down the hallway, but then stopped and turned back to a large run that looked more like the inside of a temple than a house. Snail shells littered the floor. "Whoa," SpongeBob guffawed. "Did you always have a shrine in your house?" Spike asked. "Nope,” the confused sea sponge simply replied. Sitting on the shrine was SpongeBob's one and only pet snail, Gary. "Oh, hey, Gary, Plankton, the girls, and I need you to help us find the Krabby Patty formula and fix Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob explained. "Meow,” Gary said monotonously. "What do you mean, you don't have to do as I say anymore?" SpongeBob asked, offended. "Meow,” Gary responded. "What do you mean, "King of Snails"?" SpongeBob asked angrily. "Uh, SpongeBob,” Fluttershy eyed the shells strewn around the floor. "Gary The Snail, you get down here right now and join this team!" A now anger SpongeBob demanded. "Meow,” Gary said. "What do you mean, "Seize them"?" the sea sponge asked, now in confusion. Snails popped out from their shells, surrounding the team. "Snails do tend to travel in groups,” Fluttershy whimpered. "Wish you told us that earlier, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. Roars echoed from the pineapple. SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike all screamed at the top of their lungs and ran out of there as fast as their legs-slash-tailfins could let them. "Why are you running?" Plankton yelled. "We're being chased! Are you blind?!" Rarity said. "Because they're right on our tail," SpongeBob’s words die in his mouth and he slowly came to a stop. The Mane 6 and Spike stopped, too. "Why did you stop?" Rarity asked in a panic. They then noticed that the snails were heading toward them...at a snail's pace. Ba-doom ching! "Oh,” the white sea pony said. "Right, snails," SpongeBob said. "Well, so much for your tee-am,” Plankton chastised. "Hey! At least he's trying,” Spike defended. "Putting together a team is a lot harder than I thought it would be," SpongeBob began to tear up. "Come on. Don't be like that, Sugarcube," Applejack comforted. "We just got to keep lookin. Maybe we'll find somepony who's more trustworthy." Just then, the angry mob could be seen in the distance heading right for them. "This way!" Mr. Krabs yelled, determined to capture the guilty party. "Or maybe we should start running again,” Rarity said apprehensively. "We better get out of here until things cool off,” Plankton said. "Best thing I've heard in a while. Let's go!" Twilight said. Our heroes began running away from the angry mob and as far from Bikini Bottom as they could. Nightfall. They sky and land would've much more beautiful if the town wasn't in complete disarray. SpongeBob, Plankton, the Mane 6, and Spike all sat at the top of a rocky hill. They had gotten a fire going to keep warm. "Everything we know and love has been destroyed,” SpongeBob whimpered. "Yeah. And now we're wanted criminals, even though we did nothing wrong!" Rainbow said. "That's hardly relevant at the moment, Rainbow," Applejack said. "The point is that we need that formula back." "But, now SpongeBob and Plankton's home is gone," Fluttershy whimpered sadly. "Yeah, looks like they're gonna have to change the name of Bikini Bottom to Dirty Bottom,” Plankton joked. "Right, SpongeBob?" "That's kind of gross, Plankton,” SpongeBob said sadly. "And inappropriate. Come on we need to keep this family-friendly," Pinkie said. "Oh, wait, that was thrown out the window as soon as the second story was made. Oh, well." The others gave Pinkie weird looks. "Just Pinkie being Pinkie,” Twilight sighed. "But, still. Not the best time to make jokes like that, Plankton." "Yeah. Yeah, too soon, huh?" Plankton said guiltily. "This feels like it really is the end," SpongeBob said. "Don't worry, SpongeBob, we'll find the secret formula and everything will go back to the way it was, you know, all happy and junk," Plankton ran off and fetched a rock, moving it over to him. "Now let's try to get some sleep." "That's probably for the best. Maybe we'll come up with a plan in the morning," Twilight said. "Agreed. All this swimming has gotten me exhausted," Rainbow yawned. SpongeBob still looked out to the fire-covered town with teary eyes. Once the place that he called home had fallen into chaos, more than usual that is. "Yeah, I guess you're right,” he tipped over and laid his head over the rock. Plankton pulled out a piece of coral from the ground and laid it over SpongeBob. "Here you are. Feel comfy?" he asked. "You know, Plankton, I think you might know a little bit more about teamwork than you let on," SpongeBob snuggled up against the rock. "Goodnight, SpongeBob," Plankton said. "Goodnight, Plankton,” SpongeBob said before drifting off to sleep. "That was nicest thing I've ever seen from you, Plankton," Twilight said. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Don't ever mention it," Plankton said. "I suppose we should hit the hay, too," Applejack said. The Mane 7 began to lie down and cuddle up to each other for warmth and comfort. "Goodnight, everypony," Twilight said. "Goodnight,” The others said. Soon, they all drifted off to sleep, leaving only Plankton. He laughed deviously. "Goodnight," indeed,” the plotting sea creature hopped onto SpongeBob's side. "That's right, SpongeBob, sleep. You're hiding that formula in there somewhere." Plankton jumped in through one of SpongeBob's holes. As he crawled through, all it led him was to the sponge's brain. Plankton jumped on top of it. "Well, here goes nothing,” he dived inside and immediately found himself in a very strange place. It was bright and colorful. Each and every cloud smiled down at him and the place was littered with candy and other sweet treats. "What is this place?" Plankton asked apprehensively. Just then, a sentient bottle of syrup ran by, being chased by a waffle. Plankton walked around the place, but, the more he kept going, the more cooky it got "Ha, ha. Fudge fight,” an ice cream cone said as he splattered his friend with fudge topping. "It's all over me." Trees smiling, lollipops laughing, and cupcakes playing patty-cake was all Plankton could see. "Ugh, it's so sweet in here! I think my eyeball is getting a toothache!" he said. "Hello, Plankton,” a voice said. Plankton turned to see two popsicles holding hands standing in a field of gumdrops. "Come and play with us,” the two frozen treats said. Plankton let out a shaky breath. "Hurry." Then he gasped. "Before we melt." And he gagged. The popsicles laughed as droplets began to form on their melting bodies. Plankton screamed and began to run. He ran through a group of sentient balloons and avoided a donut and a milkshake riding a bicycle carrying a cookie. Suddenly, he found himself on top of a tower of birthday cake. Nearing the edge he tried to stop, but he fell right off, screaming as he plummeted to the ground. He smacked into the ground. As a slowly got up, large, white balls of fur popped out from the ground. Plankton screeched and watched as the furballs climbed on top of each other. They morphed into one entity that towered over Plankton. The face of a cute cat appeared on it's front, letting out a small "Meew." Plankton moaned fearfully as sweat slid down from his face. "So much sweetness. I think I'm going to be sick!" Plankton gagged, then spewed out a puddle of colors that formed into a bright rainbow. "Huh?" he moaned with disgusted, wide eyes. Arms, eyes, and a mouth formed on the top of the colorful arch. "Daddy!" it said. Plankton's face only showed pure horror. “Hi!” Plankton’s eyes shrunk. He knew that voice. He turned around to see the annoying, pink sea pony floating through the air with an unnaturally-sized grin on her face. “What’cha doin’?” Pinkie’s grin seemed to grow past the boundaries of her face. The terror in Plankton’s body overloaded. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 were still sound asleep until Plankton rocketed at of SpongeBob's head, screaming like a maniac. They all were startled awake. "Can we go ONE adventure without being interrupted from our sleep!" Rainbow said crankily. "Plankton, why in Celestia's we're ya screamin'?" Applejack asked, irritated. "Plankton? Plankton! I just had the craziest dream! And you were in it!" SpongeBob said excitedly. "I'm sure it was nothing,” the tiny being said with an innocent smile. He had cotton candy all over him with candy canes sticking out of the sides of his face. He pull a lollipop out from his backside. "Now go back to sleep," Plankton compelled. "Were you in my brain?" SpongeBob questioned accusingly as he pulled bits of cotton candy off his sleeve. "Say what?" Twilight asked. "What? No! That's crazy talk!" Plankton said, trying to sound as innocent as he could. "Then why is there cotton candy on your antenna?" SpongeBob pressed further. "Because, because..." Plankton banged his fist against his head to try and think of an explanation. Pinkie suddenly ran her tongue all over him, licking up the sugary goodness. "Mmm. Your dreams taste delicious, SpongeBob," She smacked her lips. "Okay, fine, I was in your brain,” Plankton relented. SpongeBob gasped and dropped him to the ground. "Isn't that like an invasion of privacy?" Spike wondered out loud. "What were you doing in there?" the yellow sponge asked timidly. "What do you think I was doing? Looking for the secret formula." Plankton said. "What?" the sea sponge said in surprise. "Why would it be inside his brain?" Rarity asked. "I thought it was agreed that it vanished into thin air." "Don't act so innocent. You knew what I was up to,” Plankton walked over to the edge. "That's why you're pretending not to know the formula." "I'm not pretending!" SpongeBob said defensively. "I can't believe you thought I was lying." "Was that the only reason you stuck with us? So you can nab the formula for yourself?" Rainbow accused. "Rainbow, he literally said it himself back when we were in the bubble,” Twilight pointed out. "Oh, right,” the blue sea pony said. "Hey, don't take personally. I just assume everyone is lying," Plankton said nonchalantly. "That is a horrible way to live your life,” SpongeBob reputed. "Darn tootin'," Applejack agreed. "Whatever,” Plankton rolled his eye. "It is! "SpongeBob spoke more firmly. "And if we're going to be on the same team..." "Maybe I don't want to be on the tee-am!" Plankton yelled angrily. "You think of that?" The sea ponies were completely taken aback from Plankton's outburst. "Good grief, dude. You're acting like this teamwork thing is torturing you,” Rainbow said. "But, if you want that, then you can go find the Krabby Patty secret formula by yourself." "Maybe I will,” Plankton said. "But, Plankton, everything's better when you're part of a team." SpongeBob pulled out a pitch pipe and blew in it. "You're not going to start singing, are you?" Plankton said in annoyance. "Did you always have that in your pocket?" Fluttershy asked. "Couldn't have put it better myself,” Twilight put a hoof on SpongeBob's shoulder. "All right, you can put me down,” Plankton said. SpongeBob lowered the tiny evil-doer onto a rock. "Well...That's one minute of my life I'll never get back,” He sighed. "Not without a time machine,” SpongeBob said. "Wait a minute. Hold that thought,” Plankton said. SpongeBob immediately grabbed ahold of the thought bubble. "Where did that come from?" Spike said. "Now back up,” the pebble-sized organism said. SpongeBob reversed what he said prior, but then repeated what he said way too quickly. "Slow down,” Plankton said with concern. "Not without a time machine,” SpongeBob said in a low voice. The Mane 7 all stared at the two with weirded out looks, confused from what they were witnessing, except for Pinkie, who just thought it was another Thursday. Plankton put a hand up to his chin in thought. "Yes!" Plankton snapped his fingers and leaped on top of the sea sponge. "SpongeBob, you're genius!" "I am?" the Yellow Sea sponge asked whimsically. "If we build a time machine, we could go back to before the formula disappeared,” Plankton said. “Before society broke down. Before we became the hunted!" "Time travel? That could work," Twilight pondered. "But, the only that’s possible is with a time-warping spell, which I haven't learned. And for good reason." "But this might be the breakthrough we need,” Spike said. "Can't you try to learn it?" "I don't have the spell book with me, so, no I can't,” Twilight said sadly. “Sorry, Plankton." "Didn't you hear me, your overgrown shrimp? I didn't say anything about magic spells. I said a time machine," Plankton said harshly. "A time machine?" the violet alicorn said in confusion. "Is that even possible?" "Of course. You're talking to one of the smartest people in Bikini Bottom," Plankton gloated. "That sounds great, Plankton, but how do we build a time machine?" SpongeBob asked. "Well, first we'll need a computer powerful enough to calculate the intricacies of time travel,” Plankton stated. "Where would we get one of those?" SpongeBob asked. "Hmmm,” the tiny creature thought hard. then he remembered something. "Okay, this is the plan." SpongeBob, the Mane 6, and Spike huddled in to hear Plankton's plan. It was an incredibly risky plan, but one that could set the course for the rest of the mission. It was time for a prison break To be continued
Part 5: Jailbreak & Time MachinesWhen the Mane 7 first heard Plankton's plan, they thought it completely insane. Knowing how the townsfolk were now, they most likely had the entire Chum Bucket heavily guarded. That ended being an understatement. From the ledge our heroes laid on, they saw The Chum Bucket was more guarded than Canterlot Castle itself. Barded-wire and stacks of towers surrounded the building, guards covered every square foot of the premises, and there was even a crudely-made watchtower with it’s own searchlight. "There she is. My computer wife," Plankton viewed into a window with a telescope. "They've got her tied up in the back room." "Welp. We've certainly got our work cut out for us,” Applejack stated. "I've never seen this many people at The Chum Bucket," Plankton said. "I've never seen anyone there," SpongeBob said. "Now was that really necessary?" Plankton threw the telescope away. "Because the food's really bad,” SpongeBob added. "Come on! Really?" the seething microorganism shouted. Pinkie and Rainbow giggled. SpongeBob was quick to shush them. "How are we gonna sneak past those guards?" the sponge asked. "We'll need some kind of distraction," Twilight said. Plankton was hit with a simple idea and quietly shared it with the rest. The execution was simply, They threw a tire off the ledge. It rolled down the slope, catching the attention of some of the guards. A searchlight shone clearly against as it rolled to a stop and fell onto the ground. Several guards walked up to it. "Well, what do we have here?" one of the guards said angrily. They began hitting the rubber tire with their weapons. This allowed SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 to scurry past unnoticed, using a stack of tires as a form of cover. "It's so tight in here," Spike wheezed. "Move your tail, Fluttershy," Rainbow nudged forward. "That's my tail, silly,” Pinkie giggled. "We better hurry. Those guys really hate tires,” SpongeBob warned. They swiftly and quietly made their way to a back entrance. Plankton hopped out and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. "We'll never get in. The door's locked," Plankton groaned. SpongeBob threw the tire stacks away, freeing the team from their rubbery prison. "Finally! It was getting uncomfortably sweaty in there," Rarity sighed. "Such tight space like that would surely ruin my mascara." "Ah'm more confused on how you'd think we'd even get through that there door, Plankton," Applejack pointed to the tiny door. "First of all, apart from Karen, I'm the only one who lives here,” Plankton explained bitterly. “I don't need a normal sized door. Second of all, it's the only entrance other than the main which is obviously a no-go." "Well, how do we get in now?" Fluttershy asked. SpongeBob looked up and noticed something. "Wait. The window is open,” he said. "Come on, Plankton, it's time for some teamwork. Give me a boost." "Okay," Plankton then realized what SpongeBob was doing. "Wait a minute, no!" SpongeBob's foot landed right on him. Using all his strength, he heaved the sea sponge up to reach the window. He laugh triumphantly from his accomplishment, but that was short-lived when SpongeBob's full weight ended up crushing him. "Oooo. That's gotta hurt," Spike winced. "Just a little higher, Plankton,” SpongeBob requested. "Plankton." "Get off him! You're squishing him!" Twilight said in alarm. SpongeBob raised up the bottom of his foot to see Plankton's crushed body. "Why don't you boost me up instead?" he groaned in pain. "Oh, yeah. Good thinking," SpongeBob said sheepishly. He raised his foot up to the window and scraped Plankton off it against the windowsill. After getting his bearings, Plankton leaped down to the floor. He looked around to see if the coast was clear then opened the door. "Come on, guys, come on!" he ushered. SpongeBob squeezed through the tiny entrance with ease. Twilight and the others, however, simply swam through the open window. "There's no way we could squeeze ourselves through there,” Twilight pointed to the doorway. "Whatever,” Plankton said grumpily. "We're in!" SpongeBob slammed the door closed. Plankton pushed him to the wall. "Ssshh! There's a guard over there,” he pointed to the sleeping figure of Patrick. "Let's take the key from around his neck." "Great. As if he hasn't caused enough trouble already,” Rainbow whispered sarcastically. "We're gonna have to be very quiet. Let's walked on the tips of our toes,” Plankton suggested. "We don't have toes. Only tailfins and hooves,” Twilight pointed out. "Then swim quietly," Plankton hissed. He jumped off SpongeBob. The sea sponge gave a hand signal, telling Plankton he understood. The Mane 6 and Spike all nodded. Plankton tip-toed forward, but stopped when Patrick yawned and squirmed in his sleep. That's when he heard a tip-toe sound, but he wasn't moving. He turned to see SpongeBob playing with a tiny piano, recreating the sound. "Why do you have a small piano with you?" Twilight hissed. "Dramatic effect,” SpongeBob answered quietly. "Will you stop playing that tiny piano?" Plankton scolded. "You're gonna get us caught." "Exactly,” the purple sea pony agreed. "Sorry," SpongeBob put the piano away. The team made it over to Patrick without anymore noise. They eyed the key around the sea star's neck. "Now just reach over and grab it," Plankton whispered. The Mane 7 held there breaths as SpongeBob slowly moved his hand closer to the key. As he leaned in closer, SpongeBob's foot pushed against a loose floorboard, causing it to creak. "Halt! Who goes there?" Patrick whipped around sleepily. For a second, the team thought they had been caught, but, thankfully, the dreary sea star flopped back onto the chair, still snoring. They looked at each other with apprehensive looks. SpongeBob inched closer and grabbed the lanyard that held the key. He tried pulling it down, but Patrick's thick torso prohibited it from moving down his neck. "Stop! Pull it over his head!" Plankton said quietly. SpongeBob pulled up, but the lanyard still wouldn't budge, only accomplishing to push Patrick's mouth up. "Stop, stop, stop!" Plankton said. SpongeBob let go, allowing Patrick's flabby face to flop back to it's normal position. "I feel grossed out by this,” Rarity whined. "We can't leave till we get that key," Applejack said. "Let me get up there,” Plankton leaped from SpongeBob's shoulder. He silently tip-toed up Patrick's stomach and to the key. He snapped the lanyard and gave a thumbs-up the SpongeBob, who gave a thumbs-up back. "Nice one, Plankton," Twilight said. "Now grab the key." Plankton went to grab it, only to realized it was sliding down Patrick's body. He chased after, tripping and bouncing against the sea star's belly fat. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 could only watch with nervous looks as Plankton ran after the key. He tripped and landed on top of it, gasping as he saw he was heading right for Patrick's belly button. Plankton screamed as he and the key bounced into the air. SpongeBob closed his eyes, too scared to see the end result. The key plunged into the belly button and Plankton landed right on top of it. The Mane 7 breathed a sigh of relief as SpongeBob opened his eyes and smiled. Plankton smiled back, that was until the key began to sink deeper inside the belly button. "Help me,” Plankton squeaked. SpongeBob gasped and managed to grab ahold of Plankton's antenna. He pulled him and the key out, wiping away all the lint from they two. Rarity instinctively dry-heaved. The noise and sensation was enough to wake Patrick up. "What," Patrick looked around and spotted the nine intruders. He gasped and pulled out a giant whistle. "Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow tackled Patrick to the ground before he could blow on the whistle. SpongeBob and the others came in the keep the raging starfish down. Patrick, despite being overweight, was still very strong. Strong enough to give even Rainbow and Applejack a hard time. "Stay down, big guy!" Rainbow threatened. "And stay there, you brute!" Rarity added. "Plankton, help!" SpongeBob hoisted Patrick up in a cradle position. The Mane 7 helped keep him there. "I'll rock him, you tell him a bedtime story," SpongeBob said. "How is that gonna fix the situation?" Twilight asked, clearly distressed. Plankton raced up to them and stood on Patrick's belly. "Uh, uh. Once upon a time there was a big, fat, pink idiot who went to sleep. The end!" he said quickly. "That's the worst bedtime story I've ever heard!" Pinkie said with disappointment. "Maybe we could try a lullaby," Fluttershy suggested, struggling to hold Patrick up. "Nice try, but it's gonna take more than that to..." Patrick immediately went limp and flopped against the floor, fast asleep and snoring loudly. "Did....Did that seriously just work?" Rainbow asked in disbelief. "Why did that even work?" Twilight asked. "Let's just grab the key," SpongeBob said. Without further delay, They grabbed the key and opened the door Patrick was guarding, revealing Karen who was chained up against the wall. "I told you, I don't have the formula, you monsters!" Karen said angrily. "Now, that's not how you thank your saviors,” Rainbow said. "Hey, baby, how are you?" Plankton greeted sweetly. "Plankton! My hero!” Karen praised in relief. “You must need something, otherwise you wouldn't have come back." "Plankton has a plan to save Bikini Bottom," SpongeBob put the key into the shackles, unlocking them. "It's a crazy one, but one that might actually work,” Spike said. As soon as the chains were unlocked, Karen fell to the floor. SpongeBob and Twilight lifted her back up onto her wheels. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked with concern. "I'm fine. It doesn't matter, Plankton,” the computer said. “Krabs knows all your plans. He's been through my hard drive looking for the secret formula." "I never had it. But we're going to get it,” Plankton sighed. "We're gonna go back in time to steal the formula before it disappeared." "That's right!” Pinkie said excitedly. "Time travel! Where are you gonna find a computer that can do that?" Karen asked incredulously. "Wait a minute!" "There's no time to waste," Twilight said. "Let's get out of here before we get spotted." Back outside. SpongeBob lightly pushed the main entrance doors opened and peered out to see if they were safe. The guards we still preoccupied with the tire, giving our heroes the opening they needed to escape. SpongeBob carried Karen as the swiftly escaped the premises. "I've never carried a head before,” he uneasily. "You'll get used to it,” Plankton said. "What's that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked suspiciously. "Nothing. It means nothing." the tiny sea creature said quickly. "It's still warm,” SpongeBob whispered. "We need to go now,” Twilight said. The team quickly made there escape past the still distracted guards. "So you won't talk, eh?" the first guard said cruelly. "Let some air out of him." The second smiled evilly and pushed his finger against the valve stem, allowing air to escape. Not too long after, we find our heroes at a taco restaurant the stood at the top of a snowy peak. "Is this where we're gonna build our time machine?" SpongeBob asked. "I guess so,” Twilight said dubiously. "Though I'm not sure how a place like this can help us build one." "Plankton, are you sure this the optimal place to be?" Rainbow asked. "Sure. It's got everything we need,” Plankton responded confidently. "A photo booth. A cuckoo clock. Some day-old chips. Now all we have to do is build it." "I'm still not sure this will work. Time travel is very complex thing," Twilight said. "Come on, have a bit of faith, will you. Might do you some good,” the grouchy plankton responded. SpongeBob pulled out his pitch pipe to start up a tune. "Oh, no, you don't!" Plankton snatched the instrument away. "Hey, my pitch pipe!" the sea sponge exclaimed. "Uh, I need it. For the time machine." Plankton ran into the photo booth. "Oh. Okay," SpongeBob said. "Umm. SpongeBob?" Fluttershy was about to say when the team heard a crash and a toilet flushing. Plankton ran out with a hammer in-hand. "Installed!" The Mane 7 all gave him unconvinced looks. "Well. Are we gonna build the time machine or what?" Plankton said quizzically. "Let's get started,” Applejack said, bringing up the mood. And so, the team began to build the time machine; hammering in nails, cutting wood, and screwing in screws. It was hard and time-consuming work, but hopefully, it will all be worth it. Several hours in, they stopped for a lunch break, gathering up any eatable products from the restaurant kitchen. Then, it was back to work. Rarity sowed up the booth curtain back together, Applejack and Rainbow lifted the heaviest parts into position and the rest helped add the finishing touches and calibrate the machine. When it was complete, Plankton spun the cuckoo clock arms and the machine sputtered to life. "I did it!" Plankton said victoriously. "No. We did it!" SpongeBob walked out the booth. "It was a team effort!" Spike said happily. "Wait. We did do it. As a tee-am,” Plankton said in realization. "A team,” the others corrected. "Whatever,” Plankton said. "See. Now you're getting the hang of it, Plankton," Pinkie said joyfully. "Yeah, I suppose you're right,” the little organism admitted. "Okay, now for the brains!" SpongeBob hauled Karen inside the machine and slid her into the proper cavity. Plankton, Spike, and the Mane 6 all shuffled inside. "Okay, Plankton, this is it," Karen said. "It's gonna take all my processors and energy to power this time machine. So if you have anything you wanna tell me, you better tell me now." "Wait? You mean you won't come back from this?" Twilight asked hesitantly. "That's the way it has to be, I'm afraid," Plankton’s computer wife said. "Well, Karen...I know I've taken you for granted all these years, and I, I just wanted to say, I'm glad you're on my tee-am." Plankton said sadly. Karen felt very touched. "Oh, Sheldon, that's the sweetest thing you've ever..." Her sentence abruptly stopped when Plankton flipped the switch. Karen's speech line disappeared and the current time flashed on the screen. "Dude, you didn't even let her finish,” Rainbow said sternly. Plankton didn't respond. He stood there with tears in his eyes, sniffling and sobbing quietly. "Plankton, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked softly. "Plankton, are you crying?" SpongeBob asked. "No, no, no!" the weeping, little thing wiped away the tears. "It's just one of the hazards of having a giant eyeball. There's always stuff getting in there." The others gave him sorrowful and sympathetic looks. "It's okay to let out your emotions, Plankton," Twilight said gently. "This no shame or embarrassment in it." Plankton lightly shook his head. "Anyway, where were we?" he said dismissively. Twilight sighed solemnly. "Getting ready to activate the machine.” "Oh, right,” Plankton said. "Say cheese!" SpongeBob slid a quarter into the slot. "Cheese!" the group say, all flashing a big smile. The time machine spluttered and hissed. And in a flash of light and colors, it was gone. All it left was a bit of smoke floating around where the machine once stood. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 were now flying through space and time to retrieve the Krabby Patty secret formula. The only question that remained was would they succeed? Only one way to find out. To be continued
Part 6: Time Travel TroubleThe first thing our heroes could feel was the feeling of weightlessness. The feeling was followed by the sudden sensation of being thrusted at insane speeds. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 zoomed through the fabric of space and time, the only visible surroundings being bright, spiraling colors. Suddenly they blasted through a giant taco that was sitting in their path, all of them too entranced from the time travel for it to register in their heads. Finally, the time machine came to a halt. The team found themselves in the middle of what appeared to be a desert in the midst of a sandstorm. The left the time travel to look around, but it was difficult to see from the severity of the sandstorm. "I think we might've went to far back in time," Spike stated. "According to my calculations, the Krusty Krab should be right here,” Plankton skimmed through the numbers on his calculator. "All ah see is nothin' but sand,” Applejack called out. "How can there even be a sandstorm underwater?" Twilight said. "And what’s that over there?" SpongeBob pointed to a pink object sticking out of the sand. When it turned around, revealed itself to be Patrick. However, he looked to have aged fifty years. Thin, grey hair surrounded his head, his eyebrows had gone ghostly grey and he had a long beard to go with it. "SpongeBob?" the sea star asked in disbelief. "Patrick?" SpongeBob asked, also in disbelief. "Is it really you?" Patrick reached out a hand. "Yes, Patrick, it's..." SpongeBob tried to say, but was interrupted by the starfish. "Finally! The Great Krabby Patty Famine is over!" He shouted. "Say what?!" Twilight asked in surprise. "Great Krabby Patty Famine? What year is it?" SpongeBob looked around hopelessly. "It's Thursday,” Patrick answered. "That is not what he meant," Rainbow said. "According to my calculations, we've only gone four days into the future,” Plankton explained. "Four days? What happened in the span four days that led to this?" Twilight asked incredulously. "More importantly, where is everybody?" SpongeBob asked. "They all gave up on you,” Patrick said. "But not me! Cause I'm not very smart." "Yeah, I think we already gathered that," the blue sea pony said flatly. "Where is the Krusty Krab?" SpongeBob asked further. "Right where it's always been,” the wind brushed away the sand to reveal that Patrick was sitting on the Krusty Krabs sign the whole time. The realization hit the team. The entirety of Bikini Bottom was now buried under tons of sand. SpongeBob and the others gasped in horror. Then came the sponge's panicked screams as they all made a mad-dash back to the time machine. Patrick waved goodbye to them as the machine disappeared. It was back to the wacky time travel. The team were now in freefall with images of artistic patterns and music sheets all around them. None of them could exactly comprehend what was going on. When it was finally over, SpongeBob moved the machine's curtain out of the way. They now found themselves in a large, dark, triangular-shaped room. Soon as SpongeBob took a step forward, the room lit up and at the end stood a tall figure wearing a majestic, red robe staring off into distant nebulas. "Where they hay are we now?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "Are we even in the same world anymore?" Fluttershy added to the confusion. "I think we may be lost in time, guys,” SpongeBob said. "That wouldn’t be surprising,” the unnerved, cyan sea pony said. “I'm over here wondering where we even are." "Let's ask him,” Pinkie bounced over to cloaked figure. "Pinkie, are you crazy? What if it's not friendly?" Rarity said fearfully. "She may be on the right track, Rarity,” SpongeBob said. “Maybe we should ask this guy for directions." "I don't know. Should we really be conversing with someone we've just seen?" Twilight questioned. "You didn't seem all that threaten when you first met me." the seas sponge argued with a knowing smirk. "Well a yellow dish sponge wearing pants isn't exactly very threatening,” Rainbow said. “Touché,” SpongeBob narrowed his eyes. "C'mon guys,” he’s pretty much are best bet at the moment,” Plankton said in slight irritation. Knowing that Plankton was right, they all hesitantly made their way over to the being. Fluttershy made sure to hide behind SpongeBob, incase things went south. "Excuse me, sir? Can you tell us when we are?" SpongeBob called out to the figure. "Who dares disturb The One Who Watches?" the figure spoke in an authoritative tone. “Back to the time machine,” Fluttershy squeaked. "The One Who Watches? Your name is The One Who Watches?" SpongeBob asked. "No, my true name is Bubbles,” the figure turned to reveal that he was, in fact, a dolphin. A brief, awkward silence permeated throughout the air. "Bubbles?" Plankton laughed. "What kind of a name is Bubbles?" "It is my ancient dolphin name,” Bubbles explained. “I think it’s kinda cute,” Fluttershy calmed down, realizing there wasn’t as a much of a threat then she thought. "So what's a dolphin doing out here in the middle of space?" SpongeBob asked curiously. "Yeah, doesn't your species need to be in water to stay alive?" Twilight asked. "We have no need for that. My kind have been watching and protecting the galaxy for..." Bubbles suddenly began to click and make other dolphin calls. "...10,000 years!" "W-What was that about?" Spike asked. "I apologize for that. Some dolphin habits..." he clicked away again. "...never go away." "Oh, so you're the one keeping the meteors from hitting us," SpongeBob said in realization. "Yes, I am," Bubbles confirmed. "And I could really do with a potty break. Would you mind keeping an eye on things? Bubbles swam away towards a restroom. "Wait, what?" Rarity asked in surprise. "Sure thing. But what am I keeping my eye on?" SpongeBob asked, but Bubbles was already gone. The Mane 7 looked amongst each other as SpongeBob and Plankton walked over to the edge of the observation area. "I'm...still reeling from the fact that our worlds have been under the observation of a dolphin," the purple sea pony said in a troubled tone. "You'll get used to that kind of stuff," Plankton turned his attention to SpongeBob. "What are you doing?" "I'm watching," the yellow sponge viewed out into the vastness of space. "We don't even know what we're watching for," Plankton argued. "Meteors...I think,” Twilight presumed, though it was obvious she didn't much of have a clue either. "Maybe we should split up the workload,” SpongeBob suggested. "You guys watch the one with the big red eye, and we'll watch the one with the ringy thingies. Like a team." And so, Plankton, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were staring the larger planet, while SpongeBob, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Spike we left staring at the ringed planet. "Ah don't think we need five separate creatures to look after one planet," Applejack said. "It's so boring, too,” Rainbow whined. "Doesn't anything interesting happen here?" "Okay, ours is moving," Plankton said. "Wait. You're right,” Twilight's eyes widened. "Ours, too,” SpongeBob concurred. Both planets were moving. And they were moving towards each other. "Uh, is this supposed to be happening?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "No, this doesn't seem right. Should we call Bubbles?" Plankton said with concern. "Let's give him a minute. He's been holding it for 10,000 years," SpongeBob said. "But, what do we do if they..." Twilight's thought was interrupted when the two planets collided with one another. The team shielded their eyes from tremendously bright explosion. "...collide.” “Welp, you got ya wish, Dashie,” Applejack half-teased, half-chastised. “Shut up, Applejack. I didn’t ask for something like this to happen,” Rainbow said defensively. Piles of rocks now lay all over the futuristic-looking floor. SpongeBob gasped at the wreckage. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen,” he said. "Come on, everyone, we got to clean this up before Bubbles gets back!" The panicking sea sponge began to pile up the rocks. He pull over a piece of the floor and tried to broom the pile underneath it. "How are we supposed to hide this from him?" Rarity pointed to the now destroyed planets. Then came the sound of a toilet flush and Bubbles floated out of the restroom with a piece of toilet paper stuck to his tail. "Much better. Yes,” he sighed in relief. "You all are free to go." The team all looked at him with apprehensive looks. SpongeBob threw away the broom and gave a, rather unconvincing, innocent smile. Bubbles noticed the pile of rocks behind him and turned to the observable universe. "What happened to Saturn and Jupiter?" he asked in shock. Saturn's ring dislodge and dropped into oblivion. "You were supposed to..." the irate dolphin clicked and squealed, while the others looked on in worry and fear. "...Keep them from smashing into each other!" "Sorry," SpongeBob squeaked. "You didn't explain to us what we had to do if something like that did happen,” Rainbow said defensively. "Now I am going to lose my job!" the ancient dolphin said angrily. "And you will lose your lives." Almost instantaneously, a laser shot out of Bubbles' blowhole. Thankfully, he missed and knocked the team away, creating a hole in the floor. "Run, run, run!" Twilight yelled. SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7 high-tailed it out of there as fast as they could, narrowly avoiding Bubbles's laser barrage. "Quarter me!" SpongeBob said as they neared the time machine. Plankton quickly handed him a quarter. One laser got close enough to send the team flying into the air. The screamed as the barrel right into the time machine. The quarter bounced and landed on the floor. Luckily, SpongeBob grabbed it just before it could be vaporized by another laser. The time machine spluttered and disappeared in cloud of smoke and colors. Colors spiraled around them as Sponge, Plankton, and the Mane 7 flew through time's fragile fabric. Suddenly, there was nothing but black and white, their silhouettes flashing about. SpongeBob entered Mr. Krabs's office, but then stopped. "Plankton?!" he gasped. "SpongeBob!" Plankton said in surprise, just before he could replace the real formula with the fake one. Suddenly, the time machine appeared, catching both off-guard. Plankton was the first to appear out of it. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in confusion. Then SpongeBob came out. "SpongeBob?" the other Plankton said in confusion. "Who are you two supposed to be?' "They're not alone," Twilight and her friends swam out of the time machine. "I'm you from the future,” Plankton said. "And I'm him from the future," SpongeBob pointed to his past self. "SpongeBob, what's going on,” the other Twilight peered into the office and spotted the Mane 7 from the future. Her jaw dropped. The rest of the past Mane 7 swam up with shocked looks. "Wut in Sweet Apples' name is goin' on?" Past Applejack said in surprise. "We’re from the future and to take back the secret formula," Applejack said sternly. “Wut’n tarnation…” Past Applejack muttered in shock. "So you traveled back through time to help me? Great thinking,” Past Plankton said happily. "Nope. He's helping us," SpongeBob said confidently. "But, he's the enemy!" Past SpongeBob said. "Exactly! He's probably only helping so he can take the formula for himself,” Past Rainbow accused. "Trust me, with how much this town relies on that thing, it's not really worth it at this point,” Plankton admitted. "Right. He was the enemy. Now we're a team," SpongeBob said, as Plankton hopped onto his hand. "What? A tee-am?" Past Plankton questioned. "A team!" Plankton said confidently. "All right, go get the formula." SpongeBob and the Mane 7, minus Pinkie, charged at the safe. "What have I become?" Past SpongeBob said grimly. "I still don't understand,” Twilight massaged her head. "Shouldn't the space time continuum be tearing apart since me and the same Twilight are now in the same time plane?" "That only happens in movies,” Plankton scoffed. "Oh. My. Gosh. Another Pinkie!" Past Pinkie squealed. "Yupper-doo! Isn't this amazing?" Pinkie said excitedly. "Urgh,” Past Rainbow groaned. “It was bad enough with all those Pinkie clones we had to deal with that one time." SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all tried to reach their hands-slash-hooves to grab the formula. Past Plankton ran for his life with the formula in hand. "Wait. My fins can't reach in there,” Spike realized. "Do you have flying boatmobiles in the future?" Past SpongeBob asked. "We only came back from the day after tomorrow, dimwit,” Plankton said in annoyance. "Are there rocket packs?" Past SpongeBob pressed on. "Wait. If you're not here to steal it for your own personal gain, then why are you stealing it?" Past Twilight asked suspiciously. "Long story short, a few minutes from now the formula will disappear into the thin air,” Plankton explained. “I was accused of stealing it, but then SpongeBob saved me at the last second. So, we've been traveling through time to this exact moment right before it disappears." "Disappear into thin air? Like that's believable," Past Rarity said, unconvinced. "Don't believe me all you want, you'll be thanking us in the long-term," Plankton said. SpongeBob and the Mane 6 reached all over the safe, dollar bills and coins flew all over the place as their hands and hooves swung about. "Did they outlaw clothes in the future?" Past SpongeBob asked. "No!" Plankton said. "Then why are you naked?" Past SpongeBob pointed at him. "Because they don't make clothes in my size,” Plankton said in exasperation. "Should we do something about this?" Past Spike asked. "Nah, they're doing fine,” Plankton responded nonchalantly. "Hold still, you!" SpongeBob grunted, slamming his hand against stacks of coins. "You can't run forever in there," Applejack warned. At this point, Past Plankton was trying avoid getting crushed by the onslaught of hands and hooves. "If you're from the future, what am I gonna say next?" Past SpongeBob asked curiously. "Something moronic?" Plankton said quizzically. "Wow." Past SpongeBob said, awestruck. "Hey, hurry up over there!" the one-eyed sea creature called out to the others. "Maybe instead of having small-talk with our past selves, you help us instead,” Rainbow said, annoyed. Inside the safe, SpongeBob knocked the bottle of the pressure plate, setting it off. "Uh, oh. That ain't good," Past Plankton said. "Initiating lockdown sequence," a robotic voice said from above. Sirens went off and red, flashing light hovered from the ceiling. "Come on, guys, we gotta get out of here!" Plankton yelled. Finally, SpongeBob's hand caught the familiar sensation of a glass bottle. "Got it!" he said. "Come on!" Plankton rushed into the time machine. "Let's get out of here.” Rarity beckoned the others. "Wait! What about us?" Past Twilight said. "Mr. Krabs won't be happy when he finds the formula is gone." "He won't have to for long,” Plankton answered. "You wouldn't happen to know what my favorite kind of cake is. Would you?" Pinkie asked her past self. "Nope. I've gone cooky-cuckoo thinking about what my favorite cake is,” the two Pinkie's shared a laugh. "Pinkie, let's go!" Rainbow grabbed the pink sea pony by the mane and pulled her inside the machine. “Bye, Pinkie,” the pink sea pony waved goodbye. “Bye!” Past Pinkie waved back. “Same time next week?” “Absolutely!” Pinkie replied. The time machine then disappeared in a great, big flash of light. “What nice sea ponies,” Past Pinkie hummed happily. “Pinkie, they were literally us from the future,” Past Rainbow. “I know,” the cheery sea pony giggled. The cyan sea pony turned to back to see Twilight scribbling thins down on her notebook. “Twilight, what are you doing?” Past Rainbow asked. “Writing down the breakthrough we just witnessed,” the alicorn sea pony had the widest grin on her face. “The power to time travel through machinery. This opens up so many possibilities!” “Oh, brother,” Past Spike groaned. Meanwhile, back in the Time Machine, the Mane 7, SpongeBob and Plankton were, once again, flying through space and time, but, now the mission was complete. "We did it!" Rainbow said victoriously. "That was crazy!" SpongeBob laughed. "So that's what teamwork is." Plankton said, sliding down the formula bottle. "All those years I tried to make you mine, and I finally did it." "Don't you mean..." Applejack teased. "I mean, we did it!" Plankton corrected himself. "That's right. And I can't help but be proud of you, Plankton," Twilight. "Heh. Thanks, I guess," Plankton chuckled. "And so it would seem that our heroes have accomplished all they had set out to do,” the pirate slammed the book shut. "Now that's an ending,” one of the seagulls said. "Andy, cue the music." another said. Andy pulled out an accordion and was about to sing a tune when the pirate dropped the book and kneeled down at them. The seagulls felt a little scared. "Oh, no. That's not the end,” he said cryptically. "So you mean the ending might be even happier?" the second seagull asked. The pirate stared at him and pull at his telescope. He turned forward and looked through, seeing beach filled to the brim with tourists and beach-goers. "Land ho!" he yelled, pointing to the shore. Everyone at the crowded beach were casually enjoying the bright, sunny. An older African American man was sifting through his cooling when he caught a glimpse of the oncoming pirate ship. "What?" he whispered to himself. The ship came onto the shore. Any normal ship would've crashed into the sand, but this ship was different. As it came out of the water, wheels presented themselves allowing the ship to keep going. The beach-goers had surprised or confused looks as the boat thundered toward them. "I'm coming! Come on, you lazy people!" the pirate yelled, urging people to move out of the way. "Out of the way! I'm coming!" People panicked as the moved their things and themselves out of the ship's path. Some Just ran out of the way. The ship smashed through coolers, umbrellas, and towels that were in it's way. "Sorry!" the pirate shouted. The seagulls, meanwhile, were hanging onto dear life. "Too fast!" one of the them exclaimed. "Slow down!" another cried. A lifeguard from atop his tower blew his whistle in a attempt to get the pirate to stopped. It was clear he wasn't, forcing the lifeguard to jump from the tower just before the ship crashed into it. The pirate smiled as he reached refreshment area. The ship jumped across the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding panicking roller skaters and bicyclists. He viscously turned the held, turning the ship to the right. People ran out of the way as the ship finally skidded to a stop right into between two food trucks. "Yeah!" the pirate pumped his fist. "All right, you feathered rats, time to shove off!" "What, why?" one the gulls whined. "Well, I can't have you pooping all over my restaurant, can I?" the pirate said gruffly. "Restaurant? I thought this was a pirate ship,” the gull said in surprise. "Oh, it is,” the pirate spoke softly. "But it is also..." He rushed into preparation; opening up the order window, laying out condiments, turning on the grill, setting up stanchions and rope, putting up two coolers in the shape of chests, opened the ship's sail, and put on a fry cook uniform. "My very own food truck!" he said flourishingly. "A Whaaaat?" one of the gulls asked. "You know, a restaurant on wheels,” the pirate shortly explained. "Like a garbage truck,” another gull said. "No! Are you trying to scare away my customers?" the pirate shouted. "Well, we're not leaving till we see how the story ends,” a third gull said. The pirate smiled darkly. "No problem,” he grabbed a covered plate. "You guys like a little snack while you wait?" "Sure, I'll take a curdled milk,” the gull said. "How about a fish head?" another added. "And a French fry covered in sand,” the first one finished. "Who wants some...hot wings?" the pirate uncovered the plate to revealed a pair of freshly cooked seagull wings. The gulls stood there, mouths agape. "Wait a minute. Where's Kyle?" one of the gulls asked to the others. "Which one of you is next?" the pirate asked threateningly. The gulls all screamed and took to the air. "He's a madman!" one of them shouted. "Let's get out of here! You crazy, man! You crazy!" another said in alarm. The pirate laughed, but then stopped when he heard a toilet flush. He turned to see a small porta-john sitting on a barrel. "Bye-bye, Mr. Poop,” the gull inside said. "Now I can get my gold sticker." He opened the door and looked around. "Oh, hey, Mr. Piwate,” he closed the latrine door. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." The pirate slowly leaned toward and pull out a megaphone. "BOO!" he yelled through it. The gull screamed as all his feathers left his body, revealing that he was wearing a pair of SpongeBob underwear the whole time. "I can't fly without my feathers,” the gull said in embarrassment. He whistled sharply, catching the attention of a taxi driver. It stopped and the gull climbed inside. "Where to, Mac?" the pigeon cab driver asked. "Just dwive,” the gull begged. The taxi drove away. Far away from the pirate. To be continued
Part 7: Mission IncompleteThe Bikini Bottom had gotten a lot more quiet at this time. Most of the inhabitants had lost the energy to cause chaos and destruction, so most of them stayed in the rundown Krusty Krab. Patrick stared hungrily at the Krabby Patty poster he was thrown to barely a day ago. He let out a moan of despair and yearning. "Squidward,” he turned to the octopus. "Still out of Krabby Patties," Squidward said, not looking up from his magazine. Patrick turned back to the poster and licked it. He smacked his lips, desperate to search for any amount of taste that even vaguely compared to the greasy sandwich. "Does anyone have a picture of ketchup?" he asked. Suddenly, the front doors slammed open. "I done figgered it out!" Sandy announced, her voiced had become raspy from the lack of proper care. The occupants looked at her with varying looks of confusion and surprise. The crazed squirrel leapt onto a table. "We have angered the sandwich gods and only a sacrifice will appease them!" she said. "Well, that sounds reasonable,” one of the fish said. "Soon our post-apoca-whatchamacalit will be over, and Krabby Patties will rain down from above!" Sandy finished with a twisted smile. "Rain down? Well, that's no good," Mr. Krabs complained. "How will I get me money?" "Oh, you don't like that idea? Then we'll sacrifice you!" one of the fish said angrily. The other folk were in agreeance and began chanting "sacrifice" as the hauled Kr. Krabs to the front entrance. A bright light suddenly blocked the front doors. The mob stood shocked, dropping the greedy crustacean to the ground. A scuffed time machine appeared in front of the entrance. The curtain opened and revealed SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Mane 7. "It's not a good idea to have a sacrifice on an empty stomach," SpongeBob held up the bottled formula. "Who wants a Krabby Patty?" As soon as they saw the bottled up formula, the crowd cheered with joy and relief. Mr. Krabs zoomed up to the team with star-spangled eyes. "SpongeBob, is that me formuler? Oh, happy day," Mr. Krabs took the bottled and kissed several times. "Sweet Celestia. Even I'm not that vain," Rarity muttered under her breath. "I missed you so much,” Mr. Krabs said. "Where was it? Where did you find it?" "Uhm...interesting story, actually..." Twilight rubbed her neck. "Well, Plankton, Spike, the girls, and I built a time machine out of an old photo booth and then we added..." SpongeBob was interrupted by Patrick, who was sitting in the machine. "Cheese!" he said. "Patrick, No!" Twilight gasped. In a flash of light and color, the time machine disappeared. Some of the folks gasped in horror. "Well, there goes our time machine,” Spike grumbled. "It's okay, everyone. The post-apocalypse is almost over!" Mr. Krabs declared. the crowd cheered once again. Mr. Krabs yanked out the cork and opened the formula up. "Ain't that right, SpongeBob,” he said. SpongeBob and Plankton high-fived each other. Mission accomplished. "I'm just glad this nightmare is officially over," Twilight said. "Now everything can go back to normal," Pinkie said joyfully. What neither of the two sea ponies realized was that they had spoken too soon. "Eugene, eat my subaquatic air bubbles. Love, Plankton"?" Mr. Krabs read the paper. He glared back at the team. The once happy atmosphere of the building soured almost immediately. "That's a weird list of ingredients," Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. "Ooo! Maybe I should try it." "That's because it's not the formula," Twilight realized. "You grabbed the wrong bottle!" Plankton said. "Since when was there a "wrong bottle"?" Applejack gave Plankton a suspicious look. "Well, In that time I had to replace the real formula with a fake one,” Plankton explained. “SpongeBob must've grabbed by mistake." "Are you kidding me?" Rainbow said in angered disbelief. "I'm sorry, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob fell to his stomach, tears forming in his eyes. "That's okay, SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said calmly. "We'll just have to sacrifice you and your friends then. Prepare them for the sacrifice!" "Guys, can't we just talk this out,” Fluttershy pleaded. "What do we do now? We're in the middle of enemy territory,” Rarity trembled. "If only Patrick hadn't taken the time machine,” Rainbow grumbled. The team began to make a run for it through the front doors when the time machine re-appeared in front of it. "I bring a message from the dawn of time!" Patrick announced. "What is it, Patrick?" SpongeBob asked. "Run!" the sea star ran from the machine. Something poked through the curtain, then a it broke threw the machine, sending pieces of the machine flying everywhere. The creature was large and had Squidward's face. It roared viscously. "Squidosaurus rex!" Squidward yelled fearfully. Everyone was now running for their lives as the Squidosaurus stomped and roared. "Well that's just great!” Rainbow exclaimed in frustration. “We still don't have the formula, the people want to kill us, and now we run the risk of getting eaten by that thing." "Ah don't see how yellin' is gonna fix things,” Applejack said dodging a table that sailed over them and through the wall. "There has to be a way to fix this,” Twilight said hopefully. "How? The time machine has been destroyed,” Rarity cried. "Well, guys, I guess we failed to accomplish our goals," SpongeBob said sadly. "We"?" Plankton asked incredulously. "Come on, SpongeBob. There's got to be a way to get the real formula,” the purple sea pony pressed on. "Twi, ah don't think there is," Applejack placed her hat over her chest. "I've had faith with dire situations before, but, are one and only option we had to get the formula back is now gone. Now these people want to make us their sacrifice and that prehistoric whatchamacalit wants to make all of us into it's food. Ah just don't see how this is fixable." "Be fair, Applejack, their might be a miracle somewhere among all of this,” Rarity tried to lighten the situation. "I mean, we could definitely take down Mr. tall, dark, and ugly over there," Rainbow pointed to the rampaging dinosaur. "Hey!" Squidward yelled. Twilight lowered her head in defeat. Had she really failed again? "But even failure hurts a little less when you do it as a team, right?" SpongeBob said with a hint of fairness. "This is all your fault!" Plankton yelled angrily. Twilight and her friends all gasped at Plankton's outburst. The other folk and even the Squidosaurus rex stopped trying to eat Mr. Krabs. "Plankton, what in Equestria do you mean?" Rarity asked with an offended tone. "My fault?" SpongeBob said, his tone conveyed more hurt. Plankton hopped onto a nearby table. "You're the one who stole the wrong secret formula,” he pointed an accusatory finger at the sponge. "I didn't know there were two bottles," SpongeBob defended. "Of course you didn't!" Plankton snapped. "Because you got cotton candy for brains!" "Oooo,” some of the fish winced. "No, seriously, he really does," Plankton said. "Now that's just uncalled for," Applejack swam up to Plankton with an angry look. "It's not like you helped us in that situation. You were just makin' small-talk with our past selves." "Yeah, maybe if you had went in the safe you could've gotten the real one," Rainbow added, equally upset. "Oh, please. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to with all your fat hands in the way,” Plankton shot back. "Fat?! Why I never!" Rarity screeched. "Girls, please. Let's not fight," Fluttershy pleaded. "Well, we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place, if you weren't so selfish and evil,” SpongeBob defended. "I was selfish and evil, until you ruined everything with your "teamwork," Plankton said in a mocking tone. "You take that back!" SpongeBob whimpered with a trembling hand. "You are the worst teammate ever!" Plankton screamed in fury. "No!" SpongeBob shrieked. He stepped back. The Mane 7 swam out of his way as he violently kicked over a garbage can. The crowd gasped in shock as SpongeBob grunted and wheezed hysterically. He grabbed a recycling bin and unloaded it's content onto the floor. He began mashing and mixing the two piles of trash together, all the while screaming like a maniac. The crowd was taken aback, even Plankton. "W-What is he doing?" Spike asked with apprehension. "Oh, my Neptune, he's mixing garbage and recycling!" one of the fish said. "Well, that's...gross, but not horrifically egregious," Twilight said. "I beg to differ," Rarity whispered. "Are you kidding me? No one should ever mix garbage and recycling,” Pinkie said. “I learned that the hard way.” SpongeBob then let out another maniacal scream whilst holding two lumps of trash in his hands. The crowd gasped again, SpongeBob breathed heavily for a few seconds and then looked around. He saw the shocked looks of the crowd and the mystified looks of his pony friends, even Fluttershy looked a little scared of him. He looked down at his hands. "Look at me. Why, I've become like all of you. Savage. Fear-ridden. Selfish." SpongeBob looked amongst the townsfolk. "An entire town of formerly good citizens turned into heartless freaks bent on their own self-prever...self-preter..." "Self-preservation?" Twilight said. "Yes!" SpongeBob responded. "We've become alienated from each other. Each one an island unto himself, concerned only with ourselves. And in the name of all fishhood, I am not about to let that happen!" SpongeBob tore off a piece of a fish's shirt and put it on as a headband. "And so, if a sacrifice is needed to restore Bikini Bottom to its former glory. Then I am willing to take one for the team!" "Wait. You mean you're willingly giving himself up as the sacrifice?" Twilight said with dread. "B-But, you can't!” Pinkie wailed. “You're our friend, SpongeBob." "But, he's decided to give himself up to help us. Should we really challenge that?" Applejack wondered out loud. "Not if I can help it! I'm not losing a friend over some piece of paper," Rainbow gritted her teeth. "It's okay, girls. I willing to do this if it means saving this place from this apocalypse," SpongeBob reassured. The crowd all looked on with looks of shame, shock, and regret. All except for one. "You heard him!" Squidward said cruelly and happily. Several townsfolk grabbed SpongeBob and pulled him off the ordering station, dragging him outside. "We have to save him! We can't let him die!" Rainbow yelled, determined. "Hey, how about we sacrifice that group of weird seahorses and pufferfish, too,” one of the fish pointed to the Mane 6 and Spike. "Ever since they've been here, it's been nothing but problems and chaos. They're like a bad omen. Why not kill two clams with one stone." "Wait, no! Don't drag them into this!" SpongeBob panicked. The mob began swarming the Main 6 and Spike. "Agh. No! We bring no harm! Please!" Twilight begged. "Somepony help!" Fluttershy cried out. "Get you wretched fins off me!" Rarity demanded desperately. The sea ponies and pufferfish fought against the grasping hands, but it was no use. They were all dragged out the Krusty Krabs where they would meet their sacrificial fate. The sky had darkened considerably now that the dark ritual was inevitable. The entire populace of Bikini Bottom had surrounded a giant stone tower. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 stood with cuffs on their hands and hoofs. The cuffs were chained to the floor of the tower. A wooden pully stood atop, holding a stone, chiseled into the shape of a Krabby Patty bun. "Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" the mob chanted maliciously. "This cannot be happening,” Rarity whimpered. "I'm too young to die!" "Come on, everypony. Surely there's a better way out of this,”" Twilight begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Let the sacrifice begin!" Mr. Krabs hollered. "Patties! Patties! Patties!" the crowd cheered and chanted. "And I thought my friends were primitive,” the Squidosaurus said. "This can't end like this," Rainbow strained against the chains. "You can't do this to us." "Who...Who's going to look after my animals if I'm gone forever," Fluttershy sobbed. "Won't be able to bake any matter or babysit the twins or...or hang out with my bestest friends,” Pinkie wailed as two geysers of tears sprayed from her eyes. "I'm sorry for this, girls. I failed yet again," Twilight cried. Applejack stared directly into her friend's eyes with a firm yet comforting look. "It ain't yer fault, Twi. And none of us blame ya,” she said. "Those folks are just crazy. Crazier than a chicken on hard cider." Twilight blinked the tears from her eyes. She gave a weak smile. "I know, but I still feel terrible,” she said. "I guess the one good thing is that we're going out together." "Yeah, that soothes the pain a little," Pinkie acknowledged. "Ah just wish ah could say goodbye to mah family one last time,” Applejack said sadly. "I hope Scootaloo's in good hooves,” Rainbow added. "You girls have been amazing. Thank you, for everything," Twilight said. "Same ta you, Twi. Same ta you,” Applejack answered kindly. "And you've been the greatest thing to happen to me, Spike,” the purple sea pony smiled. "Oh, Twilight. That means the world to me,” Spike whimpered, his heart melted by Twilight's words. "Sweetie Belle, wherever you are, just know I love you," Rarity said. As the Mane 7's accepted their twisted fate, SpongeBob caught a whiff of something peculiar. He sniffed several times. The smell was odd, yet recognizable. "Don't cry, me boy," Mr. Krabs came up to him. "Everything's going to be fine...for us." "Oh, I'm not crying, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob sniffed the air once more." I smell Krabby Patties!" "Wait, what!?" Twilight said in surprise. "That's right. Keep thinking happy thoughts," Mr. Krabs smirked. "Now!" Squidward, now adorned with an axe-man's mask, grabbed a giant axe and sliced the rope holding the Krabby Patty rock. The rock dropped down onto our heroes. The Mane 7 and SpongeBob all shut their eyes and huddled as close as possible, waiting to be crushed. There was a mighty smash and the crowd winced and closed their eyes. When the opened them, they found two pairs of eyes sticking out of the platform. One pair belonged to SpongeBob and the others belonged to...Mr. Krabs! The crustacean heaved the rock off the team. The Mane 7 stood aghast. "W-W-W-We're alive!" Spike said in triumph. "Mr. Krabs?!" Rainbow yelled in shock. The red crab sniffed the air. "The boy's right,” he said in astonishment, throwing the rock away. "My leg!" A bystander cried in pain. "I smell 'em, too!" Mr. Krabs jumped from the platform. "Okay, SpongeBob, go get it!" Mr. Krabs tore off his leather straps, now replaced with his normal manager attire. "Wait. You mean we can just take this stuff off?" Squidward said, before tearing the clothing off. "We're alive! We're actually alive!" Spike said joyfully. "Guess not all hope was lost after all," Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes. "Go find that Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs threw SpongeBob off the tower. The yellow sponge bounced and tumbled to the ground. Instantly, he was on the move, tracking down the smell. "Come on, everybody! I've got some Krabby Patty orders to fill!" SpongeBob said with determination. The crowd all cheered with excitement as the tore off their apocalyptic attire and followed after SpongeBob. The Mane 7 were swift to catch up to him first. "How is it that you can smell a Krabby Patty from this far away?" Rarity asked. "I suppose it's my intuition," SpongeBob said. His nose suddenly separated from his body and hopped away. "It's coming from over there!" "Welp, that's something I can't unsee,” Rainbow said, a little disturbed at what had transpired. "By the way, thank you for saving us at that alter,” Twilight turned to Mr. Krabs. "Huh? I only did that to save SpongeBob,” Mr. Krabs said, but then saw the disheartened looks on the sea ponies' faces." But...uh...appreciate the...thankfulness. You're welcome...I guess." "Psh. Modest much," Rainbow rolled her eyes. With that now behind them, SpongeBob, the Mane 7, along with the people of Bikini Bottom were now on the trail of the Krabby Patty. They trekked through tall hills and foggy canyons. Amongst shipwrecks and and through snow-covered mountains. They journeyed through jagged rocks and other planets. They even hitched a ride on a bald eagle and scaled slippery slopes. "Come on, guys, I think it's just over this hill,” SpongeBob encouraged, but when reached the topped, they discovered the scent broke through the water's surface. That meant the trail continued on land. The crowd all moaned in disappointment. "Wait. What's the problem there?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "How do you expect us to go up to the surface?" Squidward asked in frustration. "We won't be able to breath!" "Perhaps maybe we could take over for ya. We can still breath just fine,” Applejack suggested. "Would you be able to track the Krabby Patties from their?" SpongeBob asked. "Uuuhhhhh..." Applejack couldn't find the answer to that. "All right, all secondary characters come with me,” A fish said in disappointment. The crowd began to make there way back home. "Yeah, I'm with you guys,” Squidward followed after, but was pulled back by a claw. "No way, Squidward. You're going up there with us,” Mr. Krabs said threateningly. "But, didn't Squidward just say you couldn't breath up there?" Spike questioned. "Exactly! We won't survive out there," Squidward yelled. "My feet hurt,” Patrick complained. "Patrick, you don't have feet,” SpongeBob pointed out, tiredly. The pink star lifted his leg and gasped when he saw that his yellow friend was right. "It's not fair!" the starfish fussed. "You have feet. Sandy has feet. Squidward has feet." "Actually, I have four feet,” Squidward corrected. Patrick plopped onto the ground and grumbled. None of them realized that a rock whizzed behind them. It came to a sudden stop. Plankton peered over it, surveying the group. "It's not about feet,” SpongeBob reasoned. "What is it about, then?" Squidward asked harshly. "We're supposed to be finding those Krabby Patties and hopefully, by proxy, the secret formula,” Twilight explained. "Exactly. We can't just give up now that we have gotten this far,” Fluttershy added, softly. "Right. It's about being a team and sticking together, no matter what!" SpongeBob said with confidence. Without anyone spotting him, Plankton quickly scurried over to SpongeBob's feet and stowed himself away in one of the socks. "The only way we're going up there is if some fairy godmother shows up and helps us breath air," Squidward said bitterly As soon as Squidward finished talking, a bright orb of light appeared and descended down upon them. The team now stood in a crater with a dolphin staring down at them. That dolphin was Bubbles, who still had a line of toilet paper stuck to his tail. "Bubbles!" SpongeBob and the Mane 7 all gasped. "Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked. "SpongeBob, you and your friends know this guy?" Squidward asked, petrified. "He's here to kill us!" Rarity wailed dramatically. "Don't hurt us! We're sorry we got you fired," SpongeBob begged on his knees. "Hurt you?" Bubbles let out a dolphin-like laugh. "Why, I traveled back through time to thank you." "Thank us? Thank us for what?" Spike asked. "I've been stuck in that job for eons. I needed a change, but I was too afraid to go for it," The ancient dolphin explained. "Well, Bubbles, I'm glad we could help," SpongeBob said happily. "Now it is my turn to help,” Bubbles said. "I can get you safely to the surface." "Really? You'd do that for us?" Fluttershy said, mesmerized. "Of course. You helped me with my predicament and I shall help you with yours," Bubbles said. "Now! Quick, all of you, get in my mouth." He leveled to the sand and opened his mouth wide. "Come on, guys, let's go!" SpongeBob waved over the others. "In there?!" Rarity said in disgust. "Not a chance!" "There's no way I'm climbing into some dolphin's mouth," Squidward said. "Yeah. This guy just wants a free lunch," Mr. Krabs glared. "But, he may be our only shot of continuing our mission,” Twilight tried to reason with them. "Sorry, Twilight, but there are something that I will refuse to do no matter how desperate the situation is,” Rarity said firmly. "This is one of them." "Guys, if Bubbles has the courage to quit his dead-end, nowhere job and travel back through time to help us, then we need to have the courage to..." SpongeBob was interrupted when Bubbles took initiative scooped up the team into his mouth. He made his ascend and began swimming up to the surface. "Well, I never thought I'd be eaten by a dolphin,” Mr. Krabs said flatly. "No, if he was eating us, he'd be chewing us up and we'd be going down there," SpongeBob down the dolphin's throat. "This is what you call riding in style." "Speak for yourself. Those teeth are terrifying," Spike shivered. "You're a dragon, or, you were a dragon. Your teeth are like ten times sharper than that," Rainbow argued. "So?” Spike asked, giving the sea pony a criticizing look. "Eugh! It smells absolutely revolting in here,” Rarity covered her nose. "Honestly, these missions keep getting worse and worse." "Rarity, will ya stop yer complainin'?" Applejack said in frustration. "Not a lot of legroom in here," Squidward groaned. "Well, maybe if you didn't have four feet!" Patrick retorted. Plankton peered out of SpongeBob's sock. "Note to self: Never stow away in a gym sock," he said to himself. Bubbles picked up some speed and finally breeched the surface, flipping in the air. SpongeBob, the Mane 7, and the rest of the gang looked up as Bubbles's blowhole opening up. Magical sparks drizzled down over them. "What's happening? I feel tingly!" Patrick said. Bubbles shot the team out of his blowhole. They flew high into the air then began to drop back down. The team screamed in fear. Bubbles readied himself and delivered a tail-strike that sent the ponies, dragon, and sea creatures sailing across the water and onto the shoreline. "Ugh. He gives the friendship portal a run for it's money,” Rainbow coughed out a pile of wet sand. "Girls, check it out!" Spike said. "What is it, Spike?" Twilight looked at her friend and then realized that he was back to his normal dragon form. The Mane 6 looked at each other. All of them had transformed back to their pony forms. "Well, ah'll be,” Applejack said in amazement. "Bubbles's magic must've transformed us." "That's probably for the best," Twilight said. "We wouldn't get far with those sea pony forms." "No way!" Pinkie gasped. "SpongeBob, you've transformed to CGI!" "CG...whu?" Rainbow looked abashed. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to you," Bubbles said "Thank you, Bubbles!" SpongeBob waved. "Farewell, SpongeBob,” the wise dolphin said. "Farewell, Bubbles." the yellow sponge said. "Now to update my..." Bubbles let out a couple clicks and squeals. "...Resume!" With that, a triangular portal opened up in the sky and Bubbles flew right into it before disappearing. Now that they were on dry land, Sandy decided to take off her helmet. "Ah, fresh air! Oh, how I've missed you," She said blissfully. "Eugh! This place smells awful!" Squidward clenched his nose. SpongeBob caught a whiff of the Krabby Patties. "Come on, guys,” he said turning to them. "Let's get the Krabby Patty formula and save Bikini Bottom." "Right. It should be easier thanks to Bubbles,” Twilight said. "Uhm, Twilight. I don't mean to rain on your parade but..." Rarity said. "Check it out!" Pinkie hopped forward. Twilight noticed that the beach was crowded with familiar-looking creatures. Though they all mostly shared the same skin color, they body structure was undeniable. The alicorn's eyes widened, she knew exactly what those creatures were: Humans. And they were huge, much larger compared to her or any of her friends. Twilight's confident smiled faded. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought. To be continued Author's Note This will be the last chapter for a while. I'll be taking a break for the Christmas season. Should come back around the end of December. Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!
Part 8: A New Human WorldThe team slowly and cautiously treaded through the labyrinth of sunbathing humans. Twilight was the most accustomed to the sight of the humans, but even then, considering that these weren't the same humans as Sunset's world, this was still uncharted territory for her. The rest of the Main 6 were a little taken aback from the strange discovery. Spike, however, was mostly on the same level with Twilight in terms of knowing such creatures. "What is this place?" SpongeBob said with caution. "I have a bad feeling about this place," Mr. Krabs said nervously. "Ain't these those...hoo-mans you were tellin' us about from that crystal mirror 'bout a year ago, Twi?" Applejack looked around. "Yeah, but these humans are much bigger compared to you and me. And they’re all tan or brown,” Twilight studied the humans' characteristics. "I don't think they're the same kind of humans back in Sunset's home." “We’re they this big, too?” Fluttershy wavered, slightly hiding behind Rarity. “No?” Twilight answered, though questioned if she knew the answer, herself. “I don’t actually know, since I was also turned to a human when I went through the portal.” “I was turned to a dog,” Spike grumbly reminisced. "Maybe this guy knows where we are,” Patrick came up to a middle-aged man's foot. “He looks smart. He's got five heads." "Those aren't heads. I think those are called...toes if I remember correctly,” the alicorn pointed out. "Heads, toes. I don't see a difference," Patrick responded. Twilight gave him a questionable look. SpongeBob came up to his starfish friend. "Sir? Could you tell us where to find a Krabby Patty?" He asked the foot. The foot didn't answer. "Hey, my friend's talking to you!" Patrick poked the foot angrily. "That's not its head, guy,” Twilight said, sounding more frustrated. "What?" SpongeBob peered aside the foot and walked along it's length. As he did so, he found of what it was connected to. The creature was lying on it's back, fast asleep. SpongeBob gasped. "A giant, hairy porpoise!" the sea sponge cried. "It's beached! It's suffering. Poor thing." "Do you even know what a human is?" Twilight was in awe of the fact the SpongeBob and his sea friends had no knowledge of the creatures around them. "Clearly not," Spike came up beside the alicorn. "Because if they did, he certainly wouldn't think it’s a porpoise." "Is it just me or do they all seem kinda ugly-looking?" Rainbow poked the sleeping human's side. "What Twilight said earlier, ya’ll. Those aren't porpoises," Sandy explained. "All hands on deck!" Mr. Krabs shouted and raced over to the slumbering giant. The others followed after. Sandy groaned. "Oh, brother.” "We need to get these guys back in the water," Mr. Krabs said sternly. "What? No! Guys, it's okay. It's just sleeping," Twilight tried to convince her sea friends. "But, it'll dry out. We have to save them,” SpongeBob argued. "Did ya'll not hear what Twilight said?” Applejack asked. “Those are humans not porpoises." "Uhm. Are they supposed to be laying around like that?" Fluttershy asked. "It's the beach, Fluttershy,” Rainbow replied flatly. “It's no different than us relaxing on the sand." "Come on. Push!" SpongeBob urged. SpongeBob and his friends began to roll the human toward the shore. "Heave!" Mr. Krabs yelled. "Ho!" the others said. "Guys, this isn't necessary. They don't even live in the water," Twilight argued. It became apparent, however, that the others were too busy pushing the human forward to listen. "Put you back into it!" Mr. Krabs heaved. "Come on, Push!" SpongeBob wheezed. "Ugh, these guys are morons,” Rainbow complained. The team were all struggling under the human's weight. Finally, the weight became too overbearing and the human rolled back on top of them. "Gah! Get it off of me!" Rarity let out a muffled wail. "Well, I guess this is where that horrible smell was coming from," Squidward said. "Now what? We're stuck." Spike said. "Come on, everyone. Help me dig," SpongeBob began digging into the sand. Without much choice, the others began to dig as well. The large lump in the sand traveled across the beach. It raced underneath another pair legs, but before it could get much larger, the gang dig right into a half-buried shovel. The team groaned in pain, but continued with the digging. Eventually, the team split into five, taking individual routes. They unknowingly began digging into a large sand castle that was currently being built by a young girl. Once the reach the top, the gang all popped out into the open. The girl was surprised, but also in awe of what was in front of her. The gang all turned to see the girl, mouth agape. "Whoa,” she said in awe. “Hi!” Pinkie waved enthusiastically. "Excuse me, do you know where we can get a Krabby Patty around here?" SpongeBob asked. "You look familiar,” the girl said to the ponies and dragon. "We do?" Rainbow said in confusion. "Of course we do, Dashie. After all we are from..." Before Pinkie could finish her sentence a young boy stomped over to the castle. "Invaders!" he said aggressively. "Uh, oh,” SpongeBob grimaced. "Wait, this is just a misunderstanding!" Twilight tried to quell the escalating situation. "You get out of my sister's sand castle!” the boy kicked the castle violently, sending the entire team flying through the air. Patrick and Pinkie Pie landed on a unsuspecting boy's ice cream cone and Mr. Krabs, Fluttershy, and Applejack smacked into a cotton candy stand. Squidward found he had landed on a lady's back. Rainbow managed stop her momentum and flew over to Squidward. "You alright?" she hovered over him. "Too bad that didn't kill me,” he grumbled. SpongeBob, Sandy, Spike, and Twilight all landed on a beach umbrella. Rarity flew the farthest, bouncing off a beach ball and into a trash bin. The stench of rancid fast food assaulted her nose and she gagged. "Get me out of here!" the pristine unicorn cried dramatically. Patrick and Pinkie slowly got to there senses. "Somepony...get the number...on that...human," Pinkie said as stars danced around her head. Patrick shook the dizziness away. His eyes widened when he realized he was face-to-face with a large scoop of the pink, strawberry flavored, ice creamy goodness. "Where have you been all my life?" Patrick said with twinkling eyes. Pinkie soon discovered the pile of ice cream they were on and gasped deeply with shock and delight. "OMC! I'm in heaven! Come to momma!" the pink mare squealed. The two pink friends began devouring the frozen treat. Not far from them, Squidward tried to stand up, but the woman's slippery back almost made that impossible. The grumpy squid slipped and slid, trying to get his footing. Rainbow stood by, trying to hold in her laugh. "Oh, Frank. That feels so good,” the women cooed, unaware of what was going on. "Oh, this is too good," Rainbow giggled. "Just help me off this thing,” Squidward vainly tried to hold himself upright. Rainbow gave a smug smile and rolled her eyes. She grabbed onto Squidward's arms and began to pull him away. At the same time, Patrick and Pinkie were still going to town on the strawberry ice cream. The boy looked down and finally noticed the two creatures. He grimaced with disgust. "Gross!" he threw to cone away. The cone, along with Patrick and Pinkie, sailed across the air and crashed in Rainbow and Squidward. The ponies, sea star, and squid all smack into the sand. Patrick broke through the cone. "Oh, hey, Squidward,” he said happily. Squidward groaned into the sand. "Hi, Dashie,” Pinkie hopped around her pegasus friend. "Hi, Pinkie." Rainbow spat some sand out of her mouth. “So this what you and Patrick been doing? Eating ice cream?” “Yeah! It’s great stuff,” the party pony broke a piece of the cone and stuffed it in Rainbow’s mouth. “Try it!” Meanwhile, SpongeBob, Sandy, Twilight, and Spike all got to there bearings. "Sandy!" SpongeBob began to run forward. "The Krabby Patty! I think I see where it's coming from!" SpongeBob ran faster and faster, but all that accomplished was spinning the beach umbrella faster and faster. "SpongeBob, what are you doing?" Twilight said as she was spun around the umbrella. "I'm getting dizzy," Spike struggled to stay steady. The dragon began teetering over the edge. Twilight saw Spike was about to fall over and she took to the air. "Whoa!" Spike gasped as he lost his footing and fell from the umbrella. Thankfully, Twilight reached him in time to scoop him up. "Are you okay, Spike?" She asked in concern. "Yeah. Thank you," Spike said. The alicorn smiled, but the warm moment was cut short when the umbrella suddenly closed. SpongeBob and Sandy slid down, shrieking in surprise. They both came to a sudden halt when the umbrella panels snapped together. The man underneath the the umbrella pushed it open, catapulting the sea sponge and squirrel across the beach. Twilight, with Spike on her back, flew after them. The two smacked into the cotton candy stand where Mr. Krabs, Fluttershy, and Applejack were still stuck to. They all slid off and tumbled to the ground. Twilight was there in an instant to check on her friends. "Applejack, Fluttershy, are you two alright?" She asked worriedly. "All good here, Twilight. Fluttershy?" Applejack turned to the pegasus. "I...I think so,” Fluttershy said. "Wait. Where's Rarity?" Spike asked. "Over here,” a voice called out. The others turned to see the white unicorn bitterly walking over to them. The others caught a whiff of the disgusting smell. "Augh! Land's sakes, Rarity. Is that you?" Applejack covered her nose. "Unfortunately, yes, Applejack." Rarity huffed. "Because during whatever fiasco you all were doing, I was desperately trying to get myself out of a garbage can." Her face went as red as a tomato. "Never in my life have been so disgraced." "Don't worry, Rarity. There must be some place to wash up...somewhere," Spike tried to calm down the enraged unicorn. Rarity gave a frustrated sigh. Just then, Patrick, Squidward, Pinkie, and Rainbow came up to the team. "SpongeBob, you will not believe the size of the ice cream here," Patrick said. "I wonder what other giant snacks they have." "We’re not here to try out their food, Patrick,” Twilight pointed out. Patrick was too distracted as his eyes casted over the cotton candy stand behind them. "Cotton candy!" he said in disbelief. Pinkie gasped once again. "Where? Where!?" She looked around ecstatically. "Oh, no. No, no, no,” Rainbow waved her hooves to try and dissuade the three. “The last thing we need is Pinkie getting jacked up on more sugar." The three weren't listening. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie quickly leapt up the the stand. They stared into the machine, licking their lips at the sugary, silking, candy floss. Sandy joined them up on the cart. "If you ate all that, you'd have enough energy to run around the whole world,” Sandy said. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie all dove into the machine. They swirled around, cumulating cotton candy around their bodies. Sandy watched as the three spun around inside the machine. Once their bodies were covered in the sugary silk, they all slurped it into their mouths. The sugar rush was instantaneous. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Pinkie laughed with glee as the raced out of the cart and down the boardwalk. The seemingly traveled across the entire globe; Japan, Canada, France, Mexico, USA, Italy, Germany, Egypt, India, China. The traveled far and wide, at least that's what they thought. They were simply standing in place, laughing as Sandy would occasionally change to a different city backdrop using souvenir cards on a rack from a gift shop "Ergh. When is this sugar gonna wear off?" Squidward pressed his hands against his ears. "With Pinkie, it never ends,” Rainbow grumbled, an annoyed look on her face. The three friends suddenly dropped to the ground. The sugar crash took over. "I think it's over," Fluttershy said. "Took them long enough,” the annoyed pegasus said in exasperation. “Their laughter was starting to get annoying,” Spike added. “You’re telling me,” Squidward said. SpongeBob lifted his head when he caught a whiff of the all to familiar smell. He climbed up the souvenir rack and took in a deep sniff. “Hey, guys, I smell Krabby Patties!” he jumped off the rack. “I think it’s this way!” “Least we’re back on track now,” Applejack said. As the team began crossing the sidewalk, they suddenly found themselves within the crosshairs of fast-moving roller skaters and bicyclists. Panic ensued as the gang ran about, avoiding getting flatten by the rushing sport traffic. “Don’t leave me, Squidward,” Mr. Krabs wailed. “Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow cried out in frustration, narrowly avoiding a skateboarder. “Get clear! Get clear!” Twilight held onto Spike. The team was all over the place, running and jumping out of the way of pedestrians on their bikes and roller skates. There was no way for the team could safely travel down the sidewalk without the risk of becoming roadkill. They frantically ran back to the edge, breathing heavily and some even fell to their knees from exhaustion. “Now what?” SpongeBob asked in despair. “We’re never going to make it!” Squidward wheezed. “Not without gettin’ flattened. That’s fer sure,” Applejack said. “But we have to get out of here somehow,” Twilight argued. “We’re so close to that Krabby Patty smell according to SpongeBob.” “What could possibly help us in this situation?” Rainbow said. As Patrick began to stand back up, he bonked his head against something overhead. The team looked up to see what it was. An unsupervised bicycle stood parked against a light pole. As fate would have it, the team mostly came to the same idea. One thing led to another, and now SpongBob, Twilight, and the others were piloting the bicycle down the sidewalk. SpongeBob and Rainbow pressed down on one of the bike pedals. “Heave!” SpongeBob shouted. “Ho!” Patrick and Pinkie pushed down on the other pedal. “Whee! This is fun!” Pinkie exclaimed happily. Up above, Mr. Krabs, Twilight, Squidward, Applejack held onto the handlebars to keep the bike steady. Sandy clasped the middle connection, keeping a close eye on what was in front of them. As for Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike, they were content with sitting on the bike’s seat to stay safe. “We’re doing it guys!” SpongeBob exclaimed. “Just keep things steady,” Twilight acknowledged. The bicycle rushed past other bicyclists and roller skaters, causing them to look on in confusion. One particular roller skater got so distracted by the seemingly unmanned bike, he wasn’t watching where he was going and smacked right into a street sign. Several other riders crashed into him, causing a pile-up. “That’s gonna leave a mark,” Spike winced. “Oh! I hope they’re okay.” Fluttershy gasped at the accident. Hold on!” Sandy cried out. The bike was heading right for a lady pushing a baby stroller. To make matters worse, there was a toddler inside. Mr. Krabs shrieked and sounded the bike’s bell in a panic. “Get out of the way!” Twilight shouted in alarm. The toddler merely smiled and pointed at the bike. Thinking on his feet, SpongeBob leaned to the left on the pedal. “Lean!” he yelled. Rainbow also began leaning. “Starboard!” Mr. Krabs leapt onto the other handlebar. The others pitched in on leaning as far to the left as possible. The bike titled and turned just in time, barely missing the woman and toddler. “Phew! That was close,” Spike wiped his forehead. No sooner had he said that, the bike raced up a surfboard lying against a truck. The bike shot into the air. The team held on for dear life as they sailed across the street, screaming and holding onto each other. As the bike began to dip down, the volley of friends fell off the bike. Luckily, they all landed into a supply wagon, while the bike crashed onto the road. “That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow yelled triumphantly. “No, it certainly was not!” Rarity snapped back. “That was the terrifying ordeal I’ve ever gone through.” “Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked. “For the most part, yes,” Sandy answered. SpongeBob peered over the wagon and soon spotted the origin of where the Krabby Patty smell was coming from. “What the?” Mr. Krabs gasped. “What?” SpongeBob said in disbelief. In front of them was a giant food truck in the shape of a pirate ship. People crowded around the ordering window. The team was in shock. “What’n the hay is that?” Applejack said in confusion. “Home of the Krabby Patty”?” SpongeBob read the bold, red lettering on the ship’s sail. “But The Krusty Krab is the home of the Krabby Patty!” “Didn’t you say The Krusty Krab was the only place to get a Krabby Patty?” Twilight asked. “Exactly! This doesn’t make any sense,” SpongeBob said. “Wait. You also said it was the secret formula that made the Krabby Patties so delicious,” Spike said. “Whoever owns this thing might have the secret formula with them.” “That’s actually a good assumption, Spike,” the purple alicorn agreed. “Mr. Krabs, what are we gonna do?” SpongeBob asked eagerly. “8.99 for a Krabby Patty?” the greedy crustacean pushed SpongeBob out of the way. “Why didn’t I think of that.” “Oh, for crying out all. What is it with you and money,” Rainbow asked, exasperated. “Now’s not the time for that,” Applejack said firmly. “We need to get to the bottom of this.” The others were in agreement and made their way over to the food truck. Inside the food truck, the pirate was busily flipping burger patties on the grill while singing a happy tune. Meanwhile, the team shuffled up onto a ventilation window. “You!” Mr. Krabs growled. The pirate turned and noticed the team. He froze in shock and confusion, letting a patty nearly drop off the grill. “So you’re the one behind this!” Rainbow pointed an accusatory hoof at him. “Cease and desist that unauthorized patty flipping!” Mr. Krabs ordered. “Yeah, that’s my job!” SpongeBob added. “How did you get here?” the pirate asked, still taken aback by the unexpected visitors. “You cannot breathe air. And what’s with the miniature horses and the lizard?” “Horses!? I’ll have you know we are ponies!” Rarity stomped her hoof. “And I’m not a lizard! I’m a dragon!” Spike added angrily. “That doesn’t explain what’s going on here?” The pirate banged his fist against the counter. “We were brought here on a mission. And it seems that you’re part of completing the mission,” Twilight spoke firmly. “Also, there was this magic dolphin from the future who shot us out of his blowhole, and…” SpongeBob explained further until the pirate cut him off. “Wait! Wait,” the pirate scurried to the back on grabbed a book. He looked through the last couple of pages as if to look for something. “That’s not in the book,” the pirate fry-cook said. “Book?” Twilight asked. “There is no magical dolphin in this story,” the pirate asserted. “What story?” Mr. Krabs asked skeptically. The pirate snapped the book shut. “The story of how Bikini Bottom was brought to its knees when its beloved Krabby Patty formula was stolen by me, Burger Beard.” The team all had completed shocked looks, except for Patrick who was sitting down with a childish smile. “How does it end?” the sea star asked with starry eyes. Applejack gave him an annoyed look. “Well, let me see.”,” Burger Beard stroked his beard. “It looks like…Burger Beard becomes the richest food truck proprietor in all the land.” “But how did you steal the formula?” SpongeBob asked. “Yeah. We didn’t see you at all until now,” Twilight said. “And in my experience, humans can’t breathe underwater.” “I don’t need to,” Burger Beard replied bluntly. “It was easy stealing the formula. I simply rewrote the story, and…Poof!” He revealed a tiny glass bottle with a rolled up paper inside. The team all gasped. “Me formuler,” Mr. Krabs said longingly. “So I was right! You did steal the formula!” Spike said. Burger Beard merely chuckled. “What do you mean, rewrote the story?” Squidward asked skeptically. “Watch this,” the fry-cook pirate took a feather pen out of a bottle and ink and began to write. “The brave and handsome Burger Beard banished our poor heroes to be stranded on Pelican Island!” As soon as he finished writing the sentence. The team slowly began to disappear within a cloud of magical sparks. They panicked and yelled, but they vanished before anything coherent could be done. Burger Beard gave an arrogant laugh. “The End”!” he slammed the book shut. Far out into the sea, our heroes found themselves at the top of a vertical rock formation with dozens of brown pelicans circling the top. “Oh, this looks bad. And these guys look hungry!” SpongeBob said fearfully. “We can take them on! Come on, girls,” Rainbow said with determination. “I would rather just leave now than confront those beasts!” Rarity shrieked. “Look out!” SpongeBob pointed to a pelican swooping down in the them. “Duck!” Rarity called out. “Duck? That’s a pelican, silly,” Pinkie said. The white unicorn pulled her friend down against the ground. They all ducked, except for Patrick. The pelican rammed in the pink sea star. He tumbled, barely tipping over the edge. A piece of it broke off, causing Patrick to fall. Thankfully, he grabbed hold of the ledge just time. He looked down at the rocky spikes at the bottom and screamed in terror. “Well this is just great,” Rainbow yelled in frustration. “We’re trapped in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by hungry pelicans with no way of knowing where we should even go.” “But you got wings. Can’t you fly us out?” SpongeBob. “I can’t carry all of you in one go,” the blue pegasus argued. “Plus, that pirate can just send us back with the book,” Twilight added. “Nice. So this is what teamwork gets you,” Squidward grumbled. “Here! Take Squidward, you vile beasts!” Mr. Krabs grabbed Squidward and held him in the air. “I want to be on a new team. This one’s broken,” Patrick tried pulling himself back to the ledge. Fluttershy and SpongeBob both grabbed him and pulled with their strength. “It’s okay, Patrick, we’ll figure something out,” Fluttershy did her best to comfort the big starfish, but it was clear she didn’t have much faith either. “Sandy, you’re smart. You have any ideas?” SpongeBob asked. “I ain’t been too smart since I found this old piece of paper!” the upset squirrel smacked the page to the ground. Plankton carefully peered out of SpongeBob sock. Spotting the paper, he chuckled evilly before hiding himself back into the sock. “What?” SpongeBob scratched his head in confusion. “Incoming!” Mr. Krabs cried out. Another pelican was swooping down on them. SpongeBob sunk into his shorts to protect himself. Pelican was about to pounce when Rainbow barreled into it, sending it spiraling away. “Pick on Somepony your own size!” she shouted. “Omigosh! SpongeBob! Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, thinking the pelican had got him. SpongeBob’s body popped out of his shorts. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. The sea sponge stood there dazed, but then the thoughts came back to him. “Wait a minute!” the yellow sponge caught sight of a low-flying pelican heading for him. He ran for it, jumped after it, plucked a feather off of it. “What are you thinkin’, SpongeBob?” Applejack asked. “I think this page came from the book Burger Beard has,” SpongeBob explained. “That means if we write on this page, the story will continue the way we want it.” “As long as it gets us out of here, I’m all for it,” Rarity. “Rarity, remember we still need to get the secret formula back,” Twilight pointed out. “Correct! Now all we need is some ink!” SpongeBob said. SPLURT! “Oh! Which Squidward has helpfully provided,” SpongeBob added. The others gave the squid looks of confusion and disgust. “It happens when I’m nervous,” Squidward admitted in embarrassment. SpongeBob dipped the feather into the ink. “Whatever you’re going to do, make it quick! They’re closing in on us!” Mr. Krabs said fearfully. The pelicans began landing and surrounding the team. “I’m gonna write us an ending,” SpongeBob began writing on the paper. Pelicans squawked and shrieked hungrily as they closed in on the out heroes. Spike saw what SpongeBob was writing. Then, an idea came to him. He grinned excitedly. “Hmm. Now for Twilight and her friends,” SpongeBob said. “Oh! Oh! I got the perfect idea for that. Can I write on the paper, SpongeBob? Please.” The young dragon pleaded. “Sure thing, Spike,” the sea sponge handed him the feather. Spike hastily wrote down his idea onto the paper. “Spike? What are you writing?” Twilight asked cautiously. “We’re both writing an ending,” SpongeBob answered. “Will it be a happy ending?” Patrick asked fearfully. “It’s going to be super-powered!” SpongeBob and Spike said together. As soon as Spike finished writing, a bright light began to engulf the island. The pelicans all fled in fright as the light intensified. The team disappeared from the island in a cloud of magic sparks. However, Plankton was still on the island, but the feather and paper were still on the island. He laughed deviously, grabbing the feather. “I’ll show you a happy ending.” He began to write something on the paper. Two could play at the game the heroes were playing. To be continued
Part 9: Super-powered ShowdownBurger Beard's new food joint had become a huge success in the span of just a few hours. Customers piled against the service window while literally shoving their money to the pirate just to get a taste of those juicy burgers. Burger Beard happily took there money, hastily cooked the patties to perfection, and served out the sandwiches by the dozen to the waiting customers. As the happy consumers munched on the new food item on the block, a strong wind began to pick up. Some turned to where it was coming from. In a flash of light, our heroes dropped to the ground, but in a much more different form. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward now sported a very muscular physique and Mr. Krabs had transformed into a robot. As for the Mane 7... "Oh, my gosh! It worked! It actually worked!" Spike said excitedly. SpongeBob ideas of super-powers gave Spike the nostalgic idea to bring back and re-live a form he and his friends had a for an adventure a while ago. They had transformed into the Power Ponies: Twilight had become Masked Matterhorn, Applejack became Mistress Mare-velous, Rarity became Radiance, Pinkie became Fili-second, Rainbow became Zapp, Fluttershy became Saddle-Rager, and Spike, himself, became Humdrum. "This again? Ah thought we all agreed to not do this again," Applejack said flatly. "Wait, I don't remember that," Spike said, a little surprised. "Well it was more about being sucked into a one of your comics again than being...y'know, the Power Ponies,” Twilight explained. "Come on, girls. Wasn't this, at least, a little excited for you?" Spike asked in a pleading tone. For a second, the girls didn't reply. Then Rainbow decided to speak up. "To be fair, it was kind of cool to control the weather,” Rainbow admitted. "Besides, being super heroes is pretty awesome." "And these costumes are pretty stylish,” Rarity added, admiring her outfit. "Right. Plus it did make coming up with powers for us all much easier,” SpongeBob said. "Duh, duh, duh-duh!" Patrick said, striking a pose. Unfortunately, he was facing backwards. "Patrick!" the super-powered sponge said sharply. Patrick turned around and the team made a heroic pose together. "Hey, I got feet!" the sea star looked down at his new shoes. "Good for you, Patrick," Rainbow said semi-sarcastically. "Agh! What are in these things?" a customer looked at his burger. Another customer just shrugged as he happily ate his burger. The team of heroes slowly came up to the food truck. "We'll take one secret formula to go!" SpongeBob demanded. "And if you don't comply, then you will face our wrath!" Spike added. The Mane 6 all give him weird looks. "I tried to sound like we meant business,” the caped dragon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Burger Beard spotted the team and walked over to the service window in disbelief. "Clear the area, citizens. There's going to be some serious aft-kicking here,” SpongeBob struck his fist with his palm. The citizens just stood there, confused and perplexed. One even took a picture of the anomaly. "Aft-kicking?" Rainbow said with confusion. "Gotta keep this family-friendly, Dashie. Or at least this part of the series,” Pinkie said. "Pinkie, what in Equestria are you talking about?" The lightning pegasus asked. The, now souped up, earth pony just giggled in response. "But...I banished you," Burger Beard whispered in confused bitterness. "Time to take action! What's the plan, SpongeBob?" Spike asked. "Sour Note?" SpongeBob called out. Squidward stepped forward. He slammed his fists together and as he drew them apart, a clarinet constructed itself. Grabbing the musical instrument, Squidward took in long and deep inhale and then blew into the clarinet with all his might. A cacophony of sound spilled from the instrument, assaulting the citizens' ears. The sound was unbearably loud, forcing the people to run away in a deafening panic. Even the seagulls, perched on a high-tension wire, couldn't take the horrid noise. "My tiny little eardrums!" one of them wailed. As the citizen vacated the premises, Burger Beard ran out of his food ship. "Hey, hey, wait! Hold on! Hold on!" He begged to his fleeing customers. "Wait! Wait! Customers! Wait, please!" Squidward's musical came to a halt, leaving only Burger Beard and our super-powered friends. The fast food pirate gritted his teeth in anger and stomped over to the team. "Oh, my. He's really angry," Fluttershy stepped back. "Mr. Superawesomeness, take him down," SpongeBob said to Patrick. "Superawesomeness? What kind of name is that?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "He's a super awesome friend. It fits,” SpongeBob answered. "Yeah, but there's got to be like a better name than that,” the cyan pegasus argued. "That just sounds like a five-year come up with that." While the pony and sea sponge argued, Patrick was already using his psychic powers to use. From far away, two ice cream cones flew out of two peoples' hand and into the sea star's hands. Dark clouds began to form. Thunder roared and lightning crackled as Patrick held the two cones in his hands. The others watch with excitement and a bit of apprehension. Burger Beard, fearing the worst, held an umbrella over his head. Just as the storm was about to reach a crescendo, Patrick began happily licking away at the ice cream. He giggled in satisfaction from the creamy goodness. "Well that was lame,” Applejack said bluntly. “Hey! Save some for me,” Pinie zipped up to him. “Here you go,” Patrick handed her one of the cones. The two pink friends happily licked on the frozen treats. "Maybe we should have picked a better superpower for you, Patrick," SpongeBob said in disappointment. Taking it as his initiative to act, Burger Beard hastily went back to his food ship to fetch something. Patrick licked his hands, satisfied with himself. "Maybe it's time we did our thing,” Twilight said. "Let's see you get out of this one!" Burger Beard was now holding the book and quill. The Mane 7 gasped. "He's going to strip us of our powers!" Rainbow shouted. "And probably send us back to that horrendous island!" Rarity cried. But, before Burger Beard could write anything down, Mr. Krabs acted first. He launched one of his detachable claws right at him. It caught Burger Beard by his left arm and trapped him against his ship. His right arm was still free and still held the feather quill. He chuckled evilly and lifted the quill toward the book. That was until Mr. Krabs launched his other claw, trapping Burger Beard's right arm. "And just for good measure,” Twilight conjured up a spell and froze the pirate’s legs to the ship. "Get ready for the Invinci-bubble," SpongeBob held his breath and popped out a bubble from the bubble wand on his masked head. The bubble enveloped the book from Burger Beard's hand and flew away into the sky. "No!" Burger Beard yelled. "My book!" The pirate-slash-fry cook struggled to break from the ice and claws. "Well that was easier than I thought, but, I'm not complaining," Twilight said. "But we didn't get to do anything,” Rainbow complained. “What's the point of gaining these powers if I'm not gonna use them?" "Oh, quit yer whinin', Dash. The whole point was to stop Burger Beard, not flex off our powers,” Applejack rebuked. "All right, team, time for hands in the middle," SpongeBob held out his hand. "Yes!" Mr. Krabs then realized he didn't have a spare claw. "Oh, yeah." His left claw flew back over and reattached itself to his arm. But, now that one of his arms was free, Burger Beard was set to free the rest of his limbs. He carefully pulled the other claw off the ship, setting his right arm free. Then, he broke the ice casing around his legs. Our heroes, however, we too distracted to notice his escape. "Great job, guys. We did it!" SpongeBob congratulated. The team put their hands and hooves together. But, then a paw was added to the pile of hands. The others pulled their hands and hooves away in fear and disgust. They all turned to see who the paw belonged to. It was giant live-action squirrel. "Huh?" Patrick said. "What?" the squirrel said in a familiar southern accent. "Where did you come from?" Fluttershy asked. "Sandy? Is that you?" SpongeBob asked in shock. "You can call me...The Rodent!" Sandy showed off her karate. "I thought we were missing somepony...or some-squirrel I should say," Twilight said. "Hey, where'd the pirate go?" Patrick asked. The others looked to see an empty parking space where a food truck ship should've been. All that was left was Mr. Krabs's right claw rolled to a stand-still and a puddle of melted ice. "He's gone!" Spike said in astonishment. "How did we not notice that?" Rainbow wonder out loud. SpongeBob surveyed the area. "And who had their accident there?" the cyan pegasus pointed to a puddle of yellow-ish fluid. The muscular sea sponge gasped and leaned over it. He dipped his finger and licked it, getting a good taste of the fluid. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is," Rarity dry heaved. "It looks like Burger Beard forgot the first rule of mobile fry cooking,” the heroic sponge concluded. "Always batten down your grease traps." He pointed to a trail of grease that snaked down the road. "Oh. Grease. That's what it was,” Rarity said, relieved. "Follow that grease, team!" Mr. Krabs shouted in determination. The robotic crab's legs transformed into a pair of small rocket boosters. He balanced himself on a single, small wheel as he readied himself. "Ladies." he said politely. Applejack was the first to understand. "Way ahead of ya," she jumped onto the robot crab’s shoulder. "Do we HAVE to do this?" Rarity whimpered. "Well you ain't gonna keep up with us with ya own hooves,” Applejack persuaded. The white unicorn gave a reluctant sigh. "Fine. But only because I have no choice,” She jumped onto Mr. Krabs other shoulder. "Then again I can probably just create my own form of transp-AHHHHHHH!" Rarity screamed to the heavens as Mr. Krabs took off at Mach speed following the grease trail. The others followed after: Squidward and Fluttershy rode Sandy as she ran down the street, Patrick stood atop SpongeBob as he used his bubbles as rocket propulsion, Spike rode on Pinkie Pie while she used her breakneck speed. Rainbow and Twilight could fly fast enough to keep up on their own. Burger Beard drove his ship down the coastal streets, dead set on retrieving the book. His shipped weaved down the road, trying to pick up speed. He pulled out his telescope get a closer look of the book flying in the air. "There she blows," Burger Beard laughed. His victory was almost in his grasp. Our superheroes, however, were not too far behind. Burger Beard looked into his rearview mirror to see the gaggle of unlikely creature gaining on him. He grunted and loosened a rope and several small sails opened up. With the extra wind power, his ship shot forward in a great burst of speed, even catching some air time. The ship bounced down the road. Several cars swerved out of the way to avoid it, but the team didn't give in. SpongeBob drew in a deep breath, forcing out my bubbles for increased speed. Mr. Krabs activated a second set of rocket boosters. Pinkie, Rainbow, Twilight kicked into high gear to keep up. Burger Beard looked over his shoulder to see SpongeBob, Patrick, Rainbow, and Twilight flying up alongside the ship. While Twilight kept Patrick in balance, He tried to grab onto the ship. "Oh, no, you don't!" Burger Beard violently veered to the left. Patrick lost his balance. He managed to grab hold of the ship, but now he was kicking a feet up to stay upright causing SpongeBob to go into a horizontal spin. "Hang on, Patrick!" Twilight clutched onto the star's tiny cape to try to hoist him up. Patrick accidentally kicked SpongeBob away. SpongeBob lost control, colliding into Twilight and sent the two crashing into the crow's nest of the ship. They both began to fall, but SpongeBob was able to grab Patrick's short while Twilight held SpongeBob's leg. Patrick's shorts began to slip which started to reveal his bare backside. SpongeBob shriek in disgust. "Agh! I do not need to see that!" Twilight closed her eyes. Rainbow tried to get face-to-face with Burger Beard. "Don't forget about me, Grease-face!" she said haughtily. "Don't worry. I didn't," Burger Beard replied. He stomped his foot against a pedal. The ship's anchor dropped, smashing into the pegasus along with SpongeBob, Patrick, and Twilight. The four careened down the road and into the rest of the team, causing them to tumble down the street. Burger Beard laughed maniacally, then set his sights to the bubbled book, which was floating closer to the crow's nest. He hastily ran to the ship's mast and started climbing. Unknown to him, our heroes weren't down just yet. Mr. Krabs held on the anchor while the rest kept their balance on him and the chain. "He's after the book!" SpongeBob gasped. "Sandy, use your squirrel powers!" "Roger that!" Sandy leapt onto the chain and began carefully crawling up it. Burger Beard was already up on the crow's nest, just inches away from getting the book. "Oh, she's never gonna make it!" SpongeBob said. "Leave this to me, guys,” Rainbow began flying up to the book. "No! get away from my book!" Burger Beard wacked her away. "Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh?" Rainbow said angrily. The two starting floundering at each other. "Consarnit, Dash!" Applejack said. While brainstorming for more ideas, SpongeBob spotted a large statue of a fish sitting at a park entrance. The perfect idea then came to him "Everyone...lean!" SpongeBob called out. "Wait! Why?" Rarity asked. There was no time for questions. The team leaned drastically to the left and zeroed in on the fish statue. "This is gonna hurt,” Spike braced himself. The team slammed into the statue. The anchor lodged inside the fish's mouth. The team was sent flying while the statue was ripped from it's foundation. The sudden pulled back caused the ship to jump into the air. "Woah!" Sandy yelped as she tumbled off the chain. The rest of the team tumbled onto the street. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight yelled with concern. "I am," Spike came up to the purple alicorn. Fluttershy checked herself over. "I think we're all okay..." "Get out of the way!" Rainbow flew in and pulled Fluttershy away just as the fish statue tore down the street. The others stumbled out of the statue's path. The ship began to turn, facing the opposite direction. Burger beard held onto the mast for dear life as to not fall. The seagulls from earlier were watching the spectacle with popcorn in-hand. "That's what you get,”’ one of them said. Finally, the ship came to a screeching halt. It had turned a complete 180 degrees. Burger Beard gave a shrewd laugh then noticed the bubbled book was floating toward him. He reached at his hands, ready to grab it. "Come here. Come here,” he muttered. "SpongeBob! The book!" Spike cried out. SpongeBob lifted Patrick off of him. "The book!" he gasped. "Sour Note!" Squidward quickly inhaled and blew into his clarinet. The disrupting wave of sound tore across the street, shredding the ship's sails and popping the bubble. The book fell and tumbled into the ship's hatch. Burger Beard yelled in frustration. Squidward dropped to the ground, out of breath. Burger Beard quickly climbed down the mast onto the ship's deck. He looked to see the book landed squarely on the active grill. It erupted into flames, slowly burning into ash and soot. "Nooooaaarrgghh!" Burger Beard shouted. He angrily looked back at the team, who were now walking toward the ship. "It's over, Burger Beard!" Twilight yelled. "All right, Burger Beard, prepare to be teamworked!" SpongeBob said with confidence. "I'm going to scrub my armpits with you,” The pirate growled menacingly. "Uh. I don't get it," SpongeBob said in confusion. "Because you're a sponge,” Squidward deadpanned. "Duh," Burger Beard said dumbly. "Welp, that’s an image I won't be able to get out of my head,” Rainbow said, grossed out by such a prospect. "Oh,” the muscular sea sponge said meekly "Get him, The Rodent!" "Consider him roasted!" Sandy dipped her head into a peanut cart. Bystanders ran away in a panic. Burger Beard realized what was going to happen as soon as Sandy came back up with a mouthful of peanuts. She spat one out like a bullet right toward the fast food pirate. Burger Beard dodged it. Dodging a couple more, he pulled out his trusty spatula. Sandy was surprised and confused. She began shooting them in rapid succession. "Count me in," Twilight began shooting orbs of magic ice at the pirate. Burger Beard, however, deflected the peanuts and ice. He leapt to the side and grabbed onto a rope. Sandy suddenly stopped. "Ah, nuts! I'm all out of nuts!" she said. “I’ll handle this,” Twilight said, determined to take down the thieving pirate. She maintained shooting magic at Burger Beard. That was until he deflected a magic orb right back at the alicorn. Before she could even react, Twilight was frozen in a solid block of ice. The rest of the team gasped, while Burger Beard rode the rope up to the crow's nest and laughed mockingly. "Twilight! Are you okay?" Spike ran up to the frozen alicorn, frantically trying to find a way to get her out of her predicament. "Yer gonna pay fer that," Applejack said angrily to the fast food pirate. Burger Beard just laughed even harder. "Justice is best soft served,” Patrick put his hands to his head. From a nearby ice cream parlor, hundreds of ice cream cones shot through the windows on Patrick's command. Bystanders ducked for cover as the sea star signaled the cones right for Burger Beard. "Patrick, I should have never doubted your powers!" SpongeBob said. Burger Beard was one step ahead, however. Grabbing the rope, he swung around the mast of the ship. The volley of soft served ice cream chased after him, but he managed to evade it. Now the ice cream was headed right for the team. The rest of the team, except Patrick, scrambled out of the way. Patrick tried to commanded them to turn away, but it was too late. He was bombarded to the ground by the onslaught of frozen treats. He laid there, covered in melting ice cream. "I can't think of a sweeter way to go," Patrick said weakly. "You're not gonna die, Patrick," Rainbow deadpanned. "Well I still feel bad,” the starfish whined. "Ha! It's all mine!" Burger Beard held the secret formula, almost as if to taunt our heroes even further. "Not so fast, Booger Beard," Mr. Krabs launched his claw rockets at the ship. They sliced through the mast. It teetered a little. Burger Beard held on for dear life. "Take this, you ruffian,” Rarity summoned a giant pair of scissors, which expertly cut into the mast like a ribbon. Finally, the entire tower gave way. Burger Beard fell to the ship's deck as the mast crashed onto the road. The formula bounced and rolled onto the road, right in front of the crab and unicorn. "That ought to teach him,” Rarity huffed. Mr. Krabs reattached his claws and went to grab the tiny bottle. "Me formuler,” he said, relieved to finally get back his precious item. Just then, Burger Beard slid out from the service window with a medieval gun. Giant sticks of butter were fitted into the magazine of the gun. "This will make you feel a little butter,” he sadistically joked. The gun revved up, ready to fire. "Not melted butter!" Mr. Krabs said fearfully. "Anything but that! It'll ruin the latex!" Rarity clung to the robotic crab. The gun shot out a blast of hot, melted butter. Mr. Krabs and Rarity were sent flying into the horizon, screaming. "Mr. Krabs! Rarity!" SpongeBob cried out. He then noticed the formula and went to grab it. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew up to the sky. "This ends now!" She yelled. She grabbed her lightning amulet with her mouth and held it up high. Storm clouds began to form and lightning began to strike. "I've got my own dispensable weapons!" Burger Beard pulled a lever on the side of his ship. The bow of the ship opened up and revealed dozens of primmed cannons. Burger Beard unhook a trigger rope and pulled it down, activating one of the cannons. It shot out a cannonball which hit the electrical pegasus right in the stomach. Rainbow dropped to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. "Uh, oh," SpongeBob said. He gave an innocent smile and softly put the bottle back onto the road. The pirate pulled the rope again, unleashing a blitz of cannonballs at the sponge. SpongeBob barely dodged them as they whizzed past him. Burger Beard let out a "got you" laugh and pulled once again. "Oh, yeah!" he shouted victoriously. The cannonball shot forward. It flew through SpongeBob's bubble wand, but now enveloped in a bubble. SpongeBob looked at it then smiled, realizing what he could do with that knowledge. Burger Beard shot more cannonballs, but this time, SpongeBob made sure each one flew into his bubble wand. He laughed, acting like it was some kind of game. Burger Beard just gave a incredulous frown as he pulled the trigger again, though not with the same gusto. Suddenly, his hand was caught in a golden lasso. "That's enough of all the cannon fodder," Applejack spoke severely, holding the lasso in her mouth. "What makes you think you have a say in the matter,” Burger Beard violently pulled his hand back. The two got into a tug-of-war scenario. Pinkie took this opportunity to grab the secret formula. "I got it, guys!" She said, holding up the bottle. "Nice one, Pinkie,” Applejack said happily, through gritted teeth. The fry cook pirate growled in frustration. Meanwhile, Patrick had just finished the last of the ice cream strewn around the area. He then noticed a bubbled up cannonball floating over his face. "They're beautiful!" he said, mesmerized. He made the mistake of touching it. The bubble popped and the cannonball smashed onto his face. "Patrick!" SpongeBob cried out. That was all the distraction Burger Beard needed. He pulled the trigger with his free hand. A cannonball shot out right at SpongeBob. It was a direct that sent the sponge sprawling to the ground. "SpongeBob!" Applejack said, alarmed through gritted teeth. Now that she was distracted, Burger Beard grabbed the lasso and pulled the earth pony forward, causing her to step on a puddle of melted butter from his previous assault. Applejack slipped and fell onto her back, groaning in pain. Fluttershy was in complete shock. Most of her friends lay on the ground, hurt or subdued. Her shock slowly transformed into anger. She glared at Burger Beard and she could feel her body begin to change; her muscles bulged and her body grew. The Saddle-Rager part of her was starting to come into fruition. Suddenly, Burger Beard swung Applejack's lasso at her. It wrapped around her neck, not to the point that she couldn't breath, but enough that her anger transformed right back to panic and her body changed back it her normal form. Pinkie tried to make a run for it, but Burger Beard used the other end of the lasso and swung and wrapped around Pinkie's legs. Both ponies and the formula flopped to the ground. "Hey! No fair!" she pouted, trying to untangle herself. SpongeBob lay in a daze. The bubbles popped and cannonballs smashed into the asphalt around him. Burger Beard laughed victoriously. he kicked Applejack out of the way and swiped the formula. His laughter turned more maniacal now that the formula was back in his possession. As he began to walk away, Patrick came to SpongeBob's side in an instant. "SpongeBob!" he said in despair. "Patrick?" SpongeBob said weakly. "Talk to me buddy," Patrick spoke softly. "I'm...I'm seeing a bright light,” the sponge said. Patrick turn his head to block out the sun. "Is this better?" "Much. Thank you,” SpongeBob said. "But the discomfort I feel in my eyes is nothing compared to the shame I feel for letting down the Patty. For letting down Bikini Bottom." "Yeah, SpongeBob, you really blew it," Patrick agreed. "No, Patrick, we blew it, as a team," SpongeBob said with a weak smile. "Nope. This one's on you,” the sea star said bluntly. As Burger Beard headed over to his ship, Spike tried one last ditch effort to get the formula. "Hey! We're not all down for the count!" he shouted at him. Burger Beard turned to him and let out another maniacal laugh. "Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it?" he said in a taunting matter. Spike was about to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure what he could do. "I'll tell you what you can do! Nothing!" Burger Beard said cruelly. "There's no way you can beat me, little lizard. Not even you friends could beat me. You’re nothing! Why don't you scamper off before you hurt yourself." Spike was hurt by Burger Beard's heartless words. But, he was right. There wasn't much he could do. He was just Humdrum, the one hero of the team that didn't have any powers. There was no way to even contest Burger Beard, not with his assortment of weapons. Spike lowered his head in defeat and the fry cook pirate laughed while heading back to his ship. Twilight looked on from inside her icy prison. She was enraged that Burger Beard had insulted and belittled Spike. She wanted nothing more than to incinerate him, to show him the true wrath of a protective mother. Most importantly, she wanted to comfort Spike, to tell him that he wasn’t nothing or weak. But, she knew she couldn’t do anything. She was stuck there, frozen in one place, one position. Helpless against the ice block’s unforgiving hold. She stared at Spike with a sorrowful expression. "Oh, Spike. You aren't nothing. You mean so much to us, to me,” she could only think to herself. It seems like our heroes have been defeated for good this time. Has Burger Beard really won? Is Bikini Bottom doomed with a Krabby Patty famine? Will Rarity even get over her ruined latex? We'll found out soon enough. To be continued Author's Note Rainbow Dash: Really? That's how you want to end this part? A shoddy cliffhanger? IndyWriter Productions: Come on! It fits with the direction of the story. It being a callback to the DC comics approach. Sounded good in my head. Rainbow Dash: Maybe it should've stayed in your head. IndyWriter Productions:.......Shut up.
Part 10: The Power of TeamworkAs it stood, our team of superheroes now stood in utter defeat. There was no denying it as Spike looked amongst all his downed friends. He was pretty much the only one left standing, and the rest were either injured or exhausted. But, what could he do? He watched Burger Beard reach the deck of his food truck ship, fiddling with the ignition keys. The pirate's harsh words were still fresh in his mind. What good was he without any powers? Spike then look over to Twilight, who was still frozen in ice. He didn't know why or how, but he swore he could hear the words of comfort and encouragement just by looking at her. He set his eyes on himself. He may have been Humdrum; the hero without any powers, but, Spike was also a dragon. A baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. He still had claws and his fire breath, and as he looked down at his hands, Spike came to the realization. Burger beard was wrong about him. Spike had powers, not just his claws and fire, but the power to never give up. Spike balled his fist. He looked back up at the pirate with a confident glare. With a whole new vigor, Spike ran over to the ship. He quickly clambered up the side and in front of Burger Beard, much to the pirate shock. "What the..." he stepped back. "That's where you're wrong, Burger Beard," Spike proclaimed. "I may not have gotten powers when I became Humdrum, but I have capabilities that none of them have." "And what's that?" the amused pirate asked in a mocking tone. "These!" Spike raised his clawed hands and gripped onto the ship's helm and the keys. "Not only that, but the power of never giving up!" "Let go, you scaly brat!" Burger Beard wrestled with the dragon to get the keys. "I'm not giving up until the formula is back where it belongs!" Spike spew out a wave of fire right at the pirate's face. Burger Beard furiously waved the flames back. "Well I'm not going to let some fire-breathing lizard-freak, like you, take it from me!" He shouted, putting flames that had formed on his beard. "You should probably listen to the little one,” a voice warned from behind them. The pirate and dragon turned to see he it was. It was Plankton, who was glaring at Burger Beard. "Where do you think you're going, anyways?" he said forebodingly. Burger Beard shoved Spike off the helm while he was distracted. Burger Beard laughed at Plankton, like it was some kind of joke. "Why don't you get going, little fella, before you hurt yourself?" he mocked, then he turned to Spike. "Same goes for you." Spike got up, not willing to throw in the towel. Then Plankton spoke up. "I think you should get off the boat." he urged "What?! Why?" Spike asked in surprise. "Trust me. You'll see," Plankton smirked. "Yeah. Listen to your friend," Burger Beard added with a condescending tone. "I'm not talking to you. You've already sealed your fate," Plankton barked. Spike wasn't sure if should trust Plankton, especially with how he blamed him, SpongeBob, and the rest with the botched time travel plan. But, hearing how confident he sounded, he decided to trust him, just this once. Spike hastily jumped off the ship and over to the frozen Twilight. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll get you out of there,” Spike drew in a breath and let out a gust of fire on the block of ice. Meanwhile, Burger Beard was chuckling to himself as he got the ship in gear. Plankton just gave a devious smirk as he lowered himself under the ship. Suddenly, the ship shuddered and shook. Burger Beard was in a state of fright when his ship began to lift up into the air. Plankton grunted as he heaved the ship over his tiny head, allowing the others to get a good look at him. Plankton's body was ripped, he had proper hands and feet, and now was hundred's of times his original size. The only thing that stayed the same was his tiny head. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in mild surprise. "It's Plank-Ton!" he corrected with a confident smile. "Sweet Faust,” Rarity whispered in horrified shock. Spike stood there, his jawed almost hitting the floor in shock and astonishment. Plankton began shaking the ship. "Come on down from there, little fella,” Plankton said to Burger Beard. "You wouldn't want to get hurt." Burger Beard held on to the helm, trying his absolute best not to fall. He climbed up the ship, much to Plankton's confusion. He opened the hatch doors and crawled inside, but not before waving his fist at the hulking beast below him in a derogatory manner. Plankton growled and threw the ship high into the air. Burger Beard was left flying around inside helplessly. Plankton caught the ship, turned it upright, and spun it around like a basketball. Burger Beard slammed against the wall along with many sharp kitchen utensils, which all barely missed. At this point, the others were cheering Plankton on. "Teach that no-good thief a lesson!" Rarity yelled. "Yeah! Kick him right in the flanks for me!" Rainbow said in excitement. Quickly growing bored, Plankton held the ship on it's side. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he peaked his head through an open window. He turned to see he was face-to-face with Burger Beard, who was also holding a bottle of ketchup. He squirting the tangy condiment in Plankton's face. "My eye!" the small-headed superhero yelled in agony. He tossed the ship away and clutched his face, trying to lessen the searing pain. Burger Beard's ship smash onto the road. Burger Beard, himself, dizzily clambered out of the interior and began running down the street. "Hey! The coward's running. We got to do something!" Rainbow turned SpongeBob and Patrick. "Patrick, wut are ya doin'?" Applejack eye the sea star who was...doing something. "Uh...nothing," Patrick said hastily. "He's getting away!" SpongeBob cried out. Spike quickly melted the rest of the ice around Twilight. "Are you okay, Twilight?" He asked in concern. "A little chilly, but, I'll be alright,” the alicorn shivered. "But, more importantly, we need to stop him!" Twilight pointed at the fleeing Burger Beard. That's when Plankton hopped over the ship. "Ready for a Plank-Ton of bubbles?" Plankton held out his hand to SpongeBob. SpongeBob smiled, knowing exactly what his friend meant. Plankton grabbed SpongeBob's legs and sucked in a deep breath. He exhaled and SpongeBob laughed as bubbles spewed out of his bubble wand. Burger Beard ran as fast as he could as he saw the tidal wave of bubbles barreling toward him. He wasn't fast enough and was subsequently swept up by the bubble wave. He kept trying to run, only to realize he was suspended in midair by Plankton. He grumbled in defeat. "The formula, please,” Plankton requested. "Come on. Team up with me. We'll be rich and powerful!" Burger Beard beckoned in one last attempt keep his victory. "No, thanks. I'm already part of a teamwork," the muscular sea plankton pointed out. He held out his other hand expectantly. Burger Beard sighed in frustration and handed the formula to Plankton. He grabbed it, then, with a devious grin, he ran forward and kicked the fast food pirate far out into the horizon. Burger Beard yelled and screamed as he flew through the air. He landed back on the island where he first got the book. He mumbled incoherently, his head being the other part of him that wasn't buried in the sand. the rest of the team came to the shore. The Mane 7 all cheered in victory. "That was awesome!" Rainbow said. "They should make a movie about this!" Pinkie hopped around. "Oh, wait. That's already happened." "I'm just glad we got the formula back," Fluttershy turned over to Rainbow with a worried expression. "Are you hurt, Rainbow?" "A little sore in the middle, but I'll be right as rain soon,” the cyan pegasus admitted. "Speak for yourself! My suit is thoroughly ruined by all that butter!" Rarity complained. "Yes. You were complaining about that almost the entire time," Mr. Krabs groaned. "Don't worry, Rarity. It will all be fixed up the next time this happens,” Pinkie assured happily. "And when's that going to be?" Rarity rhetorically asked. "Not anytime soon. But, it's going to happen,” the party pony giggled. "You goin' to be alright, Twi?" Applejack asked. "Don't worry. I'll be okay," Twilight replied. "Though, I may catch a cold later. But, my little Spike makes an excellent vegetable soup." Spike smiled warmly at the compliment. "Can we do hands in the middle again?" Patrick pleaded. "Yes, we can, Patrick. But this time, there's one more hand to go in the middle," SpongeBob pointed to Plankton. And so, a wide range of hands and hooves came to together, but there was an obvious one missing. "Plankton?" SpongeBob said in confusion. The others looked over to Plankton, who was holding the formula bottle up to his face. He smiled smugly as the others gasped at the realization. The formula was in his hands, the one person who strived for it for years. "Oh, no," Mr. Krabs looked away, not willing to see his worst fear to fruition. "Don't tell me you're gonna backstab us now?" Rainbow said in disbelief. "And what if he does?" Twilight whispered to her. "How are we going to stop him?" She pointed to Plankton's overly-muscular body. Mr. Krabs still looked away, whimpering. "Here you go, Krabs,” Surprising everybody, Plankton handed the formula over to the robotic crab. "She's all yours." Mr. Krabs hesitantly took the bottle. "This doesn't have another insulting note in it, does it?" he asked skeptically. "No, that's the old me. The one who turned his back on everything important just to have that formula all to himself," Plankton repented. "But I realize now that keeping something to myself is...selfish." "Especially when that something is the Krabby Patty," SpongeBob said. "Exactly. You'll never find true happiness unless you focus on what's truly important,” Twilight said. "Such as...friendship." "Eh, I wouldn't go that far," Plankton said dismissively. "Just give a try. I'm sure you'll realize a lot of new things by just having a friend,” the princess persuaded. "Okay, everybody, let's get back to Bikini Bottom and..." SpongeBob then gasped. "Oh, no! I don't have the page!" "Oh, no!" Sandy exclaimed. "It must be back on Pelican Island!" SpongeBob said. "But that means we'll be stuck here forever!" Rarity cried out. "Don't worry. I thought of everything,” Plankton pulled out the page. "Phew. I guess we owe you one for that." Spike said. "Two. If you want to count me coming in to stop that fry cook wannabe from getting away," Plankton clarified as he handed the page to SpongeBob. "All right, SpongeBob, take us home." "Thanks,” the sponge said. He turned to Squidward, who was busy flexing his muscles. "Oh, yeah,” the squid said haughtily. "Squidward!" SpongeBob reprimanded. "Come on, it's time to go back and open the Krusty Krab!" "Are you out of your patty-flipping mind? I'll never leave this place!" Squidward said sharply. "I mean, look at me. I'm a god!" "But, the rest of us want to go home," Applejack said matter-of-factly. "No, Squidward, You're a cashier," SpongeBob began writing on the page. Magic began to take over Squidward's body. "Wait a minute! What? No!" Squidward yelled. He reappeared back at the Krusty Krab cash register back to his normal self. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," the grumpy octopus sighed depressingly. The rest of our friends reappeared back to their regular forms. Except for the Mane 7, who were back to there sea pony forms. "For a second I thought we'd back to our normal forms and we'd all drown,” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, you know what they say, Squidward. Don't be sad it ended. Be happy it happened,” Twilight said. "Don't be sad, Squidward,” SpongeBob comforted. "I left you a little surprise under your shirt!" Squidward was confused and lifted his shirt. "Rock-hard abs!" he said in amazement. "Oh, wow," Spike said to himself. "I wonder if I can get like that one day." "Aw, SpongeBob, you're okay in my book," Squidward playfully punch SpongeBob in the shoulder. "Aw, shucks," SpongeBob smiled. "Excuse us!" a voice said. "We'd like 3,000 Krabby Patties, please!" An entire crowd was in and around the restaurant, all of them aching for the sweet taste of a Krabby Patty. "Looks like they don't hate us anymore,” Fluttershy spoke softly. Mr. Krabs's eyes turned into giant dollar sign with an audible "cha-ching" to go with it. "That sound must mean things are back to normal,” Squidward grumbled. "Ah couldn't have it any other way," Applejack said. “’Unless you wish we were still bein’ sacrificed.” “Okay, maybe leave that part out,” Squidward sighed. "Who wants 3,000 Krabby Patties?" SpongeBob held a giant plate with hundreds of the burgers, forming the shape of a giant Krabby Patty. "How did you do that so quickly?" Rarity asked in shock. "Fry cook intuition. I have been doing this for years after all," the fry cook sponge said. The customers all cheered with excitement. It was a celebration. "First one's for you, Gary," SpongeBob came over to his pet snail. "Extra mayo, just the way you like it." Gary meowed out a thank you and took the sandwich in his mouth. "Ah-ha! Caught you red-handed! Gary hates mayo,” SpongeBob opened the shell which revealed Plankton. "Plankton! Up to your old tricks again already, eh?" "What!? Are you serious?” Twilight came up to the two with a disappointed look. "You admit to learning your lesson, but here you are going against that." "Hey, I'm just putting things back the way they were," Plankton said. "That's not an excuse!" the irate alicorn exclaimed. "What do you have to say about this, Gary?" SpongeBob looked to his real pet snail. Gary let out an angry roar. "Oh, shrimp," Plankton whimpered. He rode the fake Gary out of thew Krusty Krab, screaming in fear. The real Gary trailed behind in hot pursuit, roaring. "Will he ever learn his lesson?" Twilight asked hopelessly. "Maybe one day, but I have a feeling that won't be for a long time,” SpongeBob answered happily. Twilight breathed out a sigh. “Don’t worry, your majesty. He’ll come around eventually,” SpongeBob put a hand on her shoulder. “Besides, since you said you were the Princess of Friendship, it sounded like you knew what you were talking about. Nothing compares to the powers of friendship.” Twilight let SpongeBob’s word sink in. Despite the fact that she had friends and family that would’ve said the same thing, it was nice having someone else, especially someone from an entirely different world, share the same sentiments. It made her internally happy that there were some people from other worlds that finally understood true friendship. Twilight’s frown slowly turned into an aspired smile. “Yeah. You’re right, SpongeBob. I’m glad you understand that ideology,” she said happily. “I don’t know what an ideology is, but I’m glad I made you happy.” SpongeBob said. The purple alicorn just rolled her eyes and smiled. SpongeBob smiled back and looked over at the fleeing Plankton. "See you later, tee-am-mate." he joked. The sponge and alicorn shared a good laugh. Back at old island, Burger Beard had finally came back to his senses. The seagulls came around him, putting his pirate hat back on his head. "Now can we sing it?" one of them asked. "Yeah!" the others cheered in agreement. "Pwease, Mr. Piwate?" Kyle pleaded. Burger Beard turned to the seagull. "Oh, Kyle...How can I say no to you?" he spoke softly. The seagulls all cheered with excitement. One of them put an empty picture frame in front Burger Beard's head. "Are you ready, kids?" the pirate asked. "Aye-aye, Captain!" the seagulls yelled. "Uh, what did you say?" the pirate asked playfully. "There's sand in my ears and I can't hear you!" "Aye-aye, Captain!" the seagulls yelled again. "OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!" Bubbles appeared from his triangle portal. "That was pretty good, actually,” he admitted. "I know right!" Pinkie appeared right next to him. "It was my idea." "What the? How did you even get here!?" Bubbles asked angrily. Pinkie just giggled and gave a big grin. Bubbles gave her an annoyed look. Then, an idea came to him. "Actually, you being here has reminded me that I should visit an old friend of mine. But, first..." Bubbles tossed Pinkie through the portal back to her friends. "Weeee!" she screamed in excitement. Bubbles then went through his space triangle and disappeared. "What was that about?" one of the seagulls asked. The others shrugged. It was nearing the end of the day in Equestria. Princess Celestia was busy in her bedroom, signing papers, writing documents, and scheduling appointments. It was tiring work, but, it had to be done and there was no point complaining about it. As she finished signing one of the many tax documents, she heard a knock at her door. The Solar Princess stood up, confused as to who it could be. "Luna? Is that you?" she walked to the door. "If you here to ask of the Elements' whereabouts, I assure you they're..." She opened the door to see that it wasn't her sister at her front. Bubbles stood with a formal smile. "Hello, Celestia. It has been ages since we last met," the ancient dolphin greeted. The Princess stood silent, her mouth agape. She did a double-take, as if she couldn't believe who was in front of her. "Bubbles? How could this be? I thought I'd never get to see you again,” Celestia said in shock. "So did I, your majesty. But, I now have a new lease on life," Bubbles said. "I have gotten out of that dead-end job. Though, I couldn't do it without that purple pony and her friends' help." "You've met Twilight and her friends?" the white alicorn asked inquisitively. "Yes, I have. And I believe now I should catch up with an old friend of mine,” the dolphin said. A smile grew on Celestia's muzzle. She stepped aside to let her guest in. "Then come on in,” she said. "There is much to talk about, old friend." "Thank you," Bubbles said. "You've certainly have grown the last time we've seen each other." "Well that was such a long time ago, I've lost count,” Celestia replied happily. "But, I'm glad to see you after all this time." "As am I, Celestia,” Bubbles said warmly. For a brief second, Celestia looked at the pile of papers stacked on her table. She grew hesitant at first, those papers were important. But, this was something that she thought would never get to happen again. The papers could wait just a little while. "So what happened that made you want to stop tracking all the planets," Celestia asked. Bubbles chuckled. "Now that is a long story. And it's mostly thanks to those ponies and sea sponge that helped me out of it..." Tara Strong - Twilight Sparkle Cathy Weseluck - Spike Ashleigh Ball - Rainbow Dash & Applejack Andrea Libman - Pinkie Pie & Fluttershy Tabitha St. Germain - Rarity Nicole Oliver - Princess Celestia Kelly Sheridan - Starlight Glimmer Tom Kenny - SpongeBob & Gary Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick Clancy Brown - Mr. Krabs Roger Bumpass - Squidward Carolyn Lawrence - Sandy Mr. Lawrence - Plankton Antonio Banderas - Burger Beard Jill Talley - Karen Matt Berry - Bubbles Dee Bradley Baker - Perch Perkins Mary Jo Catlett - Mrs. Puff Paul Tibbitt - Kyle Carlos Alazraqui - Seagull #9 Kevin Michael Richardson - Seagull #5 Eddie Deezen - Seagull #3 Tim Conway - Seagull #2 Cree Summer - Seagull #7 Rob Paulsen - Seagull #4 Eric Bauza - Seagull #1 April Stewart - Seagull #6
Part 1: A Sea Tale BeginsIt was the late morning as we make our way to Ponyville. Most of the inhabitants were already bustling about with work and errands. In the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was no exception. She was in the middle of a friendship lesson with Starlight Glimmer. "And even though the truth might hurt, it's better to be honest with them instead of trying to sugarcoat the problem or even lie to them." The alicorn drew on a chalkboard, conceptualizing the idea of honesty over lying. Starlight studied the the chalk drawings. "But, even if the truth is the better, what if the friend still ends the friendship right then and there anyways?" The lavender unicorn asked. "There's always that possibility,” Twilight admitted. "But, Applejack and I can attest to the fact that lying is the worst thing you can do to a friend. Honesty shows great faith and trust in any relationship." "I...still am not one-hundred percent sure about this, Twilight," Starlight said hesitantly. "Trust me, Starlight. The honest truth is much better to heal from than breaking the trust of a friend from lying," Twilight reassured. Starlight sighed calmly. "Alright. I'll be sure to remember that the next time I get into a situation like that,” Starlight affirmed. "Alright, that will do it for today,” the purple alicorn said. "Oh, good. I promised Trixie I would help her with some magic spells today,” Starlight explained. "I suppose I can head over to her cart now." "Alright then. Don't go too crazy though," Twilight warned. "You know how she is." "Believe me. She's always aiming for the stars and I always have to bring back down to the ground. If you know what I mean," Starlight said as she began to head for the front doors. "Don't worry, I know exactly what you mean," the alicorn chuckled a little. Once Starlight was gone, Twilight was left in the room by herself with her thoughts. Only a month had gone by since there last adventure with Pooh, Piglet and the others. While the mission was riddled with danger, it was that adventure that helped Twilight gain some self-confidence. It was thanks to her talks with Rabbit and Celestia that made her feel a lot more capable as a friend, a leader, and most importantly a mother-figure. With her relationship with her friends getting stronger, her bond with Spike being seen in a new light, and Starlight getting better day after day, Twilight felt more than ready for the next adventure into the multiverse. Fate could not have timed the situation better. Twilight felt the familiar sensation on her flanks. She turned her head back and noticed that her cutie marks were glowing once again. "I couldn't ask for a better time,” she said to herself. The purple alicorn walked out of the study where she spotted Spike heading down the hall. His spines were glowing, just like her cutie mark "Another adventure awaits,” she commented. "Definitely seems to be the case," Spike responded. "I hope it isn't as daunting as last time." Memories of hanging over the gorge and being stuck in the crystal-covered cavern came flooding back. The little dragon winced. "Don't worry, Spike, I won't let anything like that ever happen again,” Twilight put a wing of Spike's back which made him feel a little better. The pony and dragon made their way to the Cutie Map room and entered. To neither of there surprise, the entire table was glowing brightly. "Are the others coming along, too?" Spike wondered out loud. "We'll just have to see," Twilight answered simply. And so the two waited. In the span of a few minutes, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all arrived at the room. Each of their cutie marks glowing. Welp, it was bound ta happen eventually,” Applejack stated. "No kidding, I even made the mark the day on the calendar extra big,” Pinkie pulled out a calendar from her mane and pointed at the big, red cross on the current date. It was so large it covered several other days of the month. "Let's just hope it won't be perilous or be some silly misinterpretation like last time,” Rarity said distastefully. "You and me both, Rarity,” Spike agreed, a slight blush appearing on his face. "Agreed, I hope I never see that bird ever again," Rainbow grunted. "Well, let's not waste anymore time. We have a friendship mission to complete," Twilight charged up her horn with the proper spell and casted onto the map. The portal began to take form. First covering the top of the map and then enveloping it altogether. "Aw, yeah! I've been itching for another friendship mission like this,” Rainbow said excitedly. "Ah feel like you say that every time this happens," Applejack said skeptically. "So? It's not like I can't be excited for it,” the rainbow-maned pegasus countered. "I wouldn't mind if it was more relaxing than the prior ones," Fluttershy quietly interjected. "Here's hoping, Fluttershy,” Rarity said. "All right, is everypony ready?" Twilight asked. The others nodded. "Then let's go!" Together they all jumped through the portal for the next adventure. As they traveled within the portal, The Mane 7 began to talk amongst themselves. "So, what do you think this world is gonna be this time?" Rainbow asked playfully. "One of candy and sweets!" Pinkie shouted joyfully. "That won't give you a reason to eat them though,” Twilight responded. Then something began to happen. A blinding light began to envelop the ponies and dragon. They were all taken by surprise. "What's going on?" Rarity asked fearfully. "I don't know!" Twilight answered with just as much fear. The Mane 7 could only watch as the light swallowed their entire bodies. Transformation had begun. We arrive in a different world, but this time, we abandon the precious land for now and journey far into the heart of the Pacific Ocean. amidst the miles of calm, salty seawater, we find what looks to be a small island with shrubbery and a few palm trees. As we get closer however, we find the island is much bigger than anticipated. Through the humid, misty air and jungle-like plant life we find an unsuspecting human pulling a rowboat onto the shore of the island. He was wearing the quintessential pirate clothing, but his most eye-catching feature was the large and grizzly, rusty-orange beard that covered his chin and sideburns. Not far from the island a pirate ship lay anchored to it's spot. The pirate rolled out a map of the island and chuckled deviously. With the map in hand he began to venture to the inner-most part of the island. Armed with a sword, the pirate slashed his way through the thick vegetation. through an opening in the foliage he pulled out the map and looked through it again. That's when he noticed a sign with a skull on top of the post. In big, red lettering it read... "Booby Traps"?" the pirate said aloud. He cut down the sign and laughed arrogantly. The pirate continued to cut a path through the jungle plants before finally reaching his intended destination. In front of him was the overgrown remains of an ancient tribe grounds. Stone pillars littered the area and at the far end lay a skeleton in a clad, red coat sitting on a mossy throne. It was holding a book that depicted a bottled-up roll of paper in the title cover. "There you are, my lovely,” the pirate murmured. Slowly, he crept out of the foliage before his stride turned into more of a dance routine, avoiding giant spikes that shot out of the ground. He sidestpped and tip-toed across the trap-riddled floor. With that out of the way, the pirate walked up the steps to the throne. "What's that? Take the book?" he asked jokingly. "I don't mind if I do." He hastily snatched the book out of the skeleton's hand, causing it to fall and tumble to the ground. The pirate chuckled triumphantly down the steps. "At last, it is mine,” he stared at the book. "Finally, you are mine." Suddenly, the skeleton began to shake. Broken joints reconnected themselves and the skull reattached to the spine. It stood up, relocating it's jawbone. The pirate watched it with challenging eyes. "All right. Let's do this. Bare knuckles,” he taunted, ready for a fight. The skeleton pumped its bony fists up. "Bring it on, skinny. You don't scare me." The skeleton struck first with a one-two combo, but the pirate dodged both punches. The skeleton went in for a third. This time, the pirate used the book as a shield and laughed pompously. The skeleton retaliated with an uppercut that sent the pirate rocketing off the island and into the air. Meanwhile, back at the ship, several seagulls were playing a friendly game of cards. "You got any sevens?" one of them asked. "Go fish," another answered. Just then, the pirate crashed onto the the deck of the boat, scaring off all the seagulls. The pirate dizzily got back up. "Is that all you got?" he yelled toward the island. He laughed and kissed the book. His journey was complete. Taking a rope, he swung from the bow to the stern of the ship. With the anchor hoisted and the sails wide open, the ship lurched forward. The pirate looked from atop the crow's nest with a telescope. He walk off it and landed on the poop deck. Turning to the helm, he pressed the "Auto Pirate" setting, allowing the ship to drive itself. The pirate sat down and opened the book. "Man, this is way overdue,” he said to himself. "Once upon a time, under the sea, there was a little town called Bikini Bottom. In this town, there was a place called The Krusty Krab, where folks come to eat a thing called the Krabby Patty. Every greasy spoon has a fry cook, and the one who worked here was named SpongeBob Squarepants." "There's only one thing worse than talking birds, and the would be...singing birds!" the pirate yelled irately. "Okay, I promise not to si-i-i-ng!" one of the seagulls taunted. Another cleared their throat, grabbing the singing one's attention. The second gull pointed to a cage that housed three parrot skeletons with musical instruments. "Take it from us,” one of the parrots said. "He really does hate singing birds,” another confirmed. The first seagull squawked, dropping his "droppings" in fear. "just keep weading. Pwease, Mr. Piwate, sir,” the second gull pleaded with an obvious speech impediment. "Come closer while I tell you the tale,” the pirate relented. "Okay, start reading,” another seagull demanded. "Not that close!" the pirate shouted. A few of the gulls back away to give him space. "Yeah. All right, here we go,” he turned to the next page. "Now, SpongeBob loved his job as a fry cook more than anything. And that is saying a lot because he loved everything! He loved his pet snail, Gary. He loved his best friend, Patrick. He loved blowing bubbles and jellyfishing. He loved making Krabby Patties for the folks of Bikini Bottom just as much as they loved eating them. Why, you may ask, do they love this greasy little sandwich so much? Why did they eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner despite the doctor's warnings?" "He'll be gone in a week,” the fish doctor said solemnly, watching the patient munch on a Krabby Patty. "Oh, Harold!" the female fish sobbed. Even with the heartbreaking news, both helped themselves to a Krabby Patty. "It was a secret. No one was sure what was in these patties that made them so delicious. And, frankly, no one cared, except for Plankton. "Eh,” the little green being groaned. "Plankton owned a restaurant right across the street from the Krusty Krab, where no one ate because the food was really bad." "Now, is that really necessary?" Plankton asked crossly. The musty sandwich next to him deflated in a pool of disgusting fluids just to prove the pirate's point. "Plankton had made it his life's work to steal the recipe." Plankton hung by a rope, ready to snatch the formula from the open safe. That was until something began to force him away. It was SpongeBob with a reef blower. "SpongeBob, please, let's talk about this!" The would-be thief pleaded. He was sucked into the reef blower before he could say anything else. SpongeBob blew the dust off the vacuum nozzle. "And SpongeBob was always there to protect it. But today, things would be different." The pirate was not exaggerating. Plankton had a brand new plan cooked up for the yellow sponge. What wasn't known yet, however, was that a group of inter-dimensional heroes will be coming to SpongeBob's aid. To be continued
Part 2: Battle in Bikini BottomBehind the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob chucked the last garbage bag into the dumpster with a mighty heave. He was dusting off his hands when he heard something behind him. The yellow sponge turned around a saw, what looked to be, some kind of portal appearing before his very eyes. "Well, that's something you don't see every day,” he said to himself. SpongeBob walked closer to get a better look. He put a hand up to his chin, studying the peculiar sight. He looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. Realizing he was all by himself, SpongeBob slowly inched his hand closer to the portal opening. Before he could touch it, however, a mass of colorful creatures shot out of the portal and collided into the sea sponge. The creatures happened to be the Mane 6 and Spike. They all lay in a dazed pile. "Ugh. That's got to take some getting used to,” Twilight said dizzily. "Speak for yourself," Rainbow flying up into the air. Then she realize what happened to them. She looked all over herself; her back hooves were replaced with a large tailfin. Fins lined her back, sporting her cutie mark and her wings had become sleek and translucent. "What the? What the hay is going on?" she said in shocked confusion. The Mane 6 were quick to realize what was going on. "The portal...changed us,” Twilight said in awe. "But, why? Why did it transform us into...What are we supposed ta be?" Applejack asked. Twilight studied their new features. Then she looked around. The ground was nothing but sand and she could see coral and algae-covered rocks here and there. "Well, it seems that we're underwater. So, we've taken on a more aquatic design,” the alicorn, turned sea pony, explained. “I guess we've become like sea ponies now.” "Is that where we are?" Fluttershy waved a hoof against the water. "I guess that explains how we are breathing underwater." "These fins are simply divine,” Rarity inspected her majestic, royal purple fins and tail with star-spangled eyes. "Uh, girls? What's going on with me?" Spike asked. He hadn't been turned into a sea pony like the others. the baby dragon now had small fins on his back and behind with spines protruding all over his small, round body. As fear slowly crept into him. Spike involuntarily, and rapidly, puffed up like a balloon. The ponies couldn’t help but giggle in amusement. His face turned from purple to red as he blushed in embarrassment. “Don’t be ashamed, Spikey-Wikey,” Rarity patted the youngling’s head. “You look adorable.” Now Spike’s crimson blush changed one out of embarrassment to one of fluster. The feeling of Rarity’s smooth and soft arm cascading down his head was sublime. "Mmm. Fmm,” Twilight heard a muffled voice underneath her. She looked down and noticed she was laying on top of someone. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" the purple sea pony gasped. She leapt off of the sea sponge and pulled him back onto his feet. "That's okay. No harm done,” the sea sponge said happily. "And by the way, you wouldn't happened to be related to Mrs. Puff would you? She's a pufferfish just like you." "Umm...no. I have no idea who that is,” Spike said in confusion. "But, who are you?" "The name's SpongeBob. SpongeBob Squarepants,” the sea sponge shook Twilight's hoof. "Interesting name,” Twilight said to herself. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends; Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike." "Howdy," Applejack greeted. "It's super-duper nice to meet,” Pinkie swam up to the SpongeBob excitedly. the yellow sea sponge chuckled. "Hi,” Fluttershy said quietly. "Greetings, darling,” Rarity said politely. "Hello,” Spike said. "Fastest flyer in all of Equestria,” Rainbow said confidently. "Uh, 'xcuse me, Mr. Squarepants. Would ya mind tellin' us where we are?" Applejack politely asked. The sponge gave a small gasp. "Well, you're in Bikini Bottom, of course. Home of the Krusty Krab,” Spongebob raised his arms to the restaurant behind him. "I see,” Twilight said. "What's with this place and it's weird names?" "By the way, what's with the portal. Are you guys time-travelers something?" SpongeBob asked. "No, we're from a different world,” the purple sea pony carefully explained. “We were brought here on a friendship mission, to help with anything bad that might happen." "Oh, boy. I'm all for friendship,” SpongeBob gave a wide grin. "But, I got to get back to work." "Wait, you work here?" Rainbow asked. "Sure do,” the sponge confirmed. Just then, a rotund, pink starfish walked up to them. "Good morning, SpongeBob!" the starfish greeted. "Morning, Patrick,” SpongeBob greeted back. "Girls, this my best friend, Patrick. Patrick this Twilight and her friends." "Hello,” The Mane 7 greeted. "Hello, I'm Patrick," Patrick said. "...We know that. SpongeBob already told us,” Rarity said. Patrick chuckled a little. "Heh, yeah." "So, you here for your pre-lunch Krabby Patty?" SpongeBob asked his best friend. "I'm getting two today. One for me and one for my friend,” Patrick said. "Oh. Have I met this friend?" SpongeBob asked playfully. "You know me, SpongeBob,” Patrick said in a fake voice, pushing his belly fat together to form a mouth. The two laughed together at the joke. "Enjoy, Patrick's tummy,” SpongeBob waved his Patrick goodbye as the starfish made his way to the Krusty Krab's main entrance. "Yup. You two definitely act like best friends,” Applejack chuckled in amusement. "He seems a bit...educationally challenged," Rarity admitted. "He's not the sharpest clam in the sand, but that's what I love about him," SpongeBob said. The Mane 7 and SpongeBob heard a loud whirring sound coming from above. They looked up in confusion. High above, a giant airplane circled around the restaurant. As it neared the front end, the bottom cargo doors opened and a massive jar of tartar sauce plunged right for the Krusty Krab. Down below, the manager of the burger joint was busy counting today's profit to notice the falling condiment jar. "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..." he counted. "Hey, Mr. Krabs, I thought we got our tartar sauce delivery on Thursday,” SpongeBob and the others came through the front doors. "You guys airlift your ingredients?" Twilight asked. "Oh, I tried that once,” Pinkie said. The red crab looked up with a puzzled look. "Tartar..." the jar smashed to the ground, shattering instantly. SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, and the Krusty Krab were now covered in the creamy condiment. "...sauce," Mr. Krabs croaked. "Are you serious?!" Rarity screeched, pulling her red sofa out of nowhere and flopped onto it "Why must every mission ruin my mane." "I think a better question is why somepony would just drop a jar of...tartar sauce is it?" Twilight said. "Taste tangy,” Pinkie licked the sauce off her front hoof. "Bull's-eye!" a voice laughed from the plane. "Plankton!" SpongeBob said, alarmed. "So it's a food fight he wants, eh?" Mr. Krabs glared up at the airplane. "Wait. Who's Plankton?" Spike asked. "A rival restaurant owner. He's been trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula for years," the yellow sea sponge explained. "What's so special about a special recipe?" Rainbow asked blandly. "It be the backbone of this establishment. If Plankton gets his hands on it, it spells the end of the Krusty Krab. And it will bring his failing restaurant to success," the old crab explained further. "What are we going to do?" Fluttershy asked. "If he wants to play dirty, then I'm happy to oblige,” Mr. Krabs growled. High above, the airplane began to hone in on the Krusty Krab. "Welcome to Air Plankton. Please put your seats back and tray tables up as we're now approaching our final destination,” Plankton mocked. In an instant, a trench encircled the restaurant. Sandbags, wooden stakes, and barbwire littered the area. An air raid siren went off as the chimney was replaced with a machine gun with Mane 7 stood with SpongeBob and Patrick in military attire. "We're not even here for five minutes and we're already in a war?!" Rarity asked in astoundment. "I know, right? It's so awesome," Rainbow said eagerly. "No it's not!" Rarity snapped back. "Okay, Patrick, load the potatoes!" SpongeBob commanded. "Mashed or scalloped, sir?" Patrick asked. "No, Patrick. Raw,” SpongeBob sneered. "Sir, yes, sir!" Patrick dumped a bag of raw potatoes into the ammunition dock. "Locked and loaded!" the starfish yelled. "Can't we just talk these out peacefully with him?" the timid mare asked fearfully. "Peace was never an option,” SpongeBob said coldly. Down below, Mr. Krabs, in his own military attire, peered into the safe where the secret formula was sitting amongst piles of cash. "Don't worry, little formuler, you'll be safe in this...safe," Mr. Krabs locked the door and grabbed a speaker on his desk. "Fire!" With the order given, SpongeBob shot at Plankton's plane with a barrage of raw spuds. "Potatoes?!" Plankton cried. Grabbing the controls, he swung the plane from side-to-side to avoid the storm of spuds. "He's closing in!" SpongeBob yelled. "I think we have a few minutes before he gets here,” Patrick viewed through one of the binocular's lenses. "Yeah, we have all the time in the world." Pinkie viewed through the other. "That's because you two are using the binoculars wrong,” Rainbow said in a flat tone. SpongeBob turned the binoculars around for the two. "He's right on top of us!" Patrick and Pinkie held each other in a panic. Potatoes zeroed I’m on the plane's propellers. But, all that accomplished was shredding them into fries. An unsuspecting civilian fish was on a leisurely walk when hundreds of fries rained down from above. "Hey, it's raining fries!" he said whimsically. "It's gonna take a lot more than potatoes to bring this baby down,” Plankton taunted. More potatoes splattered against the front end and tore through the wings, causing them to rip away from the main body. "Or maybe not," Plankton said plainly. The plane dropped to the ground in a tremendous explosion. Customers from inside the Krusty Krab gasped, then cheered in victory. SpongeBob and Patrick were jumping for joy. "Well, that was short-lived," Rainbow said flatly. "That's supposed to be a good thing,” Applejack said, irritated. "Wait a minute, guys, look! He's got a tank!" SpongeBob pointed at a large, green machine slowly parachuting down to the ground. Inside, Plankton loaded a pickle into the cannon. "Well, Krabs, you're certainly in a pickle now!" he joked cynically. He aimed the cannon right at SpongeBob and the others. Once he was locked on, Plankton fired the massive pickle. It zeroed in on our heroes. They all gasped. "Take cover!" Twilight screamed. They all jumped from the roof just as the pickled slammed into the sandbags and exploded. They all landed inside the trench. SpongeBob and Patrick founded themselves in the wall. Pickle pieces pelted the ground around them. "Oh, this is degrading,” Rarity whined. More pickle slices rained down on the fish civilian. "Hey, it's raining pickles!" he said. A large shadow casted over him. "Ha, ha, now it's raining..." BAM Plankton's tank landed right on top of him. "...tanks," the fish groaned in pain. "You're welcome," Plankton said sarcastically as he drove the machine forward. Back at the trench, Twilight and Rainbow pulled Patrick from the hole. "You okay, Patrick?" Spike asked in concern. "Finland,” The starfish groaned. SpongeBob popped out of the hole soon after. The nine friends peered over the wall. They shrieked and ducked for cover as more pickles rocketed passed them. A telephone sat close by them, SpongeBob quickly turned the handle. "Your order, sir!" he said. "I'll have two Krabby Patties-extra ketchup, extra mustard, and hold the mayo,” A squirrel in a white suit said. Her name was Sandy. SpongeBob realized he was talking through the drive thru speaker. "Wrong channel!" he turned the handle again. "Your order, sir?" "Extra ketchup! Extra mustard! Hold the mayo!” Mr. Krabs ordered authoritatively. "Yes, sir!" SpongeBob saluted. He appeared over the wall with a giant, ketchup bottle-shaped cannon in his hand. "Extra ketchup! Extra mustard!" SpongeBob repeated. "Hold the mayo," Patrick heaved, struggling to hold up a giant jar of mayonnaise. The Mane 6 and Spike stood there in bewilderment. "Where do you get these things?" Twilight asked in utter confusion. "Unleash the condiments!" Mr. Krabs ordered. "With relish," SpongeBob replied. He let out a war cry and shot rounds of ketchup and mustard at the armored tank. It became apparent, however, that it had no effect on Plankton's tank. "Uh, guys, I don't think this is working," Spike said. "Ya think,” Rainbow said, exasperated. “They’re just shooting condiments at that thing.” Suddenly, SpongeBob ran out of ammo and the ketchup sputtered to a stop. "Excuse me,” he joked. He, Patrick, and Pinkie shared a good laugh. "This is not the time for immature jokes!" Twilight warned. SpongeBob reloaded and continued shooting more ketchup and mustard at Plankton. "Hello? Hello?" Sandy called through the drive-thru window. Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs was studying a map on the bunker wall. "Guess ya'll don't want my money," Sandy's voice could be heard through the speaker. "Money?" Mr. Krabs stopped what he was doing. As quickly as he could, he raced to the drive-thru window, grabbed Sandy's money, and handing her the bagged meal. "Thank you, come again,” he said before racing away. Sandy sat there in her vehicle, confused. Back at the battle, SpongeBob continued to shoot red and yellow condiments at the incoming tank, all the while he and the others ducked to avoiding incoming pickles. "We have to do somethin'. We can't leave SpongeBob to do all the work,” Applejack said. "But, what can we do?" Twilight asked, pointing to the ketchup gun. “It's not like we carry around weapons as wacky as this." Pinkie then threw a cupcake right at the tank. The sugary treat plastered itself against the front. "Can I have that back please?" Pinkie cried out. "Oh, for Celestia's sake," Rainbow face-hoofed. "I can't hold the mayo any longer," Patrick wheezed, before throwing the hulking jar through the air. It landed right in Plankton's path, shattering on contact with the ground. "Mayo? Well, it's going to take a lot more than mayo to stop..." Plankton rammed into the mountain of creamy mayo causing a large explosion, sending mayo and tank pieces everywhere. "Oh, my,” Fluttershy whispered, just as a wave of mayonnaise splashed into them. Rarity teetered over onto her fainting couch. "Why! Why-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y!" She cried into the pillows, staining them with the pure white condiment. Just then, the ground began to shake and rumble. "Now what?" SpongeBob winced. From the pile of mayonnaise, a ginormous, plankton-themed robot emerged. Plankton laughed maniacally down at the puny creatures. The robot's shadow loomed over them as the stood, slack-jawed. "Uh, I just remembered I don't work for Mr. Krabs!" Patrick handed SpongeBob his hat before running for his life. "Coward," Rainbow growled. "But, probably the smart thing to do," Twilight squealed. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 ran, or in the Mane 7's case swam, for their lives for the Krusty Krab as the robot stomped toward them. "Robot! Robot! Robot! Giant robot!" SpongeBob yelled. Inside his office, Mr. Krabs stood behind the safe. He could here the massive steps from whatever was outside and SpongeBob's cries of panic. Sweat slid down his face, fear enveloping his entire crustaceous body. Suddenly, SpongeBob barged through the door. "Mr. Krabs, Plankton's here and he's got a giant robot!" the sea sponge explained. "Quick, boy, bar the door," Mr. Krabs ordered swiftly. SpongeBob took action and lodge a chair against the doorknob. "Got it,” he exclaimed happily, only for a giant, robotic foot to crash through the wall. Plankton laughed evilly, stepping closer to Mr. Krabs. Rainbow swam up and open the crushed door off SpongeBob. "Are you going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "I'm more worried about, Mr. Krabs,” SpongeBob gasped. "I'll take one secret formula,” Plankton requested. "To go." Mr. Krabs gasped in fear. Rainbow dash swam up in front of him and raised her hooves in defense. "You want the formula? You'll have to go through me,” She challenged. Not willing to leave their friend alone, The rest of the Mane 7 swam up and join her. "And me,” Applejack added confidently "Count me in," Pinkie said. "And me, too," Twilight said firmly. "Don't forget about me," Rarity chimed in. "And me, as well,” Fluttershy said as firmly as she could. "And me," Spike puffed up his body. Plankton stared at them for a second then laughed insanely. "What? You think a group of pastel-colored seahorses and your pet pufferfish can stop me?" he mocked. "What are you going to do? Slap me with your tailfins? Oh, I'm so scared." Plankton laughed even harder, the robot's hand reached for them. The Mane 7 stood there ground. Mr. Krabs closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But then, the machine stopped. Sparks danced around and the giant robot fell onto its knee. The light on its head turned dark, signifying only one thing. "Oh, barnacles. I'm out of gas?" Plankton asked angrily. The light showed "E" for empty. "That was close,” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The other sea ponies breathed a collective sigh of relief. SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs, on the other hand, gave a heart laugh. Plankton walked down the reaching arm with a determined look. "I'm not through yet. I've got something that will make you hand over that formula. Something you can't resist,” Plankton pulled out his wallet. "Money!" Mr. Krabs gasped in shock. "You're gonna try and bribe him?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Mr. Krabs does love money,” SpongeBob said. “It's like a blessing and a curse.” "Yes!" Plankton opened his wallet only to find it was empty. "Wha!? That's...that's...that's impossible!" He looked all around inside his wallet, but there wasn't so much as a dime in there. "Well, it was full of money just last week," the tiny sea creature stated. "And then I brought that airplane and built that tank." The realization came to him. He had spent all his life savings for that one, final assault. "Sounds to me like someone's just a wee bit broke!" Mr. Krabs said with a cynical grin. "So, that's it. You got nothing left to throw at us?" Twilight asked Plankton. Plankton gave a sad sigh. "Well, Krabs, I guess you've won. I've spent every penny I've ever made trying to put you out of business,” he lamented, fishing something out of his pocket. "Except this one. My last penny. Besides, what can i do with one measly cent anyway?" "You could give it to me. Just a suggestion,” Mr. Krabs offered. "Here, take it,” Plankton flipped the coin to his rival. Mr. Krabs caught it, dropped it into the safe, and locked it for good. "You've taken everything else. Why not?" Plankton began to sob. Mr. Krabs grabbed him by his antenna and walked out of the destroyed office room. SpongeBob and the Mane 7 followed. "Well, Plankton, like a reheated Krabby Patty, you've been foiled again,” the red crab dropped him to the floor. Plankton sat there and gave a sad groan. The customers all looked down at him with amused smiles. "I guess this means the secret formula is safe forever, right, Mr. Krabs?" SpongeBob said to his boss. "It sure does, boy,” Mr. Krabs patted SpongeBob's head. "And, uh, thanks for coming to my aid." He said to the Mane 7. "It was the right thing to do," Twilight smiled. "Why don't you scurry along?" Mr. Krabs nudged Plankton forward before laughing. "Thanks for coming! Have a nice day." The customers laughed, too, as Plankton slowly and sadly made his way to the front entrance. Despite all the he had done, Fluttershy couldn't but feel a little sorry for Plankton. "Don't you girls think that was a little cruel?" Fluttershy asked. "He ruined my main. He gets no sympathy from me,” Rarity huffed. "Ah would've done the same thing if that varmin’ tried to put me outta business," Applejack stated firmly. "But, that's it? That battle barely lasted five minutes,” Rainbow said. "The map summoned us just to be part of some epic-proportion food fight?" "I have a feeling there's more to it than this,” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "I think we should keep an eye on Plankton." "Whatever you say, Twi," the rainbow-maned sea pony said. If only Twilight knew how right she was. To be continued
