Gilligan's Island; Aloha, poniesby Fireheart 1945ChaptersChapter 1 Chapter 2Chapter 3PrologueChapter 1 Chapter 1 "No Skipper, I don't as of yet have any explanation for the explosion you and Gilligan heard," "Professor" Roy Hinkley said to the Skipper, formally Jonas Grumby but more commonly referred to by his rank. "Only theories." They were in the sailor's hut, discussing the noise the two crewmen had heard. "But... but... don't you even have a theory?" "Well," said the Professor, thinking for a moment, "it might have something to do with atmospheric conditions; in some cases people have been able to hear loud noises over a hundred miles away from the event causing them, while people closer to the event were hardly able to hear anything out of the ordinary." Still worried, the Skipper asked, "Are you sure it's not the volcano again?" The Professor shook his head. "Certainly not. I've been keeping track; it's been dormant if not extinct since our last encounter with it. We'd know if the volcano was erupting again." "Well that's a relief." The Skipper looked outside. "It's not a storm, that's for sure." After all the castaways' acquaintance with storms, it would have been obvious if the weather had taken a turn for the worse. He was about to speak again, when something came to his ears; "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...." "Hey Professor, what's that?" "Hmmm. If I had to guess, Gilligan is about to come screaming into camp for some reason." Sure enough, the yell grew louder; "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"" The two men turned to each other. "Gilligan," they said in concert. Gilligan stopped screaming; the Skipper opened to the door to see that Gilligan had run into the clothes line, entangled himself in the garments, and fallen down. He was now on the ground covered with half-dry clothes. Mary Ann and Ginger were standing over him. "Oh, Gilligan," Mary Ann said crossly, "we worked all morning to wash those clothes." "Now we have to do them all over again," Ginger huffed angrily. "Mmhp mmmp mmhm mmpm," Gilligan responded; his mouth was full of clothing. Walking over, the Skipper said, temper rising, "Gilligan, take the shirt out of your mouth so we can hear you." Gilligan unplugged his mouth and stood up slowly. "Sorry, Skipper." Oh, how many times have I heard that?, the captain thought to himself. "Now tell us why you came running and screaming into the camp?" "Oh, uh that, uh, hmmm," Gilligan replied, thinking. "Can you remember?" "Well I was running for five minutes; that's a long time to remember." "...Well?" "Er, well, I was fishing, and then I heard someone talking." "Who?" "It wasn't any of us, that's for sure." That caught the Professor's attention. "Did you say it was someone from off the island?" "Uh.... well..." "Spit it out, Gilligan," the Skipper said menacingly. "...I went to see who was talking, and then this pink horse jumped on me and knocked me down." The Skipper was incredulous; "Did you say a pink horse?" Gilligan, there are no species or subspecies of horses that are naturally colored pink," the Professor said almost automatically. "Then it's unnaturally pink; I saw it, then it talked to me!" "Now I know that's impossible," the Professor said in disdain. "There are no other species, other than homo sapiens, on our planet that can speak in a complex language." "Oh yeah? What about parrots?" "Parrots only copy what other people are saying. And no horse has ever shown the ability to speak." "Gilligan," the captain asked, "are you sure you didn't just doze off and dream about this... thing?" The first mate considered. "Well, I was on the ground." "There, you were dreaming. Now get back to work on the raft." Gilligan was about to comment, but then caught sight of something pink up in a tree across from him; it was the same pink horse he had seen on the beach, staring right at him. He opened and closed his mouth, opened and closed it again. "...Gilligan?" the Skipper asked. "He looks like he's in shock," the Professor noted. "Well, Gilligan," the captain pressed, "what is it?" The first mate pointed. "That." Everyone else followed his gaze... And saw nothing but a tree with a couple of coconuts growing near it's summit. "Oh, Gilligan," the Skipper began angrily, "GO FINISH THAT RAFT!" "But I'm not done fishing-" "THAT"S AN ORDER!" More afraid of his commanding officer than of whatever it was that had been in the tree, Gilligan not only went to it, he ran toward the beach, fearful of the captain's wrath. "Why me? Why always me?" Gilligan said quietly as he hammered another nail into the wood. It had been less than an hour, and here he was, still working at building the raft, and all without a bite to eat since breakfast. He reaching to a tin can nearby to get another nail; his clawing fingers could grasp nothing, so he lifted the can and looked into it. He was out of nails. Sighing, he reached for a second can he had placed on the raft for just such an occasion. It wasn't there. Puzzled, he looked under the sawhorses the raft was currently on top of; he could see nothing but sand. "Looking for this?" A can and a pink hoof crossed in front of his face. "Oh, thank you." Gilligan took the nail can and went back to hammering. Then it hit him; who had said that? And more importantly... who had just passed him the can? He looked to his left and saw an excited pink horse with a pink balloon mane and large eyes looking back at him. "Hi, Aaaaaaaaaaaa, how are you today?" Gilligan gulped. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed, and bolted again for the treeline and hopeful safety by the little collection of huts the castaways called home. Meanwhile, back at the raft, Pinkie stood with a surprised and puzzled expression on her face. The foliage behind her shook and the leaves clashed; seconds later Twilight Sparkle walked out into the open. "Hey Pinkie, was that you who screamed just now?" "Oh no, that was Aaaaaaaaa, he seems nice." "Who, now?" Twilight asked, looking interested. "Who?" Pinkie returned. "He's my new friend, that's who he is! Chapter 2"Gilligan, for the last time," the Skipper insisted, frustrated, "There are NO talking pink horses." "Oh yeah? Tell that to the one I saw." "It's all in your head, Gilligan; say it." "No." "WHAT!?" the Skipper shouted, turning menacingly toward Gilligan. "It's all in my head! It's all in my head!" the frightened first mate yelled out. "That's better. Now, every time you think you see that little pink horse, I want you to tell yourself that." "Okay, that." "Yes, I..." Realizing what Gilligan had just said, the Skipper took off his hat and whacked Gilligan in the chest with it. "Don't be smart." "Sorry, Skipper." "Okay, but remember; every time you see the pink horse, just tell yourself, It's all in my head." "It's all in your head." "GILLIGAN!" "Okay okay! It's all in my head!" "Yes, and it's gonna stay that way, understand?" "Yes sir." "Good." The Skipper turned to leave the hut. "Now, the Howells need someone to fix up their hut, the girls need someone to help with the laundry... seeing as a big knucklehead went and ruined all their hard work. And I'm going to need help building the new aqueduct the Professor's trying to build." "Yes Skipper." Gilligan didn't sound too pleased, but then again, he rarely did when someone gave him work to do. "First things first; go over to the Howells and begin repairing their hut." "Okay." Gilligan got up and stretched, accidentally hitting the Skipper in the face with his left arm and knocking him down. "Oops!" the first mate said, turning around. "Gilligan," the captain said, getting up. "Yes?" The Skipper took his hat off to hit Gilligan again, who ducked before the blow could hit him. Without missing a beat, the Skipper hit him in the head, then replaced the hat on his head. "Now get to work!" Gilligan hammered another makeshift nail into the house, the banging of the hammer echoing throughout the little clearing. He'd been at work for an hour or so, and so far, there had been no signs of pink horses or anything of the like. Mr. Howell walked outside. "Well, Gilligan," he said, "this looks to be first class construction; you ought to have a raise." "Thanks Mr. Howell!" "Of course, multiplying nothing by nothing still equals nothing." "Thanks, Mr. Howell," Gilligan repeated, in a much different tone of voice. "Oh you're welcome my boy," the millionaire replied, oblivious to the offense he'd caused. "Now I'm off to enjoy a game of golf with Lovey." "Don't forget to bring an extra pair of pants." "Why would I do that?" "In case you get a hole in one." Mr. Howell struggled for a moment to figure out the joke as Gilligan got to work. "I don't know what could be wrong with Gilligan, Skipper," the Professor said as he set down a book on mental illnesses. "He's not typically delusional, he's eating fine, and he's in relatively good shape." "Well, something's got to be happening to my little buddy if he's seeing Technicolor horses," the Skipper replied, scratching his head. 'Is there anything you could think of? Even if it's only a thought, it could help." "Hmm." The Professor thought for a moment. "I suppose he could be in the beginning stages of madness brought on by being stranded this long on the island." "But then why haven't any of us begun to crack yet? Gilligan's such a happy-go-lucky guy, he'd be the last person to suffer from anything like that." "I'm not sure. But we have to stay vigilant, and watch for any more signs of a loss of sanity from Gilligan." The Professor stood up and walked past the window. "The signs would be obvious; strange doings, taking to himself, and continuing his absurd claim to have seen a horse with a color that is genetically impossible to obtain." "Okay, so watch him for any of those signs." "Yes, and don't let him know about it. If he sees you, tell him anything, just not that you suspect he's going insane. Be casual." "Right." "Oh, and Skipper?" "Yes?" "Tell the Howells and the girls about this development as soon as possible, and tell them what I told you." "Sure thing, Professor." The Skipper started to leave. "What the...?" The Skipper turned around. "What happened?" The Professor was staring at his bookcase. "Several of my volumes regarding travel and scientific theory are missing!" "Did you lend them to somebody?" "No. They were here when we started talking. Someone must have swiped them while we were discussing Gilligan's problem." "I didn't see anyone come in!" "Neither did I." The Professor turned to look at the Skipper. "Whoever did it was certainly sneaky. Neither of us heard or saw anything, but while we were talking the books vanished." A look of shock crossed the Skipper's face. "You don't think Gilligan did it, do you?" "It's a possibility. He has been able, when troubled or out of it, to pull off surprising things." "Should I..?" "No, don't discuss the robbery to him at all, it might set something off. I'll talk to the others, you keep an eye on Gilligan." "I'll go do it right away." "Good." The Professor watched as the Skipper left the hut. "We have a mystery on our hands," he said quietly to no one in particular as the door shut. Meanwhile, some distance away, several ponies had gathered to discuss their situation. "Did you find anything, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked. "No," Twilight said in exasperation, "none of these books discuss anything relevant to our problem. We're stuck here for now." "Aw shucks," Applejack muttered. "What're we gonna do, then?" "I guess we'll just try to survive on what we can gather." "You aren't suggesting we eat raw coconuts and milk, are you?" Rarity asked, a look of dissatisfaction crossing her face. "It's highly irregular." "And what about those creatures?" Rainbow Dash asked. "They could try and attack us." "I don't know, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! seemed okay," Pinkie replied. "Just really shouty and running away-ish." "I'm not sure what to expect from them either," came a voice from a resting form under a bush. "Please Princess," Twilight said worriedly, "You were affected by the spell more than any of us; you should be getting your rest." "I have strength enough to speak to you," came the response from the curled up Princess Celestia. "I think we should keep our distance until we've found out more about them." "Aw, I was planning to throw them all a big party!" The Princess chuckled. The pink pony's antics and attitude were inspiring as well as funny. "I must ask you to postpone it, then. Just until we can be sure that we're safe from them." Pinkie's face fell momentarily, but bounced back pretty quick. "You can count on me, Princess," she said at last. "Twilight, I would like for you to watch these creatures, and gather what information you can as long as you remain out of their sight. And that goes for the rest of you." As she heard the affirmative answers, Celestia thought briefly what kind of genie they might unlock through their course of actions. So far, none of these beings had shown aggression, although Twilight had admitted that the one they called "the Professor" had been upset by the thievery - there was no other honest way to put it - of his books. And apparently the one they called "Gilligan" was thought to have gone crazy when he had seen Pinkie, and he was to be watched by "the Skipper," obviously a sea captain of some sort. Otherwise, though, their information about the inhabitants of this island was precious little, and until they knew more, the only reasonable option was to try to survive while gathering information and clues. She had tried already to effect the sun of this world, only to find that it had been far beyond her ability and the range of her magic to move even slightly. As for the moon, she decided that there was no reason to upset the balance. As always, thinking of the moon made her think of her younger sister. Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry. Five hours earlier Celestia walked into the throne room. Various mages and scientists were busily at work, studying papers and jotting down notes. Most didn't even seem to notice she had come in. She waited; this was a project that required intense concentration and every bit of knowledge these ponies had. Finally, one deigned to look up and see her. "Princess Celestia!" he exclaimed. "I apologize sincerely. I didn't know you would come early." "That's ok. Is the machine ready for it's test run?" "Yes, Princess, we're just doing the calibrations and calculations for the point of exit." "Good." Celestia knew the object in front of her - a large oval mechanism with a spiraling light in the center - was more than just crazy babble and junk. It was to be a revolutionary product, one that would accelerate transportation to almost faster than light speed. The portal was based off of the spells unicorns used to teleport, and was designed to bring the user much farther away than a unicorn normally could under it's own power. In effect, a pony could step into this machine and instantly find themselves in a town on the other side of the country. If it went well, the portal could be used for worldwide travel instead of just inside Equestria, which was the current plan for it's implementation. Best of all, it could be utilized by all ponies, and even non-ponies, so pegasi and earth ponies wouldn't have any problems. Nothing could be simpler. She, the Bearers of the Elements, and her sister would walk in and find themselves in Fillydelphia. The reporters were probably already waiting there, eager for the amazing story they would be able to bring to the media. "Twilight, are you sure you and your friends are ready?" she asked the unicorn she had taken as her student. "Oh, yes, Princess!" The eager unicorn's voice squeaked with eagerness. "This is so exciting! Just think, this will change everything!" "I'm glad you're eager for the task." "I'm glad you invited me and my friends for the test run," Twilight answered, looking up at her mentor. Celestia smiled. She loved that her student was so willing to learn, so willing to try new theories and explore the unknown. She had her quirks, yes, but then so did everyone. "We're ready as ever, Princess!" Rainbow Dash announced, doing a flip in midair in excitement. "Darn Tootin"," Applejack agreed. "I certainly hope we can be back for lunch and a trip to the spa," Rarity commented. "There will be time enough for that once we get back," Luna stated. "We'll be in Fillydelphia for about an hour before coming back using an identical device there." "I just want to get back in time to feed my animal friends," Fluttershy said quietly, as was her way. "Just think, with this new... thingamabob, I could throw parties all over Equestria in the blink of an eye!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down. "Your Highnesses," one of the scientists said abruptly, "it is time for the demonstration to begin." All eight ponies walked forward until they were standing just in front of the teleporter. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, standing nearby, nodded in respect to Celestia and Luna, and both shared a loving glance at Twilight, who smiled and waved to them. Three unicorns aimed their horns at a gem at the top of the machine and fired beams of magic into it; she joined them, adding her magic to theirs. The gem began to glow, and the light in the center of the portal began to accelerate it's spin rate. Well, this is it, Celestia thought. Just then, the gem began to spark, and streaks of energy started shooting out of the central light. The three unicorns, shocked, disengaged the spell. It was too late. There was a blinding flash, and then the world went dark. Celestia slowly regained consciousness. The first thing she was able to discern was that she had a massive headache, as though she had been drinking throughout the night. She hadn't, of course, she didn't drink alcoholic beverages but that was what it felt like. She opened her eyes. Standing over her were the Bearers of the elements, all six of them; clearly they had been watching her, hoping for the best. From the looks on their faces, they might have been afraid that she had died, which was a reasonable fear. She groaned. Pain came from all four legs, stretching down from the knee to the fetlock - as hooves weren't connected to the nervous system, they didn't feel anything, which was a mild comfort, as the pain she was feeling right now was intense enough as it was. Looking at her forelegs, she saw that they had been bruised and burned. The other six ponies were in better condition. "Oh thank goodness you're alright, Princess," Twilight sighed in relief. I don't know if you could say that accurately; I feel hurt all over. Nonetheless, she was relieved as well. The next thing she noticed was the sand on the ground and the trees. Unlike the trees in central Fillydelphia, they had palm leaves, not the nettles and maple leaves of the trees in that town. Another was the lagoon; unless the planet had drastically changed in the space of a few hours, Fillydelphia wasn't a coastal town. "Twilight, do you know where we are?" she asked, hoping her student would have better information. "No, Princess, I'm sorry; as far as I can tell, were on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean." Twilight sounded helpless, as though it were her fault they were in this mess. "Have you found my sister, at least? I can't see her with you." Twilight and the others glanced at one another with concern. "As far as I'm aware, she didn't come with us," the purple unicorn said quietly. "I think I heard her step back before... this happened, so I think she's still back in Canterlot." Celestia didn't know quite what to think. It was comforting to know that her sister wasn't lost on some forgotten island in the middle of nowhere. On the other hoof, she didn't know the condition her sister of the others were in after the machine malfunctioned, as it obviously had. Several images of Princess Luna lying wounded, hurt maybe even... No; I will not even think of that. She refused to believe anypony had died, especially her sister. Considering that she and the Bearers had come through without too much harm - the pain in her body tried to contradict her on this - the ponies back at the castle had probably come through okay. Probably. She saw a bunch of bananas* in a tree. It wasn't her favorite food, but it was something she could eat, and she was feeling hungry. She used her magic to levitate one out of the tree. Or rather, she tried to. The bananas didn't move an inch. "Princess, I don't think you should be straining yourself," Twilight fussed. "Your horn is burnt pretty badly. I wouldn't be trying to use magic." Of course. Celestia hadn't even considered the effect of the misspell on her own magic. In other spells of similar strength that had failed, unicorns had regained their magic in time, but had been temporarily deprived of it after the intended effect had backfired. "Here, let me get it," Twilight offered. To Celestia's mild surprise, she was able to levitate a banana down without incident. Then she realized something; she had personally taken part in the spell to activate the portal and Twilight hadn't. As such, she had burned out her magic reserves when the machine malfunctioned, taking greater injuries as a result because she had been involved, while Twilight and presumably Rarity had been relatively unaffected. The loss of magic was a bit disconcerting, but at least they had something to eat; at least that's what she thought as she ate the banana. Present time Celestia had regained the use of her magic by now, but she was otherwise still weak, weak enough that she could barely stand. She had to wait as Applejack used a hoof to break open a coconut before being able to take a sip. It was unlike anything she had drank before, but at least they had food and drink, and the capacity to build shelter for themselves. After those needs were fulfilled, then they could find a way to return home. "Pinkie, Rarity, I want you to gather food for us." "You bet, Princess!" "I vow I shall do my utmost." "Rainbow, Applejack, find some materials we can use to build ourselves shelter." "On it!" "Y'all can count on me!" "Twilight, I want you to continue surveillance on the creatures here, and keep track of our supply situation." "I won't let you down!" "And Fluttershy, please make sure any animals we find know that we have no intentions of harming them." "I will." As her subjects set off to fulfill the tasks she had given them, she made sure to make herself comfortable. The sunlight and the heat of the day was making her sleepy, and she hoped she could find a way home in her dreams. *Note, I do not mean anything inappropriate or indecent by using bananas in this story; in any story I make, a banana is a fruit to be eaten, nothing more. Chapter 3Three hours after the theft, the Professor was in his hut, trying to solve the mystery. In addition the impossible apparitions Gilligan was claiming to have seen, books he'd had had gone missing, books vital to his research on the island. The door opened. The Skipper and Mr. Howell walked in. "Did you find out who was stealing the books?" the captain asked eagerly. "No, gentlemen. In fact, I've discovered close to nothing at all about the case, nor have I found out anything about Gilligan's condition." "Suppose I offer a reward to anyone who finds them," Mr. Howell offered. "If the suspect wanted money, Mr. Howell, they could have just as easily stolen from your own private stash. Whoever the thief was, I'm sure they didn't want cash." "Well, what did you find out?" the Skipper asked as Mr. Howell momentarily bore a shocked expression. "The thief didn't enter through the window or the door," the Professor answered, a hand under his chin in thought. "There would have been evidence if they had. Nor did they come in the doorway; we would have seen them quite easily." "But Professor, how else would they have taken them?" "I must confess that I'm perplexed as to how they managed it. In fact," the Professor answered, walking around the room, "the only answer I can come up with is that the books simply disappeared on their own.." "Professor, they didn't just warp out of here." "I can't believe you just warped the books out without getting a look at the native designs," Rarity said to Twilight. "We have bigger priorities that finding out what they wear for clothing," the purple unicorn answered, her nose still stuck in one of the "borrowed" books. "Th... This d... doesn't count as stealing, does it?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. Twilight didn't hear her; she was too embroiled in the book. "Nothing," she said as she flipped a page. "Nothing... Nothing... Nothing!" She flung it aside with magic, absolutely frustrated. "There's nothing in any of these books discussing magic, almost like it doesn't exist here!" "That's absurd, darling," Rarity said, shocked by the idea. "You're the one who always say that life as we know it cannot possibly exist without it!" "Key phrase," Celestia spoke up from under her makeshift cover of palm leaves. "As we know it. Perhaps," she added, as the others turned toward her, "life as we don't know it has taken hold here. A whole different system could exist, one we have no knowledge of." There was a brief silence as the other ponies took that all in. "Some things have to remain the same," Rainbow said, the first to recover. "Like gravity. Otherwise, we'd all be floating off into space." Celestia nodded. "We can work out how things work here by starting off such building blocks." "Hmm." Twilight looked back at the book, then noticed something; the shadows on the trees had moved since she'd last looked at them. Looking up, she saw that the sun had moved from it's last position, or at least the last she'd noticed. "You managed to control the sun, Princess?" "Actually, no, Twilight. That wasn't my doing." Twilight's brain crashed into a wall. "Uh, what?" "I have been unable to move the star of this system; it's not connected to magic, and when I tried, it was so large I couldn't even begin to get a grip on it, and I know from even the prod I gave it that it has far too much mass for me to move even if it were connected to magic." "But... then... How is it moving?" the stunned purple unicorn asked, waving a hard hoof at the celestial body high above. Celestia's eyes flashed almost playfully. Although her student had done well insofar as the field of friendship was concerned, she still enjoyed trying to give her a lesson. "It goes with what we were talking about; the building blocks of how things work here. Let's take what Rainbow Dash touched on earlier." Twilight just looked even more confused. "Gravity? How does that solve the moving sun mystery?" "Come on, Twilight; you've read every book in the library countless times. Gravity is the force exuded by all objects. Larger bodies have more gravity." Twilight thought about that for a moment. "What I'm getting is that both the sun and the planet have gravity, but by your example the sun has more gravity than the planet." Celestia nodded. "I think you can see where I'm going with this." Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought, then gasped. "That would mean that the planet is orbiting the star!" "My thoughts exactly." "But... but... but... That's totally illogical!" Celestia laughed. After a few seconds, she saw Twilight's hurt face and relented. "I'm sorry, my faithful student," she apologized. "I understand that this world tosses everything we know on our heads, but we must learn as much as we can in order to survive and find our way home. That includes looking at answers we would consider illogical, as you so put it. And we have discovered something about the way the system works in this world, so we have something to go on from here." "Uh, sorry to interrupt," Rainbow said, not sounding very sorry, "but shouldn't we be actually be doing something?" Celestia chuckled. "We will, my little pony. Just be patient. We need time to properly plan our course of action. Now, Twilight, what exactly have you found out in these books? Anything, other than the lack of magic?" "Well, these books are all written in Equestrian, so we can at least use them," her faithful student answered. "They make many references to electricity, which seems to be utilized as an energy source. Others are informative books about volcanoes and native practices." "Anything else?" "No. I was only able to sneak away a few of them, and they're all descriptive about a certain subject and little else." She paused. "The books did make reference to humans, which I presume is the native species we've encountered." "Did you say humans?" Celestia said. "Yes, why?" Celestia thought for a moment. Ancient sources made a reference to a bipedal species of that same name, who supposedly gave ponykind many of the ideas they used today. While this was something most ponies didn't know about nowadays, it was more significant than it seemed. Especially if this world was populated by them. "Oh, just wondering," she finally answered. "I think we should be lookin' round this here island fer somethin' to get us out o' this here mess," Applejack said. "I agree in full," Celestia agreed. "I want you to go in pairs to look around this island for food and things to drink, as well as for needed volunteers. Do not make contact with these humans unless I give you permission, or unless you are attacked, and even then try to break off contact as quickly as possible." The other ponies all nodded. "Alright. Rainbow and Applejack, search the eastern side of the island. Twilight and Pinkie Pie, I want you to sweep the north. Fluttershy and Rarity, scour the western areas. When my strength has returned, I will look to the south on my own." "Are you sure..." "Yes Twilight, I'm fully sure I can handle any threat that may come my way; now, be on yours. I want you all back here by sunset." She was met by several affirmative replies. "Good. Now, move out!" Mr. and Mrs. Howell sat in their luxury chairs, taking in the sun and basking away, as only a couple of filthy rich capitalists could. "I say, Gilligan, my boy," Mr. Howell called out. "Yes?" "Could you be a good lad and refill my martini, if you please?" the older man said, holding out a large glass. "Right on it," Gilligan answered, taking it and walking off. "Right then." "Thurston, have you ever seen a more beautiful day?" Mrs. Howell asked. "Indeed I have." Lovey removed her glasses and turned toward him. "When?" "Inside the vaults of our private house in Texas." "Yes; money is such a beautiful thing." "Indeed. And yet there never seems to be enough." Mrs. Howell was about to lay back down when she saw something that caught her eye. "Thurston." "Yes, Lovey dear?" "I am quite sure I saw a little blue horse peek it's head up from that bush." "Hmm?" Mr. Howell looked at the bush in question. "I don't see anything. I think all those martinis might be going to your head, my dear." "I suppose they could be," she answered. "Still, it looked quite real." "Nonsense, Lovey; if there's one absolute in life, it's that characters from a child's television show can't come to life." "What'dya think you were doin'?" Applejack fiercely demanded. "Ya almost gave us away!" "I had to see what we were up against!" Rainbow answered just as heatedly. "They ain't enemies, at least not yet." "They could be! And we have to watch out for them!" Applejack sighed. "Just be more careful. Ya heard the Princess; don't let 'em see ya." "Fine, just stay out of my way." "Please be careful, girls," the Professor said as he mixed two materials inside a jar. "What's that you're doing, Professor?" Mary Ann asked. "If you don't mind my asking." "Simple, Mary Ann; I am putting together a fine dust that I'll use to discover fingerprints, and then I'll match those with each of ours." "Well, how will that catch the thief?" the farm girl asked. "Simple. I'll lure the thief into taking yet another volume from my collection. They'll leave fingerprints on whatever they end up touching. I'll match the prints I find with our own. Whoever those prints belong too will our nefarious scoundrel." "Darling, you don't need detective work to catch a thief," Ginger put in. "All you need is a hot girl in a dress." At that moment, the Skipper opened the door to the hut and came in. "What's the word, Professor?" "I've put together the powder. Now all we have to do is set the trap." "Good. We need to solve this mystery. We can't have a thief running around our island." "Indeed," the Professor agreed. "The sooner this little mystery is wrapped up, the happier I'll be." "Did you hear that?" Fluttershy asked urgently and with worry in her voice. "They're setting a trap for Twilight!" Rarity said in a loud whisper. "For us!" "We have to tell Twilight and the Princess!" "Yes, but how? They could be anywhere on this island!" "We have to try!" "I know, but it'll take forever to find them! It could be too late by then!" "Maybe one of us should stay here..." "That's a good idea!" Rarity whispered loudly. "You can stay here and warn off Twilight when she comes." "But I-" "Hey," said a rough voice full of authority inside the hut, "did you hear something?" "Too late!" Rarity hissed. "Run for it!" Both ponies quickly made themselves scarce as the Skipper came round for a look. "Nobody here but us, Professor," the Skipper said after taking a look in the bushes. "That's odd. I could almost swear I heard strange voices." The Professor rubbed his chin. "It might have been our thief, or two thieves. If so, that makes the whole business much harder. They might have overheard our plans." "That makes it all useless!" Mary Ann said worriedly. "Not to worry. We'll try it out anyway and see what happens. In the meantime, I'll try to come up with another solution." "That reminds me, Gilligan and I have to find some more food for tonight," the Skipper remembered. "I'll go find him, and see what we can find." "Oh," the Professor said, "remember to keep an eye on him for any strange activity." "Yes, Professor, though I hate having to suspect my little buddy of a misdemeanor." "If someone else really has come on the island, I don't think we'll have to do that for much longer." "Alright, I'll see you when we get back." "We have to go get the dishes ready," Mary Ann remembered. "Yes, that would be prudent," the Professor said absentmindedly. When the girls were gone, the Professor stooped down and took a closer look at the area under the window. The sand looked scuffed, as if someone had been listening and had scurried away at the last moment. What struck him as odd was how the supposed "footprints" looked; they were flat, and were not at all like human feet. It was as if someone had taken a round, or rather a slightly oval-shaped wooden block and rammed it against the sand. Another confusing part of the mystery. And, if utilized properly, another clue. I'll keep this one secret; no need to have the culprit find out that we're on his trail. Rainbow Dash ran her hoof through the sand. Her hooves couldn't feel it, but she enjoyed making pictures. It was the only entertaining thing she could think of doing short of blowing their cover as Applejack tried bucking one of the trees, trying to get a coconut or two for them to collect. "Just... one... more..." There was a pause. "Ah, consarn it, not again!" "What happened this time?" "Darn thing broke when it hit a rock. All the milk done poured out; nothin' to bring back to the Princess." "We could eat the coconut itself," the cyan pegasus suggested. "Guess so, but ah've never eaten coconuts before. Don't know whether ta eat 'em raw or cook 'em, fer starters." "What's that over there?" Rainbow asked, pointing with her hoof. "Oh, that's just... oh, it's a banana. Guess that'd help." "And where there's one, there's bound to be more," Rainbow said as her stomach growled loudly. "About time; I'm sooooo hungry." "Now hold on, Rainbow, ah reckon we should both have a piece." "Oh, alright. But when we find more..." Both of them walked over to the banana. Applejack went to grab it... and it suddenly jumped away. "What in tarnation!?" "Let me try." Rainbow licked her lips, raised her hoof, and then swiped at the banana... which jumped away just before she could make contact. "What the hay!?" "Lookie there! There's a vine tied to the end of it!" Applejack noticed, pointing with her hoof. "So let's follow it!" Before the orange pony could protest, her blue-coated friend ran forward, towards a bush the vine disappeared into. "Okay... Gotcha!" Applejack trotted up beside her as Rainbow gave a great tug. A large foot covered in black fur came out of the bush. "Uh..." Rainbow and Applejack both looked up at the same time. A gorilla had just revealed itself, rising from it's hiding place. It beat it's chest as it screeched "OOH OOH AHH AHH!" Rainbow and Applejack hugged each other and screamed. Author's Note Sorry about the long wait. I was busy with other stories and just not in the mood to write Gilligan stuff. Hope you enjoy! PrologueJust sit right back And you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip That started in the tropic port Aboard this tiny ship The mate was a mighty sailing man, The Skipper brave and sure, Five passengers set sail that day For a three hour tour, A Three hour tour The weather started getting rough, The tiny ship was tossed If not for the courage of the fearless crew The Minnow would be lost, The Minnow would be lost The ship struck ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, With Gilligan, The Skipper, too, The Millionare, and his wife, The Movie Star, The Professor and Mary Ann Here on Gilligan's Isle! "Gilligan!", the Skipper shouted. "Gilligan!" It was yet another day on the island. The sun was shining, the few birds were singing, and the Skipper was calling for his first mate. Everything was normal. Well, normal for the castaways, at any rate. It was the third year the Skipper, his first mate Gilligan, the millionare Thurson Howell III and his wife, Mrs. Howell, the movie star Ginger Grant, the Kansan farm girl Mary Ann, and the Professor had been marooned on the deserted, uncharted island. They had barely gotten out of the storm with their lives, but the real problew was in getting off the island. fate was simply against the castaways. They had come a hair's length from being rescues numerous times, only for something to foul it up everytime; the weather, Gilligan, greedy and self obsorbed visitors, Gilligan, natural disasters, and Gilligan were just a few of the reasons they had failed every time. Even the dictator Rodriguez had managed to get off the island... before being exiled to the Andes Mountains after he was pronounced insane because he had stated that he had been on an island with people on it, and that he had become it's ruler for a while. The Skipper went down to the lagoon, still calling for Gilligan. He was about to lose his temper when the first mate answered. "Over here, Skipper." The Skipper walked over to where Gilligan was preparing to cast his line. Just before he could begin to ask what the kid was doing, Gilligan threw his line back, in preparation for the cast. The hook snagged on the captain's hat. "Wait, Gilligan, dont...!" Too late; Gilligan cast the line, and the Skipper's hat went with it, all the way into the lagoon, and into the water. Temper rising, the Skipper walked over to the first mate. Gilligan heard him, and turned around. "Hey Skipper! I think I caught one!" He reeled in the line. "Oh, look at that, it's just a silly old hat." He picked it off the hook. "It needs some work before it's fit for wearing." "Gilligan, that's my hat, you featherbrain!" The captain yanked the hat away from Gilligan and, for good measure, hit him over the head with it before squeezing the water out. "Your hook got stuck on it." "Oh, sorry Skipper." Gilligan sounded submissive, as usual around the Skipper. "I was just trying to catch something really good for dinner." "I have nothing against that, just don't use my hat as your bait." "Ok, Skipper." The first mate cast again, this time managing to do it correctly. "Gilligan, aren't you supposed to be working on the raft?" "I was, but I got hungry, so I decided to go fishing." The captain sighed, annoyed. "Why didn't you just get a banana? There's tons of them on the island!" "I didn't see any close by, and anyway I was afraid a gorilla would get me if I started looking for them." At least that was a real threat, even if it wasn't likely to show itself for real. "And how long ago was it that we even saw a gorilla?" "I don't know. A while ago, I guess." Gilligan began reeling in the line. "Well, in any case, get to work on that raft after you're done, or you'll have me to answer to." "Okay." Suddenly there was a boom, and the ground shook slightly. Gilligan jumped and dropped the fishing rod. "Skipper, what was that? Was it the volcano again?" For the first time in the conversation the Skipper was stumped, and a little worried. "I don't know, Gilligan. Maybe the Professor was using dynamite for some reason, you know he used to have some." "Yeah, when I put everyone in jail, including myself." Gilligan cut off when he saw his superior's stormy face. "Oh, right." "Hmmmm... I'll go talk to the Professor, maybe he has something to do with this." The Skipper began to walk away, then turned around. "Make sure you finish that raft." "I will, Skipper." "Alright then." The Skipper left, for real this time." Why am I always the one picked on?, Gilligan thought. He picked up the fishing rod, and reeled in the line, only to reveal that there was only a coconut on the end of the line. "I didn't know coconuts grew underwater." He heard something, not far away. He dropped the fishing line again. "Skipper?" he whispered. "Is that you?" No one answered. He began looking in the bushes near by. He found nothing. Abruptly he began hearing voices, talking some way off. Gilligan began walking quietly towards the sound. He got close enough to hear someone talking; he could make out some words, but the voices didn't sound familiar. "I don't know... wrong with... Princess's spell... bow Dash, but... have to wake the others." "Ya don't have ta wake me up, ah'm here", said a loud voice in a Southern-accented drawl. Gilligan heard something scuffling in the sand. "Where... we?", it asked, quieter this time. "I don't know... not on the maps we were... iven. Maybe somewhere... Zebrica." "Oooooh, look, coconuts!", came a girly, energetic voice. "Coconuts? We can't... in Zebrica.. en, we.. ust be on... opic island." "What? ...ow? Princess... ell should... us in palace!" "..irls, focus... eed to find out where... are, and... help." "It's a rescue crew! We're saved!" Gilligan said excitedly. Suddenly a pink blob threw itself out of the bushes and landed on him, knocking him onto his back. He looked to see a pink horse standing on his belly. It began speaking; "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Gilligan screamed as he got up, knocking the horse off him, and ran away, back toward the huts.
Chapter 1 Chapter 1 "No Skipper, I don't as of yet have any explanation for the explosion you and Gilligan heard," "Professor" Roy Hinkley said to the Skipper, formally Jonas Grumby but more commonly referred to by his rank. "Only theories." They were in the sailor's hut, discussing the noise the two crewmen had heard. "But... but... don't you even have a theory?" "Well," said the Professor, thinking for a moment, "it might have something to do with atmospheric conditions; in some cases people have been able to hear loud noises over a hundred miles away from the event causing them, while people closer to the event were hardly able to hear anything out of the ordinary." Still worried, the Skipper asked, "Are you sure it's not the volcano again?" The Professor shook his head. "Certainly not. I've been keeping track; it's been dormant if not extinct since our last encounter with it. We'd know if the volcano was erupting again." "Well that's a relief." The Skipper looked outside. "It's not a storm, that's for sure." After all the castaways' acquaintance with storms, it would have been obvious if the weather had taken a turn for the worse. He was about to speak again, when something came to his ears; "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...." "Hey Professor, what's that?" "Hmmm. If I had to guess, Gilligan is about to come screaming into camp for some reason." Sure enough, the yell grew louder; "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"" The two men turned to each other. "Gilligan," they said in concert. Gilligan stopped screaming; the Skipper opened to the door to see that Gilligan had run into the clothes line, entangled himself in the garments, and fallen down. He was now on the ground covered with half-dry clothes. Mary Ann and Ginger were standing over him. "Oh, Gilligan," Mary Ann said crossly, "we worked all morning to wash those clothes." "Now we have to do them all over again," Ginger huffed angrily. "Mmhp mmmp mmhm mmpm," Gilligan responded; his mouth was full of clothing. Walking over, the Skipper said, temper rising, "Gilligan, take the shirt out of your mouth so we can hear you." Gilligan unplugged his mouth and stood up slowly. "Sorry, Skipper." Oh, how many times have I heard that?, the captain thought to himself. "Now tell us why you came running and screaming into the camp?" "Oh, uh that, uh, hmmm," Gilligan replied, thinking. "Can you remember?" "Well I was running for five minutes; that's a long time to remember." "...Well?" "Er, well, I was fishing, and then I heard someone talking." "Who?" "It wasn't any of us, that's for sure." That caught the Professor's attention. "Did you say it was someone from off the island?" "Uh.... well..." "Spit it out, Gilligan," the Skipper said menacingly. "...I went to see who was talking, and then this pink horse jumped on me and knocked me down." The Skipper was incredulous; "Did you say a pink horse?" Gilligan, there are no species or subspecies of horses that are naturally colored pink," the Professor said almost automatically. "Then it's unnaturally pink; I saw it, then it talked to me!" "Now I know that's impossible," the Professor said in disdain. "There are no other species, other than homo sapiens, on our planet that can speak in a complex language." "Oh yeah? What about parrots?" "Parrots only copy what other people are saying. And no horse has ever shown the ability to speak." "Gilligan," the captain asked, "are you sure you didn't just doze off and dream about this... thing?" The first mate considered. "Well, I was on the ground." "There, you were dreaming. Now get back to work on the raft." Gilligan was about to comment, but then caught sight of something pink up in a tree across from him; it was the same pink horse he had seen on the beach, staring right at him. He opened and closed his mouth, opened and closed it again. "...Gilligan?" the Skipper asked. "He looks like he's in shock," the Professor noted. "Well, Gilligan," the captain pressed, "what is it?" The first mate pointed. "That." Everyone else followed his gaze... And saw nothing but a tree with a couple of coconuts growing near it's summit. "Oh, Gilligan," the Skipper began angrily, "GO FINISH THAT RAFT!" "But I'm not done fishing-" "THAT"S AN ORDER!" More afraid of his commanding officer than of whatever it was that had been in the tree, Gilligan not only went to it, he ran toward the beach, fearful of the captain's wrath. "Why me? Why always me?" Gilligan said quietly as he hammered another nail into the wood. It had been less than an hour, and here he was, still working at building the raft, and all without a bite to eat since breakfast. He reaching to a tin can nearby to get another nail; his clawing fingers could grasp nothing, so he lifted the can and looked into it. He was out of nails. Sighing, he reached for a second can he had placed on the raft for just such an occasion. It wasn't there. Puzzled, he looked under the sawhorses the raft was currently on top of; he could see nothing but sand. "Looking for this?" A can and a pink hoof crossed in front of his face. "Oh, thank you." Gilligan took the nail can and went back to hammering. Then it hit him; who had said that? And more importantly... who had just passed him the can? He looked to his left and saw an excited pink horse with a pink balloon mane and large eyes looking back at him. "Hi, Aaaaaaaaaaaa, how are you today?" Gilligan gulped. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed, and bolted again for the treeline and hopeful safety by the little collection of huts the castaways called home. Meanwhile, back at the raft, Pinkie stood with a surprised and puzzled expression on her face. The foliage behind her shook and the leaves clashed; seconds later Twilight Sparkle walked out into the open. "Hey Pinkie, was that you who screamed just now?" "Oh no, that was Aaaaaaaaa, he seems nice." "Who, now?" Twilight asked, looking interested. "Who?" Pinkie returned. "He's my new friend, that's who he is!
Chapter 2"Gilligan, for the last time," the Skipper insisted, frustrated, "There are NO talking pink horses." "Oh yeah? Tell that to the one I saw." "It's all in your head, Gilligan; say it." "No." "WHAT!?" the Skipper shouted, turning menacingly toward Gilligan. "It's all in my head! It's all in my head!" the frightened first mate yelled out. "That's better. Now, every time you think you see that little pink horse, I want you to tell yourself that." "Okay, that." "Yes, I..." Realizing what Gilligan had just said, the Skipper took off his hat and whacked Gilligan in the chest with it. "Don't be smart." "Sorry, Skipper." "Okay, but remember; every time you see the pink horse, just tell yourself, It's all in my head." "It's all in your head." "GILLIGAN!" "Okay okay! It's all in my head!" "Yes, and it's gonna stay that way, understand?" "Yes sir." "Good." The Skipper turned to leave the hut. "Now, the Howells need someone to fix up their hut, the girls need someone to help with the laundry... seeing as a big knucklehead went and ruined all their hard work. And I'm going to need help building the new aqueduct the Professor's trying to build." "Yes Skipper." Gilligan didn't sound too pleased, but then again, he rarely did when someone gave him work to do. "First things first; go over to the Howells and begin repairing their hut." "Okay." Gilligan got up and stretched, accidentally hitting the Skipper in the face with his left arm and knocking him down. "Oops!" the first mate said, turning around. "Gilligan," the captain said, getting up. "Yes?" The Skipper took his hat off to hit Gilligan again, who ducked before the blow could hit him. Without missing a beat, the Skipper hit him in the head, then replaced the hat on his head. "Now get to work!" Gilligan hammered another makeshift nail into the house, the banging of the hammer echoing throughout the little clearing. He'd been at work for an hour or so, and so far, there had been no signs of pink horses or anything of the like. Mr. Howell walked outside. "Well, Gilligan," he said, "this looks to be first class construction; you ought to have a raise." "Thanks Mr. Howell!" "Of course, multiplying nothing by nothing still equals nothing." "Thanks, Mr. Howell," Gilligan repeated, in a much different tone of voice. "Oh you're welcome my boy," the millionaire replied, oblivious to the offense he'd caused. "Now I'm off to enjoy a game of golf with Lovey." "Don't forget to bring an extra pair of pants." "Why would I do that?" "In case you get a hole in one." Mr. Howell struggled for a moment to figure out the joke as Gilligan got to work. "I don't know what could be wrong with Gilligan, Skipper," the Professor said as he set down a book on mental illnesses. "He's not typically delusional, he's eating fine, and he's in relatively good shape." "Well, something's got to be happening to my little buddy if he's seeing Technicolor horses," the Skipper replied, scratching his head. 'Is there anything you could think of? Even if it's only a thought, it could help." "Hmm." The Professor thought for a moment. "I suppose he could be in the beginning stages of madness brought on by being stranded this long on the island." "But then why haven't any of us begun to crack yet? Gilligan's such a happy-go-lucky guy, he'd be the last person to suffer from anything like that." "I'm not sure. But we have to stay vigilant, and watch for any more signs of a loss of sanity from Gilligan." The Professor stood up and walked past the window. "The signs would be obvious; strange doings, taking to himself, and continuing his absurd claim to have seen a horse with a color that is genetically impossible to obtain." "Okay, so watch him for any of those signs." "Yes, and don't let him know about it. If he sees you, tell him anything, just not that you suspect he's going insane. Be casual." "Right." "Oh, and Skipper?" "Yes?" "Tell the Howells and the girls about this development as soon as possible, and tell them what I told you." "Sure thing, Professor." The Skipper started to leave. "What the...?" The Skipper turned around. "What happened?" The Professor was staring at his bookcase. "Several of my volumes regarding travel and scientific theory are missing!" "Did you lend them to somebody?" "No. They were here when we started talking. Someone must have swiped them while we were discussing Gilligan's problem." "I didn't see anyone come in!" "Neither did I." The Professor turned to look at the Skipper. "Whoever did it was certainly sneaky. Neither of us heard or saw anything, but while we were talking the books vanished." A look of shock crossed the Skipper's face. "You don't think Gilligan did it, do you?" "It's a possibility. He has been able, when troubled or out of it, to pull off surprising things." "Should I..?" "No, don't discuss the robbery to him at all, it might set something off. I'll talk to the others, you keep an eye on Gilligan." "I'll go do it right away." "Good." The Professor watched as the Skipper left the hut. "We have a mystery on our hands," he said quietly to no one in particular as the door shut. Meanwhile, some distance away, several ponies had gathered to discuss their situation. "Did you find anything, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked. "No," Twilight said in exasperation, "none of these books discuss anything relevant to our problem. We're stuck here for now." "Aw shucks," Applejack muttered. "What're we gonna do, then?" "I guess we'll just try to survive on what we can gather." "You aren't suggesting we eat raw coconuts and milk, are you?" Rarity asked, a look of dissatisfaction crossing her face. "It's highly irregular." "And what about those creatures?" Rainbow Dash asked. "They could try and attack us." "I don't know, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! seemed okay," Pinkie replied. "Just really shouty and running away-ish." "I'm not sure what to expect from them either," came a voice from a resting form under a bush. "Please Princess," Twilight said worriedly, "You were affected by the spell more than any of us; you should be getting your rest." "I have strength enough to speak to you," came the response from the curled up Princess Celestia. "I think we should keep our distance until we've found out more about them." "Aw, I was planning to throw them all a big party!" The Princess chuckled. The pink pony's antics and attitude were inspiring as well as funny. "I must ask you to postpone it, then. Just until we can be sure that we're safe from them." Pinkie's face fell momentarily, but bounced back pretty quick. "You can count on me, Princess," she said at last. "Twilight, I would like for you to watch these creatures, and gather what information you can as long as you remain out of their sight. And that goes for the rest of you." As she heard the affirmative answers, Celestia thought briefly what kind of genie they might unlock through their course of actions. So far, none of these beings had shown aggression, although Twilight had admitted that the one they called "the Professor" had been upset by the thievery - there was no other honest way to put it - of his books. And apparently the one they called "Gilligan" was thought to have gone crazy when he had seen Pinkie, and he was to be watched by "the Skipper," obviously a sea captain of some sort. Otherwise, though, their information about the inhabitants of this island was precious little, and until they knew more, the only reasonable option was to try to survive while gathering information and clues. She had tried already to effect the sun of this world, only to find that it had been far beyond her ability and the range of her magic to move even slightly. As for the moon, she decided that there was no reason to upset the balance. As always, thinking of the moon made her think of her younger sister. Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry. Five hours earlier Celestia walked into the throne room. Various mages and scientists were busily at work, studying papers and jotting down notes. Most didn't even seem to notice she had come in. She waited; this was a project that required intense concentration and every bit of knowledge these ponies had. Finally, one deigned to look up and see her. "Princess Celestia!" he exclaimed. "I apologize sincerely. I didn't know you would come early." "That's ok. Is the machine ready for it's test run?" "Yes, Princess, we're just doing the calibrations and calculations for the point of exit." "Good." Celestia knew the object in front of her - a large oval mechanism with a spiraling light in the center - was more than just crazy babble and junk. It was to be a revolutionary product, one that would accelerate transportation to almost faster than light speed. The portal was based off of the spells unicorns used to teleport, and was designed to bring the user much farther away than a unicorn normally could under it's own power. In effect, a pony could step into this machine and instantly find themselves in a town on the other side of the country. If it went well, the portal could be used for worldwide travel instead of just inside Equestria, which was the current plan for it's implementation. Best of all, it could be utilized by all ponies, and even non-ponies, so pegasi and earth ponies wouldn't have any problems. Nothing could be simpler. She, the Bearers of the Elements, and her sister would walk in and find themselves in Fillydelphia. The reporters were probably already waiting there, eager for the amazing story they would be able to bring to the media. "Twilight, are you sure you and your friends are ready?" she asked the unicorn she had taken as her student. "Oh, yes, Princess!" The eager unicorn's voice squeaked with eagerness. "This is so exciting! Just think, this will change everything!" "I'm glad you're eager for the task." "I'm glad you invited me and my friends for the test run," Twilight answered, looking up at her mentor. Celestia smiled. She loved that her student was so willing to learn, so willing to try new theories and explore the unknown. She had her quirks, yes, but then so did everyone. "We're ready as ever, Princess!" Rainbow Dash announced, doing a flip in midair in excitement. "Darn Tootin"," Applejack agreed. "I certainly hope we can be back for lunch and a trip to the spa," Rarity commented. "There will be time enough for that once we get back," Luna stated. "We'll be in Fillydelphia for about an hour before coming back using an identical device there." "I just want to get back in time to feed my animal friends," Fluttershy said quietly, as was her way. "Just think, with this new... thingamabob, I could throw parties all over Equestria in the blink of an eye!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down. "Your Highnesses," one of the scientists said abruptly, "it is time for the demonstration to begin." All eight ponies walked forward until they were standing just in front of the teleporter. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, standing nearby, nodded in respect to Celestia and Luna, and both shared a loving glance at Twilight, who smiled and waved to them. Three unicorns aimed their horns at a gem at the top of the machine and fired beams of magic into it; she joined them, adding her magic to theirs. The gem began to glow, and the light in the center of the portal began to accelerate it's spin rate. Well, this is it, Celestia thought. Just then, the gem began to spark, and streaks of energy started shooting out of the central light. The three unicorns, shocked, disengaged the spell. It was too late. There was a blinding flash, and then the world went dark. Celestia slowly regained consciousness. The first thing she was able to discern was that she had a massive headache, as though she had been drinking throughout the night. She hadn't, of course, she didn't drink alcoholic beverages but that was what it felt like. She opened her eyes. Standing over her were the Bearers of the elements, all six of them; clearly they had been watching her, hoping for the best. From the looks on their faces, they might have been afraid that she had died, which was a reasonable fear. She groaned. Pain came from all four legs, stretching down from the knee to the fetlock - as hooves weren't connected to the nervous system, they didn't feel anything, which was a mild comfort, as the pain she was feeling right now was intense enough as it was. Looking at her forelegs, she saw that they had been bruised and burned. The other six ponies were in better condition. "Oh thank goodness you're alright, Princess," Twilight sighed in relief. I don't know if you could say that accurately; I feel hurt all over. Nonetheless, she was relieved as well. The next thing she noticed was the sand on the ground and the trees. Unlike the trees in central Fillydelphia, they had palm leaves, not the nettles and maple leaves of the trees in that town. Another was the lagoon; unless the planet had drastically changed in the space of a few hours, Fillydelphia wasn't a coastal town. "Twilight, do you know where we are?" she asked, hoping her student would have better information. "No, Princess, I'm sorry; as far as I can tell, were on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean." Twilight sounded helpless, as though it were her fault they were in this mess. "Have you found my sister, at least? I can't see her with you." Twilight and the others glanced at one another with concern. "As far as I'm aware, she didn't come with us," the purple unicorn said quietly. "I think I heard her step back before... this happened, so I think she's still back in Canterlot." Celestia didn't know quite what to think. It was comforting to know that her sister wasn't lost on some forgotten island in the middle of nowhere. On the other hoof, she didn't know the condition her sister of the others were in after the machine malfunctioned, as it obviously had. Several images of Princess Luna lying wounded, hurt maybe even... No; I will not even think of that. She refused to believe anypony had died, especially her sister. Considering that she and the Bearers had come through without too much harm - the pain in her body tried to contradict her on this - the ponies back at the castle had probably come through okay. Probably. She saw a bunch of bananas* in a tree. It wasn't her favorite food, but it was something she could eat, and she was feeling hungry. She used her magic to levitate one out of the tree. Or rather, she tried to. The bananas didn't move an inch. "Princess, I don't think you should be straining yourself," Twilight fussed. "Your horn is burnt pretty badly. I wouldn't be trying to use magic." Of course. Celestia hadn't even considered the effect of the misspell on her own magic. In other spells of similar strength that had failed, unicorns had regained their magic in time, but had been temporarily deprived of it after the intended effect had backfired. "Here, let me get it," Twilight offered. To Celestia's mild surprise, she was able to levitate a banana down without incident. Then she realized something; she had personally taken part in the spell to activate the portal and Twilight hadn't. As such, she had burned out her magic reserves when the machine malfunctioned, taking greater injuries as a result because she had been involved, while Twilight and presumably Rarity had been relatively unaffected. The loss of magic was a bit disconcerting, but at least they had something to eat; at least that's what she thought as she ate the banana. Present time Celestia had regained the use of her magic by now, but she was otherwise still weak, weak enough that she could barely stand. She had to wait as Applejack used a hoof to break open a coconut before being able to take a sip. It was unlike anything she had drank before, but at least they had food and drink, and the capacity to build shelter for themselves. After those needs were fulfilled, then they could find a way to return home. "Pinkie, Rarity, I want you to gather food for us." "You bet, Princess!" "I vow I shall do my utmost." "Rainbow, Applejack, find some materials we can use to build ourselves shelter." "On it!" "Y'all can count on me!" "Twilight, I want you to continue surveillance on the creatures here, and keep track of our supply situation." "I won't let you down!" "And Fluttershy, please make sure any animals we find know that we have no intentions of harming them." "I will." As her subjects set off to fulfill the tasks she had given them, she made sure to make herself comfortable. The sunlight and the heat of the day was making her sleepy, and she hoped she could find a way home in her dreams. *Note, I do not mean anything inappropriate or indecent by using bananas in this story; in any story I make, a banana is a fruit to be eaten, nothing more.
Chapter 3Three hours after the theft, the Professor was in his hut, trying to solve the mystery. In addition the impossible apparitions Gilligan was claiming to have seen, books he'd had had gone missing, books vital to his research on the island. The door opened. The Skipper and Mr. Howell walked in. "Did you find out who was stealing the books?" the captain asked eagerly. "No, gentlemen. In fact, I've discovered close to nothing at all about the case, nor have I found out anything about Gilligan's condition." "Suppose I offer a reward to anyone who finds them," Mr. Howell offered. "If the suspect wanted money, Mr. Howell, they could have just as easily stolen from your own private stash. Whoever the thief was, I'm sure they didn't want cash." "Well, what did you find out?" the Skipper asked as Mr. Howell momentarily bore a shocked expression. "The thief didn't enter through the window or the door," the Professor answered, a hand under his chin in thought. "There would have been evidence if they had. Nor did they come in the doorway; we would have seen them quite easily." "But Professor, how else would they have taken them?" "I must confess that I'm perplexed as to how they managed it. In fact," the Professor answered, walking around the room, "the only answer I can come up with is that the books simply disappeared on their own.." "Professor, they didn't just warp out of here." "I can't believe you just warped the books out without getting a look at the native designs," Rarity said to Twilight. "We have bigger priorities that finding out what they wear for clothing," the purple unicorn answered, her nose still stuck in one of the "borrowed" books. "Th... This d... doesn't count as stealing, does it?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. Twilight didn't hear her; she was too embroiled in the book. "Nothing," she said as she flipped a page. "Nothing... Nothing... Nothing!" She flung it aside with magic, absolutely frustrated. "There's nothing in any of these books discussing magic, almost like it doesn't exist here!" "That's absurd, darling," Rarity said, shocked by the idea. "You're the one who always say that life as we know it cannot possibly exist without it!" "Key phrase," Celestia spoke up from under her makeshift cover of palm leaves. "As we know it. Perhaps," she added, as the others turned toward her, "life as we don't know it has taken hold here. A whole different system could exist, one we have no knowledge of." There was a brief silence as the other ponies took that all in. "Some things have to remain the same," Rainbow said, the first to recover. "Like gravity. Otherwise, we'd all be floating off into space." Celestia nodded. "We can work out how things work here by starting off such building blocks." "Hmm." Twilight looked back at the book, then noticed something; the shadows on the trees had moved since she'd last looked at them. Looking up, she saw that the sun had moved from it's last position, or at least the last she'd noticed. "You managed to control the sun, Princess?" "Actually, no, Twilight. That wasn't my doing." Twilight's brain crashed into a wall. "Uh, what?" "I have been unable to move the star of this system; it's not connected to magic, and when I tried, it was so large I couldn't even begin to get a grip on it, and I know from even the prod I gave it that it has far too much mass for me to move even if it were connected to magic." "But... then... How is it moving?" the stunned purple unicorn asked, waving a hard hoof at the celestial body high above. Celestia's eyes flashed almost playfully. Although her student had done well insofar as the field of friendship was concerned, she still enjoyed trying to give her a lesson. "It goes with what we were talking about; the building blocks of how things work here. Let's take what Rainbow Dash touched on earlier." Twilight just looked even more confused. "Gravity? How does that solve the moving sun mystery?" "Come on, Twilight; you've read every book in the library countless times. Gravity is the force exuded by all objects. Larger bodies have more gravity." Twilight thought about that for a moment. "What I'm getting is that both the sun and the planet have gravity, but by your example the sun has more gravity than the planet." Celestia nodded. "I think you can see where I'm going with this." Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought, then gasped. "That would mean that the planet is orbiting the star!" "My thoughts exactly." "But... but... but... That's totally illogical!" Celestia laughed. After a few seconds, she saw Twilight's hurt face and relented. "I'm sorry, my faithful student," she apologized. "I understand that this world tosses everything we know on our heads, but we must learn as much as we can in order to survive and find our way home. That includes looking at answers we would consider illogical, as you so put it. And we have discovered something about the way the system works in this world, so we have something to go on from here." "Uh, sorry to interrupt," Rainbow said, not sounding very sorry, "but shouldn't we be actually be doing something?" Celestia chuckled. "We will, my little pony. Just be patient. We need time to properly plan our course of action. Now, Twilight, what exactly have you found out in these books? Anything, other than the lack of magic?" "Well, these books are all written in Equestrian, so we can at least use them," her faithful student answered. "They make many references to electricity, which seems to be utilized as an energy source. Others are informative books about volcanoes and native practices." "Anything else?" "No. I was only able to sneak away a few of them, and they're all descriptive about a certain subject and little else." She paused. "The books did make reference to humans, which I presume is the native species we've encountered." "Did you say humans?" Celestia said. "Yes, why?" Celestia thought for a moment. Ancient sources made a reference to a bipedal species of that same name, who supposedly gave ponykind many of the ideas they used today. While this was something most ponies didn't know about nowadays, it was more significant than it seemed. Especially if this world was populated by them. "Oh, just wondering," she finally answered. "I think we should be lookin' round this here island fer somethin' to get us out o' this here mess," Applejack said. "I agree in full," Celestia agreed. "I want you to go in pairs to look around this island for food and things to drink, as well as for needed volunteers. Do not make contact with these humans unless I give you permission, or unless you are attacked, and even then try to break off contact as quickly as possible." The other ponies all nodded. "Alright. Rainbow and Applejack, search the eastern side of the island. Twilight and Pinkie Pie, I want you to sweep the north. Fluttershy and Rarity, scour the western areas. When my strength has returned, I will look to the south on my own." "Are you sure..." "Yes Twilight, I'm fully sure I can handle any threat that may come my way; now, be on yours. I want you all back here by sunset." She was met by several affirmative replies. "Good. Now, move out!" Mr. and Mrs. Howell sat in their luxury chairs, taking in the sun and basking away, as only a couple of filthy rich capitalists could. "I say, Gilligan, my boy," Mr. Howell called out. "Yes?" "Could you be a good lad and refill my martini, if you please?" the older man said, holding out a large glass. "Right on it," Gilligan answered, taking it and walking off. "Right then." "Thurston, have you ever seen a more beautiful day?" Mrs. Howell asked. "Indeed I have." Lovey removed her glasses and turned toward him. "When?" "Inside the vaults of our private house in Texas." "Yes; money is such a beautiful thing." "Indeed. And yet there never seems to be enough." Mrs. Howell was about to lay back down when she saw something that caught her eye. "Thurston." "Yes, Lovey dear?" "I am quite sure I saw a little blue horse peek it's head up from that bush." "Hmm?" Mr. Howell looked at the bush in question. "I don't see anything. I think all those martinis might be going to your head, my dear." "I suppose they could be," she answered. "Still, it looked quite real." "Nonsense, Lovey; if there's one absolute in life, it's that characters from a child's television show can't come to life." "What'dya think you were doin'?" Applejack fiercely demanded. "Ya almost gave us away!" "I had to see what we were up against!" Rainbow answered just as heatedly. "They ain't enemies, at least not yet." "They could be! And we have to watch out for them!" Applejack sighed. "Just be more careful. Ya heard the Princess; don't let 'em see ya." "Fine, just stay out of my way." "Please be careful, girls," the Professor said as he mixed two materials inside a jar. "What's that you're doing, Professor?" Mary Ann asked. "If you don't mind my asking." "Simple, Mary Ann; I am putting together a fine dust that I'll use to discover fingerprints, and then I'll match those with each of ours." "Well, how will that catch the thief?" the farm girl asked. "Simple. I'll lure the thief into taking yet another volume from my collection. They'll leave fingerprints on whatever they end up touching. I'll match the prints I find with our own. Whoever those prints belong too will our nefarious scoundrel." "Darling, you don't need detective work to catch a thief," Ginger put in. "All you need is a hot girl in a dress." At that moment, the Skipper opened the door to the hut and came in. "What's the word, Professor?" "I've put together the powder. Now all we have to do is set the trap." "Good. We need to solve this mystery. We can't have a thief running around our island." "Indeed," the Professor agreed. "The sooner this little mystery is wrapped up, the happier I'll be." "Did you hear that?" Fluttershy asked urgently and with worry in her voice. "They're setting a trap for Twilight!" Rarity said in a loud whisper. "For us!" "We have to tell Twilight and the Princess!" "Yes, but how? They could be anywhere on this island!" "We have to try!" "I know, but it'll take forever to find them! It could be too late by then!" "Maybe one of us should stay here..." "That's a good idea!" Rarity whispered loudly. "You can stay here and warn off Twilight when she comes." "But I-" "Hey," said a rough voice full of authority inside the hut, "did you hear something?" "Too late!" Rarity hissed. "Run for it!" Both ponies quickly made themselves scarce as the Skipper came round for a look. "Nobody here but us, Professor," the Skipper said after taking a look in the bushes. "That's odd. I could almost swear I heard strange voices." The Professor rubbed his chin. "It might have been our thief, or two thieves. If so, that makes the whole business much harder. They might have overheard our plans." "That makes it all useless!" Mary Ann said worriedly. "Not to worry. We'll try it out anyway and see what happens. In the meantime, I'll try to come up with another solution." "That reminds me, Gilligan and I have to find some more food for tonight," the Skipper remembered. "I'll go find him, and see what we can find." "Oh," the Professor said, "remember to keep an eye on him for any strange activity." "Yes, Professor, though I hate having to suspect my little buddy of a misdemeanor." "If someone else really has come on the island, I don't think we'll have to do that for much longer." "Alright, I'll see you when we get back." "We have to go get the dishes ready," Mary Ann remembered. "Yes, that would be prudent," the Professor said absentmindedly. When the girls were gone, the Professor stooped down and took a closer look at the area under the window. The sand looked scuffed, as if someone had been listening and had scurried away at the last moment. What struck him as odd was how the supposed "footprints" looked; they were flat, and were not at all like human feet. It was as if someone had taken a round, or rather a slightly oval-shaped wooden block and rammed it against the sand. Another confusing part of the mystery. And, if utilized properly, another clue. I'll keep this one secret; no need to have the culprit find out that we're on his trail. Rainbow Dash ran her hoof through the sand. Her hooves couldn't feel it, but she enjoyed making pictures. It was the only entertaining thing she could think of doing short of blowing their cover as Applejack tried bucking one of the trees, trying to get a coconut or two for them to collect. "Just... one... more..." There was a pause. "Ah, consarn it, not again!" "What happened this time?" "Darn thing broke when it hit a rock. All the milk done poured out; nothin' to bring back to the Princess." "We could eat the coconut itself," the cyan pegasus suggested. "Guess so, but ah've never eaten coconuts before. Don't know whether ta eat 'em raw or cook 'em, fer starters." "What's that over there?" Rainbow asked, pointing with her hoof. "Oh, that's just... oh, it's a banana. Guess that'd help." "And where there's one, there's bound to be more," Rainbow said as her stomach growled loudly. "About time; I'm sooooo hungry." "Now hold on, Rainbow, ah reckon we should both have a piece." "Oh, alright. But when we find more..." Both of them walked over to the banana. Applejack went to grab it... and it suddenly jumped away. "What in tarnation!?" "Let me try." Rainbow licked her lips, raised her hoof, and then swiped at the banana... which jumped away just before she could make contact. "What the hay!?" "Lookie there! There's a vine tied to the end of it!" Applejack noticed, pointing with her hoof. "So let's follow it!" Before the orange pony could protest, her blue-coated friend ran forward, towards a bush the vine disappeared into. "Okay... Gotcha!" Applejack trotted up beside her as Rainbow gave a great tug. A large foot covered in black fur came out of the bush. "Uh..." Rainbow and Applejack both looked up at the same time. A gorilla had just revealed itself, rising from it's hiding place. It beat it's chest as it screeched "OOH OOH AHH AHH!" Rainbow and Applejack hugged each other and screamed. Author's Note Sorry about the long wait. I was busy with other stories and just not in the mood to write Gilligan stuff. Hope you enjoy!
PrologueJust sit right back And you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip That started in the tropic port Aboard this tiny ship The mate was a mighty sailing man, The Skipper brave and sure, Five passengers set sail that day For a three hour tour, A Three hour tour The weather started getting rough, The tiny ship was tossed If not for the courage of the fearless crew The Minnow would be lost, The Minnow would be lost The ship struck ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, With Gilligan, The Skipper, too, The Millionare, and his wife, The Movie Star, The Professor and Mary Ann Here on Gilligan's Isle! "Gilligan!", the Skipper shouted. "Gilligan!" It was yet another day on the island. The sun was shining, the few birds were singing, and the Skipper was calling for his first mate. Everything was normal. Well, normal for the castaways, at any rate. It was the third year the Skipper, his first mate Gilligan, the millionare Thurson Howell III and his wife, Mrs. Howell, the movie star Ginger Grant, the Kansan farm girl Mary Ann, and the Professor had been marooned on the deserted, uncharted island. They had barely gotten out of the storm with their lives, but the real problew was in getting off the island. fate was simply against the castaways. They had come a hair's length from being rescues numerous times, only for something to foul it up everytime; the weather, Gilligan, greedy and self obsorbed visitors, Gilligan, natural disasters, and Gilligan were just a few of the reasons they had failed every time. Even the dictator Rodriguez had managed to get off the island... before being exiled to the Andes Mountains after he was pronounced insane because he had stated that he had been on an island with people on it, and that he had become it's ruler for a while. The Skipper went down to the lagoon, still calling for Gilligan. He was about to lose his temper when the first mate answered. "Over here, Skipper." The Skipper walked over to where Gilligan was preparing to cast his line. Just before he could begin to ask what the kid was doing, Gilligan threw his line back, in preparation for the cast. The hook snagged on the captain's hat. "Wait, Gilligan, dont...!" Too late; Gilligan cast the line, and the Skipper's hat went with it, all the way into the lagoon, and into the water. Temper rising, the Skipper walked over to the first mate. Gilligan heard him, and turned around. "Hey Skipper! I think I caught one!" He reeled in the line. "Oh, look at that, it's just a silly old hat." He picked it off the hook. "It needs some work before it's fit for wearing." "Gilligan, that's my hat, you featherbrain!" The captain yanked the hat away from Gilligan and, for good measure, hit him over the head with it before squeezing the water out. "Your hook got stuck on it." "Oh, sorry Skipper." Gilligan sounded submissive, as usual around the Skipper. "I was just trying to catch something really good for dinner." "I have nothing against that, just don't use my hat as your bait." "Ok, Skipper." The first mate cast again, this time managing to do it correctly. "Gilligan, aren't you supposed to be working on the raft?" "I was, but I got hungry, so I decided to go fishing." The captain sighed, annoyed. "Why didn't you just get a banana? There's tons of them on the island!" "I didn't see any close by, and anyway I was afraid a gorilla would get me if I started looking for them." At least that was a real threat, even if it wasn't likely to show itself for real. "And how long ago was it that we even saw a gorilla?" "I don't know. A while ago, I guess." Gilligan began reeling in the line. "Well, in any case, get to work on that raft after you're done, or you'll have me to answer to." "Okay." Suddenly there was a boom, and the ground shook slightly. Gilligan jumped and dropped the fishing rod. "Skipper, what was that? Was it the volcano again?" For the first time in the conversation the Skipper was stumped, and a little worried. "I don't know, Gilligan. Maybe the Professor was using dynamite for some reason, you know he used to have some." "Yeah, when I put everyone in jail, including myself." Gilligan cut off when he saw his superior's stormy face. "Oh, right." "Hmmmm... I'll go talk to the Professor, maybe he has something to do with this." The Skipper began to walk away, then turned around. "Make sure you finish that raft." "I will, Skipper." "Alright then." The Skipper left, for real this time." Why am I always the one picked on?, Gilligan thought. He picked up the fishing rod, and reeled in the line, only to reveal that there was only a coconut on the end of the line. "I didn't know coconuts grew underwater." He heard something, not far away. He dropped the fishing line again. "Skipper?" he whispered. "Is that you?" No one answered. He began looking in the bushes near by. He found nothing. Abruptly he began hearing voices, talking some way off. Gilligan began walking quietly towards the sound. He got close enough to hear someone talking; he could make out some words, but the voices didn't sound familiar. "I don't know... wrong with... Princess's spell... bow Dash, but... have to wake the others." "Ya don't have ta wake me up, ah'm here", said a loud voice in a Southern-accented drawl. Gilligan heard something scuffling in the sand. "Where... we?", it asked, quieter this time. "I don't know... not on the maps we were... iven. Maybe somewhere... Zebrica." "Oooooh, look, coconuts!", came a girly, energetic voice. "Coconuts? We can't... in Zebrica.. en, we.. ust be on... opic island." "What? ...ow? Princess... ell should... us in palace!" "..irls, focus... eed to find out where... are, and... help." "It's a rescue crew! We're saved!" Gilligan said excitedly. Suddenly a pink blob threw itself out of the bushes and landed on him, knocking him onto his back. He looked to see a pink horse standing on his belly. It began speaking; "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Gilligan screamed as he got up, knocking the horse off him, and ran away, back toward the huts.
