The next morning saw the group complete their preparations long before first light. Thesis was up before the dawn from excitement, and Desperado had prepared the night before. Stormy Eye, Shilling, Banger, and Crash Test were sluggish, but Thesis’ infectious excitement got to them after a while and they were ready to go by the time the sun was fully in the sky.
“Alright ponies, we’re going to meet the natives! Are you all ready?” There was mostly excited murmuring, with a stuttered “Y-yes?” from Banger.
“Good. Keep up, and do not panic when the natives appear. They look strange, but they have been mostly harmless. If you feel your life is threatened, feel free to fly away, but do not leave your partner behind.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Then let’s go! Stormy, help me with Desperado.”
Stormy Eye and Thesis lifted Desperado by each of his forehooves and the group lifted into the air. Dust Devil and Cumulus watched them go. Cumulus looked a little upset, but when Dust Devil turned to go, Cumulus quickly followed. They took off in a separate direction at Thesis’ instruction.
Thesis put him out of her mind and continued flying, carrying Desperado off to the destination. She had Shilling looking at the map in her notebook and guiding them by the landmarks she had listed.
They made good enough time, dropping down through the treetops at around ten o’clock. Nopony was there, or at least, nopony was visible. The natives were probably watching them from hiding places. The fruit itself was still visible, without the branches blocking access to it.
“That—” said Thesis, pointing into the copse of trees, “—is the fruit I mentioned that you can see in my sketchbook. I don’t want to get close at the moment, but look at the three prongs coming off it? Do any of you recognize anything about it?”
Thesis pointed to the page in her journal, turning to the assembled group. They looked at it and one by one shook their heads. None of them had seen anything akin to the fruit sketched out.
“You said it’s colored gold?” Shilling asked.
“Aye. Gold as a pile o’ bits,” Desperado said.
“That’s very strange, considering the purple on the beanberries elsewhere, and is that vine purple?” Shilling pointed inside the copse of trees.
“It is. I think the vine is doing some sort of conversion of energy, nutrients, or what-have-you to create the single golden fruit that sits in the nest,” Thesis said. “There’s no real way for us to know until we can communicate with the natives or examine it somehow, but I’m wary of taking it.”
“I think we should,” Stormy Eye said.
“Yes. We should. It’s a new plant. That’s far more important than any group of natives,” Shilling said.
“We want the entire prize, not just one!” Thesis said.
“T-think about the applications of, uh… of a new fruit! It may h-have healing p-p-p-properties!” Banger stuttered.
“I know that, but it’s just not the priority. If we can’t grow more, it’s moot!”
Their argument was interrupted by the rustling of bushes all around them, and a group of at least twelve natives crashing out of the brush. All of them had been hiding, or had recently arrived through the tangle of beanberry bushes. How they had been so silent, Thesis didn’t know, but that stealth told her they were allowing them to be on the island, and not the other way around.
The one that was dressed in rudimentary clothes approached and pointed at Thesis, then pointed slowly to the four new ponies. His mouth moved silently as his hoof lingered, pointing at each one. She suspected he was chanting some spell or incantation for some purpose. Something superstitious, surely.
When he was done, he waved his hoof and motioned again to the copse of trees with the fruit inside. He said something again as he looked at Thesis and the others, seeming to be interested in the number of them. His eyes flicked over each pony in turn, then came back to Thesis. He seemed to understand she was the leader of the group, which was good. She didn’t know if they were more matriarchal or patriarchal, but him being a stallion and recognizing a mare as a leader was a good and interesting step. In fact, it was entirely possible he was only the hunting leader or something, and the true leader stayed at whatever village they might have.
“Professor, he keeps pointing at the fruit. I really think we ought to take it,” Stormy Eye said.
“We don’t want to take it yet.”
“B-but he’s telling us to. He wants us to, uh… have it,” Banger said.
“I said, no.” Thesis tried to keep a smile on her face, but her students’ continual insistence was causing it to falter.
Once again, the dressed native spoke to them and pointed at the copse of trees and the fruit. He mimed pulling it off the vine and then pointed at the sky again.
Thesis shook her head, and Stormy Eye sighed behind her. Thesis pointed at herself, then at the leader, then at the fruit. “We want to talk, first.”
“Waaaaait!” a voice above them yelled.
There was the sound of something crashing through trees, then the fluttering of wings and a soft *thump* right in front of the small copse of trees.
“No, we don’t. We just want the most valuable thing on the island,” Dust Devil said with a grin.
“I tried to stop him! I’m sorry!” Cumulus whined.
“Dust Devil, no!”
Dust Devil just cackled, stepped inside the copse of trees, and grabbed the fruit, snapping the vine connecting it to the rest of the beanberry plants.
“Desperado, why didn’t you stop him?” Thesis demanded.
Desperado shrugged. “If anypony was gonna find out if it were dangerous, I’m okay with it bein’ him.”
Thesis rolled her eyes and marched toward Dust Devil. The leader of the natives didn’t move to stop her as she stormed into the copse of trees and waved a wing in Dust Devil’s face.
“How dare you undermine my authority, deface a native shrine without full knowledge of what it could cause, and embarrass me in front of an indigenous group! Give me the fruit, and you will be returning to the mainland immediately!”
“Nah, Doc, y’see–”
A sound like an ursa roaring echoed across the island, interrupting their argument. The leader of the natives outside stood staring at the copse of trees with a small smile on his face. The rest of the natives were all exhibiting a similar smile.
Thesis jumped out of the copse of trees, grouping up next to Desperado. “What was that?” She turned to the leader of the natives. “What was that!”
The leader stayed still, staring at the copse of trees where Dust Devil was holding the fruit.
Thesis yelled at him. “What was that?” She pointed at Dust Devil and raised a hoof in confusion.
The pony still didn’t move. He didn’t even acknowledge that she had spoken until his head tilted toward her. The rest of his body stayed still as his neck twisted, crackling, and his eyes rolled back in his head. His mouth opened up, and vines poured out, twisting and writhing on the ground.
Thesis jumped back, and Desperado raised a shield around the group. They watched the vines as they trashed, but they seemed to be dying, not able to handle the open air. They twitched and squirmed on the ground aimlessly, flailing at nothing.
There were more noises around them, and they turned to look as the other natives all vomited up clusters of vines. The pegasi all flew upward a few feet off the ground, not wanting to get bile or vines on them. Desperado just watched his hooves and kept the shield up.
All around them, the piles of vomited vines thrashed, then slowed, until they finally stopped moving. Their green color faded to a dull brown, they hardened, and finally halted completely, shriveling up.
Thesis looked at the leader, and gasped when she saw that he, himself, had shriveled up. His skin was taut against his bones, and each rib was clearly outlined. His legs were dry sticks on the end of hooves, and as she watched, his head, which had turned toward her tilted, ripped the skin, and fell off, the rest of him crumbling to the ground as well.
Each of the natives around them crumbled to the ground, the vines that were likely holding them together having given up the ghost at the removal of what Thesis surmised was the heart that kept them going. The angry roar from somewhere else on the island sounded again, and everypony in the group flinched.
“Don’t leave me out here! Let me in the shield!”
Desperado shook his head. “Ye started this, lad. Ye can finish it on yer own.”
“You assholes don’t even know what it is! I got the fruit, we need to keep it safe! This is valuable!”
“We needed to find out more about it first, Dust Devil! Now we don’t know what you’ve done, and our lives are in danger!” Thesis yelled.
“Then get us home! Fucking teleport!” Dust Devil yelled.
Thesis looked at Dust Devil and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when the shield went down, and a terrifying and powerful wind blew over them, knocking them to the ground.
“What? Desperado, what happened?” Thesis shouted.
For the first time since they had arrived on the island, Desperado looked worried. He turned to look at Thesis and his mouth dropped open in confusion. “I… I dunno.” He tried to cast again, but the moment his horn lit, it fizzled out again.
Dust Devil shook his head. “Fucking useless old goat. I’m out of here!” Dust Devil leaped into the air and was off, leaving everypony else behind. He disappeared through the treetops and was gone.
“Dust Devil, you coward!” Thesis yelled after him. “Come on, everypony, help me pick up Desperado, we don’t know what’s interfering with his magic, but we need to leave, now!”
Banger and Crash Test helped lift Desperado up and they were airborne in seconds. As they lifted off, Thesis could see the beanberry bushes around them begin to writhe and shrivel. A wave of decomposition passing through the foliage around them off to the side of the island the roaring sound had emanated from. They struggled up through the treetops, buffeted by the wind crossing the island, and when they cleared it, Thesis could see where all the life of the vines had gone.
There was a sphere of vines, whipping and snapping itself together at one side of the island. Trees in the distance were uprooted and tossed aside by the angry foliage as it tore up the ground. It was pulsing and undulating in the distance, and a wave of death for the beanberry plants was spreading across the island as whatever was happening over there became the focus for every single vine.
Dimly, Thesis was proud that she had been right about the beanberry plant being one interconnected plant covering the entire island, but whatever it was now doing was causing dangerous winds, and she struggled with the others to carry Desperado to the safety of the camp.
As they approached the campsite, Banger piped up. “Sh-shouldn’t we be, uh… heading back to the mainland?”
“I agree with Banger. I want off this place as soon as possible! I didn’t think I’d have to deal with weird magic!” Stormy Eye pleaded.
“Alright! Anypony that wants to leave, leave now, and take Desperado with you!”
Desperado tapped her on the hoof. “Nay, alright now. Gonna stay as long as ye will.”
“You sure? It’ll be tough to carry you myself.”
Desperado smiled, and in answer lit his horn and created the shield around them again. The buffeting winds were halted as they landed, and the group stayed close. Three of the tents had been crushed by a large branch that had been blown through the campsite. It was now clinging to the edge of the cliff, trapped on several rocks. Amusingly, the one that had been placed lower on the mud was the only one left standing.
Thesis didn’t have time to appreciate the irony, as she shouted commands to the rest of the group. “Grab what you absolutely must take with you of your personal items, and grab the samples you took! Leave the equipment! It’s the notes and information we want!”
The ponies scrambled about the camp for a few things, except for Banger, who hovered above the camp, wringing his hooves together. He was frightened, and refused to land. He shook his head, and flew in small circles, torn between staying to help, and fleeing for his life.
His decision was made for him when the rocks beneath their hooves began shaking. The stone cliff-face shook and rattled. Everyone except Desperado picked up what they had and started hovering, watching the leftover equipment as some of it fell over and shattered on the stone, unable to protect it.
The rock split, and Banger and Crash Test were gone at the first horrific crack. Stormy Eye was following behind them, but Shilling stayed to try to help Thesis and Desperado. He was passing items to Desperado, hovering just about the shaking ground when the split appeared beneath him and a vine speared up through the crack. It pierced right through Shilling’s wing in an instant, followed by several others piercing his legs and chest. More vines began stabbing up from underground all around the place, splitting the rock into neat chunks.
Thesis flew up higher and yelled at Desperado. “Desperado, get out of there now! Grab him and go!”
Desperado nodded, and his magic sheared through the vines. He grabbed Shilling in his magical grip and there was a flash of light, then they were gone. Thesis flew, as high and as far as she could get. She looked back once she was high enough away, and saw what was going on.
The sphere of lashing vines on one corner of the island was undulating. It appeared to have sent out the large and terrible vines that were tearing the island apart. Thick and thorny, with piercing tips and strong stalks that split even the stony parts of the island to pieces. The beanberry bushes that had once covered the island’s surface were all dead, and the trees that remained were beginning to fall under the onslaught. The only comfort that Thesis had was the sight of any vine that touched the salt water around it shriveling and drying up almost instantly. The ocean was going to be the only barrier between the reaching vines and the rest of Equestria.
As it continued to rage, the smashing vines began to lose their fury, and even the ones that weren’t touching Luna Bay began to slow and shrivel up. Their vibrant and furious green giving way to dead brown and stagnant grey.