Death Cap looked across the table at her business partner and sighed in my Equestria dreamscape. She was sharing a lunch and discussing their scheme but they were stymied by one important detail. Shaking her head she reached for another slice of herb bread.
 
“You make some valid points, but it still doesn’t explain how we’ll be able to locate them fast enough to make it worth are while. If we wait until we can smell their odor they will be almost gone by the time we harvest them.”
 
The earth pony vented some of her frustration by vigorously spreading butter on her slice of bread. She took a big bite and continued speaking.
 
“Buutt dats vut makes dem so expunsuv!” She swallowed and took a swig of ale. “And that’s why we can charge so much for them. I just wish we could be certain that we won’t wasting our time meandering around the Everfree Forest!”
 
Zecora smiled and sipped on her ale before smearing some blue cheese on a pear slice. “It is true that prey we seek is elusive and rare.” She took a bite and chewed then swallowed before continuing. “But I think you exaggerate the problems confronting us.”
 
The light grey mare shook her head causing her black and red mane sway back and forth. “The problem is that we need to harvest them fast enough so they don’t spoil before they reach the buyer in Canterlot. Unless we harvest them immediately upon sporing they’ll rot in no time. Even if they still look good, they’ll go bad during transit. We need to locate them right as they are emerging and they just starting to release their spores. If we wait for the caps to fully opened so we can smell them it’s too late!”
 
Death Cap rest her chin on the edge of the table. “Why, oh why do they have to grow at the top of trees! It’s bad enough climbing those things to get them in the first place! And just randomly climbing trees is a crap shoot! Ugh! I wish had wings that way…”
 
Death Cap perked up and looked across the inn then smiled. “And I think I’ve solved our problem!”
 
I was settling down to my well earned lunch when suddenly I heard behind me.
 
“Excuse me Sky Brush, can we have a word with you?” I looked over my shoulder to see Death Cap and Zecora staring at me.
 
“Um sure!” I said while clearing some space at my table. “Pull up a stool! What can I do for you two mares today?” I took a swig of my hard cider.
 
Zecora smiled as she sat down. “Death Cap and I would like to proposition you because think you’d be perfect for us.”
 
“Uh, what kind of proposition are we talking about? I inquired. Death Cap shot me an evil grin.
 
“Oh Brick! Something you’ve gotten lots and lots of experience according to Rainbow Dash and several other ponies. Zecora and I are looking for another pony to make a threesome!”
 
Fortunately I had neither food or drink in my mouth. However my face went through a round of emotional gyrations, and both mares laughed at my expense. Finally Zecora spoke up.
 
“Oh ho Sky Brush! Sorry for the joke, but the look on your face was priceless!”
 
She stopped laughing and look gave me a serious look. “Death Cap and I are planning a little expedition into the Everfree Forest tomorrow; we seek an elusive prey who is only available for a very short time every four years. We believe that your flying skills would greatly increase our chance of success!”
 
I took a bite of a stuffed hard-boiled egg and washed it down with some more cider. “What is this prey you seek and why do you seek it? Also what is in it for me?”
 
Death Cap pulled out her well worn copy of the very popular mushroom hunters guidebook: Will This Kill Me? from her panniers. Quickly flipping through it she found the page she was looking for. It had an illustration of a strange iridescent, tube-shaped fungi. She jabbed her hoof at the picture.
 
“This.” She said. “This is the Fading Dream Mushroom. They usually only appear every four years for only a couple days at most. They possess several potent medicinal and alchemic properties that are very, very important in many applications. If properly dried and preserved they can keep for years, but if not harvested correctly and early enough they rot away in a few hours and are worthless.”
 
Death Cap finished her ale. “I have a buyer lined up in Canterlot who has clients across Equestria who are in need of them, and Zecora needs them to create several of her potions. Some of these potions are used at Ponyville General Hospital so this has a real impact on the community!”
 
She leaned forward and continued her pitch. “The problem is that Fading Dreams grow only high up in the branches of old growth trees where years of leaves, moss, lichen, and debris collects in crooks of the branches. These are some of the densest and oldest stands of trees in the Everfree Forest.”
 
“When the mushrooms begin to reach maturity they release their spores which float up above the tree canopy in great shimmering clouds that settle back down to germinate the next generation. Unfortunately since the tree canopy is so dense in these areas it is impossible to observe from the ground.”
 
“Eventually the mushrooms start producing a sweet-smelling aroma that can be detected even on the ground, but by that time it’s usually way too late to harvest them. Now Zecora and I have some idea of what type of trees are likely candidates to be homes for Fading Dream Mushrooms, but that still leaves us with literally hundreds if not thousands of trees to consider. And to make matters worse not every candidate is guaranteed to have them growing on them!”
 
Death Cap looked at her empty glass and then flagged Black and Tan down for a refill. With that accomplished she continued her pitch. “But if we could have a flier skimming above the canopy they could spot the clouds of spores and then signal Zecora and I below so we’d know which tree to climb for harvesting. It would quicker, safer, and less disturbing of the tree canopy so future generations of Fading Dreams could grow! So Brick, you interested in helping us?”
 
I chewed on my apple for a couple minutes as rolled her idea around in my head. “Okay if your idea is so great then surely some other pony would’ve done it years ago. Sooooo what’s the catch?”
 
Zecora smiled. “Ah Sky Brush. Good question. Well, there are a few problems that make pegasi less than excited to participate in the harvesting of these particular mushrooms!”
 
“First there is the matter of being able to coordinate with the ponies on the ground, so they can tell them which trees have the mushrooms. The pegasi have to follow the rest of the team into the forest on hoof and then when they’ve reached the area try to fly up and through the canopy. Most pegasi find forest floor of the Everfree Forest to be a very disconcerting experience like being underground. Pegasi seem to be very susceptible to claustrophobia, and the wild weather of the forest does nothing to settle their nerves.”
 
“Once the correct area is reached then the pegasi must try to find a gap in the tree canopy, not an easy task. Only then can they start searching for the mushrooms. Once discovered they need to either fly back down through the canopy and inform the party which tree has them, or attempt to signal them from above. Also not an easy task!”
 
I ripped a big chunk of bread off my loaf and chewed on it. Then a thought dawned on me. “Hey why don’t pegasi skip the all stomping around on the ground and working with other ponies when they could just fly around; spot the spores themselves, and then swoop down and do the harvesting themselves?”
 
Zecora coughed, and Death Cap took a big swig from her new mug of ale. Then she looked me in the eyes.
 
“Because pegasi are not fond of Fading Dream Mushrooms and should not be around them for very long while they are sporing.”
 
“Oh really, why?” I took another swig of my cider.
 
Zecora got a very impish grin. “Because the spores from Fading Dream Mushrooms temporarily cancel out pegasi flight magic. If the spores are inhaled or come in contact with a pegasi’s hide they have an almost immediate effect.”
 
Suddenly, I wasn’t nearly as interested in their proposition.
 
To be continued.