( These are very old hoof-written journal pages preserved in a newer binding – the title is “Wisperwind" )

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Hi journal!

Well, I did it! I made the cut to be on the Empress’ messenger team!

I was fitted for my uniform today and should have it in about a week. Until then it’s daily drilling on geography, timetables, and courtly behavior… The first two? No problem! That last one? I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to pull that off… As my mother would say – probably with genuine concern – I’m not exactly one for proper manners. Even as a foal I was more interested in mud puddles than fancy outfits.

Anyway, the Royal Messenger Corps is a division of the military here in Roanoak, and I’m told it is a really good way to move up in the ranks. I know, I know – I’m not a military grade pony either, but since I moved here I’ve found myself wanting to help out however I can.

The Empress creates that sort of feeling…

The Empress. I got to meet her you know – well… She was in the same room when I got my commission at any rate. She’s amazing – so regal, and such a genuine smile. It’s easy to see she really cares for us… Kinda like a mother with thousands of beloved foals.

Roanoak is pretty neat too. It’s a lot more mountainous than home, and a lot more trees. Manehattan is mostly brick buildings and roads you know, and the greenery tends to be carefully tended parks. It’s pretty cool here too, temperature wise, and a lot less humidity. Apparently winters here are pretty spectacular – if you’re a bear.

I also met my wingpony today. His name is Nimbus and he’s from Skyvale… He’s not exactly what I would call an ‘amazing’ flyer, but he has a lot of drive.

... And a really nice smile.

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Being a messenger for the Empress is really a pretty nice job. I get to fly around to all of the villages and hamlets, chat with ponies, deliver important letters and pick up the same. The pay is good, the uniform is pretty snazzy, and I get to have lunch with the Empress on occasion too!

There are ten of us in total and we work in rotating shifts of five on, five off to ensure there is always a messenger available when the Empress needs us. We are also the best flyers anywhere – no fooling. It’s not easy to get this uniform, the entrance into the Royal Messenger Corps is just as stringent as the Wonderbolts and not just any Pegasus can cut it.

But I did! Yeah, I’m pretty proud of that fact.

But it’s an important job, and we all take it pretty seriously – especially when the Messenger General is yelling at us about timetables.

He’s such a grouch.

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Tensions with this group of Southern Dragons have been pretty high for a few months.

About a month before I got here they just kind of moved into the mountains south of Saddlebrook, which isn’t a big deal to us really as nopony really does much that far south, so we don’t have any use for those craggy old mountains anyway.

Listen to me… “We” – you’d think I was born here.

Training has been going really well and the Messenger General seems to like me. Around here that means longer routes and a more complicated timetable… And says he sees greater responsibility for me in the future – which probably means even longer routes…

Awesome…

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Dragons… Really, we were more than happy to leave them up there, even though we were here first. But they seem to be having some sort of civil strife, and while some of them are happy to leave us be, many of them figure we’re sitting on the better land and they want it for themselves.

The Empress has had a few meetings with them, and while she’s never said anything bad about them, it’s pretty obvious they aren’t the easiest to talk to.

Apparently a bunch of them have been seen winging it back south towards the Scorched Lands, the rest seem to be intent on kicking us out…

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I know, I know it’s been a month since I last wrote, but it’s been a bit hectic. Tensions with the Dragons continue to escalate… I hear a lot of rumors, but as we are bound to never read the messages we carry – even if I had better information in my hooves, I wouldn’t know about it.

The big rumor right now is that the Dragons are working with some allies we don’t know anything about just yet, and it’s these allies who want the northern plains of Roanoak. Most of the ponies say the Dragons are paid muscle for this other group, but my friend Razorwing – he’s a griffon, the only one I’ve seen this far south – is saying it’s obvious the Dragons are being manipulated by these allies.

I honestly don’t know – I just hope it all works out.

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There has been an incident at a small farming village nestled near the mountains.

Echo was the messenger on duty for that area, and she was the one who first saw what was left. She didn’t take it so well – I really feel bad for her.

There were maybe seven families – twenty ponies or so some two days flight from here at Morgan Castle… The whole place was completely razed from what I hear…

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Things here in Castle Morgan move quickly. Earlier today we heard about the incident with the village - tonight there was this big meeting with the Empress and all of her advisors. The Messenger General assigned Nimbus and myself to the Empress as direct aides for some upcoming trip.

It’s really quite and honor to work directly for the Empress, but I’m scared stiff.

This is serious stuff… Not just cloud busting or delivering the mail… That town was burned to the ground…

Nimbus? He’s totally unfazed. He just smiles and says everything will be fine. But that pony can also fly through a hurricane, on fire, with the contents of Tartarus on his tail, and think it’s all great fun.

Mostly because he’s crazy…

But I wish I were as certain things will be okay as he is…

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I’m camped in a tent tonight…

At sunrise this morning the Empress, two field medics, Nimbus and I, and five of her elite guard all made ready for a trip.

The Imperial Guard? Not exactly a fun bunch there, let me tell you; all armor, weapons, and military precision. None of them have a sense of humor – at all.

We arrived at the village via spellcraft; some sort of Alicorn portal magic that covered the two days travel in seconds and left the lot of us a bit dizzy, but that was really nothing compared to how I felt once I saw the village… Or what was left of it…

While a couple of the guard carefully picked their way through the wreckage and did not seemed to be moved at all – I, on the other hoof, looked on from my position with the two field medics… And I had some of the color bled out of me today.

I have to guess, based on where the guard laid out the white sheets, that nopony escaped… I keep hearing the attack probably happened early in the morning, as everypony was asleep.

It was so odd – there was no sound save the occasional pop or crackle from the charcoaled wood. No wind in the trees, no birds, nothing… The whole thing seems so surreal.

After some time one of the guards called the Empress over. This guard, a Unicorn, is the only one of the military looking lot that is not in plate armor. She’s dressed in a fancy uniform with tassels and medals, and she carries herself with the air of one used to authority. She and the Empress discussed quietly for a few minutes with the Unicorn gesturing at a nearby hill with a forehoof and the Empress eventually nodding in agreement.

It was later, over dinner of dried grass – why do military ponies seem to pride themselves on suffering?

Anyway, over dinner I overheard a few of the Imperial Guard talking about how the Dragons are working with someone – someone not from around here – and the weapons used here were not of Dragon make. In fact, there was a lot of talk about just what the weapons were – nopony seems to know.

I guess that makes it official… This isn’t just some petty land squabble now; this is a coordinated effort among a couple groups to overthrow Roanoak…

I have never been more scared…

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Finally back at Morgan Castle! Four days in a tent is three days too many!

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Sorry for not writing in a while… Nimbus and I have been sent on a lot of strange missions these last four? Six? I honestly don’t know any more… Many weeks…

These runs typically see us leaving the castle in the afternoon, flying complex routes under cover of darkness where we retrieve information from various places, and returning to the castle late morning.

I’ve never seen who is leaving the satchels for us, but it was impressed upon both of us that it was important we were never seen, followed, or that we dawdle at all…

There have been a few close calls, but we are the best of the best! And we won’t let the Empire down.

So, my days have been pretty much sleep, snack, fly like the wind for twenty hours, and collapse. I’m exhausted, but I’ve never been in this great of shape before either. Ten hours in the air right now would seem like a walk to the mess hall…

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I know – it’s been a long time since I last wrote… Two months have come and gone, and along with them several more attacks on small southern villages. But the last two weeks have been quiet – not much of anything has happened anywhere. Rumor had it that Nimbus and I would even be getting some R&R soon!

Of course that’s when orders arrive…

Nimbus and I are to meet the guard at Saddlebrook tomorrow morning – something is up.

Saddlebrook is one of the larger towns in Roanoak. They have a main street, with a collection of stores along it, and probably a hundred or so families living in and around the town. They are also the most populated town closest to the southern mountains.

Over the last few months those mountains have become a very dangerous place for ponies.

I’m a bit worried…

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We have occupied the western edge of Saddlebrook; a full detachment of the Imperial Guard, the Empress and her personal guard, and twenty or so support ponies, like Nimbus and myself, are camped here. The ponies of the town are both relieved to see us, and frightened by the knowledge that, yes, things are as bad as they look.

An army has just arrived in town – that’s a pretty good indication things are pretty bad – just in case the Empress standing there in full armor didn’t give it away…

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This evening the Captain of the guard told us what is going on. She said that captured communications Nimbus and I have been couriering have indicated that the Dragons and their allies will attack Saddlebrook in the next day or so. This is to be a staging location for attacking Morgan Township, and from there, laying siege to Morgan Castle.

We are to meet them here, and complicate their plans while the bulk of the castle guard are recalled and armed, and the castle stocked for siege.

The Saddlebrook militia is here with us… I think they are the only ponies here more frightened than I am…

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Now we wait – and I write just to keep the jitters at bay.

Nimbus and I are at the base of the hills on the west side of the town now, with a dozen Imperial Guard, some thirty of the militia, and a couple of the support staff. The rest of the Imperial Guard is stationed in various quadrants of the town, with the Empress and her personal guard stationed at the town hall, which is where the citizens are housed right now for safety.

The siege team, a bunch of downright crazy Earth ponies and a Unicorn demolitions master, have created a lot of these earthen berms with shallow trenches on the town-side of them. What is truly interesting, is I had no idea they were made in the last few days – they look natural.

Earth Pony magic no doubt…

When the action starts Nimbus and I are to remain near enough to the fighting to see the guard, but remain out of harm’s way. Being the two flight-capable ponies on this end of town makes this pretty easy for us, but we are to remain on the ground as long as possible… This is because the Dragons cannot identify pony flight troops from pony ground troops at range until we are in the air. Once we are in the air though we have to circle and keep an eye out for signals from the guards if they need us to deliver information – while keeping an eye on not getting shot of course…

The shops and homes are behind us. There is a few hundred meters of clearing between us and the edge of the forest to the west – anything coming out of there will have to move quickly to surprise us…

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It started with a terrible hissing sound that seemed to come from all around us... And then fire. Fire is everywhere…

(the rest of the page is burnt away)