'Bout twelve years ago, Equestria got taken over.

But not by vast armies or corrupt governments, that'd be too easy. My country was taken by Mother Nature herself. One day, huge trees just started coming up from the ground faster than you would ever belive. Not much we could do about it, the trees we cut down just get replaced by more trees. In a few days, everypony had to find higher ground or get lost in the woods. Today, the forest down there is a real dangerous place, filled with bloodthirsty monsters 'n heathen ponies and the like.

We called it Nature's Curse.

There ain't many operatin' cities left now, most of 'em got swallowed up. The ones that were untouched lost contact with each other, making it real hard to move goods and messages around. Most couriers that tried to make deliveries on hoof just ended up lost or eaten, and most pegasai can't fly that far without rest.

That's where I come in.

The name's Cloudstrider. I'm the captain of this beautiful little airship called The Sea Singer. This here's my first mate, Derpy Hooves and y'all probably already met my pilot, Scootaloo, my navigator, Sweetie Bell, and my engineer, Applebloom. Me and my crew are at your service, providin' y'all have the bits to pay for us.

You have a job that needa doin', we can do it... don't much care what it is.

Rated T for light cursing and many ponies getting shot.