During the Golden Age, many new forms of real-time technological communication were explored, greatly lowering the cost of distant, instantaneous communications, which had previously required the service of specialist mages. Unfortunately, these devices are now known mostly through artifacts that have proven resistant to repair or analysis, and magic is again the only available means of long-range real-time communication. Most major settlements have a unicorn able to perform magical sendings.
The cities of the Eastern Dusts have a reliable inter-city postal union, the Pony Express, which is headquartered in Docktown and has offices and daily service in all the cities served by the Docktown Railroad, as well as less frequent service elsewhere. Airmail via the Trenchtown Aeropony is available.
An attempt was made to cross the Dusty Mountains with a line of semaphore telegraph stations as a commercial venture, but it was abandoned due to difficulties with the Crystal Forest and unusual problems with station operator retention. Although most of the stations have fallen into disrepair or are being used for other functions, the semaphore stations connecting Docktown and the Hayminnow Islands are still active, having been purchased from the bankrupt corporation by a group of wealthy zebra investors. Communications are sometimes interrupted by dust storms.
Caption: A semaphore telegraph tower in the Hayminnow Islands