Communication

There are many things that could be implied by this subject. So we'll do a quick rundown...
 * 1) These are in reference to doing a scene. NOT all communications.
 * 2) Talking about a scene outside of the timeline usually means planning out a scene that will be re-enacted on the timeline.
 * 3) Talking within the timeline is referring to characters (OC and SC) actually communicating/role-playing on the timeline.

Communicating Outside The Timeline
Let's get the boring technical stuff done first...

As said above, this usually means planning out a scene.

Part of the reason the EoD group Skype chat is there, is to give a place for ponies to plan scenes if needed.

"Planning a scene" is fairly self-explanatory: you talk about doing a scene, you agree on said scene, you play out the scene.

However, there are different levels of planning that can occur:

NOTE: These are based on my own opinions of scenes. Each level of planning has its own benefits.
 * 1) Very Little Planning: Usually just "point A" (EX: two or more characters meet) and "point B" (EX: said characters part ways) planned out; sometimes only "point A".
 * 2) Moderate Planning: "Point A" and "point B" are planned out, along with one, or a few, key points planned out.
 * 3) Heavy Planning: A vast majority of the scene actions are planned out; step-by-step actions /sometimes/ planned out, but that kinda takes the fun out of RP if done too often.

The first level is usually common with ponies who are just meeting on the timeline for the first time. This usually entails a conversation involving a phrase like: "I think [character A] and [character B] should meet up some time."

The second level is useful for keeping track of progress throughout a scene. Knowing key points of a scene can help participants know how fast or how slow a scene is progressing.

The third level, although it can be heavily detailed, still enables for creativity. Actions may be planned out, but what the characters actually say as dialogue (see next topic) is still up to the writers. I personally have rarely ever done scenes of this level of planning for any RP, but I know some find joy in it.

Alright... technical stuff done with, now let's get to the key of most scenes...

Communicating Within The Timeline
To Any #TwitterPonies Interested In Joining: Although this /could/ be considered a spin-off of sorts, we prefer to NOT use the tweetbird system here for long distance communicating. That is what makes #TwitterPonies unique, and we don't want to take away from that. Besides, in the villainous world of Elements of Disharmony, small stray unknown flying objects can cause more panic than normal.

At this point, a vast majority of readers are probably thinking: "So how do we communicate to others that aren't right next to us?"

It's very simple: NPC messengers that deliver letters.

Nightmare Moon has her own personal heralds to deliver messages; Sombra and Chrysalis probably have their own heralds as well (although Chrysalis and all hive changelings have the ability to communicate via mindlink, I'm sure she has changeling heralds just in case secrets need to be kept); and Discord... is Discord. Enough said.

For the rest of the world there are several ways to go about this: Something to keep in mind: Couriers may not always be able to deliver notes speedily, depending on distance, so plan ahead when sending some messages.
 * A high ranking position, under a main villain, can ask an NPC staffer to deliver a message to other staffers.
 * Changelings have their telepathic mindlink.
 * NPC couriers can be asked to deliver letters from city to city, or to somepony within the city (for any fellow video game nerds: think of something a little bit like the NPC courier system in Skyrim that deliver letters to the player).
 * Forest defenders can ask messengers to deliver messages to fellow allies.

The Forest and City Separation Factor
The Everfree Forest is a hostile place and doesn't have an official courier system like the city does.

An NPC courier that works in the city may not want to go near it, and the rare NPC courier in the forest probably may not want to deviate from message delivering between ponies in the Everfree who are watching over it (if that becomes a thing). So unless something is established between two characters (like a dead drop point, or something like that) the only way deliver a message is by going into the forest or city itself.