SilverHeart

As far as I can tell it works just fine. I haven't seen any effort needed on my part to preserve messages. I only checked once but it had messages from several months ago when we started. 

Gotcha. 

1 hour ago, Hederik said:

So glad to see you respond.

Another platform is entirely fine by me. However, I would prefer forums to Discord - spoken sessions are damnably hard to arrange, especially with our differing timezones, and I'm ever the written-RPG guy, although I have had my fun with spoken ones. I mean, I would not be impossible to convince to a spoken session, but it definitely most likely wouldn't be this one.

I read it as "it's small wonder" and kept pondering why you'd think that until I noticed the "a". Ah, the intricacies of the language...

Discord can be used as a text app as well. That's actually where I host my current RPs. I've never had to talk to anyone on it for RPing. The only real irritation is a 2000 character post limit. But that's easy to get around by breaking it up into smaller posts. 

Sorry about that. My phone doesn't always autocorrect to the right things. 

6 hours ago, Once In A Blue Moon said:

Ah, good to see you too.

Another platform would be fine by me. 

And yes hello to you to too.

Its a small wonder the three of us are still here.

I guess you could say you're in luck, because I've been meaning to log on and disable email notifications for a month now. I just couldn't be bothered to do it.

I'd be willing to keep going but my vote would be to move away from the forums and to a platform like Discord because I'm not really a fan of these forums. Though this isn't a democracy so its all up to you Hederik.

((OOC: Sorry for mentioning everyone, for some reason my enter key stopped working as I was writing the mentions. After several attempts I've given up. trying Also sorry if I didn't include a responbse to everything, I was running short on time to write this.))

@All @Convergence @Golbez @Scribblegroove @PonyOfWar @Dark Horse @everyone else.

Mirror glanced towards the purple stallion as he so arrogantly introduced himself. There were many ponies like him in show business. Loud, selfish, arrogant, and prideful. Sometimes they could actually back up all their talk. It was still too early to see whether Nova was one of those few. Only time would tell. The only real response she gave him was a simple roll of her eyes before turning her attention back to Logic and Crowley.

Another Stallion stepped forward. itThe light blue unicorn was short, almost as short as Cherry. He announced himself as Salus Veta, a doctor. The way he spoke was certainly...unique to say the least.  Mirror couldn't tell if he was speaking to Nova or narrating his thoughts out loud. He certainly wasn't cowardly, he openly challenged Nova, a stallion that was easily his physical better. Mirror's attention was now firmly fixed on Nova, Salus, and the other ponies near them.

The next pony to introduce herself was Logic, whom she already knew fairly well. She wasn't paying much attention to Logic;s introduction and instead was looking around at the other ponies that hadn't introduced themselves yet. Her gaze drifted to the Zebra Warrior. Mirror had had the privilege of meeting several Zebras in her travels, they were still an exotic race to her, but she did enjoy hearing about their culture. Mirror smiled softly and nodded slightly at Dancer. All the other Zebras she had met so far had been mares, this was her first time meeting a Stallion and he certainly didn't disa- Mirror's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Logic speak her name. It took her a moment of listening to realize that Logic was giving her introduction for her. Mirror bowed slightly at the end of her introduction, she would have actually given it herself, if there was time, she could give it after everypony had introduced themselves.

The final pony to introduce himself so far was a large red stallion. It was short and to the point. The fact that he was the Captain of a Special Forces unit didn't sit well with Mirror. Mirror's lips pulled back into grim line, she hoped that he would be the only member of the military.
 

4 hours ago, Nit Pick said:

I have the 360 version but I just seem to prefer PC now a days. Is the game even remotely enjoyable on PC? Because it seems I need to mod it to be a PC game to begin with. Is it worth the trouble for mouse and keyboard controls? I can play "The Surge" just fine on my computer.

So long as you use a controller the game plays exactly like the console version. I have Dark Souls on both. I can't say I ever noticed any issues.

The mod you download takes all of three minutes to install. It really isn't much of a hassle, it just fixes a few things that the developers didn't optimize for PC.

@Golbez@Scribblegroove

Mirror could feel herself blushing behind her mask, she didn't deserve that much credit. Not for lying to Cherry at least. Mirror shook her head agreeing with Logic, "No...this isn't something she should be a part of." she said as she handed the letter to Logic. The showmare took a moment to tug the right side of her cloak back over her foreleg and closer to the center of her torso while Logic compared their letters. After Logic was done, she wrapped the letter in the faint purple glow of her magic. "Okay." she responded.

As the two mares approached Crowley, Mirror breathed in deeply and then let out a quick sigh. This would be difficult. he knew too much about her already while she knew absolutely nothing about him. She hadn't even heard of the organization he was a part of. The letter she had recieved had been waiting for her at her home in Manehattan. She couldn't tell if it was just a fluke that it had been waiting for her at home just as she finished her latest tour or if that had been a stroke of luck.

Mirror floated the invitation in front of the stallion without shoving it into his face, though that was a tempting thought. Being rude wouldn't do, Crowly had her at a vast disadvantage. For now she would play her part. "I'm sure they will." Mirror agreed, she put effort into making sure she sounded as netural as possible. Any weakness in her exxpression was hidden by her mask. She frowned at Crowley's subtle insult to Cherry Logic, but she didn't jump to defend the shorter mare.

@Golbez

Mirror Image reached up with one foreleg and returned the shorter mare’s hug. A small voice in the back of her mind was screaming that this was just a coincidence and not some scheme to expose her in front of Logic. The magician pushed the poisionous thoughts back down before they could fester. Afterall, Cherry would have been the better choice. There was no reason to panic just yet.

The unicorn returned Logic’s nuzzle lightly, careful to keep her new mask from moving around too much. Once their greeting was finished, Mirror stepped back so she could better look at the other unicorn. Maybe it was because Logic was Cherry’s sister or that if you ignored the difference in their colors and lack of wings, or perhaps she was just scared that this would get back to Cherry but she felt compelled to tell Logic the truth. “I...I didn’t actually tell Cherry about the letter.” Mirror avoided Logic’s gaze while her left hoof idly scuffed at the ground. “She doesn’t need to worry about whatever this is.” Mirror excused her actions, “Not to mention she would have wanted to come. I told her...that I was just leaving to go another tour. Money is tight.” Mirror admitted while still avoiding looking at Logic and instead looked around her at the other ponies.

Eager to change the subject from her less-than-noble actions and her financial issues Mirror, “Did you receive this letter too?” Mirror asked Logic. If they were both brought to the courtyard, it stoodto reason they had both received the same letter, sans Crowley’s threat. Mirror reached into her saddle bags and produced the letter from the Princesses and only their letter. She lifted it in front of Logic’s face so she could verify the letter.

Mirror was doing her best to pointedly ignore the other ponies for now, if they were all to be forced to work together, there would be time to make personal introductions later.

@Scribblegroove

Just letting you know I will be making a post in the next 24 hours. Sorry for the wait. Work's been keeping me busy. I'll get it done some time tomorrow though.

I like the PM'ing ide. In fact I was thinking of doing that instead of spoilers just last week. 

The better part of a night and day had passed before Mirror could catch sight of the golden spires standing majestically over the mountain side. Her hoof tapped the wooden seat impatiently as the royal city grew steadily closer. For the hundredth time that day, Mirror pulled the letter out of her saddle bags and re-read it. The deadline to arrive was noon and she couldn’t exactly afford to be late. Not with the potential consequences for tardiness so high. A glance towards the sky revealed that Celestia’s burning sun was ever nearer its zenith.

She knew that she sshould have left earlier, but she couldn’t afford to rouse Cherry’s suspicions and more importantly, Mirror didn’t want to make Cherry feel neglected. She had only finished her most recent show tour last week. It looked bad enough that she was already leaving again, citing the excuse that she hadn’t made enough bits during her travels.

Mirror felt a pang of guilt over how quickly Cherry had believed her lie, times were tough for travelling shows. And it was true, this year had been the most depressing yet, she barely broke even during her travels despite being more skilled than ever. After accounting for various expenses and taxes, she only had three hundred bits left. Mirror rolled the letter back up and wedged it into her saddlebags. Hopefully catching these thieves, or at least whatever her part in it was to be, would end quickly. She’d hopefully get paid at least paltry sum of bits and she could go back home a free mare.

By the time the train pulled into the station, Mirror was already standing at the door waiting to depart. The second the doors opened, Mirror raced towards the castle as fast as her legs would carry her. Thankfully Canterlot was resistant to change, she still remebered all the back streets to avoid the crowds, or at least most of them. By the time that the sun had reached its peak, Mirror had reached her destination. There were more guards than she had remembered standing in front of the Palace gates, likely a result of the break-in that the letter had mentioned.

She produced said letter and showed one of the guards who proceeded to open the gates and lead her into the castle. Mirror Image followed the guard through the numerous twists and turns to their destination. This wasn’t the first time that she had entered the castle, she had come once on a tour years earlier. However this was the furthest she had ever been. She doubted more than a handful of ponies had been this deep into the castle excluding officials, staff, and guards.

Eventually, the guard opened a pair of doors that lead to a courtyard with several different ponies in it. Only one of them looked to be a guard, but he wasn’t wearing the same armor that the Royal Guards were wearing. She nodded her thanks to the guard that lead her in and quietly entered the courttyard. It didn’t seem like she was late. Most of the ponies were standing around one of the others. She didn’t pay them much mind, the pony closest to her looked oddly similar to a certain red and black pegasus she knew. “L-Logic?” Mirror said quietly, surprised to recognse one of the few ponies gatehred here. She fought the ineplicable urge to nuzzle the unicorn and settled for sliding up next to her. She could worry about the others later.

((OOC: Sorry if the formatting is off I wrote this in a text editor and not the site's built-in one))

I'll be making my post today (so in the next 15 hours or so.) Likely I'll be writing it up while I'm at work and then I'll post it once I'm home. Sorry for the delay.

Hi Scribblegroove, I noticed you posted a link to an older RP. Is this an ad seeking more players to continue that RP or is this a new start of that RP? I just want to know if I need to do some reading or not to prepare for the RP should I be accepted. Let me know if you need more information than this.

Name: Mirror Image

Role: Scout

OC page link:

Special equipment: Her purple cloak and her mask, though other than being comfort items for her, I don't think there's anything really special about them. She would probably carry a dagger or a knife for self-defense/combat. Other than that, she generally travels light. She'll have her saddle bags,  which she'll carry general supplies in.

On my gaming desktop I have Windows 10.

On my school/work laptop I have Ubuntu Mate

And on a flash drive I carry on my keychain I have Kali Linux installed.

Overall I would say I windows 10 the most but I really need to slow my gaming.

@@Once In A Blue Moon,

@@Hederik,

@@AzureNightLight

Ping.

Silver released a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, relieved that Cirrus was in fact Cirrus and not a wolf in sheep's clothing. She risked a glance in Cat's direction but couldn't quite read her reaction, though she imagined it was much like her own. 

Midnight...Following Midnight, will be Star...After that, Will be Silver, followed by Cirrus and Cat, bringing up the rear.

For pretty much the first time since she had stepped forward, Silver turned her attention to the mare giving orders, apparently their new leader. She was passingly familiar but, like most of the of the Cadets not in her class, Silver knew little about her. All she knew about her was that, besides Star, she was the oldest in their group and that she was a scout and navigator. And the latter was only due to the equipment she carried. "Roger." Silver replied, taking her assigned position behind Star. Personally, she would have preferred Midnight lead them. He had proven himself trustworthy and was already the de facto leader of their unit.

Cat nodded to Silver and Cirrus, trying to project a professional 'I've got your back' look.

For the sake of being both polite, Silver returned the nod. And if she were honest, she was glad that Cat had volunteered. Cat was intelligent, observant, and loyal to the cause, possibly too loyal. Silver felt safe with her as the rearguard. As the group descended down towards the cave, Silver's focus drifted away from her friends back to the imminent danger that likely awaited them. With each step forward the sense of dread grew until all that was on her mind were the myriad ways they could die. 

Silver stopped at the entrance to the cave, the shadows inside seemed so...dark. Even with Star's magic lighting the way the tunnel seemed so sinister. She glanced back at Cat and Cirrus behind her, hoping that they would both look more confident than she was. It didn't help, Cirrus probably wasn't looking much better than herself. Meanwhile, Cat had already turned around and was slowly backing up. "It'll be okay." Silver said halfheartedly before turning back to face the cave and tentatively stepping forward into the darkness. 

The darkness that greedily devoured what little light reached this deep from outside was bad enough by itself to make this passing unpleasant.

Silver followed on the proverbial heels of Star. The constant shifting of the shadows and lights made the tunnel feel less like reality and more like a nightmare. It was an almost other worldly experience where the walls themselves looked alive, moving and flickering. The stress, anxiety, and illusions on the wall had Silver's stomach twisting in knots. She kept close to Star, staring at her hooves. When they stopped moving, so did she. Silver sat firmly between Midnight and Cirrus in her ability to navigate the hellscape of the tunnel. There were moments when she stumbled and nearly gored Star with her horn.

It was a good ten minutes of a mind-wearying travel before a fork finally appeared in the road.

Hadn't they travelled far enough? It's been too long, we're only going deeper underground, we missed something. These and other thoughts raced through Silver's mind as they continued to walk forward. Little did she know that what felt like hours to her had only been a few minutes in reality. 

The thud was loud,

With a loud gasp Silver dropped down low to the ground, it was less a combat stance and more of a stance readying herself to jump or run in any direction, not that there was much choice in where to run. It wasn't until she could hear Midnight and Cat's swearing that she realized it wasn't a cave-in and had been...something else. "Is anyone hurt?" She called out. It was wrong of her, but part of her wanted somepony to be lightly injured, if only so she could have something to take her mind off of the tunnel.

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik, @@AzureNightLight, @@Colenso Rivers,

"Can you blame me for doubting you?" Cat responded, her voice low and angry. She stood silently for several seconds, wrestling with her conscience before adding "But... well, you're here now. You did make the right choice."

Silver opened her mouth to respond, but Star was too close. So was Hardy. Even she knew not to raise the ire of the two most powerful and highest ranked ponies in Equestria. And so, she said nothing and allowed Carto to get the last word in their little argument. Following the others in their group down the rocky trail, Silver resigned herself to stew in her anger, self-pity, and fear. The latter of which grew with each step towards the cave below.

As she landed, she shot a sheepish smile at Silver and Midnight, the latter grinning in approval of this last-minute addition to their little task force.

Cirrus' arrival heralded a slightly improved attitude from Silver. Midnight seemed just as pleased as she was to have Cirrus coming with them. The young medic took her place next to Cirrus' side. As she approached she gave the mare a short and friendly nuzzle, quick enough that it could be easy to miss.

she surreptitiously picked up a small stone in her hoof. When Cirrus' eyes were elsewhere, with a swift and practiced motion of her hoof she threw the pebble as hard as she could at Cirrus' scale armour, listening intently for the 'ping' of stone on metal.

Silver glanced over in Cat's direction, only catching a glimpse of her actions. Her first instinct was to catch the pebble with her magic. And she might have done that If she hadn't listened to the conversation about discovering changelings. As the pebble soared towards Cirrus, Silver found her breath catching in her throat.

((OOC: Well I missed too much to ever make up for it with a single post, so I'll respond to what has happened recently.))

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight,

Silver Heart stood nearby watching as more and more members of her squad volunteered for their position. In fact, her squad seemed to make up the majority of the new unit. Midnight's presence alone made her feel that she had to volunteer out of a sense of duty. But she didn't want to. Going deep underground with cramped and dangerous tunnels, a single wrong turn or bad luck could cost all of them their lives. Silver visibly shuddered as she imagined being buried alive by loose rocks or worse, being separated from everyone else. Being surrounded by darkness, her only source of light emanating from her horn as she searched and screamed and scratched at the walls trying to find her way out of the darkness.

No, she would only go if another medic didn't volunteer. And so she waited and looked at each of the volunteers as she hoped somepony else would step forward. Midnight looked expectantly at her while Cat looked hurt and confused at Colenso. Silver watched as Cat's mildly disappointed gaze turned to her, transforming into a glare of pure disgust. She had seen the look several times since she had met the mare, but never with the intensity she bore at her now. Silver had known for a while that Cat despised her....flippant regard for being a Cadet. Silver averted her gaze, unwilling and unable to match her stare.

The seconds crept on before Silver gave up and slowly marched forward with the countenance of a mare being sentenced to hang. She walked past Midnight and then stopped behind him. The young medic kept her gaze lowered but glanced in Cat's direction and spoke in an strained but friendly tone, "Where's Colenso's glare?" As she turned her gaze back to the ground she added, "Double Standards, Carto."

@@Hederik,

Silver groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof. The last thing that Silver remembered from last night was introducing herself, Cirrus, and Colenso to the ponies around the campfire. After that everyone seemed to break off into their own conversation and eventually went to sleep. She glanced over to where the Colonel had made his wake-up call. Silver gave a soft yawn and stretched, unused to sleeping on the hard ground. Her hoof hit something, or more accurately, someone. Specifically Cirrus, who at some time during the night closed what distance had been between them. Or maybe she had done that to Cirrus. Silver blushed slightly at the waking mare, "H-how'd you sleep? The dream wasn't too bad." Silver offered as she straightened out her uniform and wiped off any dirt and dust she could see.

Still opting to wait for @@FortyTwo42's post, as Shadowhide is the only pony I presume likely to interact in any way with Initial after what had happened, if only by merit of adjacency.

I guess it also stands to reason that if any of you don't think you can get another post in, just tell me. I'll go ahead and advance the scene.

@@Golbez, @@Mentis Soliloquy, @@Hederik, @@FortyTwo42,

((OOC: One more post for each of you before this scene is over.))

Mirror hugged Cherry tight, pulling the drunken mare against her. She held her for several moments, ignoring the others in the room. She laid down next Cherry. "I'll carry you to our room. Just hold on and close your eyes." Mirror said quietly. She helped Cherry climb onto her back. Once she was safely balanced, Cherry carefully stood up and slowly walked towards the door. She pulled it open and walked through leaving the others to deal with Initial and the potential fallout.

((OOC: I would have written the scene all the way to the hotel but, I'm not sure if you wanted to write something in before that happened.))

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

((OOC: I'm not too sure what you want me to say. She would have entered when the twin did.))

@@Hederik,

Movement catching her eye, Silver looked away from the flames, a certain beige pony was beginning to stir. No doubt due to the discussion of dreams, somewhere around their campfire. "Hey there, how are you feeling? Better, I hope." Silver asked. She glanced down at the short-ish distance between the two of them and smiled at Cirrus. The campfire painted everything in a dull orange glow, but Silver thought she could see a slight blush on Cirrus' face.

@@Colenso Rivers,

A familiar voice mumbled something that she just barely caught, Silver glanced in the direction and saw Colenso. She didn't quite catch what he had said, the general din of noise from around the three fires almost drowned it out. It didn't seem like he had been speaking to her, or anyone specific really. If she wasn't already talking to Cirrus, she might have offered an answer.

@@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik,

((OOC: Nothing like a pint of hard apple cider to get the creative juices flowing. Also welcome to the RP Azure!))

Like the rest of the Cadets, Silver left the lecture hall and went to her dorm room, where she equipped her armor and gear. After getting dressed for battle she assembled in front of the One Way Door with everypony else. Silver, like many of the ponies present, waited nervously numerous emotions ran wild through her mind. Two emotions stood out from the rest. The first was disappointment. Walking through the One Way Door would be the final nail in the coffin that she could live a normal life. This was likely the last time she would ever step hoof in Pony Valley and she didn't even have a chance to actually see her home one last time. She would never get to have her own family, marry a stallion, raise her foals. She would never get to live a normal life. There was no hope, however small, that she could fail out of the Academy and be free to choose her own life. Once she walked through the door she would be a soldier for the rest of her life. And if she was honest, she felt a little excited. On the other side of that door was a new life. One where there would be no more training, at least not to the same degree there had been. The Academy that had been her prison would be exchanged for a virtual exile from the Pony Valley and a small modicum of freedom. Which meant that she could have some control of her life, more than she had had in years. It wasn't much but it helped put an ever so thin silver lining on the situation.

Silver's eyes wandered over towards the source of the singing. She gasped quietly when she saw Star's new form. It took several long moments of watching the mare to even realize that it was Star. No longer did she look like a deformed freak or some poor imitation of a pony, instead she was tall, slender, and...beautiful. She looked just like the depictions of the Royal Sisters. Which would make her...royalty? Dozens of questions ran through Silver's mind as she tried to process what was going on.

At General Hardy's behest Silver walked through the One Way Door along with nearly thirty other ponies. The scene that waited her on the other side of the Door wasn't what she had been expecting. Everything was normal, actually. It wasn't a wasteland. In fact, it really just looked like the other side of the mountains surrounding Pony Valley. Logically, that made sense though Silver was having trouble understanding why they had been sequestered inside of Pony Valley if the world outside of Pony Valley seemed so....normal.

Their entire day was spent marching down the mountain range. By the end of it, they were tripping over rocks in the low light. Eventually they were called to set up their camp for the night with the condition that they not sit with their unit. Silver gathered her share of firewood before wandering over to one of the bonfires. She recognized most of the ponies that were sitting at the bonfire. Some of them were from her unit but most were ponies she had only met in passing while at the academy.

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers,

((OOC: I'm gonna try the Once In a Blue Moon style of posting for this, see how it works out for me.))

That is why this academy has been established and why you have been put through the years of training, sometimes even against your wills," here she knowingly met eyes with Silver.

Silver returned her gaze glaring daggers. Even if it was superficial, Silver finally had someone to blame for taking her freedom and agency as a pony. Nearly a decade of her life and the entirety of her future were stolen, just because she happened to have a slight knack for helping sick and injured ponies. "That bitch!" Silver swore just loud enough for her squad, sans Reverie, to hear. She spent the rest of the briefing stewing in her own anger, glaring at Star, and ignoring nearly everything else.

Or, more accurately, towards the now empty podium, where only a lone transparent crystal indicated anything had happened at all. Beside Silver Heart, Cirrus Streak trembled a little but stood up resolutely nonetheless. She was blanched no longer, although the look on her face was far from gleeful as she turned towards her companions. "Are you okay?" asked Midnight, noticing the unexpected change in the mare's demeanor, getting a single mirthless laugh from her in response. "I'm scared a lot," she admitted quietly, closing her eyes for a moment. "But this... this is what we've been trained for. This is a fear of something natural, of the uncertainty of tomorrow, not... you know," she finished lamely, blushing at the memory of her morning display of weakness.

It wasn't until Star left that Silver moved from her seat. She kept pace with both Cirrus and Midnight as their group walked towards their dorm. "That dream bothered everyone, stop feeling so self-conscious about it." Silver responded sharply, anger evident in her voice. Almost before she finished speaking, she regretted her choice of words and felt ashamed for snapping at her friend. Silver quickly followed up by saying, "It really was a horrible dream, you aren't alone...." Silver quickly said, her tone was apologetic, "Hopefully we won't have anymore when we leave the Academy." she offered, it was something to hope for.

"Squish some bugs, smash some gateways, suffer a scar in the course of our heroic endeavours and we all return as heroes; medals and appreciative stallions all around,"

'I hope it really goes that well." Silver muttered quietly. Cat's enthusiasm was something to admire, even if Silver couldn't share in her good mood.

@@Hederik, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers,

Silver reluctantly raised her hoof up before speaking, "You said 'mostly chang-" She was interrupted by Colenso. Silver grunted quietly. His question, however, forced her to look at Star from another persepctive, other than some malformed freak of a pony. The answer seemed obvious to Silver, she would gladly let them all die for her. While she waited for Star to answer Colenso, she briefly turned her head so she could see Cirrus more clearly, today's news, even on the best of days would be hard to take.

Silver waited until Star had finished her answer and raised her hoof. She began from the beginning, "You said 'mostly changelings'. What else is out there? What are we going to encounter? Is there anything you can tell us about these creatures that built gates?" she asked. If they knew the location of these 'Gates' then the Academy had to know more about what obstacles they would face on their way.

@@SilverHeart,

 

"More like talked at him," replied Midnight in a hushed voice, his expression softening upon turning towards the mare. "It's like he wasn't even there to hear anything I said. And now he's glued himself there," he mentioned with a slight motion with a hoof, "I'd like to say 'like a coward', but there seems to be something else ahoof and I dread what it all may mean..."

 

For a while, the unicorn sat silent, then suddenly he realized the presence of another mare on the other side of Silver and inquired abashedly in the same low tone hardly carrying to anyone but his immediate neighbor, "How is Cirrus doing?"

"Have you ever seen a pony that looked like that before?" She asked, her voice was louder, loud enough that both Cirrus and Midnight would hear her. And possibly Anypony else sitting nearby.