skbl17

For Bright Idea, today was not her kind of day. It started off well, meeting returning residents, visitors, and study abroad students at the seaport. She had talked with many different ponies on a variety of topics, and she'd be dishonest with herself if she didn't admit that she was impressed with that brown unicorn's interest in Port Impala. Usually, tourists just come, hit the beaches, shop at the malls or Seaside Bazaar, visit the museums, then leave. For students, it's usually the aforementioned tourist menu plus class and studying. The fact that any visitor would actually be interested in the inner workings of the city was amazing in and of itself. She could be happier about it, but the rest of the day up to this point wasn't going too well. She was whisked away from the seaport, thrown in the back of a police car, possibly for an important national security reason, only to be told that nothing major was going on. Bright Idea wasn't happy. She was just glad she wasn't in a Commonwealth Assembly sitting, or the debate would get extremely rough. @ The alicorn mayor was lost in her thoughts when she heard a stallion's voice. Bright Idea turned away from the window, expecting to see another security officer. Instead of security, she found a brown earth pony stallion looking at her. He must have been the one to say hello, she thought. Well, my beef today is with my security entourage, not citizens or visitors. Besides, I could also use a conversation to take my mind off things...and these stares. "Hi there!" Bright Idea responded, trying to set aside today's turn of events.

I remember playing Club Penguin years ago, and the countless days I'd spend playing some of the games, decorating my igloo, and fearing the day I'd get the message that my membership had expired.

It's hot and humid. Garden variety thunderstorms all over the place. Typical August weather, in other words.

The only language I can speak fluently is my native language, English. I understand the structure of German and know a lot of the words, but there are still a lot of times where I have to look up the definition myself. I'm currently learning Japanese.

Because she's also a Gravity Falls fan! EDIT: Ah, this is one of the horrible truths of MLP Forums, the moment when two users post at the same time and you don't notice after you hit "reply".

After making a quick stop at a phone booth to call a tow truck for the disabled police cruiser outside, Bright Idea walked deeper into the bazaar. The rain had ground the outdoor merchant booths to a halt, but the indoor shopping center was still bustling with regulars and tourists. The tourists would usually stop and stare, a few would even take pictures, but most of the regular visitors paid no heed. She couldn't blame the tourists for staring, though. Alicorns were more prevalent on the two countries of the Hoofnea Peninsula than elsewhere, yet they made up under 0.01% of Port Impala's population. In a city-state of 4.9 million residents, there were only 350 or so alicorns. Plus, none of them were really all that special in the grand scheme of things; Bright Idea was an elected mayor with limited constitutional authority over the affairs of the city, a far cry from the godlike powers and authority of the Equestrian princesses that visitors normally think of when they hear the term "alicorn". Eventually, the exhausted alicorn came upon a restaurant near the end of the Bazaar. Opening the door to head inside, she noticed it was almost full. Many different ponies and even a few zebras were sitting around, some chatting, some looking out the window, and a few were even listening to music. There were some tourists as well, she could tell because most of them were staring. She couldn't blame them, but it's not like she enjoyed it. A nearby waiter spotted her. "Good afternoon Ms. Mayor. Table for one?" "Yep, table for one. Do you have a window seat?" Nodding, the waiter led Bright Idea to her seat.

On a normal day, Bright Idea just flies back to her office. Sure, she couldn't fly too fast, as she'd probably outfly the special police officers who were "protecting" her from the street. On a normal day, she wouldn't have to head back so early. Tropical showers are nothing new in Port Impala, so the citizens have gotten used to it by now. Visitors...not so much. On a normal day, she'd just grab her umbrella and fly back, assuming the rain wasn't too heavy. On a normal day, she wouldn't be stuffed in the back of a black police car by her security detail, but here she was, the Mayor of Port Impala stuffed like a criminal into the back of a police car. Security wasn't supposed to do that unless something's endangering national security, civil defense, or the very peninsula itself. Yet all she saw was a heavier-than-usual storm. "So gentlecolts, care to explain why I was shoved into this police car again?" One of the security ponies turned around to explain. "Yes, Ms. Mayor. The Minister of Civil Defense all but barged into your office and asked to see you. He said it has something to do with an important topic relating to national security, and needed to see you as soon as possible. Once he told us what the topic was about, we had to get you, as there's no time to waste." All Bright Idea could do was look a bit exasperated. "And what could that topic be?" "One word: hurricanes." The incredulous look on Bright Idea's face was replaced with one of shock. "Did you just say...hurricanes?" No no no no no, the now-frightened Mayor thought. There hasn't been a hurricane here in 86 years! The city isn't prepared for something like that! Too many ponies and zebras will die, and there's nothing that I'll be able to do to help them. No no no no... Bright Idea was pulled out of her thoughts as the security pony pulled out a map of the city and everything within a 100 mile radius. "Yes. The good news is that based on current wind patterns, the Climate and Weather Office does not expect catastrophic impacts in the city, as the worst of it will strike our southern neighbor, Grand Hoofnea. However, the CWO still expects some wind and some rain." The shock on Bright Idea's face was replaced with closed eyes and a smile. Of course, this wasn't necessarily a good smile, as it didn't take a close observer to notice her right eye twitching. No, she was hiding something far worse than incredulity. "Wait, how much wind and rain is 'some', exactly?" As the police car approached the Seaside Bazaar on the way to the CWO office, the security pony knew what was coming next, but answered the Mayor so as to not break from protocol and basic decency. "Um...four inches of rain and 30 mph winds?" There was a sigh. Whether or not the pony speaking with the ticked-off Mayor, the pony driving the car, or the other pony sitting shotgun were genuinely relieved or just preparing for the cascade of events to follow will never be known. Bright Idea activated her magic. Within seconds, the car came to a sudden and dramatic stop near the southern entrance to the Seaside Bazaar, sending the three officers forward. One of the officers hit the hard back of the driver's seat, knocking him out. The pissed off Mayor blew the passenger door off its hinges before stepping out. She didn't do anything else to the car or the dazed ponies inside, but she made a mental note to berate the Minister of Civil Defense later. Seeing that the rain had let up, she thought about going to her office to have a word with the minister, but considering that she was in front of the Seaside Bazaar, Bright Idea decided that it would be unwise to angry tell off a government minister on an empty stomach. Still very much ticked off at the security personnel, the CWO, and the minister, but too hungry to care any longer, she entered the Bazaar, hoping to get a good bite to eat...and call a tow truck for the now-disabled police car outside.

What I do is I click my username on the black bar (yours should say 'Guardian Braveheart'), click "My content", then when that page loads, click "Pages" on the left side of the screen. You should then see your OCs.

Since the Opening fifty years ago, Port Impala has maintained a complex, diverse, and free media, operating with essentially no interference from the government. pre-Opening media situation The autocratic National Alliance governments that ran the country before the Opening engaged in vigorous censorship of the media. Newspapers were mostly government-controlled and acted as little more than mouthpieces for the state; the few private newspapers - like the Peninsula Daily - saw many of their editorials and political news articles censored under Port Impala's severe state security and press laws. The establishment of the state-owned Metropolitan Broadcasting Organization about two decades prior to the Opening didn't improve the press situation, as the MBO's radio output was also subject to severe censorship. All regulation and censorship was carried out by the government's Ministry of Media and Communications during the pre-Opening era. During the Opening For further information, see the History post (coming soon). An episode of the MBO Radio program Matter of Fact... is credited with providing the catalyst for the Opening. An audience member went on a twenty-minute rant against the government; usually, these tirades would be censored within seconds of broadcast, but for whatever reason, the MBO censors did not censor this tirade for five minutes. When security finally attempted to stop the audience member's tirade, they did so in a very heavy-handed manner. The sounds of the beatings were also broadcast uncensored, with the broadcast equipment also picking up the sound of one officer calling the audience member a "dog". A protest began within the studio, eventually spreading to the grounds outside the MBO offices. After doctors pronounced the audience member dead two hours after the MBO program was interrupted, the anti-government protests rapidly grew in size and intensity. Initially, the government responded with severe repression: combined with the police crackdown, MBO was initially forbidden from broadcasting information on the protests before being shut down two hours after the start of the protests. After the Mayor's cabinet resigned (followed by the Mayor fleeing the city two days later,) a new caretaker administration took power until elections could be held later in the year. MBO was allowed to return to the radio airwaves, radio and newspaper censorship was abolished, and private radio stations came into existence. Present day Today, there are ten newspapers, ten analog television stations, and 31 radio stations licensed to serve Port Impala. None of them are subject to censorship, as the constitution forbids almost any attempt by the government to interfere in the day-to-day operations of media outlets unless the city-state is at war. Despite those guarantees, over-the-air broadcast media outlets must obtain a broadcast license from the Communications and Media Authority (CMA,) to be able to transmit signals over Port Impala's airwaves. Restrictions imposed on broadcasters by the CMA are few and far between; broadcasters must publish information on their finances and staffing, and scheduling information must be "publicly available". Public broadcasting After the Opening, the state-owned Metropolitan Broadcasting Organization (MBO) was reconstituted as an independent public service broadcaster by the Commonwealth Assembly. The broadcaster, previously run by the government's Ministry of Media and Communications, had its governance changed to a five-member Board of Supervisors, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Commonwealth Assembly for ten-year terms. MBO is editorially and fiscally independent, with all of its revenue coming from a =L= 6.89 surcharge added to power and water bills. MBO currently operates two analog television channels and four radio stations, all of which are commercial-free: - MBO Blue (VHF 2): The general interest channel of MBO's television service, MBO Blue airs dramas, documentaries, sports, comedy, soap operas, and news programs. Established as the country's second television station (signed on two days after the private station Metro9). MBO Blue has been broadcasting 24 hours a day for the last few years, with its overnight programming consisting of news repeats and a picture of a weather radar, overlaid on top of a radio simulcast from MBO R1. Despite the increasing prevalence of private media, MBO Blue remains the most-watched television station in the city-state. - MBO Gold (VHF 4): The secondary channel of MBO's television service, MBO Gold airs documentaries, lifestyle programs, occasional sports events, and foals' programming. MBO Gold also airs Zebrican-language programming during the day, including a Zebrican-language news program. In the event of a major news story, MBO Blue programs are sometimes moved to MBO Gold. 24-hour broadcasting has been implemented at MBO Gold, with most of its overnight programs consisting of movie and documentary repeats. - MBO R1 (730 AM, 93.1 FM): The city-state's first radio station, founded as MBO Radio during the latter days of autocratic pre-Opening Port Impala. Since the Opening, MBO Radio has been renamed as "MBO R1", and has added more audio dramas, current affairs programming, and hourly news summaries. Airs 24 hours a day. MBO R1 is also a clear-channel station, allowing the broadcasts to be heard across the southern half of the continent at night. - MBO R2 (93.5 FM): The broadcaster's Zebrican-language station, and one of only two radio stations aimed at the minority zebra community in Port Impala. MBO R2 has been described as "MBO R1 for zebras", as much of its programming is similar in style to those broadcast on MBO R1. R2 airs 24 hours a day. - MBO 3Sport (93.7 FM): As its name implies, this radio station airs sports events and programs. - MBO 4Music (930 AM, 93.9 FM): MBO's all-music station, airing songs from a wide variety of genres. Notable for its "Up and Coming" daily program, where aspiring musicians can perform their songs on the station. The only other licensed noncommercial broadcasters in the city-state are the University of Port Impala, which operates UPI Radio (91.5 FM, classical music and current affairs,) and Cougar FM (91.7 FM, a student radio station,) and the Government of Port Impala, which operates GOVConnect, a television station (UHF 23) and a radio station (1020 AM, 94.1 FM) that broadcast Commonwealth Assembly meetings, press conferences, visits by foreign dignitaries, and other government-related programming. GOVConnect's AM station is also the CMA-designated emergency broadcasting station. Commercial broadcasting After the Opening, the radio sector was opened up to the private sector. While there are a multitude of private businesses that own and operate television and radio stations today, the broadcast sector is increasingly dominated by two companies. Nonetheless, the commercial media sector is quite diverse, with a variety of television and radio stations broadcasting different programming to different demographics. Metro Media Ltd. is the largest private broadcasting organization in Port Impala. The broadcaster was founded just a year after the Opening and the subsequent licensing of private media. Metro Media owned just one radio station, but has since grown through the establishment of new stations and the acquisition of a few smaller broadcasters. Today, Metro Media owns two television and two radio stations, airing a variety of programs: - Metro5 (VHF 5): The country's first television station, beating MBO Blue by five days. Much of its programming includes live sports, dramas, soap operas, reality shows, news, and foals' programs on Saturday mornings. Metro5 is also available on pay television to viewers in the neighboring country of Grand Hoofnea. - Metro9 (UHF 9): Much of Metro9's programming centers around imports, unlike Metro5's mostly homegrown programming. Otherwise, its schedule is similar to that of Metro5, even though there's an increased amount of documentaries compared to its sister station. - Beatz 95.5 (95.5 FM): The country's second private radio station. Airs hip-hop music. - NewsRadio 1010 (1010 AM): A clear-channel news and talk station. Infamous for its center-right, pro-National Alliance slant. Many of the station's personalities were former propaganda directors at MBO Radio during the pre-Opening days. The second-largest commercial broadcaster in the city-state is Impala Teleradio, Inc., a company owned and operated by the owners of the Peninsula Daily and The Week. Impala Teleradio owns and operates one television and three radio stations: - TVXI (UHF 11): The country's fourth commercial television station. Airs much more news and current affairs programming compared to its commercial rivals. - Impala Hits & Talk (99.5 FM): Exactly what it says on the tin; a top-100 hits and talk station. - Clear 101.1 (101.1 FM): A smooth jazz station. - Sea 98.7 (98.7 FM): An R&B, rock, and "regular" jazz station. While Metro Media and Impala Teleradio are the city-state's largest private broadcasters, there are many other single-station owners that also broadcast a variety of music and news programming on their radio frequencies. There are three other television stations: Peninsula's 20, which is known for its wide assortment of movies and comedies, CityTV 7, known for its sports, comedy, and foals' programming, and Seaside TV, which is well known for its longform dramas. Of course, with zebras making up almost 13% of the population, there is also private Zebrican-language broadcast media - owned exclusively by Impala Zebrican Media, a private consortium of several zebra businessstallions. Radiye Zh'ebric (1070 AM, 91.3 FM) and Te'vezya Zh'ebric (UHF 16) are the sole private Zebrican-language radio and television stations, providing a counterweight to MBO Gold's Zebrican-language programs and the 24-hour public radio station MBO R2. Newspapers After the Opening, the state-owned dailies (Metro Daily and The National Truth) were sold off to private investors, leaving the Metro Gazette as the only government newspaper, to be used solely for the publication and promulgation of new laws. The National Truth no longer exists, having been closed down nine years before Bright Idea's inauguration as Mayor. The most-read newspaper in the country is the Peninsula Daily, a daily broadsheet newspaper owned by Metro Media and Impala Newspapers. The Peninsula Daily quickly threw off the shackles of censorship immediately after the Opening, then amassed a large reader base by publishing extensive corruption investigations into past officials. The Peninsula Daily still holds some of its investigative roots to this day, keeping its reader base loyal to the paper.

This is from a post I made on another forum, but everything here is still 100% correct.

Well, what's Storm Song's personality like? What does her cutie mark represent? I think it would be easier to come up with a backstory from there.

12:41 PM local time The rain's really coming down. As the raindrops continued to strike the window, all Compass Meridian could think about was the way weather worked in Port Impala. He recalls reading about a theory - "climatological sovereignty" - in which every individual country can decide how weather should work: naturally, or artificially? Port Impala was a mix of both: there were weather schedules, but tropical thundershowers were also a fact of life, especially during the summer months. This storm was just a bit too violent to be an artificial work, so it was probably just one of those natural thunderstorms. Okay, enough about the weather, there's nothing I can do about it. I wonder what's on TV? Finding a small remote control on one of the nightstands, Compass picked it up with his magic before using it to turn the TV set on. After a brief burst of static on the screen, the TV complied. Flicking through the channels, he didn't seem to find anything of interest. "Let's see...hoofball, debate, soap opera, another soap opera, commercial about some big event, drama, dra-WAIT!" Not wasting another second, Compass flipped the TV back to the channel that had the commercial. Would it be something big? Something new? Something exciting? '...and so, for the low ticket price of =L= 9.95, you can come and see all kinds of never-before-seen feats of acrobatics! Not just your regular leaps or spins, but all kinds of crazy tricks! If you get hungry, there will also be food! Come to the Seabreeze Arena this Sunday for Cirque du Monde! It will be an event you'll never forget!' Tomorrow! First weekend in Port Impala and something exciting is already happening! Of course, it wasn't free, so Compass probably wouldn't make it. He was practically broke enough as is, and he wouldn't be able to get much money during the semester. The little money he had was "for emergencies only", and wasn't to be overtly spent on "frivolous stuff". Darn.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bus finally arrived at the exchange students' destination: the University of Port Impala's Exchange Hall. While it's usually important to be careful with luggage, the students - and indeed, some of the supervising staff - were anything but careful; they just wanted to get out of the heat and humidity. Every student checked in at the hall's lobby, a large, open area with connections to the surrounding halls leading to the study areas, lounges, and the dorm rooms themselves. Compass unlocked the door to his room, set down his luggage, and took in the surroundings. There were two beds, but one of them would be unoccupied - his to-be-roommate pulled out of the exchange program at the last minute. In the back was a door leading to the restroom, shared with the dorm room next door. There was a desk with a chair and a lamp, two wardrobes, a mirror, a sink, a large window, and two nightstands, also with lamps on them. It seemed more like a hotel room than a dorm room. There was also a television. It didn't seem as large as the seaport monitors, maybe 24 inches? Bulky too. Looking out the window, Compass noticed that there was a building thunderstorm to the northeast. He couldn't use his magic to determine how fast an object was moving, but it didn't take magic to know that it wouldn't be long before it hit the city. It would probably be cooler after it passes, so maybe he could get some exploring done later...if time allows.

Going to bed; it's 5:03 AM where I am.

Going through immigration wasn't too difficult. The immigration officials checking passports and identification were quick, if a bit tired. It was late morning, so maybe they were just waiting for their lunch break. Right? After picking up his luggage, Compass Meridian walked past some retail shops, waiting areas, and a bank of new "television monitors" before leaving the port terminal. As soon as he walked outside, it felt like walking into a sauna! For starters, it was definitely the wet season; the humidity was off the charts, and the temperature wasn't getting any cooler. Sure, back in southern Equestria humidity was a problem in the summer, but it was never like this! At the very least, the shuttle was already loading at curbside. The bus looked nice and modern on the outside. Unfortunately, as Compass got on, some of the other students were already complaining to the driver about the lack of AC...er, lack of an active AC, that is. The radio was on, but none of the students really cared about that. "It's hot and humid, and it ain't gettin' any colder!" "Agreed. Mr. Driver, would it be too much to ask you to turn on the AC?" "I don't know how much more of this humidity I can take.." As the bus pulled away from the terminal, the driver could only turn around and look at his passengers with a look of disgust. "Look, I know you all are new here, so let me tell you one thing. This is a tropical city and it's the middle of summer - of course it will be hot and humid in the afternoon! Also, I'm not using no buckin' AC. Y'all will use paper fans like Celestia intended!" There was a collective groan. Some of the students took mental notes to - if they ever meet her in person - ask Princess Celestia whether she really intended for paper fans to be a thing. Looking out one of the windows, Compass decided to use some of his magic to see where they were. Closing his eyes and concentrating, his magic silently scanned the city-state before creating a mental map of the place, buildings and addresses included. Size wise, Port Impala's fairly large for a city, about 304.1 square miles, he thought as he scanned his mental map. Let's see...we're heading 2.12 degrees south of east...still 4.4 miles from the university. Beaches, obviously. Nearest international border...Grand Hoofea...20.61 miles away from our current location. This city apparently has a subway system, that's cool. Mayor's office is 5.432 miles away. Soon, his magic faded away as Compass reopened his eyes. There was too much information to take in; he wouldn't be able to finish before they got to the university! He settled on looking at the city's surroundings. Well, Port Impala was a city, all right. There were skyscrapers not too far away, probably the downtown area. The highrises seemed to go on a fair distance; it's no Manehattan, but this city is definitely no slouch in the size department. There was a market nearby; ponies were selling wares, food, and souvenirs. The sign said, "Seaside Bazaar". Hmmm...sounds a bit exotic. The houses seemed stereotypically tropical, but they looked as if they were solidly built. What really piqued Compass's interest was the tall radio tower placed behind the skyscrapers. Wonder what broadcasts from there, Compass thought. Maybe some of that new "television" stuff he'd heard about came from there.

In the OOC thread for my new roleplay, Life in the Big City...State, I said that I'd essentially dump all the facts on the setting in my blog, so as to keep clutter in the OOC thread down. Here's the first of a series of posts on what Port Impala is, and what it's like. _______________________________ Basic Information* Official name: Commonwealth of Port Impala Demonym: Port Impalan Languages: Equestrian is the sole official language, and is spoken by 88% of residents in the city-state. Due to the unusually large zebra population, Zebrican is considered a "recognized language" and has its own public media. Government documents are written in both languages, but almost all business is done in Equestrian. Population: 4,903,779 - Density: 16,130/mi2 (10,024/km2) - Racial breakdown: 41% earth pony, 20% pegasus, 25% unicorn, 13% zebra, 0.9% other Land size: 304.1 mi2 (489.4 km2) Type of government: Constitutional parliamentary republic - Mayor: Bright Idea (UCP) - Opposition Leader: Pic R. Perfect (NA) - Chief Magistrate: Golden Gavel Legislature: Commonwealth Assembly (60 seats) - Governing party: Unity and Cooperation Party (UCP - 36 seats) - Opposition party: National Alliance (NA - 15 seats) - Other parties: Impalan Freedom Party (IFP - 6 seats), Green Association (GA - 3 seats) Currency: Port Impalan leva (=L=). For comparison with Equestria's national currency, the bit, 1 leva = 3.74 bits. Nominal GDP: B200.98 billion - Per capita: B41,257 (very high) Cost-of-living adjusted GDP: B198.89 billion - Per capita: B40,551 (very high) - Differential: B2.09 billion Right-hand or left-hand driving? Right-hand driving This is an overview, of course. A more detailed look at the city-state will be coming in future posts. * All financial information will be given in Equestrian bits (B)

"Mayor? But the only alicorns I know of are royalty." He had just stepped off the ship, and Compass Meridian's already face-to-face with an interesting find: an alicorn. Apparently though, she wasn't a princess, queen, or anything, but a...mayor? Admittedly, there were a few other students and tourists who also found this interesting. Not everypony did; a few other visitors and returning residents simply walked by and paid no heed to the commotion. Bright Idea laughed, which did calm the gathered crowd down a little bit. "Well, things work a little differently here in Port Impala. For one, this isn't a hereditary monarchy, but a republic. There are elections for almost every position, from dog catchers all the way up to my position of Mayor. However, I only serve at the pleasure of the city legislature - the Commonwealth Assembly - and have many constitutional limits on my power. If I lose the confidence of the legislature, or the citizens decide to recall me from office, I'd have to step down automatically or call new elections." To say Compass was surprised would be an understatement. Constitution? Recall? Legislature? They didn't have any of that in Equestria, because it wasn't necessary for the three princesses. "Where's your bodyguards? Security detail? I don't know how safe it is to be out randomly greeting visitors without having tight security." Bright Idea didn't answer. Instead, she turned around and made some kind of gesture with her right hoof. Seconds later, a dozen or so uniformed police officers emerged from behind counters, benches, and one even descended from the terminal ceiling. They looked like regular police officers. but the color of their uniforms looked darker than those of the regular police officers. "I don't have a 'guard' per se, but the city's police department has a special forces division that's tasked with protecting government officials. On my first day in office, I asked the police chief to abolish the division, but gosh...he's almost like a nagging mother sometimes. He insisted I have personal guards, 300 of them in fact! "We compromised. I'd have a 'guard', but for top officials, not just me, and their numbers would be limited to 40. That way, I'd have a large amount of freedom to meet visitors and mingle with residents, like I'm doing right now." Compass still had other questions, but he spotted a pony holding a sign that read, "UPI study abroad students." Sure enough, he could hear his study abroad director beckoning the students to move along. Aw man, Compass thought. And just when I had more questions. "Study abroad?" Bright Idea asked. "Yes." The unicorn responded. "I'm with a group of students who are here to study in Port Impala this semester. We're not just here to visit the city." "I see...well, if you have any other questions, you can look them up in an encyclopedia, or if you see me again, we could talk about it. You should also come watch a Commonwealth Assembly debate at some point during the semester." "I'll do that, and thanks!" Yeah, the debate would probably be boring, but Compass had never seen a national legislature before, and the Princesses never have to defend their decisions and policies before a legislature filled with common folk. It would be something, at least. The study abroad director began to look impatient, so Compass hurried along. As he waved back to the mayor, he still had many questions, but one thing was for sure: at least he wouldn't be completely bored.

332,287... I wonder, how long will it take to reach one million?

If the thread title is a question, I prefer to skip the posts and get right to the reply. For roleplays and show discussion, I try to read the entire thread before replying.

Oh, not much. I just surf Reddit, Facebook, other discussion forums, Wikipedia - yes, I'm one of those people - and YouTube. Sometimes, I'll crack open Adobe After Effects to work on motion graphics. I play Minecraft occasionally, and would play it more often if my laptop wasn't so uncooperative. Other times, I'll work on pony vectors. There are also occasions when you'll even see me watching television.

Click here to visit the OOC thread! ____________________________________________ 11:19 AM local time, near Port Impala International Seaport As Celestia's sun rose over the horizon, a large boat approached land. The boat could have easily been mistaken for a navy vessel, but it was but a cruise ship. The ship was carrying a few hundred tourists; most of whom were only making this port of call a brief stopover before sailing on to other pastures. For some of them, however, this wasn't a stopover. This was their destination. "We are now approaching Port Impala, where the local time is 11:19 in the morning. Please have your passports and identification ready to present to the Border and Customs Agency officer upon disembarking. Information on connections, local accommodations, and ground transportation are available in the main terminal. Thank you for sailing with Solar Cruises, and stay safe on the remainder of your journey." Port Impala: a tropical city-state nestled a few hundred miles southeast of Equestria. Located on the well-developed Hoofnea Peninsula, the bustling city has all the characteristics as a tropical paradise: hot, humid, lined with beaches, and of course, filled with tourists. Of course, that's not all to the city-state; behind the touristy "tropical" exterior lies a more cosmopolitan, business- and commerce-oriented city with its own attractions, including museums, opera houses, theaters, and stadiums. Finally, there's the more gritty and festive side, found in the city-state's many residential districts. During major sporting events, such as hoofball championships, and national festivals it is the residential areas that really come alive. Of course, there were no major festivals or sporting events going on today. As the cruise ship entered its dock at the seaport, the passengers stepped off the boat to enter the large terminal. One of those passengers was a certain brown unicorn. He wasn't just there as a tourist, but was also there to study. "So this is Port Impala," Compass Meridian said. "This place isn't half bad." Even though he was talking to himself, he soon found himself face-to-face with a peach-colored unicorn mare. "I know right? This city has plenty to offer, whether you're just going to spend time on the beach, go downtown, visit the parks...." The mare turned slightly to her left, where Compass - and a few of the other disembarking visitors, who had stopped to see what the commotion was all about - gasped. Are those....wings? "...or study. Welcome to the Commonwealth of Port Impala! I'm Bright Idea, the mayor. Nice to meet you."

Thanks for the reply, and might I say that your art is very good! So I should essentially just start with the basics of brushes and the pen tool before digging deeper? Also, if I use the brush tool to draw lines, how do you go about coloring them in? Yes, Inkscape is a vector program similar to Illustrator (which I also have but rarely use - except for stuff I have to load into After Effects).