skbl17

@Lordav Port of Mustang City, Mustang City, Impalarana The guard looked over the group. He did not believe that they were present to mean the city any harm, so he was inclined to allow them to pass through. Of course, there were immigration and customs laws that had to be enforced, so he had some of his fellow guards check the ship for contraband and stowaways. When the group's leader mentioned that they wanted to see the Premier, the head guard decided that he needed to get further information before allowing them to get an audience with Bright Idea. Putting on a smile, he asked the group's leader, "What business do you have to meet the Premier?" At the same time, he motioned to another guard to send a telegram to 15 River Street. --- "Your Excel-" The servant stopped when he was met with Bright Idea's stern glare. "-Miss Premier, we just got a telegram from the port. Apparently, a group of ponies landed at the port, and wish to have an audience with you." Under the old National Alliance government, there was a lot of bureaucracy and orders that had to be navigated before anypony could even so much as interview the Premier. Bright Idea believed that the top-heavy bureaucracy festered corruption, so on the campaign trail, she promised to trim it. Why not start with something as simple as interviews? Of course, she still wanted to know why they wanted an audience with her, so she decided to stop short of instant authorization. Turning back to the servant, she gave her order. "I'll grant the police discretion on this one. If they think they are good and don't wish me or the country any harm, lead them straight here to see me. No need to go through the Customs and Immigration Office or the Port Assurance Commission." The servant nodded before heading back to the communications room, where he replied to the telegram with a simple message: Use your judgment. If they pose no threat to anybody, send them straight to 15 River.

15 River Street, Mustang City, Impalarana Newly-confirmed Premier Bright Idea opened the doors to her at-the-moment empty new home, 15 River Street. Every Premier going back to the country's founding lived here, and even though the structure of the house has changed over the years, the location remained the same. As for the inside, there were pictures of old Premiers leading back to the country's first, Wispy Hoof. At the end of the hall, she found the Gold Room, where she would be doing much of her work. Opening the door, the room was totally empty, save for a desk, four chairs, a carpet emblazoned with the national seal, and a modestly-sized picture frame where her official portrait would go when the time came. Off to the right, she spotted a door that led to her private chambers. Inspecting the desk further, Bright Idea found a pen and quill, a small picture frame, and a stack of blank papers, which she presumed were for drafting public orders. Oh, with the anti-corruption crusade she was going to embark on, she would be drafting a lot of those. Just as she finished inspecting the room, a member of her security detail appeared in the doorway. "Your Excellency, we've finished bringing in your belongings. Do you want us to furnish the room, or would you rather do it?" the security pony asked. "You all could furnish the rest of the house, I'll take care of this room and the room adjacent to it." Bright Idea responded. "And please don't address me as 'Your Excellency', 'Ms. Premier' would be fine." "Very well." The security pony backed away, before a few ponies dressed in suits brought Bright Idea's luggage to the Gold Room. After they left, she used her magic to open the boxes and suitcases. "Time to get to work."

0", 0cm, 0mm, 0 hoof-lengths. If the models are correct, I'm not looking forward to next Friday's crippling ice storm. Thank goodness it's still six days away; plenty of time to trend warmer or trend colder at 850mb (cold enough for snow).

Oh, my problems with Comcast are more institutional. I don't hate their internet - in my experience, it's fairly solid - I just hate their customer "service", data usage caps, and anti-competitive behavior.

Compass Meridian was about half a mile from his house when he heard an explosion; according to reports, it was a car bomb. Just as it seemed that things were getting back to "normal", there was a car bomb of all things. Was it so hard to ask for at least 48 hours without some bomb or utility failure? Despite that incident, he decided to continue his walk, as it seemed that the police had control of the situation. Oddly enough, there were a lot of residents and tourists running around, trying to enjoy the nice, sunny day. After a few minutes, Compass used his self-location spell to figure out where he was. Facing northwest, or about 46 degrees west of north, he determined. He was standing on a bridge over the Goldenrod River; to his right, he could see the Applelanta skyline....and the smoke from that car bomb. For a city and region that had been through so much in the last 24 hours, the clear sky, gentle breeze, and abundance of ponies out enjoying the day made it seem as if today was just another placid day. As he emerged from the bridge (on the northern bank of the river,) he came upon a flyer attached to a streetlight. Quickly scanning the contents of the flyer, Compass's eyes almost lit up with joy and relief. "Come out and see the Wonderbolts, Equestria's premier flying team!" The flyer said. "For one afternoon only, we'll be opening the roof at TPL Metro Arena to allow one and all to come and see the Wonderbolts tear up the skies and perform their spectacular tricks! Admission is FREE! "This Friday from 1-5pm at the TPL Metro Arena! Come out and experience one of the most thrilling shows you'll ever see!" Compass was sold; with how much the city's been through since Monday, he couldn't help but feel a little excited over a Wonderbolts show. Of course, in fine print, the flyer indicated that concessions and merchandise would not be free, but he'd deal with that when the time came. He trotted away from the flyer, eagerly awaiting Friday's show.

Hey, Octavia! I still don't approve of The Weather Channel's winter storm naming system, though; it's nothing more than a mechanism for the purpose of trying to stay relevant in this age of weather apps and the internet (subsequently, a ratings grab).

Commonwealth Assembly Building, Mustang City, Impalarana It was a historic day in Impalarana, and the Metropolitan Assembly chamber certainly looked the part. Delegates from every part of the country's government, the country's President-General, members of the print media, and even members of the general public were present for this historic occasion. The Commonwealth Assembly was about to make a historic vote: confirmation of the Premier. Siting on the left side of the chamber in the front row was Bright Idea, an alicorn pony who had been through a lot in the previous few weeks. Her relatively young third-string party, the Unity and Cooperation Party, won an overall majority in the country's 39th general election, defeating both the Impalan Development Party and the National Alliance, the latter of which had formed the government for more than a century. Not only was the result historic, but Bright Idea was set to become the first alicorn to be elected as the leader of a country. Five minutes later, as voting closed, the Speaker confirmed the result of the vote: Bright Idea was elected Premier, receiving 54 of 80 votes. Cheering erupted in the chamber as Bright Idea rose to take the oath of office. She went to the podium and recited the oath, after which she was invited to make a speech. Her aides had insisted on writing a speech for her, but she decided to wing it. "Thank you everyone, not only those who supported me through every up and down of the campaign, but also those who took part in our city-state's democratic process by voting and getting involved. It was through your votes that you expressed your desire for a change in government, a change in policy, and a change in leadership. "Before I discuss the new agenda the UCP will lay out in government, let me tell you a bit about myself. You see, this election is a bit personal for me, because of an event from when I was younger..."

A couple of years ago back in high school, we had a rule that forbade the use of smartphones and other electronic devices during lunchtime. It was enforced, so it was always a bit difficult for students to use their devices to catch up on games, social media, and so on during the twenty-five minutes of precious freedom you have in the middle of the day. During instruction, I understand the "no electronic devices" rule, but it always felt a bit excessive during lunchtime.

At first, High Voltage was a bit unsure about the unicorn's offer. She had to head out soon and do one final "sweep" of the city to make sure there were no more malfunctioning transformers or dead lines, as required of all senior lineponies by TPL. While she didn't mean the mare any harm, she was technically the leader of her entourage, and it would not reflect well on her, her group, or the utility if she decided to slack off. Then again, there was no set time for her to leave town and return home, and we were talking about a utility that had been caught with its tail between its hooves on failing to ensure its generation capacity and power plants were up to snuff. There was no harm in staying another ten minutes...or an hour. Her mind made up, High Voltage turned to the unicorn mare. "Well, we were about to head out, but I don't see the harm in staying a bit longer. Our reservation doesn't expire for another two hours, anyway. Come in." She motioned for the two to enter. Her colleague was okay with it, but looked a bit uneasy about the mare's (robot?) companion and what it was doing. If HV thinks it's okay, she thought, then it should be fine. There's nothing to worry about.

High Voltage noted a knock at the door. She never called for room service, and housekeeping wasn't scheduled to come around for a few hours. The building was pretty secure, but she had to be careful. She moved towards the door. Her colleague had turned to watching TV when she first noticed the knock, then noticed High Voltage moving to the door. "Hey HV, is there somepony at the door? I thought I heard knocking." "Yeah, I'll check to see who it is." High Voltage responded. And please stop calling me 'HV'. She looked in the peephole of the door. No, it wasn't housekeeping or room service, but it looked like a unicorn. Deciding that it would be counterproductive to be rude, she unlocked the door and opened it. "Good morning!!" She said, with a smile on her face. "Do you need anything?"

Thanks; and yes, he is based on me, hence why I chose the black hair. I could see what the problem is, so his hair could be "lightened up" a bit.

Depending on the time of year, I can easily stay up to well past 7:00am. In fact, I consider going to bed before 2am to be too early.

Eh, why not? I'm always open to constructive criticism; when it comes to vectors, I'm not the most knowledgeable. I have three OCs with art on this site (links in signature). Have at it!

Southerners! The people who move from other regions or countries to the South are called "transplants". Contrary to popular belief, I don't usually hear the term "Yankee" thrown around a lot, but maybe that's because I live in Atlanta, a metro area that's chock full of transplants (including me).

After a horrifying day on Monday, Compass Meridian was thrilled to see that the power had come back on overnight. There was still flickering, but it was still significant progress. Of course, he still wanted to be sure of one thing, so he picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Thank you for reaching the automated emergency line of the University of Applelanta. There is - ONE - message for today: 'Due to the ongoing power situation, all classes and activities on the University of Applelanta campus are cancelled until further notice. Stay safe.'" That was the best news, no class! Of course, with the utility companies, police, and protesters running around, it wouldn't be safe to be out. The globalnet was still out, so he couldn't check social media. In the end, he settled for checking the news; he didn't want a shock like what happened around the same time yesterday. There were only three channels that managed to get back on the air by sunrise: Channel One, ECT, and PBE Government TV. Compass knew that the latter was a "channel of last resort" to be used in a national emergency, so of course it would be able to survive an EMP with no damage. At the time, the so-called "last resort" channel was airing its typical flavor of government conferences. Boring. * click * ECT was airing some kind of roundtable program, where the topic was, "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" There seemed to be five ponies in the panel: one was a particularly old earth pony who seemed to be talking in drawl, another was a female pegasus who looked as if she was a police spokespony, two other earth ponies were in suits and seemed to be arguing with each other, and another unicorn was attempting (and failing) to moderate the increasingly heated discussion. Pass. * click * Channel One was airing its typical morning news program, Sunrise in Equestria, but something felt...off. The set was darker, and the faces of the hosts were ashen. He guessed that some of PBE's staff were still shaken by the events of yesterday. They were delivering the news: "...600,000 outages remain....fatalities in Applelanta train wreck reach 150...no suspects in either attack have been identified....Prince Blueblood to meet with Canterlot government...." Wait, what? "...In Canterlot, Prince Blueblood has requested a tripartite session of the Crown Council, Privy Court, and royal branch for this upcoming Friday. All councillors, Crown Council magistrates, and princesses have been invited to attend. No further details of the event have been issued, but it is believed that Prince Blueblood will make an 'important' announcement at the event..." If there was something that was an open secret, it was that Prince Blueblood did not like Equestria Forward; most of the 'hardliner' nobles did not. By that logic, his speech would probably have something to do with the program, so it wouldn't be anything interesting, just more of the same: "reform is bad", "waste", yadda yadda. Compass turned off the television and, against his better judgment, went outside to get some fresh air. I'm not going far, he thought. Just stepping out to go for a brief walk.

Current season (Winter 2015 + those ongoing from past seasons): - Kantai Collection - Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata - Assassination Classroom - The Rolling Girls - Junketsu no Maria - Sailor Moon Crystal (holdover from Summer 2014) - Go! Princess Precure Shows from previous years: - The IDOLM@STER (original series, not Cinderella Girls) - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Hataraku Maou-sama! (Most of you better know it by the title The Devil is a Part-Timer!) - Baka to Test - Gintama - Nichijou - Soul Eater - Clannad: After Story Eagerly awaiting: - Nanoha ViViD (April 2015) - Working! Season 3 (Sometime later this year) - Symphogear Season 3 (Sometime later this year) - Nisekoi Season 2 (Spring 2015) - Little Witch Academia 2 (Sometime later this year) - F/KL Prisma Illya 2wei Herz! (Sometime later this year; my guess is Summer 2015)

Righty. Makes it awkward when I'm the last person in a room, leaving me to sit in the left-handed desk.