Fanfic: Eclipse

I'd be glad to work with you! The more the merrier. Oh, about the last input? Brain's stewing that one.
Making edits to chapter six now.

Oh, about the numerals? Twilight can count, can't she? She recognizes base ten by the decrementing timer, on which the right number changes ten times before the other number changes.

Microphones? Ponies have microphones.

Well I was thinking about it. She uses base ten, but I don't think she should recognize the symbols we use to represent our numerals. Looking at this sentence, " As she watched them, it became evident that it was some sort of timer. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero, nine..." it seems like she knows what the symbols in our numbering system stands for. It's entirely possible the Equestrian numbering system uses a different glyph to represent numbers since things like 9,8, and 7 have no inherent meaning to aliens. This chart should show what I mean.



We use the European numerals, but Equestrian numerals could be Arabic-Indic. 7 equals v but Twilight wouldn't know that. Maybe you can change the sentence to include the European numerals (7 instead of Seven) and include how Twilight doesn't understand what the symbols are until after the decontamination. After the timer clocks down she'll recognize that it was a timer and that the symbols were numerals in base 10.

*Edit*

Do ponies have microphones? Twilight said she work with few electrical equipment. I'm assuming from that, that Equestria is only starting to industrialize and that tech isn't incredibly advanced. Twilight seems like the kind of person that would want to know how almost everything she has works. On the other hand, being Celestia's pupil, she would acquire the tech early due to connections. I don't know where exactly you plan to place Equestria's tech level, as there are a lot of reasons you could place it anywhere. Are we going to acknowledge or disregard schizo tech?

The prose is under translation convention; she's not actually thinking in terms of human numbers; she's counting the amount of symbols that go by before the symbol on the left changes on the timer. I'd say the timer runs for around fifty seconds, which I think would be long enough for Twilight to decipher its purpose and recognize repeating symbols and recognize their base ten counting system. After all, she's a sharp little purple pony.
Equestrian tech is extremely variable in its technological sophistication, and the humans are having quite the time quantifying its level. It's less uniform than it was in any time frame that ever happened on Earth.
Twilight uses a microphone in "A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2", by the way.

Chapter six is up.

I was more asking if for your story do ponies have microphones. Every author picks and chooses what parts of canon are canon for the sakes if their story. Are you planning on acknowledging every piece of technology that came up in the show?

I'm fine with it if you plan to make the variability of tech a point in the story where the humans realize that Equestrian tech has a lot in common with a Civilization game with the extreme differences in sophistication. (Ex "We're rolling around in tanks, but we have no idea what animal husbandry is")

Many of them, yes. Variability of tech is one of the things the humans are going to be figuring out, along with magic and the political system, among other things.
Oh, and the perceived caste system.



Edit: Oh hello featured box. Also, I remembered to shout out Kipper's story, which is kinda similar.

Yeah outsider looking in I can see how someone might come to the conclusion of a caste system. We'll see how well the people like the next chapter after the initial positive responses wane. After that we'll have an idea of what to work on.

I can't help but think that the Eclipse's crew are being a bit quick to let the alien onto their ship, especially right onto important areas like the bridge

They said she is an ambassador so I'm willing to give them some lee way in that regard. Otherwise I'd agree with you.