Chapter 1: Hello World
Compiler
Chapter 1: Hello World
By Smoking Gun
Silver. It was all silver. And a little bit of black here and there. The walls were so reflective that they might as well have been mirrors. The tiles were white, but they had a similar effect. Twilight felt disoriented as she trotted through the hall, her saddlebag feeling heavier and heavier as she saw her reflection in the walls. Thankfully, Spike was walking alongside her as they headed further down the hall. The dragon was holding a printed schedule. Examining it, he compared the room number on the paper to the numbers hanging over the doors. The numbers increased one by one until the unicorn and the dragon finally reached their destination: C06-35.
Using her magic, Twilight pushed the door open and stepped into a carpeted hallway. She and Spike walked past a wall and found themselves looking over a large lecture hall with what were at least two hundred young stallions at the desks in the center of the room. Each one had a laptop in front of him. Twilight searched for a seat and found that every row except the front had been filled. Twilight led Spike down the steps on the side of the room, and the two sat down in the center seats. Everypony was still too busy paying attention to their laptops to notice her entry.
Twilight and Spike glanced back at the rest of the class, staring at them in confusion. Twilight looked closely at another student, and she could make out the light of his laptop monitor reflecting off his eyes. Hearing the door on the far side of the room open, the unicorn and the dragon turned around to see an older stallion enter the room, trotting towards the podium at the front of the class. None of the other students looked up.
What is going on with these ponies? thought Twilight.
“Welcome to Orientation Day for the Canterlot University of Technology,” announced the teacher. “My name is Professor Systems. I’ll be your course convener for the next year.”
Quickly glancing back, Twilight noticed the stallions had yet to remove their eyes from their computers.
Hitting a few keys on the podium, Professor Systems turned on the projector, which displayed a slideshow presentation on the wall behind him. The first slide read “Introduction to Equestrian Computer Studies.” To Twilight’s bewilderment, the other students still did not look up.
“The program’s core courses will cover the broader areas of computer sciences, including object-oriented programming, database design and implementation, interactive application development, systems analysis, and web development. Other subjects will be covered in your electives,” explained the professor.
It’s like he doesn’t care that nopony is listening to him.
Levitating a small makeup mirror out of her bag, Twilight positioned it so that she could look back at the other students. As expected, they were just staring at their computers, with the sounds of hooves tapping the keyboard acting as the background music for Systems’ speech.
“Since all of you are junior students, you will have already been issued your schedules for today,” continued the professor. “You’ll have an hour break before your first classes. I suggest you use it to get to know your surroundings and your fellow students. It will help you adjust better. Now, I want to cover some topics you’ll need to understand if you hope to get a job after you graduate.”
Systems proceeded to discuss various topics in the IT industry, ranging from employment rates to the best and worst operating systems and programming languages to learn. Twilight sat attentively in her seat, hanging onto every word the professor said, her mind filling with a whole new area of information. Having spent most of her life in a library, Twilight had yet to immerse herself in this new, technological aspect of Equestria. Spike, on the other hoof, had been doing his best not to fall asleep. He had failed.
“And if I catch any of you using Internet Explorer, I’ll expel you myself,” finished Systems. Twilight could hear the sound of ponies shuffling in their seats as the other students started packing up their laptops, the sound of which woke Spike from his nap.
“Wait!” shouted the Professor. “There’s one last thing I want to cover.” He pulled up a separate slideshow. The title was “Mares in IT.” Twilight leaned forward, even more intrigued than before.
“Mares have been an unappreciated presence in IT. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Moving onto the next slide, he brought up a photo of an elderly mare with glasses who was standing next to a supercomputer. “Punch Card was the inventor of the database, using punch cards to store and display data. Her parents must have had some real foresight.” Several students groaned in response.
That has to be the most active they’ve been this whole time.
“My point is, the IT industry needs mares. In recent years, a thought has emerged, a thought that says IT is for stallions and that mares are unwelcome or have no place. To be frank, that’s bullshit.”
Twilight jolted in her seat, shocked at the language her professor had employed. Celestia would never have said anything like that. Spike giggled in response to the sight. The other students, of course, gave no reaction at all.
“Mares need to be in IT. The world won’t progress until they do,” stated Systems.
Feeling confident and proud, Twilight turned around to count all the mares in the rows behind her. After a few seconds, she slowly turned back. Her interest had changed to annoyance and confusion.
“All right, everypony,” said Systems. “I look forward to working with each of you. I will see you around!”
The stallions closed their laptops and headed out the door in a quiet and orderly fashion. Twilight, however, headed straight for Systems, who was walking away from his podium. Spike followed her.
“Professor!” called Twilight. “I’d like to talk to you.”
Systems turned to the mare, an expression of slight surprise on his face for a moment. “Ah, yes. You must be Twilight Sparkle. What can I do for Celestia’s number one?”
“I was hoping you would… elaborate on that last part of your lecture,” said Twilight with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“How, exactly?” asked Systems.
“Well, you talked about how mares have such a huge impact in IT and how there needs to be more of us. I turned around to count how many mares are in this class. I couldn’t find any.”
“That’s because you’re the only one,” he said flatly.
Twilight paused for a moment. “Then why would you give us that speech? Wouldn’t it make more sense to tell other mares about this? To let them know that there’s no reason to think less of IT?”
Systems glanced up, eyes scanning the room. After the last stallion left, he looked back at his female student. “Miss Sparkle… that speech wasn’t exactly for your benefit.”
“I don’t understand.”
Systems shuffled his hooves on the ground, struggling to make eye contact for a moment. “You see, mares are a rarity in this department. Most of these stallions don’t exactly… interact with them often. I wanted to make sure that there are no… shall we say, ‘misunderstandings.’”
Twilight shifted her eyes suspiciously. “OK then… Why?”
“I think you’ll understand later,” he said as he headed towards the back door. “See you in class, Twilight.”
Twilight and Spike exited Building C06, entering a small area that overlooked the main courtyard where most of the other students had gathered. Twilight watched as the students mingled, shaking hooves, chatting, sharing whatever they had on their laptops at the moment, and just relaxing in general. However, Twilight couldn’t help but notice a sizable group of students just standing around awkwardly, not talking to anypony else or even making the effort to smile.
“That’s just sad,” the unicorn remarked. “Why doesn’t he go say hi to anypony?”
“What about you?” asked Spike.
Twilight looked away. “I don’t know. Something about what the professor said—“
“Hey, egghead!”
Twilight and Spike spun around, seeing two familiar-looking pegasi descend behind them.
“Rainbow! Fluttershy!” Twilight ran up to her friends and embraced them. “What brings you two to Canterlot? Did you already start missing me?”
“I did,” mumbled Fluttershy.
“We got tickets to the Wonderbolts air show in town, so I brought Fluttershy with me,” explained Rainbow.
Fluttershy added, “Rainbow thought it would be a good idea for me to see flying from the professionals.”
Rainbow butted back in. “We remembered that you were coming up here to study, so we thought we’d drop by and say hi.”
Twilight released her friends. “Thank you both for coming to see us. We were just about to grab something to eat, if you want to join us.”
“If we’ve got time, sure!” Rainbow trotted over to the outlook and gazed over the other students from Twilight’s lecture with Fluttershy right behind her. “Who are those guys?”
“They’re Twilight’s new classmates!” Spike explained.
Rainbow scanned the crowd, arching her eyebrows as she examined each pony from above. She looked disappointed and more than a little uneasy.
“Everything OK, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
“Your school buddies seem… eggheady.”
“Rainbow,” said Twilight, gesturing her foreleg towards herself. “I’m an egghead.”
“Yeah, but you’re a cool egghead, you know. You’re our egghead.”
“I like eggheads,” Fluttershy added.
“What’s wrong with them?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow extended her hoof towards the stallions below. “Look at them! They don’t exactly look like mounting material, do they?”
Twilight’s pupils constricted as her cheeks turned pink. “Rainbow!”
“I’m just saying they look kind of awkward, not all that handsome, and there’s a couple not even trying to talk to anypony.” Rainbow leaned over and put her hooves around her mouth. “Bucking smile!” she shouted.
Twilight quickly pulled Rainbow back before anypony below could look up and see them. “Rainbow, it’s my first day. Do you think you could try not to ruin my first impression?”
Rainbow wrapped her foreleg around Twilight, giving her a sly smile. “Twi, you obviously don’t know what college is about.”
“University,” she corrected. “And it’s about learning independence while furthering your education.”
“Ha!” Rainbow scoffed. “You have much to learn, newbie. College is about finding the hottest stallions and partying your flank off.”
“I thought you didn’t go to university.”
“Oh I did, just not as a student. See, I would hit up the bar and—“
“Stop right there,” Twilight said as she removed Rainbow’s foreleg.
Rainbow trotted over to look over the stallions. “I can’t see any decent material down there. Are there at least any cool mares to hang with?”
Twilight looked away. “I couldn’t see any.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Figures that you would end up in a course full of stallions and not have one hot one.”
“I think they look nice,” Fluttershy interjected.
“Rainbow,” began Twilight, “I’m sure they’re perfectly nice, friendly ponies. Besides, I’m here to study. Mounting isn’t exactly the first thing on my mind right now.”
“Give it time,” Rainbow said with a wink.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Do you girls want to grab something to eat or what?”
Fluttershy pointed up to a clock hanging on the wall of Building C06. “Actually, the show is starting in twenty minutes. Rainbow said if we’re too late that we would lose our seats.”
Rainbow jumped into the air with a little squeal. Fluttershy casually hovered behind her.
“We’ll catch you later, Twi!” Without another word, Rainbow dashed off into the distance.
Fluttershy quickly descended and gave Twilight one more hug. “I’m sure you’ll do great, Twilight. Don’t forget to write us.”
“I never will,” Twilight said, smiling as Fluttershy headed off after Rainbow.
Twilight trotted over to Spike, levitating the food she had selected from the cafeteria. She had a grass sandwich, a side of hay fries, and bottled water. Spike had a corn dog, canned cider, and another corn dog.
“The meal of champions,” remarked Twilight as she took her seat opposite Spike.
“Eh, I’ll burn it off.”
Twilight looked around the cafeteria, taking in the sight of all the other students. She noticed several students that she hadn’t seen in her orientation lecture. They looked almost worlds apart from what she had observed earlier. There were stallions and mares all sitting together, socializing, smiling, and being friendly.
Is this what Professor Systems was talking about?
With a burp, Spike finished his last corn dog and got off his chair. “I have to use the little dragon’s room.”
Twilight didn’t respond, still lost in her thoughts.
Is there something wrong with IT students? Is there something wrong with me?
“Hey.”
Twilight looked up, finding a unicorn stallion standing behind Spike’s chair, shooting her a casual smile. He looked to be within a year of her own age, and he had a long auburn mane with a mahogany coat. His cutie mark resembled a block of code, but Twilight couldn’t make out what the code itself said—not that she would be able to understand it.
“Hi,” returned Twilight.
“I’m Eclipse. I saw you in orientation. May I join you?”
“Sure, pull up a chair.”
Eclipse levitated a free chair, taking a seat to Twilight’s left.
“Thanks. So, what brings Celestia’s star pupil to the Technology Department of C.U.?”
“How did you—“
“You’re one of the Elements of Harmony. If you were planning on having a secret identity, you’re doing a less-than-stellar job,” Eclipse chuckled.
“Oh yeah, that.” Twilight’s cheeks went a light red. “As for why I’m here… it’s not really interesting.”
“I’ve got time,” Eclipse said, smiling.
Twilight smiled back. “Well, it all started when I was having a conversation with my friend Rarity…”
“And I was positively stunning!”
Twilight and Rarity casually trotted down Mane Street, Ponyville. Several ponies going about their daily business passed them, running in and out of shops, spending their hard-earned bits on whatever they wanted and enjoying alfresco brunch.
“Aren’t you always, Rarity?” Twilight remarked with a smirk on her face, keeping her eyes facing forward as she kept moving.
“Of course I am, dear. But I like to make sure that fact is well known.”
Twilight chuckled as they continued down the road. “So, what happened next?”
“Anyhow, I casually walked past Hoity Toity, making sure he had a great view of my—”
Rarity suddenly paused, gazing at a store off to her left. “When did we get one of those?”
Twilight looked where Rarity was looking, noticing a store she didn’t recognize. The name of the store was “Pony Norman.” The building was grey and there were several sales advertisements stuck to the windows from the inside.
Twilight looked at Rarity curiously. “I don’t suppose you know what that is?”
Rarity swiftly turned to Twilight, looking shocked at her question. “Darling, are you saying you haven’t heard?”
“Heard of what?”
Rarity grabbed Twilight’s foreleg and dragged the mare into the store, ignoring her protests. Upon entering the building, Twilight saw miles upon miles of devices she had never seen before. They were small towers with buttons on the front and what looked like thin television sets attached to them.
“Rarity, what is this?” Twilight asked with wide eyes as she gazed around the store.
“I’m honestly shocked you haven’t heard of computers, Twilight. They’re all the rage in Canterlot.”
“Uh huh. What exactly does a ‘computer’ do?”
“Allow me to give you a demonstration.” Rarity cleared her throat with a small cough. “SERVICE!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
In a split second, an employee was standing before them. He sported glasses, a white button-up shirt, and a grey tie. “Welcome to Pony Norman! How can I help?”
Rarity wrapped her foreleg around Twilight. “My friend Twilight has yet to be introduced to your stock. Would you be a darling and give her a proper introduction?”
The salespony pushed the two along with his head and showed them to one of the many display models that had been set up in the centre of the store. “Well, Miss Twilight, computers are electronic devices that can do anything you want!”
Twilight chuckled. “Well, I doubt it can do anything.”
The salespony shifted his eyes back and forth with an awkward smile. “Actually… it can. It plays games, writes documents, plays music and movies and allows you talk to ponies anywhere in Equestria.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling. “I don’t need a machine for that. That’s what letters are for.”
The salespony began to chuckle, and Rarity stepped between him and Twilight. “Excuse my friend. She’s still new to all this. Why don’t you show her how it all works?”
The salespony nodded, trying to keep his laughter in. He turned on a device behind him, and Twilight saw a screen flicker to life that showed several small icons, each with a name underneath.
“This is called the desktop. This is where you’ll find all your software and—“
“What’s software?” inquired the unicorn.
Rarity shot the salespony a death-glare to keep him from cackling at her friend.
“Well, software is how the computer performs its tasks. If you want to watch a video, you open the media player. If you want to write a document, you pull up the word processor. If you need to do something that the computer doesn’t already software for, you can easily buy it from our wide stock, as well as find it on the Internet.”
Twilight cleared her throat. “Excuse me again, but what is an ‘Internet’?”
The salespony stared at her with a blank expression for a few seconds. “Excuse me, ma’am.”
Turning away from Twilight and Rarity, the salespony bit down on his hoof, with a few muffled laughs escaping past him. After a moment, he turned back to them, now with a single tear on his face.
“The Internet is what connects most computers in Equestria. It enables ponies to share and create over massive distances. However, you’ll have to talk to a service provider about getting connected.”
Twilight’s ears perked up. “Getting connected… what can you do over the Internet?”
“Everything!”
Rarity coughed, drawing the attention back to her. “I believe Twilight has the idea. Would you be a dear and get her set up with a laptop? She won’t need anything special, something to help organize books should be enough.”
“I’m a librarian,” Twilight added proudly.
“Ah,” started the salespony. “I’m sure we’ve got plenty of models perfect for that.”
“And…” Rarity leaned into the salespony. “Would you be a gentlecolt and reconsider whatever the price tag is for this device?” She then proceeded to smile and bat her eyelashes at a remarkable speed.
Blushing, the salespony ran out to the back. “I’ll be right back. Meet me at the front counter in a few minutes.”
“You hear that, Twilight? This handsome stallion is going to give us a special deal!” exclaimed Rarity as the salespony ran back. Rarity led Twilight back to the front counter. “Works every time,” she giggled.
“Rarity,” began Twilight. “Do you have one of these computers?”
“Well, yes and no. You see, I heard how useful they were for organization, so I bought one. Unfortunately, Sweetie Belle always seems to find it and use it more than I do.”
“Does she know how to use it properly?” asked Twilight.
“She picked up on it quite quickly, actually. Although she spends most her time playing a video game… ‘Minecrab’ or something.”
“And you’re OK with that?”
“Anything that teaches my sister how to dig up diamonds is fine with me.”
The next day, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy were in the lobby of Carousel Boutique, most of them sipping tea.
“And I looked positively stunning!” Rarity said before taking another sip of tea, letting the aroma waft over her.
“Umm, Rarity, Ah think we’ve heard that one before,” Applejack remarked, sitting in front of a teacup that obviously hadn’t been touched.
“Actually, I think all her stories have that line,” Rainbow added with a chuckle. Everypony except Rarity laughed.
“Only because it’s true,” huffed Rarity.
The laughter stopped as the door opened with a ding. Turning back, the ponies saw their favourite librarian, wearing a saddlebag, close the door behind her.
“Hey, everypony!”
“Twilight!” shouted Pinkie as she ran up to her and squeezed her fiercely. “What took you so long? Rarity was telling us another story about how cute she is!”
“Is that so?” Twilight asked, smirking at Rarity. “As thrilling as I’m sure that is, I’ve been late because I’ve had some paperwork to fill out.”
“What kind of paperwork?” asked Applejack.
“The enrolment kind,” the unicorn explained. “I’m officially a student of Canterlot University!”
Everypony in the room went wide-eyed.
“Hold on!” shouted Rainbow as she flew into the air. “Since when? Aren’t you the ultimate egghead already?”
“Not quite.” Twilight levitated the laptop she had bought from Pony Norman the previous week, placed it on the table with the tea, and turned it on. “I’ve found that I’ve got quite a bit to learn about computers. Did you know that ponies make software themselves?”
Turning their attention to the screen, the girls saw a webpage that Twilight had opened. The page contained several samples of words in a language none of the mares in the room could understand.
“Um, Twilight, what is all this?” Fluttershy asked.
“That’s called ‘code.’ Programmer ponies use it to make computers work and to create software. I’ve spent a good portion of the last week skimming over it, and it’s essentially algebra.”
“Er, Twi, that doesn’t make understandin’ this any easier,” remarked Applejack.
“I’ve been looking into what makes computers work, what they can do, how it’s all done… and you know what? It looks absolutely fascinating! I can’t believe I had never heard of all this.”
“Knew it,” Rarity whispered to herself.
“However, when I was doing research on computers, I saw where they’re heading… and I believe that if I don’t keep up, my role as Ponyville librarian might be made obsolete. So, I’ve received permission from Princess Celestia to put my magic training on hold for a period while I head over to Canterlot to complete my degree!”
Twilight’s face changed to a more sombre expression. “However, this means I’m going to have to move away from Ponyville for a while.”
“Wait!” Pinkie jumped up and ran over to Twilight, bringing their faces millimeters apart. “How long are you going to be away?”
Twilight looked away from her friend. “It’s a three-year degree.”
The room went silent. Not a single peep came from the other mares. They all just sat there, gaping at Twilight. Slowly, little noises seeped out of Pinkie’s mouth as her eyes started to water. After a moment, Pinkie started bawling, and a river of tears began to pour out onto the floor.
“Pinkie!” shrieked Rarity. “You’re ruining the carpet!”
Pinkie was too busy hugging Twilight while crying to stop. “DON’T GO, TWILY! DON’T GO!”
“Pinkie, it’s OK,” Twilight said reassuringly. “I’ll come back and visit when I can, I promise. Plus, you all are welcome to come and visit me whenever you like.”
Releasing her from her tearful embrace, Pinkie stopped crying and looked hopefully into Twilight’s eyes. “You… you mean it, Twilight?”
Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I Pinkie Promise.”
“Well, Twi, I think it’s mighty impressive to improve your already fancy education.” Applejack trotted over to Twilight. “And a mare’s gotta do what a mare’s gotta do.” Starting with a hoof on her shoulder, Applejack brought Twilight in for tight hug.
“Thanks, A.J.”
“I suppose Applejack is correct,” Rarity said, trotting over. “I’ll miss you dearly, Twilight.”
A tear trickled down Twilight’s cheek. “Not as much as I’ll miss all of you.”
Twilight signalled all her friends to come in for one more group hug, making sure to hold them as long and as tight as she could.
Back in the present, Twilight had yet to realize her vision had wandered, leading her to stare into her hay fries. She quickly snapped back when she noticed her lack of eye contact. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go that far,” Twilight said, raising her hoof to her face to make sure she wasn’t crying
“Wow.” Eclipse frowned, leaning back into his seat. “I… I completely understand. I’m so sorry you had to leave your friends behind.”
“Oh, it’s not so bad. I got to bring my assistant Spike with me, plus Rainbow and Fluttershy visited me earlier today. So I’m sure I’ll see them more.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” remarked Eclipse. “Soon enough, you’ll get too busy to even hang out with your own classmates, let alone your out-of-town friends.”
“Oh… really?”
“Don’t let it get you down though; we’re all in the same boat here. All of us are here to work hard. And those of us that aren’t… well, you won’t see around much longer,” Eclipse said, gesturing to the ponies around them.
“Well, that’s one way to look at that,” Twilight said as she shifted in her seat.
The two unicorns turned to the little purple dragon that took back his seat.
“Sorry, Twi, I didn’t think I’d be so… hey?” Spike stared suspiciously at the stallion that was suddenly sitting with him.
“Oh, you must be Spike. I’m Eclipse—I’m in Twilight’s course.”
The two boys shook appendages.
Eclipse turned back to Twilight. “Well, Twilight, it’s been fun, but I have to see somepony else right now. I take it I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”
“Yeah… at least that’s what my timetable says. Right, Spike?”
Spike quickly burped up a piece of paper, which he then examined. “Yep! Tomorrow at 6 p.m.”
“So… yeah,” Twilight confirmed.
“Sweet,” returned Eclipse.
The two shared an awkward giggle as Eclipse started to trot away.
“So… see ya!” he called out as he left.
“See ya!”
Twilight watched out of the corner of her eye as he trotted away.
Why did I just unload all of that on him? He seems like a cool guy but I didn’t even ask him—
“Hey!” shouted Spike as he snapped his fingers in front of her. “You OK? You look a little out of it.”
“Yeah,” murmured Twilight. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” asked Spike as he drank from his can of cider.
“About all this,” Twilight said, looking around the room. “This feels off. Some ponies seem social, some don’t. Some ponies seem friendly, some don’t. It’s just kinda weird… I don’t know.”
“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Spike remarked as he burped an ember onto the table. “You’ve seen what happens when you worry about the future. I think you should just go with it for now. You’ve got classes tomorrow. Just focus on that.”
Twilight leaned back in her chair and soaked in her surroundings again, looking at all the ponies around her. Eventually, she noticed another group of ponies sitting at a corner table. They sat a bit farther away from the other groups in the room, looking content as they talked softly while eating their less-than-healthy food.
Sure, Twilight. Don’t worry about it.
Next: The Gibson!
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NEW SMOKING GUN STORY. FIRST AND INSTA-FAVED.
imagemacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/oh_you.jpg?w=720
I'm glad to see this story finally get out the front door! As a CS (and biotech) student, you can bet that I'll be following this with great interest. Overall, this chapter looks like a good set up that lays the groundworks for the rest of the story and has a pretty enjoyable humor too.
Though this story may be meant as an analog to our own modern university, I can't help but feel that the widespread use of consumer computers are way too technologically advanced for this setting, especially without Twilight hearing about them. It just feels... too much like a direct graft of our technology onto the Equestrian setting. Perhaps this is just me expecting the clunky mainframes that Twilight keeps in her basement, maybe placing them somewhere in the 1950-70's in terms of computational technology.
But that's a little thing I can definitely accept for the enjoyment of the story. Here, you don't have to manipulate assembly, hex codes, and punch cards to get things going and make things just a little more familiar to the rest of us.
this is nice man. and im really hoping that rarity is saying that sweetie plays minecraft. i really am.
also, have an internet! because, why not!?
I can safely say that I'm enjoying this story. Pony Norman? Very well played.
I just hope this isn't going to turn into something like The IT Crowd.
http://deftcrow.deviantart.com/art/FiM-Programming-Hello-World-99-Jugs-of-Cider-330736334
i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff116/Wookiee/temp_zps234d40c8.png
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/141/0/6/pony_in_the_shell_by_wylfden-d50m8e7.png
Interesting start!
Interesting story and a nice start I cant wait for
the other chapters pls update quickly!
Now this is my kind of story! Programming!
I don't give a squee if it's tagged Romance, read it for the IT story (which I hope to see more about) :D
1924198
I expected something more "clunky machine with a terminal" too, but I figure that given the right magic spells, an unicorn could easily develop the circuitry and hi-res displays needed to power a computer that features a Windows-like graphical user interface, may be programmed in a high-level language without a considerable lack of performance and can run whatever the pony equivalent of Minecraft is.
Plus, you gotta consider that at the time of this story, computers are already mainstream and targeted to consumers - the technology was in development for quite a long time already.
1924198
If you think about it, cutie marks seem to give an extremely specialized set of skills, maybe the first pony to get a computer-butt-tattoo invented all the components in one day.
This is the first story in a long time I've gotten to through EQD. As a guy taking CS in high school, I'll definitely be following this with interest.
(Also, hehe, Eclipse.)
As a games programing student, I approve of this story.
PS: This fic has a lot of potential, be careful how you're gonna develop this. If you're seeking constructive criticism, I could hit you up with a pm
Hmm, this has a lot of promise. Just be sure you don't get too in the weeds with computer jargon.
Not trying to insult you, but I see it a lot. A writer will incorporate something they know a lot about or love into a MLP story, then it becomes more like a technical manual than a story.
Can't help but shake the feeling that Eclipse is more of a mare's name.
Auto-fav. Technoquestria is awesome idea.
The salespony is a dick.
I'm not sure I get the 'Pony Norman' referece - clearly I'm missing a joke here.
"Rainbow extended her hoof towards the stallions below. “Look at them! They don’t exactly look like mounting material, do they?” "
And now all I can think of is how Rainbow would have reacted to my computer class... if anyone noticed her :P
Cool story, really looking forward to seeing how this plays out.
Gosh. This is a seriously creative idea for a story! It's great!
Addressing the sociological implications?
Buck yeah. Liberal arts and STEM majors, two great tastes that go great together (assuming they d on't murder each other).
Very nice story. Based on your Authers note, I can see more on the way.
Learning CS at secondary school (and really enjoying it btw), so definitely faved. Can't wait to see where this is going
1924089 oh the lols Sweetie Belle's Lets Plays were quite entertaining xD
I want the hilarity to ensue.
Chop Chop, darling!
Hilarious, keep it up!
As someone who is well on the other side of a CS degree, this has been right up my alley so far.
You're jumping straight to a rather recent era of technological development and proliferation. WIMP, the Web, laptops... sorta surprised at no mention of algorithms or parallel/distributed systems, though. I suppose modern computer technology might be more relatable than a story about Twilight founding pony PARC, but it's still rather incongruous to see decades of advancement suddenly appear like that.
Really cool story. Not really a computer wiz, really, so some of the words just went in one ear and came out the other.
It would kind of be a little plain if the ponies really had laptops in Equestria. It would just take the fun out of the show, so I'm glad this is only a fan fiction, a good one.
Can't wait for the new chapter!
Not what I was expecting. I thought this would be some sort of virtual reality into the matrix kinda thing. Still faving it, though.
Was Punch Card supposed to be a reference to anyone in real life? Seeing as the story's called "Compiler", and given the theme of "mares" in IT, I'm hoping we a get a Grace Hopper reference at some point...
1957033
Or Anita Borg or Ada Lovelace.
Interesting... Faved.
Twilight missing the whole tech fad is kind of silly when it's clear you skipped the decades of development that it took to get here. I kind of wish you had done a more historical approach to equestria's computer development than having it appear so fast the supernerd missed it, though that would require an older perspective or lots of research.
Welcome to College, Twilight...
The Gibson, you say? Will Twilight be hacking it, perchance?
I suppose with a name like Eclipse there'll be some Java soon. My question is, how do you handle magic interacting with computers? At least 1/3 of the population has an additional sense and manipulator for peripherals - don't tell me nobody's thought of a way to use them yet.
This fic just isn't for me. I kinda hoofwaved the swearing professor as I've lived through the same experience of getting used to my profs. doing the same thing, but hearing Rainbow mouth off about mounting was where I had to put on the breaks. (Though I suppose that's how the story earned its teen rating.) In some ways, it brings to mind memories of visual novels with romance/courtship themes.
Tangentially related:, the lack of pronouns to refer to Twilight in the earlier scene-setting portion is awkward when read aloud.
Ponies with computers like a cool theme, though, so I'm glad someone's writing such a thing. It might inspire more on the same theme. But I'll have to pass on the fic.
That was a great first chapter. Looking forward to seeing what develops on the second chapter.
“And if I catch any of you using Internet Explorer, I’ll expel you myself,”
best line EVER. Firefox is master web browser.
The idea of Twilight—the same Twilight who was in Lesson Zero—willingly leaving her friends for three years is out of character and completely unbelievable for me. Though I would consider that to be a minor nitpick if this is going where I think it is.
What is wrong with the like/dislike bars? Have a like to balance it.
This is a good story
Finally something for everybrony to read.
Ahh, sweet stereotypes.
Hey Bro, When is chapter 2 gonna be done?
Hmm....
Call upon the C ponies, when you're in distress...:
When is the next chapter coming or gonna done?
I woder how she going to go up hackers, it sound like the 90s computers the hay days
1965394 NEIN! Opera is master!