When you were very little, you probably learned how to count on your hooves. If you are old enough to read and write without help, you probably know how to write those numbers: 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, and so on. This is called "decimal." Writing in decimal is easy to understand and very useful for counting small numbers, like how many toys you have.
You have probably noticed that older ponies sometimes write numbers with lots of different symbols. They are using a system called "hexadecimal." Hexadecimal was invented a long time ago by wizards in Canterlot so that the huge numbers they use for their spells wouldn't take up as much space in scrolls. It didn't take long for all the other ponies to realize that hexadecimal was useful for more than just writing down spells! You can count to 33 in hexadecimal without ever getting to double-digits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F.
These are the same numbers you count out on your hooves! They are just written differently. Where "10" in decimal means you've counted each hoof once, "10" in hexadecimal means you've counted all your hooves once for each hoof. Here is a chart to help you while you are learning:
| Name | Decimal | Hexadecimal |
|---|---|---|
| One | 1 | 1 |
| Two | 2 | 2 |
| Three | 3 | 3 |
| Four | 10 | 4 |
| Five | 11 | 5 |
| Six | 12 | 6 |
| Seven | 13 | 7 |
| Eight | 20 | 8 |
| Nine | 21 | 9 |
| Ten | 22 | A |
| Eleven | 23 | B |
| Twelve | 30 | C |
| Thirteen | 31 | D |
| Fourteen | 32 | E |
| Fifteen | 33 | F |
| Sixteen | 100 | 10 |
| Seventeen | 101 | 11 |
| Eighteen | 102 | 12 |
| Nineteen | 103 | 13 |
| Twenty | 110 | 14 |
| Twentyone | 111 | 15 |
| Twentytwo | 112 | 16 |
| Twentythree | 113 | 17 |
| Twentyfour | 120 | 18 |
| Twentyfive | 121 | 19 |
| Twentysix | 122 | 1A |
| Twentyseven | 123 | 1B |
| Twentyeight | 130 | 1C |
| Twentynine | 131 | 1D |
| Thirty | 132 | 1E |
| Thirtyone | 133 | 1F |
| Thirtytwo | 200 | 20 |