The dead sea of civilization

Twilight Sparkle's Awakening
Twilight Sparkle awoke with a dull ache in her head. She sat up slowly.
“Ah, you're awake?” Clooffi was sitting by the bed, holding a cup of hot water. “Here you go.”
Twilight took the water, thanking him softly before carefully shifting her position. Clooffi quickly supported her, releasing her only when Twilight's hooves were firmly on the ground. He then nudged Spike, who was fast asleep. “Your sister's awake.”
“Wha—Twilight!” Spike bolted upright, wrapping his entire body around her. “Ugh... Are you okay...?” Clooffi chuckled and said, “You guys go ahead.”
“What happened after I fainted?” Twilight asked.
“I'll tell you when I get back.”
Clooffi was about to leave when Twilight called out, “Wait, there's something else.”
“Thanks.”
Clooffi looked at Twilight, his cheeks flushing slightly. “No problem. It's what I'm here for.”
Once outside the hospital, Clooffi quickly forgot about the incident. The creature was safe in the hospital, and as long as it lay still, it wouldn't be a problem. He had covered it with a cloth, and Twilight wouldn't mind. Now, he needed to focus on understanding its language.
At the Qilin Camp
Meiyu sat gloomily at the table, surrounded by a mountain of books. Her mind just couldn't settle. During a break, she stepped out of the tent and looked around. The soldiers had already packed up and were standing guard as usual. The Imperial Censor had recently discovered a new area suitable for training, and most of the soldiers had gone there. The camp was now nearly empty, and even the Censor had gone to check on the soldiers' training progress, fearing the generals might not adapt well. He had asked Meiyu to stay in the tent and review her lessons. Now she understood—having an uncle who was the Censor meant that General Mùqí was essentially his part-time job, while she was just a scholar in training.
Meiyu sighed softly and began to walk around the camp.

Gradually, she heard the sound of galloping hooves approaching from the entrance of the camp. Curiosity piqued, she looked over. “Is that Starlight Gleam?”

Intrigued, she walked towards the entrance and greeted her.
Starlight Gleam arrived, panting heavily. “Excuse me... we... need a translator.”
Meiyu was puzzled. “But we can understand your language.”
Starlight quickly explained, “It's not about that. There's no time to explain now. We'll talk later.”
Although still confused, Meiyu thought that going out was better than staying cooped up. “Alright, I'll go with you!”
Starlight smiled. “Great, thanks. Hurry up, I don't know how much longer he can hold on.”

“Who?” Meiyu asked.

Starlight didn't answer, just urged her to follow quickly. Meiyu didn't think much of it and followed along. The scenery flashed by so quickly that Meiyu couldn't catch her breath to ask another question.
They arrived at the hospital, where Clooffi was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Meiyu, he frowned, but he needed the help, so he didn't bother with pleasantries and led them straight inside.
Twilight and Spike had already left. When they reached the ward...

“Where is that thing?!” Clooffi's heart sank. Starlight Gleam quickly found the nurse in charge of the bed.

“Where's the creature in bed number three?”

“Oh, Princess Twilight took him away. She said she knew what he was.”

“Huh?” Clooffi was astonished. “Why didn't I see her leave?”

The nurse replied, “She thought leaving through the main entrance might scare the other patients, so she and Spike went out the back door.”

“Drat... that little troublemaker...” Clooffi muttered under his breath. “Let's go back!”

“What happened?” Meiyu asked anxiously.
Clooffi frowned and led them out of the hospital. “Do you still want to be the translator?”

“Of course.”

“Then keep quiet.” He then turned to Starlight. “Did you inform the Censor when you left?”
Starlight hesitated and mumbled, “No... why?”
Clooffi impatiently replied, “Fine, if his uncle comes asking, you can explain.”
Starlight swallowed hard and followed behind Clooffi in silence. Meiyu, however, seemed unfazed. For her, getting out was the most important thing. Besides, she would be staying here eventually, so she might as well get familiar with the place.
After a while, they arrived at the Crystal Castle. As soon as they entered, Clooffi shouted, “Twilight? Where are you?!”
There was no response. He guessed she was probably in the library. Sure enough, in the round hall, there was a long stretcher with the creature lying on it.
Twilight emerged from the doorway. “What's the matter?”
Clooffi paused for a moment, realizing he hadn't told Twilight about the creature. He calmed his anger and asked, “So, what progress have you made with this thing?”

“How did you know...” Twilight was surprised.

“This creature came out of the thing that attacked you. Starlight was there, just before you fainted, when Spike and I brought you to the hospital.”
Starlight nodded in confirmation.

“Oh, well...” Twilight hesitated, and Clooffi quickly pressed on, “Show us the progress.”

“Alright, you guys don't seem to know what this is, so let me introduce it.” Her horn glowed with a soft purple light.

“This creature is called a human. They come from another parallel universe. Spike and I are already familiar with them.” Clooffi glanced at Spike with a hint of annoyance. “Why didn't you mention this when you were with me at the hospital?”
Spike replied sheepishly, “Well, you know, I was asleep at the time.”
Clooffi rolled his eyes.

“How did they end up in our universe?”

“I don't know yet. I haven't figured it out. Before this, there were two portals in Equestria—one in the Crystal Empire and one in the basement of this castle.”

“The Crystal Empire? What's that?” He looked at Starlight.

“Ah... that's a long story,” she said with a smile.

“Oh, right, Meiyu,” he called out. There was no response.

“Meiyu?!!!!”

“Huh? What?!!!!” Meiyu had been so excited to explore the castle that she had been looking around at the crystals.

“I said, can't you young ladies in your twenties just respond when called?” Clooffi complained.
Twilight and Meiyu both gave awkward smiles. Clooffi continued, “Come here.” He approached the human and nudged him, but there was no reaction.
Suddenly, he had an idea. “Meiyu, come over here and say something in your native language.”

“Oh?” Meiyu stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then greeted the human in Mandarin: “Hello?”

“Ugh...” a groan escaped the human's lips.

“Quick! Say more!” Meiyu, startled by Clooffi's sudden demand, quickly asked several questions that came to mind:

“Are you hungry now?”

“Where are you from?”

“Why do you have split hooves???”

“What's your name?”
...

Eventually, a weak murmur came from the human. Meiyu listened carefully.
“Jiàn... Jiānjūn... Where is he...”

“What did he say?” Clooffi asked, stepping closer. Meiyu hesitated and said, “He's mentioning a name, I think. But he needs to regain some strength. How about we leave him with us Qilin? We can understand what he says and take care of him.”
Clooffi thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, we'll check on the human's condition later.” He then turned to Starlight. “Let's take her back. Hopefully, the Censor hasn't noticed.”
Starlight began to get nervous and awkwardly smiled. “I'll go too.” Twilight added, “More ponies to carry the stretcher won't hurt.”
“Whatever,” Clooffi replied nonchalantly. He lifted the stretcher and, along with Meiyu, headed out of the castle.