Learning does not stop with a diploma.
-Wuxi Han, Chinese Minister of Education
-Twilight Sparkle-
The lights that glowed without fuel buzzed with an almost silent hum, like that of a fly. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were lying on their sleeping spots, calmly snoring away as they slept through the evening. Their bodies seemed to inflate and retract with every breath they took, pushing the blankets up and down in a slow, steady manner. A notepad sat before an awake and alert Twilight, who held a slim mechanical pencil firmly in her magical grip. She was not used to seeing writing implements that thin - ponies used stubbier ones because of their need to write with their teeth - but that wasn't the strangest thing about it to her. In order to expose more lead, she had to press the knob at the top of the pencil (which had a handy little eraser on it), which caused it to spit out about a half-nail's worth of thin charcoal. The pencil was feather-light, too - and judging from how long she had been conversing with the female alien through drawings and diagrams, it was also long-lasting.
A few hours had passed since Rainbow Dash had woken up a few hours ago (and not without trouble - she had immediately rushed for the yellow-maned creature after coming to). After the pegasus had calmed down, Twilight insisted that both Applejack - who was holding Rainbow Dash down - and Dash get back to resting. Neither wanted to comply, so she simply faked defeat. As soon as they had turned their backs, however, she had cast a restfulness spell on the two restless ponies. Twilight's academic life as a student of Princess Celestia herself required her to have a complex understanding of magic, and her spell immediately put them into a deep sleep. It was sneaky and underhanded, but they would surely be thanking her in the morning, when they would recognize the soreness of their bodies. Both of the ponies had sustained serious injuries, and it wouldn't do for them to be constantly moving about. Plus, she wanted to focus on what she was doing right now: communicating.
The thin wooden floor was well swept and cleaned, so both Twilight and the alien were comfortable sitting on it as they "spoke". So far, Twilight had learned a lot - that these creatures were from a different world (not even from this planet!), and that they were here as a result of an explosion (accident? portal?). Their conversation was entirely carried out through crude, easily-misinterpretable images, so it was hard to discern what exactly they meant. In fact, Twilight was sure that a large portion of what she had recorded was incorrect - it would probably be resolved with time, though.
[? =]
Twilight stared at the symbols that it had written on its notebook, unsure of what it exactly meant. Question...equal? She would have to ask some more questions.
[? (Speak)], she replied. It had become a sort of crude word between the two, roughly meaning "What did you mean?"
[? (Thing) = ? (Pony)(Bird) = (Alien)(Bird), (Pony)(Grass? Fire?) = (Alien)(Grass...maybe).]
[? (Speak)], she returned again. The alien, clearly flustered, simply sighed and turned to a fresh page. At the top of it, it had written:
[? (Unicorn)(Star)]
It wasn't hard to discern the meaning of the drawings. "Magic," Twilight muttered as she decoded the rebus in front of her. Why was it asking her about magic, though? It wasn't like they didn't have it. After all, how did they manage to kill dozens of timberwolves in a matter of seconds? How did their glowing lamps and contraptions work if not by mana?
[(X)(Unicorn)(Star)?]
[(X)(Unicorn)(Star).]
Fine, she thought. Maybe there's some mistranslation here. I'll just ask.
[? (Light)(Radiation), (X)(Unicorn)(Star)?]
A pointed zig-zag was all Twilight got back. She would have to get a translation matrix gem from Canterlot if she planned to get anything substantial out of these beings, which meant leaving their makeshift home, for at least a week or two.
Twilight hadn't actually thought about what she was going to do in the next few days. Eventually Applejack and Rainbow Dash would be fully healed, and they would theoretically be able to head back to Ponyville. What then? Should they stay in the camp for a while longer? A week? Three days? And after they returned, what would they do from that point on? Was it a good idea for them to keep the existance of these aliens secret?
Judging from past experience, it was more likely to go poorly than anything. Sure, ponies were kind amongst each other and even with different species. Just last summer, that gryphon envoy had received a warm welcome in Ponyville on their way to the capitol. But these tall, imposing creatures that have never been seen before? It would be better for them to stay here in the woods, away from the sight of other ponies. But then they would be harassed by the local wildlife...
A yawn suddenly broke out of her mouth, and the alicorn rubbed her sleepy eyes. Twilight was feeling tired, so she simply drew a crescent moon on her paper to symbolize sleep. She hoped that the hoof-clipping would serve as an adequate analogue, considering the aliens were awake during the day and slept through the night. A weird curve could mean a lot, after all. Just for good measure, she sketched a quick doodle of an alicorn lying down with a blanket on it. It resembled a bale of hay more than anything, but it was close enough.
The alien stood up on its back legs after a second of thinking, then bent down over Twilight's sleeping spot. She smiled with gratitude as it straightened out the messy covers and fluffed the pillow, then gestured towards it with its dextrous claws. It seemed to be glad to watch her trot over to the ground and lay down on it, almost as if it were staring at a cute pet. She didn't love that it viewed her as cute, but Twilight was still glad to be in the presence of good company while she pulled her sheets up over her body and closed her eyes. Slowly but surely, her thoughts dulled down and faded away as she drifted off into sleep, each concern disappearing into the void.