//------------------------------//
// Line 3 - Questions in the Tower (Edited) 
// Story: Anthology 
// by Timeless Lord Slayer 
//------------------------------//


Hello, how are you?

A man slowly cracks his eyes open and yawns, sitting up in bed.

A mare groans as she gets out of bed.

Opening a window, a man's head popped out.

Opening a window, a mare's head popped out.

Both sigh, before saying, "Morning!"

Bright, sunny daylight lies outside.

A man stands in a kitchen, yawns as he makes his breakfast.

A mare sits patiently at a table, yawning.

They sing, "La la la la da la~," in their hearts.

A yellow woman cheers as she eats her breakfast, a man smiling and doing the same across the table from her.

A mare looks over a scroll as she eats some toast.

A mare sleeps soundly in her dark room, happily dreaming.

"Hello, how are you?"








It had now been three years since Qudirk arrived in Equestria. Over the course of those three years, much had happened. The boy was no longer a boy, for one. He was a man, through and through, though he still looked just as youthful as he had when he arrived. 

For another, he now had his tower, not far from the castle and right in the midst of the forest. It stood tall amongst the canopies of the birch trees, towering above them with it's plain gray bricks and Roman Roof tiles. For yet another change, the boy had gained a friend in the Princess, the ruler frequently visiting him in his tower after Day Court was over. They often enjoyed long talks over the many books he had given her over the years.

And that brings us to the greatest change. He had now become a rather well known person among the people of Canterlot, mostly the castle staff, but with the many books he had handed to the Princess, and with her having started to share them during the first year, he had gained something of a reputation. Celestia, when she had read the first book he gave her, had immediately found him the day after and enthusiastically called for more, telling him that such quality books would be plenty enough to pay for his tower if he published them publicly.

He had told her he might, "entertain the idea, once my tower is built," and thus she had become his first reader and friend...and had a new bookshelf in her study full of only all of the books he had given her. One might just say she was a little hooked on human literature.

But he had not forgotten his words to her the first day, and had given her not just books, but two things that had sent blacksmiths and musicians around the country in a tizzy, so to speak. For he had given her a bronze longsword of such enchantingly skillful design and make, that she had sent it to the castle blacksmith for inspection and was given a heartfelt request to meet the smith who had made it in return, with quite a bit of enthusiasm. After the smith met Qudirk, the man had explained that it was a vastly ancient sword called, "the Sword of Goujian", an ancient king of his homeland. And thus the sword had become something of a national treasure.

For the musicians, however, Qudirk had gifted the Princess a CD with a number of songs on it that were nothing short of revolutionary for musicians. They were all a mix of the harsh and frequently loud dubstep or techno, and, to her shock and interest, classical music. She had given it to two acclaimed musicians, a cellist and a DJ, and they had, like the smith, asked to meet the maker of such a master of music.

In short, Qudirk had gained a favorable reputation among those in the fine arts, from smithing, literature, and then to music. And yet, he was still quite a mystery to many. He rarely ever spoke much of his home kingdom, much less his family or life before. Somehow, this had only served to widen the scope of his reputation to reporters and journalists, who had come a few times to his tower as it was being made to ask him questions.

And each time, he had given them all vague or blunt but still short answers. This had painted him in the light of some form of oracle-like being, full of mystery and intrigue. He even had the pleasure of being asked for at times during Celestia's Day Court, though he always declined the offer, telling the Princess to tell them, "If you wish to see or speak to me, come to me yourself."

All this, and a fair bit more, was now swimming around the gleeful, chipper and obviously excited purple unicorn filly who went by the name of Twilight Sparkle. She was on the back of her mentor, heading through the forest on the path to the tower of that mysterious and intriguing man. The filly was so excited she frequently asked her mentor a simple question...

"Are we there yet?" came the adorable query, so blatantly filled with childish excitement.

Celestia tittered as her golden shod hooves trodded through the packed dirt of the path. "Nearly, my sweet pupil, nearly."

Twilight bounced a bit. "Oooh, I can't wait! I have so many questions for him! Like, what his species is like, or how many places he's been!"

Celestia let out a short chuckle. "I'm sure he'd love to indulge you, Twilight."

He has, after all, told me he has a soft spot for children. She thought with a smile. Said smile turned slightly mischievous. He might even let out a few secrets he's held back on telling me.

The walk continued, typically with the excitable filly asking, "are we there yet?" over and over with increasing excitement. Soon enough, they came upon a small glade, wherein the tower stood tall and proud. A small garden spread out along the path to the front door, the sides of the well-worn path lined with many flowers, some of which even Celestia did not know the names of. The path tapered off nearest the door to go around to a more open area of the garden, where a simple yet well made and lightly decorated stone bench sat, and a budding flowerbed lay in front of.

On either side of the ashen wood portal were picture windows, and above the door was a small banner of white silk bearing an emblem of a cog surrounding an open book and quill. Celestia trotted up to the door as Twilight marveled at the simplistic beauty of the tower, lightly rapping her hoof against it twice.

Not long after, a window a fair bit higher above the door opened, and a baritone voice called, "Be right there, just a moment!" before the window closed. Celestia patiently waited, and after some time the door was opened by Qudirk, wearing a light blue dress shirt and a set of jeans that clashed with the shirt. His face was as clean shaven as always, the bridge of his nose holding up his glasses that framed his forest green eyes, though his hair was a fair bit thicker and longer than usual.

"Hello there, Princess," he greeted with a smile, before quickly noticing the filly on the mare's back and widening his smile. "And hello to you too, young one. What is your name, hm?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle!" she chirped, smiling so wide it caused a cutesy 'squee' sound as she stood up a bit more. "I've heard sooo much about you, Mr. Qudirk! Is it true you have a special magic that works based on writing?"

The man chuckled. "Indeed, young Sparkle," he said, stepping aside to let the two into his abode. "Come in, come in, make yourselves at home."

Celestia smiled and nodded her thanks to him as she stepped inside the tower, young Twilight hopping off of the mare's back and immediately starting to wander around the spacious room.

Bookshelves lined nearly every wall, tall and towering and made of finely made dark oak, filled with books upon books upon books. The bookshelves even bore little etchings in silvery script to organize everything. However, on opposite ends of the room were well-decorated stone pedestals, holding large tomes with gold plaques. Near the windows by the door were small lounge chairs of dark blue, and two couches of similar colors were in the middle of the room with a table between them. Stairs spiraling upwards were on the far end of the room opposite the door, leading to the above rooms. A black, iron trapdoor was near it, just between the stairs and a bookshelf. A painting detailing a snowy evening in a cabin hung above the trapdoor.

The young filly zipped over to one of the pedestals on the left side of the room, straining to stand on her hind legs and just read the plaque. Qudirk chuckled quietly at this, walking over as Celestia simply surveyed the bookshelves for a bit.

"'Critically-Acclaimed Story: The Fall of the House of Usher?'" the filly read aloud, muzzle wrinkling a bit. Qudirk smiled, picking the book up carefully.

"Indeed. It's not written by me, but by my favorite poet," Qudirk began, hand running over the cover in fondness. "It's a classic back home, and, coincidentally, quite famous here after I gave out a few copies." He smiled down at the filly and kneeled to her level, offering the book and winking to her. "Why don't you give it a read? I'll lend it to you. Just be warned, it's pretty dark."

The filly squealed in excitement, hooves going to her face with a wide smile. "Really?! You'll let me borrow it?!"

Qudirk chuckled and nodded. "Certainly. I have a duty to whet the appetite of young readers and show them new worlds." The young Twilight quickly scooped the book up and hugged it to her barrel before smiling up at the man. 

"Thanks Mr. Qudirk!" she said gratefully. Qudirk smiled and lightly ruffled her mane.

"Of course, young Sparkle," he said warmly. Celestia watched him with her own warm smile, idly noting how he had grown a bit more muscular over the three years he'd been here as she watched the two. It wasn't to any great amount, but it was a fair increase compared to how he had been before.

Qudirk stood up, hands on his hips. "So, what brings the two of you to my tower?" 

"Well, I wanted to show my new student around, and thought I'd introduce you two. She's been telling me for days how much she's wanted to meet you," Celestia explained. She tittered. "Almost begged, really. She seems to idolize you a bit."

Twilight blushed a bit. "A-A little..." she quickly perked back up. "And I have so many questions for you too, Mr. Qudirk!"

Qudirk kept his warm smile as he looked to the filly. "Please, call me Mr. Q," he said, before adding, "And I'd be delighted to answer your questions, child." As Twilight squealed once more in delight, Celestia gained her mischievous smirk once more. "Let's head up to my study, first, then. It's not terribly comfortable down here." He said, before picking the filly up and holding her in his arms, garnering a squeak from her. Celestia smiled as he lead them upstairs while Twilight nuzzled into him, still holding her newly procured book. They passed a few dozen floors with various rooms before finally reaching the study, near the top of the tower.

Celestia had been here many times, but to Twilight, it was like a playground. Like the first floor, it had many bookshelves. But, it also had a fireplace with a very well decorated sword above the mantle. It had a purplish, ghostly blade, transparent in appearance, and the hilt had hand-wrapped cloth fastened around it, and crow feathers tied to it with a tight black string. In front of the roaring fireplace was another set of couches, both trapezoid shaped and a dark, deep blue with diamond designs on them. A coffee table of fine and classically aged mahogany sat between them, a white embroidered table cloth covering most of it, and a reclining chair of light blue sat in front of the table, the couches, and the fireplace. Above the sword of the fireplace was a painting of a strange, star-filled sky, swirling in many places. The plaque below it read, 'Starry Night - By Vincent van Gogh.'

On a far side of the room was a polished ebony wood desk, though it was covered in so many papers and scrolls and notebooks and in such an unorganized fashion that it was hard to make out the color of the wood without looking at the feet, legs, or edge.

Celestia giggled daintily behind a hoof. "Still as unorganized a workplace as ever, hm?"

Qudirk rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Please, a little controlled chaos never hurt anyone." Celestia simply giggled again. He walked over to the fireplace, setting himself down in the chair with Twilight, Celestia seating herself on one of the couches. "So, young Sparkle, you said you have questions?" he asked eventually, reaching a hand behind her ear and scratching it a bit. She cooed and nuzzled into him more, before eventually answering.

"Yeah, like, what is your species like?" she asked first. Celestia summoned some tea to her, pouring herself a cup of her favorite while she watched and listened with interest.

He's never answered this question directly to the press, and he's always been so teasingly vague about it with me. Let's see if a child can weasel it out of him, she thought to herself deviously, hiding a smirk behind her teacup with a practiced sip.

Qudirk hummed in thought, tilting his colorful haired head back and forth. "Well, we're a sort of mixed bag, really," he began honestly, Twilight settling more into his strong arms, prompting him to continue. "We have a lot of different ideas about a lot of things, and back home there are so many of us it's become hard to call any of us ultimately special." He started scratching behind the filly's ears again as Celestia intently listened. "We have more varieties of jobs here than you all do, for one, mostly because of our advances. But at the same time, that doesn't mean there's a lot of jobs open, since there are just that many of us." He paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. "Really, I'd say the most important thing about humans is what we as individuals believe makes us human."

"What do you think makes you human?" Twilight asked next. Qudirk hummed in thought, once more tilting his head back and forth. Celestia's interest reached ever higher into the metaphorical sky of her mind. She wanted to know what he thought of his species in truth.

"...Well, in typical me fashion, a lot of things," he started again. "Our ingenuity, both in thought processes and actions, is a good part of it. Our need for answers would be another. But I suppose you could say that what I think is the most defining trait is our innate need for struggle, for conflict." Celestia's ear pricked up at this, her curiosity growing, but she kept quiet and sipped more of her tea while her student unknowingly continued with her mentor's own unspoken question.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked innocently. Qudirk chuckled lightly, as if he'd heard something funny.

"Well, we as humans need conflict to truly survive, to grow and not stagnate. We need change every once in a while; diversity. Without all that, most of us go a little crazy in multiple fashions and ways," he answered. He adjusted his glasses for a moment before continuing. "In essence, and to sum it up, to be human, to me, is to struggle, in some way or form."

"That sounds... Kinda sad," Twilight said eventually, wilting a bit and voicing some of her teacher's thoughts as well as her own. Qudirk shrugged.

"Sadness is something that is typical for life, and I happen to like the appeal of it," Qudirk said honestly. Celestia and Twilight frowned at this.

"But... You don't seem like a sad pony, er, human," Twilight pointed out. Qudirk chuckled again.

"I've managed to keep myself quite complacent over my time here, so I've really not been saddened all that much," he said, before ruffling the unicorn's mane lightly again. "But don't go worrying about me, I'm quite fine."

"Mmm... Okay," she relented, before starting once again by saying, "So, next question!"





The next three hours passed quickly, and the young Twilight Sparkle had soon fallen asleep to the gentle crackling of the fireplace, right in Qudirk's arms. Celestia had finished her tea well before now, and her and the man sat in companionable silence. Qudirk was idly petting Twilight's mane as she slept soundly, the man staring into the flames of his fireplace with a small smile that Celestia had grown accustomed to seeing on him.

Finally, she spoke. "So, it seems I've finally learned something about you and your kind today."

Qudirk's smile turned into a smirk. "I was wondering when you'd voice your intents." Celestia chuckled.

"I suppose it became obvious to you after you noticed my silence?" she ventured, smiling back at him. He nodded.

"Indeed. I decided that it's been long enough in our friendship where I can reveal more of my mysteries," he answered. He winked at her. "Just don't expect me to gush out all of my secrets, I have to keep things exciting after all."

Celestia let out a light and short laugh. "Perish the thought." She soon looked to the fire briefly, and then the sword above it's mantle. "You know, I must say that sword of yours still worries me quite a bit."

"What, the cursed Darkdrift?" Qudirk queried, following her gaze before looking back to her. He waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, it's harmless."

"I know, but it just seems so... Alien, and wrong," Celestia voiced, frowning. Qudirk rolled his eyes.

"Relax, Princess, it's not like it will sprout grotesque black tentacles and start consuming things," he assured. Celestia turned a pout unto him. He idly thought it to be a bit cute.

"I really wish you didn't say things like that so casually. It's a bit disturbing," she said. Qudirk laughed.

"Oh be calm, Celly, you know I'm just joking," he replied. Celestia sighed and managed a smile. She enjoyed it when he used her nickname. It made her chest feel a bit warm.

"So, how goes your research?" she asked. Qudirk gained a small yet eager smile.

"Oh, quite well. It's been a bit of a drain on my mana, but I've managed to create some very interesting enchantments of various objects just by including descriptions in the sentences," he explained.

"Do you think I could get a prototype of such an object?" Celestia asked, eager herself. The man nodded, still smiling.

"Certainly. I might even hand over a new weapon to young Twily's brother," he mused, smile growing. "Who knows, maybe something for her adoptive brother too." 

Celestia smiled. "Always so big hearted."

Qudirk chuckled merrily. "I try."

Celestia slowly got up from the couch and walked over to him, taking Twilight in her magic and placing her on her back. "Well, I'll be heading back now. Twilight's parents will be wanting her home soon, and I have a full day ahead of me. See you again tomorrow?"

The man nodded. "Of course. Take care, Celly."

Celestia smiled and nodded, walking down the stairs and soon out of the tower. Qudirk stood up and walked over to the window by his desk, watching her go with a fond smile.

"...Long may your sun shine, Celly," he turned around, gazing at Darkdrift. "...And may the moon soon rise."