Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Onwards

Twilight thought it over for a moment. "Why are you here?"

"Things to do," the Charioteer replied. "Specifically, making sure the Behemoth moves when it should and where it should. Or maybe that it simply doesn't move when and where it shouldn't. But you've heard all this already, Twilight, let's not waste time with it."

"But why?" Twilight insisted. "What is the purpose? What is the reason for all of this?"

The stallion sighed, seeming a tad annoyed or maybe simply bored. "That is not a question I can answer, much less one I want to right now. Please don't push our discussion down this path further."

Twilight considered her options. She wasn't sure if it was her curiosity or her self preservation instinct making the decision, but she chose to heed the stallion's words. Instead, she moved on to something slightly different. "Who sent you here?"

"Pretty bold assumption there, that someone did." The Charioteer was back to smiling again.

"You've made it clear there's more going on than simply what I can see in the worlds I've found," Twilight replied. "Who's behind all of this?"

"Do you want an honest answer?" The stallion's smile shifted to something weirder, like he was suddenly aware of something really funny or ironic that only he could see. "I have barely the faintest clue of who or what it might be. You wouldn't get a satisfying answer if you looked into my head yourself."

Twilight was as shook by that as she could allow herself to be given the situation she was in. Still unsure if she'd been told the truth, she asked, "Then why are you doing all of this? Why would you act without knowing what the purpose is?"

The Charioteer chuckled. "It's in a raindrop's nature to fall to the ground, and it cares not that a pegasus placed the cloud it came from where they did. It cares not if it's falling to water a forest or to put out a fire. It just falls. I am here, doing this, and that's what I am."

"A drop of water doesn't have the free will of a pony like you," Twilight rebuked.

"And yet ponies live and die, don't they? For how much they may question why, or try to avoid it, you all have rules you cannot escape. Not knowing why you're alive has never stopped one of you from living, not knowing where you go afterwards has never stopped one of you from dying. We all have our chains, Twilight, and directing this creature is mine. I am the Charioteer, after all." The stallion was still smiling as he said all that.

Twilight was silent for a moment. "This world will be destroyed, won't it?"

The Charioteer raised an eyebrow. "Death claims everything in time, Twilight. But that's not what you're asking here. This world will be destroyed soon, because of the creature we're standing on, yes."

Twilight swallowed, trying to slow her breathing. "How soon?"

The stallion pursed his lips. "I don't know, actually. It's not up to me to decide."

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

You wouldn't get a satisfying answer if you looked into my head yourself.

There's a thought. Call in Sunset to pick his brain... though that would probably just drive her mad.

The Charioteer may be the best source available, but that's a relative term. Still, we're getting some answers, at least implicitly.

[Saix]

We're really getting a bunch of actual answers all at once huh? Nice.