//------------------------------//
// Wal 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

The Charioteer shook his head. "Not any you'd be ever able to figure out. Mind you, that doesn't mean there isn't one." He smirked. "No, I'm not telling you."
Twilight exhaled. "I suppose that is functionally the same as it being random, then."
"Indeed." Twilight recognised the expression on the Charioteer's face. It was the same kind of smile Celestia had whenever a student asked a really smart question, or figured out a particular implication of a topic by themself. "I have always been quite fascinated by this topic," he continued. "Given it is equally believed by everyone, or even simply by enough creatures and viewed by society in the proper way, and given it cannot be proven as one, a lie is functionally truth. So it matters not if you can prove the correctness of your assumptions on a universal scale, what matters is that they work."
"That is a very practical way to look at the world," Twilight said, "though I suppose precisely because of that it works well for what it's meant to be."
"I just think figuring out how to work with and within a system is a more fruitful use of time than questioning its true nature and inner mechanisms," the Charioteer replied. "I wouldn't say it's a better use of time, I believe that kind of judgement is purely subjective in nature, but it does certainly lead to more results in less time." He clicked his tongue. "And time is something you don't have much of, all things considered. I understand your desire to understand things, but compromises may be necessary if you wish to reach your goals."
Twilight stared the stallion down for a few moments. "I can't say you don't make a valid point. Though I do find it odd you'd bother to bring this up."
"What can I say?" The Charioteer shrugged. "Like I've told you, I do love to rant and ramble. Believe me, I could go on for days' worth of writing."
"Odd way to phrase that."
"I would hope you'll put down a full transcript of this conversation, Twilight." The stallion smirked at her again. "Something to remember my existence for a bit, when I'm gone."
Twilight didn't know if she was meant to laugh or sigh. So, she did neither. "Do you really think you'll be forgotten, if I manage to stop you? With all the damage you've done to Equestria, with all the effort it will take to get there?"
"Everyone and everything is forgotten, sooner or later."
Twilight looked at him still. "Only when there's no one left to does something stop being remembered. And it might still be known again, at some point." She paused a moment, thinking. "And things don't simply disappear from memory. The details change, the meanings shift, but some traces are left. And they carry on, one way or another, for as small of a difference as they might make. Nothing is ever truly, completely forgotten."
The Charioteer chuckled. "This is quite the summary of who the two of us are, isn't it?"