Far deeper in the Everfree Forest than he had cause to venture before, Lacus came to the long, but shallow, grave dug by the force of his impact. At the head of which was a poetic pair of headstones, and he read the first engraving aloud while trying to wrap his head around their message. “Latere Vesco, may she lie in wait forever, never again to feed upon the innocent.” Turning to the other “Lacus Sceleratus, a lie told corrupts the waters of knowledge. May he drown in the truth.”
Placed between the two, as if shared by both, was the painting missing from his home. The black silhouette of a single changeling-shaped shooting star with a fiery-pink trail, was shown to be falling over the equally black silhouette of Canterlot’s skyline, such that the burning was the only color in the painting. The title read Make a Wish.
Plucking the painting from the dirt, where it seemed that it had lay in the open exposure for at least a month, revealed a thin plastic bag. It was semi-transparent, showing that the contents were undamaged by the weather. Lacus began to feel butterflies in his stomach as one of the only two questions he had left was about to be answered. After several minutes of using the spa sisters breathing technique to calm his mind, he opened the bag, and the envelope contained therein.
It was a copy of the mission report. The one that was "deferred" from his home the day before. It also happened to be the one that Madness had filed. Skimming past mission number, date, and code-name, Lacus quickly got to the meat of the report: the detailed account of events from the HSB team.
Latere Vesco, mission commander, successfully completed the objective of detaining Princess Luna through the ongoing operation. Though one of our own was brutally cut down by the enemy, she was undeterred from her objectives. The events of this mission brought about a change in Latere, to a more decisive identity, and as such I offer conformation so that her file may be updated to accommodate this change. She indicated the name Lacus Sceleratus as the new persona that she identifies with, and Lucas Greymane his new preferred cover.
After flipping through the file, Lucas found his own submitted paperwork for that change as well as a Writ of Personal Pronouns regarding his gender, before returning to the front page of Madness’s report.
Due to circumstances beyond the control of the HSB group, the greater mission ended in failure; though all members filled their roles admirably. Lacus, name pending approval, has shown a surprising pension for creating operating assets, and turning double agents. There may exist in Ponyville such potential assets that will allow him to continue his mission. I advise some additional operational licence to be added to his pending reconnaissance mission to further develop these assets.
That was it. After that the report simply concludes, with M of M&M, in homage to the fallen compatriot. Lacus turned the page over to see if he had missed anything. Madness hadn't outed him as the traitor he was, which explained how he was even given this assignment to Ponyville in the first place.
“Lucas.”
The quiet voice came from over his shoulder disturbing his peace. He turned to find Habré Kadabré standing solemnly at the gates to his graves.
“You saved me,” her voice was low and wary. Nothing like the violently carefree Dissolution he had come to know.
“What?” was all Lucas could think to respond with.
Her reply came after a disheartening silence, and the question of his memory came across her face. “When I questioned the Changeling condition. You were there. With the healing magic that you insisted that I teach you,” she laughed uncomfortably while adding: “I didn't even fucking know any before you brought it up.”
Her voice had trailed off, and Lacus responded in a reverent tone: “I remember, but she saved your life, not me.”
To which Habré offered a brief smile of relief at the recognition before shaking her head at the half-truth, “Because of you. That's what she told me. She honestly couldn't care." Habré hesitated at the implication that Lucas didn't care, and cringed at what followed. "She said that you would care, and that was the point. If it were not for you... well, I'm just glad you were on her mind."
"You can understand then, why I was concerned…” she started to explain, “when she asked me to use my magic to do it again.”
The understanding drained from Lacus’s mind, and with it the tint of his skin as she elaborated: “And again, and again, and again. ‘Until you can call me Lucas.' That’s what you told me.” The memory visibly depressed her to recount, and her head lowered to the ground as she continued, “With each failure, she became more convinced—obsessed—that a changeling’s true nature is determined not by the choices of their life, but by the context those choices were given. That the memories we use to make new decisions—to build new content—could be used to reshape that context.”
Lacus was shaken to his core by the revelation, and left totally speechless. As Habré continued there was hesitation in her voice as she admitted the truth that she was most afraid of speaking: “And… And I just couldn't watch you do it to yourself anymore. I couldn't have you beg me to do it to you anymore. I couldn't erase you again, but you... you did it anyway. I was so pissed I just quit.”
After a pause, punctuated by the a long sigh that longed for a response, Habré made a slow approach to Lacus. “But, then I saw this on my to the train station,” she said and handed him a ‘Coming soon!’ advertisement for Sugarcube Corner’s new menu, before adding: “Now I truly believe as you did, Lucas.”
Lacus questioningly read the title “Miles of Smiles?” as he inspected the picture featured on the parchment. Pinkie Pie was bursting out of a cake holding an exorbitantly large tube of toothpaste, sporting a massive smile, while Mr. and Mrs. Cake shook hooves with Minuette. It had been the same picture he saw yesterday morning but thought little of.
Habré laughed nervously. “It seemed so completely fucking absurd I just had to ask them more.” Her tone returned to a somber one, “Imagine my surprise when Mr. Cake recounted the story of his conversation with you as the source of this inspiration. Then I ran into you immediately afterward, outside Sugarcube Corner, and I just didn’t know what the to think.”
Lucas looked to the grave of his changeling identities, before turning back to Habré. “But it’s all a lie,” he said while thinking back to his first lesson. A lesson that claimed the most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
She paused for a moment. “You told me once, when I began my experiments, that just because something is dangerous doesn't mean it isn't worth doing. Believing that nearly got me killed, but it didn't kill me, and I’m stronger for it.” The desperation in her voice could be felt on his skin as she leaned in to tell him: “I believe in you, and because of you, I’m standing here telling you that it is worth the risk. How can it be a lie if what you feel is true?”
Lucas looked to the ground for a long time before saying anything. His voice, nay his whole body, was filled with an odd nervous sincerity. “There is just one more thing that I must know.” It wasn't a request, since Habré had made it perfectly apparent that there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her mentor; even if she wasn't around to ask.