A Fallen Angel

Of course he knew Celestia liked kids.

Of course he knew she was going to bribe him.

Didn't make him any happier.

"I can't believe I let you do that." Double Time said. "I can't believe you ignored me."

"Of course you let me. You knew he wouldn't agree. I did too, as soon as you didn't stop us."

"So why'd you do it?"

Celestia looked gazed through a large window. "For a sense of closure. Of finality."

"Why should you get one, when he wasn't allowed?" Double knew he'd crossed a line. But he didn't care.

Rather than getting mad, the princess became speachless. "I... I don't know." She glanced dejectedly at her hooves. "I guess I figured myself more deserving than he."

Then something unexpected happened.

Celestia started crying.

"I was unproffesional." She sniffed. "I was trying to make myself happy by making him happy, but instead I just added to his losses." She looked up imploringly into his eyes. "Double, will you forgive me? I've been so selfish."

Double couldn't stay angry at that. Though he truly wanted to: Criss had been in his room all day, crying. "You wouldn't be able to be yourself. He's a glitch. He changes what he's around. Even the most powerful ponies could lose everything around him. But he's locked himself in his room."

Celestia became, if possible, even more sad, though she stopped crying. "I hurt him." she said plainly. "I hurt him because of my selfishness, and now he must feel so broken." Celestia glanced in the direction of Criss's room.

"If you felt that way, you shouldn't have signed the papers before you offered him to be here."

Celestia winced. She had completely forgotten about the fact she signed the papers already. That was truly unfair. Giving him that option was bad enough, but when even if he'd accepted, he would have had to go anyway? That was crueller than beating him. Celestia sighed. "I wonder if he'll forgive me."

"He's more self-destructive than you realise, Celestia. He doesn't blame you, he blames himself. If you apologize, he'll only blame himself more. He could even do himself serious damage."

"So what do you say we do?"

"I think it would be best if he left. Now."

Celestia gasped. Double truly had a sadistic streak. Yet the longer she thought about it, the more she realised that Criss should go, and forget.

After a very long silence, she finally muttered "...Alright."

Double nodded, and than said very quietly "He's not coming back. Not Criss. Maybe somepony with the same name, and coat-colour. But Criss isn't coming back. I'm sorry."

Criss had been crying ever since he got back to his room. The papers were going through the mail, and he had just turned down his last chance out of here.

Why had he been such a foal?

As he lay there sniffing, gazing up through cloudy vision at the painting on the ceiling, he realised that no matter what happened now, it wouldn't matter. He wasn't going to remember his life. Any part of it.

"My life sucks." He muttered.

"No arguements here, kid."

Criss didn't even question how he had gotten through the lock. "...Fuck off, Double. I don't want to talk."

"Alright." Quit being understanding! Scream at me! Shout at me! Hurt me... He wished ponies hadn't given him good memories to forget.

"It's time to go, though. When you're ready."

Criss started crying. Again.

"CELESTIA!"

The alicorn in question flinched. Her sister sounded mad.

That was confirmed when the door slammed open with a bang hard enough to break the mirror beside the door.

"HOW DARE YOU?" It was a good thing the room was relatively sound proofed. She was shouting. And she used the Royal Canterlot Voice often, so she was loud.

"Calm down sister." Celestia said, in a perfectly restrained voice.

"NO!" Oh, boy. "I DIDN'T COMPLAIN WHEN YOU HAD TWILIGHT. HE IS-"

Celestia put a hoof in her mouth. "Shh... You don't want him to hear you." Luna nodded, and Celestia pulled her hoof out of Luna's mouth. Though quieter, she didn't, however, get calmer.

"You got Twilight Sparkle. I didn't complain when I found out. Now I am getting my own apprentice, and you are trying hard to foil my hard work." Luna started tearing up. "Do you not love me, as I love you?"

Even though it was an obvious guilt-trap, Celestia leaped right into it. "Of course I love you sister. And I wanted you to have an apprentice. And I've been doing nothing but sticking my nose in it ever since you decided. I'm sorry you didn't get Twilight."

In her rage, Celestia's compliment was lost on Luna. "Then why did you offer to take him under your wing, as a second apprentice?"

"I didn't offer him apprenticeship."

That caught Luna off guard. "Then what did you offer him?"

"I wanted him to become my child. I felt terribly for him. But he chose not to, because his friends hadn't sacrificed and worried for him to live easily." Celestia smiled. "I know Rainbow Dash, and she sticks by thick and thin. But to choose punishment over pampering simply because you didn't want to break your friends' promise..."

"That takes amazing courage. Even for such a child." Luna snapped out of her daze. "You still tried to take him. " Luna let her sadistic streak win out. "If I weren't your sister, and if you wouldn't be in public eye for a while, you know very well what I would do for your arrogance." Celestia saw her pupils grow thinner, like that of her evil counterpart.

"Yes. I do." Celestia knew Nightmare Moon was still in Luna. No amount of magic could change that. The Elements only routed her senses. "Luna, calm. Please, sister."

Luna blinked rapidly as her pupils widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't do anything, did I?" Luna started looking Celestia over.

Celestia held her sisters' shoulders. "Don't worry, sister. I won't do anything more to impede your apprentice. Do with him what you will."

"Thank you, sister."

Criss and Double were approaching the airstrip, and the readied carriage. With a look of forlorn, Criss looked back upon the palace.

"Can I say goodbye to the Princesses?"

"N-" Double began.

"Yes, you can." Luna said as she and Celestia approached through a side door. "Hello Double."

"Luna. Celestia." Double inclined his head respectfully.

Although Criss had wanted to talk to them before, now that he could, he didn't know what to say.

"Hello Criss." Luna said.

"Hi, Luna." Criss said nervously.

"Hello Cr-" Celestia began. Criss immediately interrupted. "I'm sorry I can't take your offer. I'd stay if I could, you know that, right? I'm so sorry if I hurt your feelings-"

Celestia cut him off by setting a hoof on his shoulder. "No Criss, you wouldn't have been happy here."

Luna had been silently fuming about this. Note to self, first chance I get, see if I can get the General to make him a bit crueller. He's too wimpy. She let her sadistic side control her thoughts for a while. But this wasn't an idle thought. It was a vow. Nightmare Moon and the General had always gotten along nicely.

Criss turned to Luna, and she gazed down into his giant purple eyes.

"Luna, I'm sorry if I frustrated you."

Yes, you did. "It's quite fine, child. I'm sure you'll enjoy where your going. Even if you don't remember any of this, that doesn't mean it didn't happen." And I'll remember your loyalty. Although he had great loyalty to ponies he owed things to, he didn't show much loyalty to just random ponies. In fact, meeting ponies for the first time, he was about half as nervous as Fluttershy. Thankfully, that could be cured by the General.

Although you can't re-engineer a pony's personality, you can, however, change a pony's personality beforehand. That was Nightmare Moon's plan. She wanted an apprentice she had as much in common with as possible. Only, less controlled then her. And creating a genetics plant had been her first plan. She was going to have her apprentice before the Lunar Revolution, but some idiot asked the wrong pony to side with Nightmare Moon, and the pony had ran off to warn Celestia.

It hadn't been easy keeping her plans hidden. First she had to regather her strength. Which hadn't been easy to wait all that while. Then, to make sure Double Time didn't read the wrong future, she had to resort to always be thinking like Luna. Thankfully, her sister and their seer had been completely clueless to Nightmare Moon's plans.

It helped Double Time had morals, or he would've dug too deep into Criss's future, found out about Nightmare Moon, and Celestia would have never let Criss leave. Even though Celestia thought Nightmare Moon was another pony seperate from Luna, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Is something the matter, sister?" Celestia was gazing at her.

"No, nothing at all." Somehow, she had ended up hugging Criss.

"Criss, we'd best get going." Double Time said. Criss released Luna, and nodded to Double Time.

Once Criss was safely inside the carriage, Double Time walked back to Luna. "I'll see you at the Genetics Facility. Celestia, will you be there?"

Luna gazed at Celestia. "No." Celestia said. "I've done enough breathing down my sister's neck. She can do this part be herself."

Luna nodded. "Thank you, sister."

Double Time simply nodded, then walked around to sit beside Criss in the carriage. This one wasn't extended. It wasn't even pulled by pegasi. Nor did the two ponies have armor. It was designed to look like a regular carriage for two normal ponies. The less questions, the better. Luna had thought.

It was helpful that Criss hadn't ever left Manehatten. Even if he wouldn't remember, she still didn't want him knowing where the factory was. Just in case. She turned to the near-by soldier.

"Guard, ready my chariot. We go to the facility."