You know what sucks about waking up? Waking up. Trying to get going in the mornings is a real bitch to do. I know, I do it every day. It is even harder when your asleep on the floor of a cave that dropped to subzero temperatures. It sucks even more when you don't feel like doing anything in the mornings as it is when you know that you still have a thirty mile hike ahead of you. That about sums up how shitty Sunburst was in that particular morning.

Sunburst woke up and forgot where he was. It felt like a crap day was awaiting for him and he tried to prolong the inevitable. Unfortunately, his awakening was set in stone, and it demanded that he get up. It took him a couple of minutes to find the willpower to get up. Once found, the stand proved to be an even more challenging feat. However, he was determined to prove the morning wrong with the biggest 'fuck you' he could think of. That proverbial 'fuck you' came in the form of proving his worth by accomplishing the impossible: getting up.

Now standing and relatively alert, he noticed the absence of a certain changeling. The one who caused him so much agony yesterday. Normally, the amount of fucks Sunburst would give would be relative to the level of affection he had divided by the amount it pissed him off. So it was pretty close to zero as he spent all his fucks gambling, and lost them all.

Considering that she had is cloak though, he cared; if only slightly.

Grumbling, he stumbled outside, where he immediately fell on his face from the drop. Cursing under his breath, he got back to his hooves and looked around. The sun was just rising over the horizon, casting the sky in an orange light. In another life, Sunburst would have thought this beautiful. But, it was morning and he didn't give a fuck about anything else besides getting his cloak back.

He looked to the ground for any sign of tracks, he got some. In the form of what appeared to be a struggle. From what he was able to deduce, Pseudo was trying to fight against a small group of ponies. When she wasn't able to get away, she tried teleporting. That didn't appear to get her very far though as the burnt sand indicated where she was entering and exiting. While she was pretty powerful in the ways of magic, it still was no substitute for training. Training she didn't have.

"Well fuck me."

He had a couple of options here. Either go and rescue the princess, or ignore her and leave. Both options didn't sound like fun. If he helped her, then the hive would still welcome him with open arms. But then he would have to deal with her. If he left her for dead, then the hive might learn of this and possibly try to kill him. But then he wouldn't have to deal with another changeling for the rest of his immediate life.

"Fuck the queen thirteen ways to Tartarus."

He turned his attention to the tracks and ran after the captors.

Pseudo was not having a good time.

First, she woke up. That sucked on its own because she woke up right next to a pony, a pony. That alone would ruin her day. But she was feeling charitable for her companion and went off in search of food. That didn't go so well. She tried to run from the ponies, but it was too late. So she tried to teleport away. That didn't work either. With no other way's out, she screamed. That however, didn't wake up her guide and she was eventually captured by these, by what she considered, barbarians.

That left her currently in a very bad position. It involved being in a net, upside down, with an inhibitor ring on,being dragged by a pony. Not only was it a big wake up call for her to get her act together, but it was also the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to her.

Is this how it ends? I hope not. I have so much to live for.

She would be crying right now, if it wasn't for her disgust at the situation.

No, there is a way out of this. There must be. Maybe Sunburst will find me. If he does, I am going to apologize for the mean stuff I said to him yesterday. I wonder if he can teach me how to fight? That way this can't happen again. Ugh, I should've listened to Xero. He was right this entire time. I'm not fit to be queen

She sighed, hoping that the problem would eventually fix itself.

Scootaloo was walking around Ponyville with nothing else to do. She had just got up to practice when she realized that there wasn't any today. With nothing to do, she sighed. This was going to be a lazy day. She hadn't had one of those since she was a filly. So naturally, she didn't know what to do.

I'm so bored. I wish that there was something to do. Race Rainbow Dash? Nah, she is way to competitive and hates losing to me. Sweetie Belle is in Canterlot studying and Applebloom is working for the city to fix up the damage Derpy does.

Her walking eventually came across a bench where she sat down. The ponies of Ponyville were well aware of her success in life and the foals had loved to ask her for autographs and stories, which Scootaloo loved to tell. It was only natural for her now.

I wonder if mom is still living her? I should check it out.

Scootaloo stood up and walked the five minutes to Trixie's house. But when she knocked, there was no answer. Figuring that the old show-mare was still sleeping, Scootaloo took the hidden key out from the rocks and unlocked the door.

"Hey mom, it's me, Scootaloo."

She waited ten seconds before calling again.

Huh, she's not home.

Scootaloo strolled around the house, looking at all the old photos and memories. Once she got to the table, she saw a note perched on it.

What's this?

To anypony who reads this, I will not be back ever. I leave this note to tell those who would look for me to not. I must fix my problems on my own. When Sigma came to Ponyville, it was attacked. And it will continue to be attacked until me and Katar leave. We leave, so that we may fix our mistakes. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused, but this is the only way to fix it.

Trixie

By the time Scootaloo was finished, she was in tears. She knew what she had to do now, and that was to find her mom and stop her from doing this. And she knew where to look this time.

Sunburst had tracked the band of ponies to a large cave in the middle of the canyons. It was getting dark and he was running out of time.

Alright, its now or never. Just remember that they will flip shit and try to find you again. That and the darkness will attract the local wildlife, so that's a double whammy. Make it quick and quiet and maybe you'll get lucky and get out alive.

"Then lets go rescue a princess."

AN: sorry about the wait in between updates. Its just that I'm writing a second story at the same time and school is a real bitch. I mean, what was I thinking taking three different math class? Next Chapter: The Beginning of the End Estimated time remaining: 6 Minutes