Friday

Rune woke up and in a flash was out the door.

"Okay." Rune said to himself. "Yesterday didn't earn me crap but maybe today I..can..I KNOW!"

Rune just happen to see Sugarcube Corners in the distance. And it looked open this time.

"I'll get another part time job." Rune said, picking up the pace.

Walking into the shop, Rune noticed a huge crowd of impatient ponies and both Mr. and Mrs. Cake were scrambling about, baking and serving pastry after pastry.

"And here is my job proposal." Rune said to himself, moving to the front the crowd.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Cake." Rune greeted. "Need any help?"

"Oh hey Rune." Mr. Cake said, handing out more treats. "I think Mrs. Cake and I got this."

"But." Mrs.Cake said doing more transactions. "If you want to help, can you check on Pinkie? She hasn't been her cheerful self lately."

"Sure." Rune agreed. "Where is she?"

"In the basement." Mr. Cake answered. "Go and check on her."

"Okay." Rune said, moving through the crowd to reach the basement door.

Going down the darkened staircase would of scared most ponies but not Rune, because he felt that if he was lucky, the cheerful Pinkie would be there and not the other one. Slowly opening the door, Rune looked into the room. All was empty except for a chair located in the center of the room.

"Hmm. I wonder where she-THUD" Rune was knocked out by some blunt object knocking him on the head.

Who knows how long Rune was out, he felt the hard smack of a hoof against his face as his wake up call.

"Oww." Rune said. "Okay...just...owww"

"Hello Dawn Rune." A voice whose origin was obvious. "I want to play a game."

It didn't Rune long enough to realize he was blindfolded and he was strapped to a chair, probably the one in the center of the room. The difference was he felt a slight swaying motion.

"Life's not fair is it?" The voice monologue. "You wake up every morning, deal with with a shitty day with equally shitty ponies. Then you go home and try to read a nice, relaxing story. Only to find out that the story you love to read has been canceled. How do you think that makes its loyal fans feel? Destroyed? Angry? Depressed maybe?"

"I'm guessing that story you liked was cancelled." Rune said, only to feel the sting of another backhoof to his face, causing the suspended chair to sway some more.

"SHUT UP!!" The voice bellowed angrily. "I am not in a good mood and somepony has to die for this!"

"Over a story being cancelled?" Rune tilted his head slightly. "Really?! Isn't this a little excessive?"

There were no words. Just a harder smack across the face.

"Can you stop smacking me Pinkamena?!" Rune shouted.

The next thing Rune felt was the blindfold being pulled off his face. Looking around the room, Rune saw that he was in fact bound to a chair and hanging from the ceiling over the pool, which was now empty of water but filled with some bubbling green liquid.

"I'm gonna guess that's acid." Rune said, trying to remain calm.

"Well duh." Pinkamena said. "Pinkie has been quiet and sad for over a week and when I found out the reason, I went on a little trip."

"Oh do tell." Rune said, trying to distract Pinkamena as he was subtly struggling to break free.

"I traveled and found some of the pony editors." Pinkamena said, dragging what looked like large trash bag. "Let me show you how I deal with somepony who upsets Pinkie Pie."

Pinkamena then proceeded to push the large bag into the green liquid. Both Rune and Pinkamena saw the bag sink beneath the acid, steam and bubble noise spewing out.

"That's pretty dark." Rune said bluntly.

"You think so?" Pinkamena said, walking towards the rope that was holding Rune up. "Normally I like to show off the mangled body or serve it as a cupcake. I must be getting out of shape." She then held a scalpel in her teeth and slowly began to run the blade over the rope. "Maybe your screams will make me feel better."

"Well I have something to tell you." Rune said, trying to talk his way out of it.

"And what is that?" Pinkamena inquired. "You gonna beg?"

"No, I think Pinkie would want to hear this." Rune said, the rope only a few strands.

"And what is that?" Pinkamena was losing patience.

"The story--" Rune said but the the rope gave way and he fell towards the acid. "Is having a reboot!!"

Rune didn't land in the acid, he saw that he was in a large pool net, being held by the wide grin of Pinkie Pie.

"OMIGOSHAREYOUSERIOUS!!!!!!????" Pinkie said, pulling Rune in.

"Yes." Rune caught his breath. "I heard about it only yesterday."

"OMIGOSHTHATISAMAZING!!!" Pinkie was now crushing Rune in a hug of joy.

"So..will..you..help..upstairs...?" Rune asked, struggling to breath.

"Oh you're right!" Pinkie dropped Rune with a thud, and then dragged him up stairs, knocking his head at every step.

By the time Pinkie and Rune came from the basement, the Cakes were still swamped with customers. Thanks to Pinkie's selling skills and Rune's ability to be a grunt worker, the group soon dispersed.

"Thank you for your help Rune." Mr.s Cake thanked Rune.

"And thank you for cheering up Pinkie Pie." Mrs. Cake added.

"No problem." Rune said. "But I am hoping I was able to make some bits out of this."

"For helping us out of this rush, absolutely." Mr. Cake handed Rune a large sack of bits.

"Thank you." Rune nodded and walked out the door.

On the way out, Pinkie blocked off Rune's way.

"Hold it right there." Pinkie said. "You never said who's rebooting the story."

"It hasn't been released yet." Rune calmly said, not changing his pace. "When I find out, you'll be the first to know."

Pinkie simply nodded and let Rune. "Don't forget." Then her mane went flat for a moment. "Or I'll find out."

Rune made it home quite easily and once again counted the bits he has been able to accumulate. With only two or three days left, Rune had just reached the one tenth marker. So he was still very screwed. Disappointed, he went to bed early.

Saturday

Dusk was woken up to the feeling of being violently shaken.

"AAAHHH WHAA!!??" Dusk awoke with a panic to see that Rune was the one shaking him. "RUNE WHAT THE--mmmmmm"

Rune cut Dusk off by covering his mouth.

"It's three in the morning, so shush please." Rune hushed Dusk. "I need your help."

"And what pray tell." Dusk said, in a calmer but still angry tone. "Do you want my help in?"

"Well..." Rune gathered his thoughts. "It's Saturday and I have just reached a tenth of my debt....so I need your help getting more bits."

"And how pray tell will we make the remaining nine tenths?" Dusk asked, despite not really wanting to know.

"We are going to steal it from a dragon." Rune answered as if what he said was a normal sentence.

"I'm going back to bed." Dusk said, throwing the covers over him, only to feel himself being lifted up by Rune's magic.

"I'm sorry Dusk." Rune apologized, while walking out of the Library with Dusk floating behind him. "I'm really desperate."

Because of his exhaustion, Dusk wasn't able to fight off Rune's magic. It wasn't long before Rune and the dragged against his will Dusk reached the ominously dreaded mountain, named...."Stereotypical Mountain With a Cave at the Peak", Wasn't the best name but Rune was on a mission. Following the same path Dusk and his friends took all those months ago. When they reached the top, or at least the closest they could get to the cave entrance, Rune dropped Dusk. Dusk wanted to object to this insane plan, but he was too far from home to argue, plus he knew it wouldn't work.

"So what made you think of all this?" Dusk asked.

"Well.." Rune explained. "I recall that there was a dragon that lived up here that Princess Celestia had you and the girls scared away. And there was something about Fluttershy literally shouted the dragon away."

"And you assume the dragon left its treasure in the cave?" Dusk asked.

"I don't assume, I know!" Rune said confidently. "I checked out this cave before and I saw there was gold and the red dragon wasn't there."

Dusk and Rune only made it a few more steps, before they heard and felt the rumbling of what sounded like a snoring monster. Both ponies knew what made that noise, but it was Dusk who was looking at Rune with great disdain.

"Yes, the red dragon is gone." Rune explained, leading Dusk behind a large rock, revealing a large, blue dragon, who was thankfully asleep. "But then a blue dragon moved in and I need your help to drive it away."

"I'm going home." Dusk said, turning around and walking away.

"Please please please please." Rune jumped in front of Dusk and started begging, a sad puppy dog look in his eyes.

"That's not gonna-" But Dusk was cut off by Rune's puppy dog stare intensifying, the innocence of an adorable animal pierced Dusk's heart. He couldn't resist. "Fine, I'll help you."

"Good now the plan is-" Rune tried to explain but then noticed a large shadow now hovered over himself and Dusk. "RRRRUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"

The large blue dragon roared at the running Dusk and Rune. It may be of gotten pissed off at having its nap interrupted by Rune and Dusk's presence. The angry dragon gave some chase to the fleeing ponies but then stopped its hunt, to return to its cave to sleep.

"We are NOT doing this!" Dusk said adamantly.

"But I NEED that treasure." Rune responded.

"Then you can do it without me." Dusk said, walking away, and nothing Rune could say would change his mind.

"Okay Rune focus." Rune said to himself, now alone in his quest. "There's a sleeping dragon that's all pissy, and nopony is willing to help me." Rune then charged at the cave entrance, horn blazing.

Dusk, on the other hoof, made it to the half way point before he started thinking about what just happened. Although he greatly disagreed with Rune's insanity, he still abandoned his friend to fight a dragon.

"Ahhhhh" Dusk frustratingly turned around and galloped at the fastest pace he could towards the cave. "Be alive Rune, si I can kill you when this is all over."

Dusk made it to the cave and his jaw swung open. Standing before him was the blue dragon but there was Rune, standing upon the head of the fallen dragon, his mane scorched and soot residue on his face. But an arrogant smug of triumph smeared his face.

"Rune?!" Dusk asked. "How did you?"

"Oh hey Dusk." Rune smiled. "It was amazing, there was fire and magic and-"

"You used your illusion and put the dragon to sleep didn't you?" Dusk asked sternly.

"Wow just kill the fun." Rune laughed. "Just bend over and take a dump on my fun. But it's good that you're here."

"To get you out of here before the dragon wakes up?" Dusk asked.

"No." Rune answered, gesturing his hoof. "To help me carry all this treasure."

"Won't the dragon notice the missing treasure?" Dusk asked.

"If we leave a little treasure, I put a suggestion in the dragon's head." Rune explained lifting half the horde of gold with his magic, as Dusk lifted the other half. "Then the dragon ill believe that the treasure wasn't taken."

"And when the dragon learns the truth?" Dusk asked.

"Look." Rune said. "I either have to fear the ERS or a dragon and I'd rather piss off the dragon again."

Dusk didn't want to argue anymore. He only hoped Rune's choice won't have bad repercussions. Be it luck or fortune, Dusk and Rune's arrival with the treasure went unnoticed. Even when they brought it in the library and Rune's room, neither Trixie or Spike noticed the treasure.

"Now I need to count this treasure and see if my plan worked." Rune said, closing the door behind him.

The duration of the day was spent counting the vast horde of treasure. The dragon certainly had a collection; Rune searched through all accounts to see what treasure was worth what and other conversion charts. It wasn't until the end of the day did Rune reach his conclusion.

"THIS IS JUST WRONG!!!!" Rune shouted. "SCREW LIFE!!!! GOOD NIGHT!!!"

Rune threw himself to his bed and covered himself. Rune forced himself to sleep, as he ignored Dusk knocking on the door, trying to ask what was wrong.

Outside Rune's door, Dusk was worried. "I hope everything works out." He wanted to go in, but knew that wouldn't work. "I'll check him in the morning."