To be a father

Rune Scry hummed merrily as he scuttled about his dusty old library. He had been teaching Equestrian history for a few years, having started at a young age. Now, he lived in a dusty old building down the street from Celestia's School for gifted Unicorns.

The brown stallion jotted down a note to himself before attaching it to an old mirror. He paused and smiled at himself, pushing a strand of curly cream colored hair out of his face. He then noticed his gold rimmed spectacles on his nose. He gripped them in his yellow magic and put them in the pocket of his vest.

"There we are, I think that's everything." He said to himself as he placed the mirror inside of a box. "After today, I'll have room to study the original mareyan calendar. What an honor that is!"

He then gathered his papers from his desk along with his mail. He noticed the first few letters were bills. He placed the bills back on the desk before heading over to his briefcase. As his papers spilled in, a missing pony flyer fell out. He picked it up and found that it was from an orphanage in Canterlot, and that a young filly around the age of 7 or 8 had run away. He felt a brief pang of guilt as he tossed the paper into his bin. He'd have to see if they had a nice colt who he could ask to be his assistant.

A few minutes later found Rune outside of his home turning the key to lock his door. He began walking down the street to Celestia's School, hoping to get there before most of his students. As he walked, a rather angry stallion joined him.

"Mr. Scry, I demand an explanation!" Blueblood whined. "Why are you failing me?"

"Well, Prince." Rune sighed, "You actually have to do some work."

"No, that's what you're supposed to do. It's your job." Blueblood spat. "Now, change my grades before I report you."

"Blueblood, how about this? I'll do my job as usual today, and I'll speak to Celestia about it tonight, okay?" Rune asked, hoping the Prince would agree and forget about this before the end of the day.

"Fine, I expect her to talk some sense into you by tomorrow." Blueblood huffed before leaving.

Rune shook his head and prepared for his day of teaching. Before his mind could drift a young filly sped past him, bumping his briefcase along the way.

~

Ginger Root huffed and panted as she fell against the wall of a dark alleyway. In her magic, a fresh apple was held. She felt her stomach gurgle in anticipation. She shakily took a bite of her food, sighing as the juice of the apple dripped down her chin. She glanced at a broken mirror to see how she looked. Her pale orange fur was matted and dirty, and her vibrant orange hair was still pulled back in a ponytail. She sighed in relief after finding no bruises or scars.

Ginger had focused on the mirror for so long that she didn't see the stallion that had just turned into the alley. He chuckled under his breath as he neared her, his horn beginning to light.

But the filly got up again, and sped off, having heard his hoofsteps. The Stallion cursed under his breath and chased after her. He had been chasing her all day, and every time he got close, the filly would speed away.

As the Ginger turned another corner she found herself facing a wall. She turned to face the end of the alley. The stallion had appeared at the end of the alley, ready to catch Ginger should she try to squeeze pass. The two stared each other down before Ginger's horn lit up and teleported her away.

With a sigh, the stallion turned back to the open street.

"I'll find you little filly. I swear it."

~

Rune hummed as he walked home. As far as a work day went, he didn't have much to do besides grading papers. (And he always did that late at night.) So for the day he just tutored some ponies that needed it. His only brake came in the form of a lavender unicorn called Twilight. Rune smiled as he thought of her. If she had been just a couple of years younger then him, she could've been his student. But instead they had met in the school library. Twilight was there for an errand from Celestia, and Rune had just started his first day. Their friendship was formed fast, and Twilight came to him for answers to history questions.

Today, she needed help dating Starswirl's personal journal. Rune of course ran three different tests to authenticate it before he then dated it. The interesting part is that it was older then the legend of Nightmare Moon or the Reign of Discord.

His thoughts on the day were interrupted by a small filly crashing into him.

"Hey watch it!" Rune snapped, before seeing the frightened girl. "Oh, I'm sorry. . .are you alright?"

The orange filly nodded.

"Are you lost?" Rune asked her as he began picking up his papers.

The filly shook her head then glanced around the street.

"Are you running from something then?" Rune asked her, now curious about her past.

She nodded before squeaking and hiding behind a nearby garbage can.

.

"Hey you." A gruff looking grey stallion called out, heading towards Rune as he spoke. "Have you seen a little orange unicorn filly run by?"

"I think so. Is she yours?" Rune asked, trying to get a feel for the stranger.

"Um. . .yeah. . ." The stallion hesitated, "I'm her father."

Rune cocked an eyebrow. After teaching an endless amount of kids for several years, he knew when a pony was lying. Especially when the lie was obvious. "Are you sure sir?"

The stallion huffed, "Look, if you find her, tell her to go back home or I'll have to beat her again."

Rune nodded, "I will. You can count on me." This seemed to please the stallion, who then walked away. After a few minutes of silence, Rune glanced around. "Are you still here little one?"

The filly from before came out of her hiding spot. "You. . .helped me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Rune asked in confusion.

The filly moped a little, "Because no one cares for a street urchin unless they get something out of it. . ."

Rune paused, "You. . .you're homeless?" He asked.

The filly looked up at him. "I. . .live at Celestia's Orphanage for Poor Unfortunate Foals."

Rune remembered the flier from earlier. "You're the missing filly they're looking for, huh?"

She nodded, "I don't want to go back. . ."

"What's your name?" Rune asked quickly, hoping to get off of the touchy subject for a little bit.

"I'm Ginger. . .Ginger Root. . ." She mumbled.

Rune smiled, "Well Ginger, my name is Rune Scry."

Ginger looked up at Rune, "Thanks again for being so nice. . ."

Rune pursed his lips in thought before an idea came to mind. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come home with me, wash up, eat a meal, sleep in a real bed, and in the morning you and I can see about getting some space cleared away for you to stay permanently?"

Ginger looked up at Rune in surprise. "You want to. . .adopt me?"

Rune paused, did he want that? "Well uh. . .not really adopt. . . more like just giving you a safe haven until you don't want or need it."

Ginger deflated a little, "I guess I can stay one night. . ."

Rune smiled a little, "Alright, follow me then Miss Ginger." He then turned and walked down the street to his home, Ginger following suit.