ARROW

Chapter One: The Most Generous Thing

Rarity stood frozen behind a small tree, eyes locked on the scene in front of her, body instinctively pressed against a small tree as if to hide behind it's thin branches. Aside from the momentary noise of Fluttershy taking wing to bring help, the Whitetail Woods were unnaturally silent. No crickets or cicadas called to each other, no bird dared sing. It was as if the whole of life around the horrific scene had simply ceased to be.

Fluttershy and herself had decided it was a nice day for a walk after their weekly spa treatment. Winter was coming so there wouldn't be many days left whose temperature was as forgiving as it was today and the two had headed into the Whitetail woods, taking the long rout to Fluttershy's home. But halfway there they had encountered…this.

A large wooden travelling cart was lying on its side with a broken wheel, and a broken pony underneath it. The road leading to the apparent crash was slick with blood stopping where the poor soul beneath the cart lay, legs twisted in ways that made Rarity's stomach turn. Just beyond the cart was another pony, a mare, and the reason she had sent Fluttershy to gather the other elements, and maybe a police pony or two to figure out why in the name of Celestia this couple had been murdered. A fact made obvious by the large, vicious looking spear protruding from the base of the Mare's neck.

Rarity waited a full minute longer in the silence of the forest, listening to the breeze blow through the autumn leaves and waiting for her senses to tell her it was safe to move again. When nothing apparent changed Rarity paused to look towards Ponyville wondering where the hay her friends were and what was taking them so long. Usually at least Rainbow Dash would be able to make it from Ponyville to the Whitetails in less time than this. But maybe they weren't coming. Maybe Fluttershy had been brought down on her way— a scuffling sound brought her attention back to the scene before her.

At first she couldn't pinpoint where the noise was coming from until an old, green blanket started to shuffle away from the overturned cart. The little bump underneath was just the right size to be a – oh dear Celestia it was a foal – Rarity's veins ran cold and the maternal instinct that was buried deep within her took over. It was one thing for this to happen to adult ponies but for a foal to witness this? And survive?!

Running from her cover Rarity magicked the blanket away to reveal a small foal colt, whose surprised and terrified blue eyes said all that she needed to know about what he had been through. His silver coat shook as he backed away from Rarity and into the fallen wagon, hoping to disappear into it so she would go away.

Glancing around to ensure there was truly no one watching – namely whomever or whatever had done this – Rarity picked the young colt up with her magic and levitated the foal close to her as he screamed in terror all the way.

"There there." She cooed softly "You're safe now."

Rarity was never very good with foals. Sisters were one thing but a foal that was younger was something that she was never really comfortable with. Foals were loud, messy, the cause of much stress (which leads to facial lines), messy, and generally hard on a good appearance and social standing.

But extenuating circumstances called for an extenuating response, and pushing her own personal feelings aside Rarity did what she could to calm the small earth pony who decided to cling to her neck, letting out muffled sobs as her magic held him aloft.

Rarity felt light headed as she looked at the blood and violence around her, deciding it was time to retreat back to her tree when she heard a groan come from the pony that was trapped under the cart and instinctively ran to the pony's aid, foal and all.

"Oh dear, hang on down there, help will be here soon." Rarity lied, looking around for her friends and in the distance, spotting a small rainbow blur headed her direction. Good.

"No….time…" The stallion unicorn struggled for breath with

"Oh no. No no no. No dying while I'm here, lets just get this cart off of you." Rarity said, shifting the foal from her neck to one of her hooves and concentrating her magic on the cart. But try as she might it was just too heavy, she couldn't even make it budge.

"Please…take care of him…protect…" The stallion coughed, "They will come….for him…"

Rarity's eyes widened.

"Please…pro…protect him…" The crushed stallion begged between coughs.

For the first time in a long time Rarity didn't know what to do. She was a pony of generous heart, and the element of generosity for Celestia's sake. But to take in a foal? Not only was that on the top of the list of 'most generous things anypony could do' but that didn't make the decision any less complicated. Especially when presented with circumstances such as these where one parent was dead, the other undoubtedly dying, and the foal already against her. And what of her business? What of her own life? What of her own dreams and goals?

But then…

Rarity looked down at the foal clinging to her leg, and the situation around her. The choice had really already been made when she rushed to help the little colt, hadn't it? There was no way now she could just take the tiny earth pony and drop him off at an orphanage now, and it was with a determined look that Rarity glanced back to the dying stallion. But his eyes were vacant, the light of life in his body extinguished.

It took the sound of the hooves from her friends to snap her from a reverie she didn't know she was in. Looking down at the foal she was surprised to find that he was staring back up at her, having stopped crying at some point leaving little streaks on his coat. His curly green mane falling back a little bit to revealing the base of his horn...wait...he was an earth pony she had seen that earlier hadn't she? Tilting the foal back just a little the rest of his mane fell away to reveal—

In her life Rarity had never swore out loud. She had thoughts that were improper for a lady to have, yes, she was just a pony after all and not perfect. But the sight of the foal's little horn stopping halfway up, where it had been savagely cut off, was enough to make her accidently curse to high heaven in a child's face. Amid the questions of who might actually do something like that there was one point that was hammered home in Rarity's mind. This little man needed protection, and looking to the now expired pony beneath the wagon she would make sure that this foal got exactly that.

"He will be kept safe." She said, cuddling the child close to her neck, "I promise."

Then, Rarity took off running foal and all towards the sound of her friends coming up the road. Whatever emotional turmoil present in the mare's was mind offset by the need to get the foal to a hospital and make sure he was okay.

"Twilight!" She called, slowing to a trot as her friends approached, "Twilight, I need you to teleport myself and the foal to the Ponyville hospital."

The purple mare looked between Rarity, the foal, and the scene down the road and nodded.

"Alright, police ponies are on the way, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Flutershy see if anything can be done to help the ponies down the road, I'll go with Rarity to the hospital and we'll all meet back there in an hour."

And it was with a nod from the others that Twilight, Rarity, and the foal disappeared in a flash of light, materializing in front of the hospital doors and rushing inside. Rarity all but left Twilight in her wake as she ran around other patients in the waiting room to the frot counter where she gently set the foal down.

"Nurse Redheart, this foal needs to be seen right away! Fluttershy and I found him along the side the road through Whitetail and his parents…" Rarity glanced between Twilight, the waiting room of ponies staring at her, and Nurse Redheart before her eyes fell once again on the foal. No. She would not let fears of her own social standing get in the way of helping somepony. Especially an innocent foal.

"His parents did not make it." She said quietly and with her hoof, gently moved his mane aside so his broken horn could be seen, "He was found like this."

"Oh my sweet C—" Redheart gasped and stopped herself. "Orderly, we need a gurney! Page Doctors Stable and Horse immediately! Don't worry, Rarity, we'll take care of him. Just wait here and I'll send someone for you once we know he's alright."

With that Nurse Redheart and the now crying foal, reaching for Rarity as the nurse picked him up, disappeared behind the counter and from view leaving only the receding sound of the his cries.

"Did I really just see – was his – was that…" Twilight stuttered and Rarity simply nodded.

"What would – why would – who would?" Twilight shook her head for a moment, "Who would do such a thing?! Taking a Unicorn's – That act is one of the most despicable crimes anypony—"

"I KNOW, Twilight." Snapped, all the built up fear, stress, and adrenaline finally burning through but leaving only regret in its wake. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

"What exactly happened out there before we arrived?" Twilight asked as she guided her friend to one of the seats in the waiting room.

"Oh, Twilight, It was simply the worst possible thing." Rarity sighed, earning a raised eyebrow from her friend. "And I don't mean the faux dramatic worst. Possible. Thing. That I usually go on about, I just..."

She paused and looked up at Twilight, sitting next to her. Wanting to support her in any way like a good friend should. Though she hadn't known the purple mare as long as she had Fluttershy or even Rainbow Dash, Rarity could still feel the warmth of her friendship. She had trusted this pony with her life on more than one occasion so why not trust her with the events Rarity witnessed? Traumatic as it may seem she could at least thank her lucky stars that she hadn't witnessed the attack personally, just the aftermath.

"I witnessed a pony die today, Twilight. Crushed by the wagon he was pulling during whatever attack came down on he and the mare I assume was his wife – or at least special somepony – the foal's hair color matched hers that is how I made the connection, but that isn't important." Rarity was never one to get lost in a conversation, always remaining in strict control of her emotions, as a lady must. She took a few deep breaths to silence the tightness in her chest before continuing.

"I promised the father that I would protect his son…just before he passed." Twilight gasped but Rarity continued before her friend could interrupt.

"I know, I know what that means, Twilight. But you should have seen what was going on out there, the way they had been slain, the way the attack appeared to be carried out, the poor foal's horn! You and I of all ponies should be able to appreciate the gravity of what it takes to remove a Unicorn's horn and not kill the poor thing in the process." Rarity leaned forwards before she continued.

"I know what the laws are. I know what I did when I made that oath to the dying stallion, I know what changes are going to be coming into my life both terrible and wonderful by doing this, and I know that I am going to complain about it to anyone that will listen eventually. But what I don't know – or at least what I hope I know – is if you and the girls will still be there for me and help me protect him from whatever did this to his parents."

Rarity went on to explain exactly what happened that lead to the discovery of the foal as Twilight began to see her friend in something of a new light. Rarity was a smart pony, if a it dramatic sometimes, but knew what she was getting into and even though it wasn't ideal, she was taking on the challenge all the same simply because she had promised somepony else that she would. But as any analytical pony might, and for the sake of her friend, Twilight needed to be doubly sure that Rarity knew what she was getting herself into.

"So you know then, that Equestrian law says that if there is no next of kin for this foal that you will become his guardian, right?" Twilight asked, and Rarity nodded.

"And you know how hard it can be sometimes to take care of a foal, right?" Twilight pressed and Rarity swallowed before nodding once more.

"And you know that it's ridiculous to think that your friends wont be there for you if it comes to that right?" Twilight was smiling now, "Oh, Rarity, if you inherit this foal, of course we'll be there for you."

Rarity smiled. That was all she needed to hear even if her potential parenthood was still just a possibility, she needed to know that she would have help. But as the minutes turned to hours and still Nurse Redheart hadn't come back she began to worry once more. What if the foal had something else wrong? What of the opening where the horn had been hacked off had become infected? What if the poor thing had expired as well?! No. Rarity didn't let herself sink into a spiral of panic. She was better than that. She was a lady and would keep per composure until it could be kept no more.

She found herself pacing slowly around the waiting room noticing at one point that the greater half of her friends that hat remained at the attack site had returned to be with them. Twilight had explained everything that was going on to the group as Rarity continued to pace, grateful to not have to talk about it again and be able to focus on her worry for the foal. Shortly after that a couple detective ponies arrived and took statements from fluttershy and Rarity before speaking with Nurse Redheart. But they had left before Rarity could ask any of the three what was going on.

At one point Twilight had excused herself, saying she needed to send a letter to the Princess because of the nature of the crimes that had taken place. Apparently such evils had not been seen in Equistira in a very long time, and since the local police ponies would be sending the report to the Princess anyways Twilight had offered to expedite the process through Spike.

It wasn't until the sun was just beginning to touch the edge of the horizon that Nurse Redheart finally reappeared and called Rarity's name.

"What is it? Is he alright?!" She asked with a somewhat manic tone, charging to the counter.

"Yes, Rarity, he is fine. You may go back and see him now we have him setup in Pediatrics room two twelve. You may only take one of your friends with you because there are sleeping children up there." She said.

"OH COME ON!" Rainbow Dash appeared, hovering above Rarity, "You mean we waited all this time for nothing?!"

"Yeah! Do you know how many cupcakes I could have made and eaten and made and eaten again?!" Pinkie added.

"Yeah, 'cause that reaction is exactly what'll get us in." Applejack said, deadpanned.

"Oh, hush! Both of you! Fluttershy, if you please." Rarity turned her head upward and trotted towards the hall with the butter yellow Pegasus in tow and stepped through when Redheart pushed the button to unlock the magnetic seal on the doors.

The two friends walked in comfortable silence through the sterile hospital halls, passing this room and that, some empty, some not. It wasn't until they had reached the elevator and Rarity magicked the button down to go up a floor that Fluttershy spoke.

"I – um – I think it's very brave what you're doing, Rarity." She half whispered, and Rarity paused, smiling to the mare next to her.

"Don't be coy, Fluttershy, you would have done the same thing given the opportunity." Rarity said, "But thank you."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Fluttershy's face began to warm and she looked down slightly so her mane would hide her face.

"Yes, well...it isn't a sure thing right now anyways. If we are luck a next of kin can be found and his own family will be able to protect him from…whatever happened out there." Rarity waived her hoof indifferently, but deep down she had a feeling that those ponies they had found out on the road may have been it.

"Oh look here we are!" She declared, glad to be saved from further discussion of what might lay ahead Rarity softly tapped on the door twice before pushing it open with her magic.

Sitting on a bed in the middle of the room was the foal, tugging at the annoying little plunger attached to his silver coat which in turn, was causing the heart monitor to flat line every now and then. The Doctor looked up from his chart as they entered, his messy carrot colored mane bouncing as he did.

"Yes, hello! I'm Doctor Horse!" He introduced himself, though they already knew who he was since Ponyville only had one Pediatric MD.

"I assume one of you is the caretaker of this spunky little lad, yes?"

It was then that the foal looked up at Rarity, the pointed to the doctor and said and waved his little hoof.

"Plah bo ba da ba da taah bo ba!" He little baby voice yelled, clearly unhappy with his present circumstances. He then tugged once more on the heart monitor cup.

"Aww, isn't he just so cute!" Fluttershy melted, trotting over to the other side of the bed.

"Clearly." Rarity watched the foal out of the corner of her eye and she could swear that he gave her the same look back before she turned to Dr. Horse.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Well…yes and no." The normally cheerful physician's tone darkened somewhat. "Though I have to say I've never seen a unicorn whose horn had been cut off like his has. I've seen pictures of horns that had been cracked or broken due to magical duress. In medical school I was present for the removal of a horn due to a magical illness and I have to say, his condition matches the latter."

"But a Unicorn this young can't control magic, right?" Fluttershy looked to Rarity.

"Yes, you are right, Fluttershy, to an extent. While in foalhood, a Unicorn will not have any control of their magic and as they age it will eventually go dormant until they are old enough to control it again."

"Quite right." Dr. Horse interjected, "I consulted with my colleague Doctor Stable on this matter – he is a unicorn himself after all – and if you look here…"

Dr. Horse leaned over the bed and with one leg, gently held the foal while gently pushing back the curly many to reveal the broken horn.

"These small fractures along the anterior and posterior area of the break tell a more violent story than anything I or Doctor Stable have seen in our practices since medical school. Specifically this crack here tells us that the upper portion of his horn was indeed removed because of a magical event. However, the magic that removed it was not his own, it appears that it was taken be force, as I told the detectives earlier."

While the good doctor was having the little show and tell he had poked and prodded the foal's horn a bit. Being a unicorn herself Rarity knew that while the horn itself did not have any nerve endings in it, there was a large cluster at its base to help control the magic that went through it. Thus the horn was actually a very sensitive part of a Unicorn when whole, never mind when it was injured or maimed. As the doctor set the foal back on the bed – the little guy swiped and missed at the doctor's face – Rarity lit her magic and picked him up, hovering him closer to her while rocking softly.

"Who would do something like that to a foal?" Fluttershy asked at length.

"I don't care to know. What I do know is that I have some things for whichever one of who is the foal's guardian." The stallion looked between them and Rarity nodded.

"While not yet officially in that capacity, I suppose for now that is me." Rarity said quietly.

"Auoh?" the foal asked, tilting his head at his supposed guardian.

"Right then, in that case here are some forms that need filled out, we took care of the medical portions as we could – as you can see we believe he is two based on the base size of his horn – however we left the name and residence portions blank. If you can't think of a suitable name or don't want the responsibility of naming him just write 'joe pony' there instead. If you have any questions just call for a nurse."

With that Dr. Horse trotted out of the room and down the hall.

There was silence for a moment before Rarity set the little guy back on the head of the bed, then crawled up on it herself and levitating the clipboard with her. Fluttershy smiled at the sight, watching Rarity fill out the paperwork before announcing that she was going to tell the girls that everything was okay, and sneak one in.

"What?" Rarity's eyes widened, "You mean you're going to leave me alone with him?!"

"Oh, um, only for a moment…if that's okay…Rainbow Dash said earlier that if I go back out there I can sneak her in then she can go back and sneak somepony else in then…um…she kind of lost me after that…sorry." Fluttershy blushed.

"But…but…alone!" Rarity protested.

"Oh, Rarity, he's just a foal, I'm sure you'll be okay…I think."

Before Rarity could protest Fluttershy grinned at her and winged her way out of the room.

She was now alone. With the foal. Just her and a baby pony. This was okay, he was only a child after all. Oh dear the little colt was looking at her like she was supposed to know what she was doing. But she didn't know what she was doing – she hadn't the faintest clue what she was doing. Of course she knew the basics of foal care but as far as raising one? She smiled at the little guy and after appraising her with his little blue eyes, he smiled back. Hopefully she could keep up the ruse that she knew what she was doing.

"A-alright little guy, let's get some paper work done."

"Bah bo pah." He replied as Rarity levitated a pen over the paperwork.

"Well I don't like it either but it has to be done." She said with a tone of authority and the little guy scrunched up his face. Rarity smiled inwardly, maybe she could do this after all given enough time.

"Alright then. Name?" She asked with a giggle.

"Auoh?" He responded.

"Hmm…you're a colt so you need a good strong name don't you? How about Prince Charming?" Rarity waved the pen with a flourish, and the foal simply stared at her like she had lobsters draped over her head.

"Alright then, how about Obsidian? Oh, don't look at me like that it is only a few shades darker than your coat on most color wheels." Rarity said.

"Auoh?" Was his eventual response.

"Silver is too feminine…how about Shine?"

"Auoh?"

"No I suppose that won't work either will it…hrm…well perhaps I should just put Joe Pony in there instead. Ugh, I'm terrible at this." Rarity sighed.

The foal scooted across the bed and tapped Rarity on the hoof to get her attention.

"Ba bo, Auoh?" He said, or asked, she was not sure which it was but at least it was cute. But why did he keep saying that little 'aughow' phrase? Maybe it was just his favorite baby sound, or one that was easy for him. Wait. That's it! Rarity's eyes widened in a moment of clarity and a smile spread across her face.

"Alright little one." She leaned down so she was at his level, "How about Arrow?"

"Auoh!" Arrow clapped his hooves together and laughed, "Auoh! Auoh! Auoh! Dah do Ba be ba!"

"Arrow it is then." She smiled and proceeded to start filling out the rest of the paperwork while the foal gibbered away happily. Arrow was a fine name for a little colt she supposed, it gave direction, could be a weapon to stand up for what's right, or simply fit the little guy.

Half way through the paperwork Rarity felt a small bit of pressure against her side and tore her eyes away from the hospital forms to find Arrow had fallen asleep against her, curled up in a little ball with his face pressed against her. She smiled as a small warmth spread through her chest, tempered by the events of the day thus far.

"Don't worry, Arrow." She whispered and magicked part of the blanket over the foal, "I'll make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again."

Rarity didn't know what the future held since she was a fashionista and not an oracle, but what she did know is that she had made both this small foal and the stallion she assumed was the father a promise. She had offered to take in an orphan foal and if no family could be found to take him, raise the colt herself. It would probably be the most generous promise she had ever made in her life and though she knew there would be challenges ahead with finding the foal's family and such. Rarity was committed to seeing it all through – regardless of the path her future took.