The Patrol was going well all things considered. No suspicious ponies or strange happenings. The weather was great, the clouds were all gone and Spike finally had a moment to just 'take in' the atmosphere of Ponyville.
He strolled through the town center wondering where he should 'patrol' next. The sun was waning but there was still a little bit of daylight left. The crowds had thinned but the hustle and bustle continued, going from general preparations to personal parties. He still gained the odd look here and there but it seemed the general populace had already adapted to the dragon, at least well enough not to deviate from their own plans just to gawk. It was refreshing really, it took years in Canterlot for him to be treated like a normal citizen. Those upper class type do so love their 'novelties'. "I could get used to this..."
"G-Give angel back... Please" Spike raised an eyebrow as a faint voice caught his ear amoungst the low grumble of the crowd.
"Wat'cha gonna do about it? Cry?" gloated a young filly. Spike frowned slightly as he turned off the main road through one of the alleyways following the voices. Coming into view of Three Earth fillies playing keep away with a worn stuffed rabbit. The victim of this little game was another filly, a butter-colored pegasus with an awkward lanky build. She stumbled back and forth in vain, but the other fillies were always just a step ahead of her.
"Please stop... you're hurting him." she pleaded weakly watching the plush sail over her head once more. The Blond filly snorted in amusement.
"Hurting it? Like, it's just a pile of fluff." she smirked, "You're such a baby, no wonder you still don't have your cutie mark." The pegasus winced slightly at the remark, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Ooh Ooh, she's really gonna cry!" The green maned filly said excitedly. "Just like a little baby" all three giggled until a long shadow was cast over them. The Red maned filly looked up and gasped dropping the rabbit plush catching rest of their attentions. Spike stood tall, wings outstretched making him seem all the larger.
"My my what do we have here?" his voice was jovial but his grin was twisted showing rows of sharp teeth. "I was just thinking to myself that it had been a long time since lunch." he said offhandedly, causing all four fillies to pale slightly. "and Naughty fillies ALWAYS taste the best." he slowly crouched down adding a deeper growl to his voice. "so, which one to start with?"
"AHHHHHHH!" the Three earth ponies squealed in fear stumbling over themselves to escape.
"The Dragon is going to Eat us!"
"It's on the loose, Run for your lives!"
"The Horror, The Horror!"
Spike stood back up, tension easing out of him stance and scratched his cheek nervously. "Maybe that had been a bit too far... oh well." He turned back to the pegasus who was staring up at him with a look he filed somewhere between terror and awe. He offering the poor filly one of his genuine smiles, "Sorry about that Kid, I didn't mean to scare you too. Just wanted to give those fillies something to think about." he crouched down again causing her to flinch and cover her eyes with her fore hooves. when she slowly peeked she was greeted with the stitched smile of her stuffed rabbit. "I think this is yours." he said gently. The little filly reached out tentatively before grabbing the plush squeezing it tightly.
"...A-Angel says... Thank you" the filly muttered, turning the rabbit to face spike,barely peeking through it's floppy ears. Spike chuckled lightly.
"It was my pleasure. Can't leave a bunny hanging." he grinned getting a light giggle from the filly.
"So does Angel's friend have a name?" he asked patiently seeing the filly tense up a little.
"I-its... Fluttershy." she whispered in a barely audible voice.
"Well Fluttershy, I'm Spike. It's nice to meet you." she clammed up once more but nodded looking up to him as he stood back up. "Do you need any help getting home?"
"I can get her home." Spike turned so see a familiar brown pegasus, leaning on the handlebars of her custom scooter. Fluttershy let out an excited gasp before she trotted over to the mare getting her mane tousled as she got close. "Your mom's been looking everywhere for you kiddo." she then turned her attention fully to the dragon. "Saw how you handled those bullies. That was pretty savage."
"Heh, too much?" Spike offered with a nervous grin.
"I LOVED it." Scootaloo replied with a grin of her own. "Those fillies should know better by now anyway. One cutie mark and suddenly they think their better then other ponies." the mailmare snorted. "Some things never change. Anyway." in a flash she waved aside that topic and moved on. "I better get Flutters home before it gets dark."
"Well I'll leave you to it, Later kid. Be sure to get some rest for tomorrow." The filly peeked out from behind the older mare's leg giving a timid wave. Scootaloo chuckled a little bit and she turned her scooter around, helping the little filly get stable behind her.
"Ya know, if your free later I'm holding a all night party at my place. Normally it's just the old gang but Belle couldn't make it this year so we opened it up to whoever wants to come. Be sure to ask Kay and Shiny if they want too."
"I'll pass it on."
"Well Later!" and with that she took off, a much more sedate pace then what she displayed before, no doubt for the filly's benefit. Soon enough she turned a corner and was gone. He turned his gaze up once more, the sky turning rosy as the sun dipped ever lower.
"Hm, I should probably check on how the others are doing." the street were quiet but still inviting as he slowly wound his way toward the library. This sleepy little town of friendly ponies... hopefully it would all turn out all right.