Equestria Copes

Spike slumped against the corner. He was sure he'd missed the catastrophe now. He'd been waiting here for ten minutes, and nothing had happened. The wagon that had almost fallen over was just now starting its journey again, having met the minimum requirements to qualify as "repaired." Sure, it could be better done, but it was good enough for now. Likewise, the stallion he'd pulled back from being hit with a flower pot had walked away with no issues. He'd missed it, somehow. He'd been too late, or perhaps too early.

Or perhaps his gut was right, and he'd been sent here to keep him out of the way.

He let out a growl. He hated that he thought this way. He hated that he was working himself into a lather, and he hated that he couldn't shake this feeling. And most of all, he detested that he still felt hatred in the first place. He was a guardian angel, at least in title, and neither guardians nor angels were supposed to harbor such strong feelings of resentment.

He had to keep calming himself down; a job that would be so much easier if he had somepony to talk to. Sure, he was okay being on his own, but it was so much better when somepony had his back.

"Excuse me..."

Spike scrambled to move out of the way, uttering a soft "sorry," as he did, but then he remembered that he couldn't be seen.

"Sorry, excuse me..." The mare that was trying to work against the hoof traffic was very thin and small. Despite that, she wasn't making a lot of progress, repeatedly being bumped backward every time she stepped forward.

Spike looked around to see if the disaster had arrived, yet, and when he saw nothing, he moved in front of her, hooked his tail around her neck, and started shoving other ponies aside. The inability to actually shove them meant that he wasn't really doing anything, but they felt themselves being pushed away, allowing a path to open up for her.

Once the crowd had passed her by, Spike unhooked his tail from her. "Don't let it trouble you," he said. "I know what it's like to be small and ignored."

As he turned around, he managed a better look at her. She wasn't just thin. She was shrivelled up. Her ribs protruded out rather obviously, and the skin on her stomach was just kind of hanging off. It was likely she hadn't eaten in awhile.

As she rounded a bend, she was stopped by what she saw. There was a small produce market here, and as she looked in, she started salivating. Fruits and vegetables of all kinds were on display.

Perhaps she just needed a push? Spike flapped his wing to push a pomelo out of the stack near the front, pushing it so that it rolled right into her hoof. She picked it up, and as the store manager scowled and approached her, she picked it up and placed it back on the display before leaving in a rush.

Spike wasn't advocating for her stealing it, of course. He would have tried to organise an arrangement. Maybe she could have swept up in the back in exchange for a few bits and used those to pay for her meal? Perhaps it would have been a simple matter to have the manager change his mind and part with just one. He could have done all kinds of things to have her be allowed to walk out with that fresh shaddock, but only if she stayed. He didn't want her to steal it, he just didn't want her to starve.

He followed after her as she ducked down an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. Her chest was heaving as she took deep, raspy breaths. She looked terrified, as if the shopkeeper was going to track her down and beat her. Whimpering, she shrunk down to her haunches and started crying.

Spike sat down beside her and started rubbing her back. It was pretty convenient, as his arm could pass right through the brick wall. "It's going to be okay," he sighed. "If anything happens, I'll protect you. You have my word on that."

No sooner had he said it did he regret it. That wasn't a promise he could keep. Not reasonably, anyway. How could he? He had left his post again, had caused the issue that had set her off in the first place, and he wasn't going to be a guardian angel for long once Vesper found out that he'd lost his circlet. He was screwed.

Still, now he had to. He had to keep an eye out for whatever was supposed to go wrong, he had to find his missing circlet, and he had to do everything he could to protect this mare.

She shivered beneath his claw. She felt cold, too. She needed something to keep her warm.

Spike sighed. "I'm going to take such a hit for this..." He pulled off his tabard and draped it over her shoulders. "I don't know if it'll work, but I think it should keep you warm. And my boss thought it would protect me like armour, so... it should keep you safe, too."

He was already in trouble for losing his circlet, and he'd already failed by leaving his post. If giving away his jacket to a mare in need would send him to Tartauros, then so be it. The road to eternal damnation, after all, was paved in good intentions. He would take the fall if it kept her safe. And hey, maybe Twilight would help him come back when she had the time.

He rubbed her back for a few minutes more, giving her a bit of a pep talk. As soon as she calmed down, he helped her back onto her hooves, wiped away her tears, and guided her back to the grocer. It was less busy now, so she could walk right up to the shopkeeper.

"What do you need?" he asked, barely looking at her as he checked his shelves to make sure he had enough for other customers that might come in.

"I'd, um... I'd like a job, please..."

He turned and looked at her. "You look half-starved. Wanting to earn a meal?"

She took half a step back, but Spike pushed her forward again. She nodded softly.

The shopkeeper just shrugged. "Okay. Grab a broom and sweep up. Let's see how you do on your first day."