C'est La Vie

“Umm… Excuse me, sir.” A small voice said, causing Padlock to rouse from his slumber. He raised his hat from his face and saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane standing before him.

“I’m sorry to wake you sir.” She said, again in a voice so quiet is was almost inaudible. “You see, this is actually the home of a family of raccoons, and…” She trailed off.

“It’s no problem, little lady.” Padlock said, rising to his feet. “I’m sure there’s somewhere else around here I can use for the night.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize you were planning on living here.” She said, concern in her voice. “If you need a place to stay, I’m sure I can help you.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about me, missy. I’ve survived worse.” He said, smiling.

He gathered up his possessions and started walking away from the shallow cave. “C’est la vie!” He called behind him as he sauntered away.

“It’s okay now. He didn’t know you lived here.” Fluttershy said as three raccoons walked over to her. The larger one chittered a word of thanks and began setting their home back in order.

“C’est la vie… I wonder what that means?” She said to herself as she walked away.

It was beginning to get dark, and Padlock still hadn’t found a safe place to sleep yet. He found himself wishing he had been born a pegasus, as they could just grab a nearby cloud to sleep in. He shrugged. He had been born an earth pony, and that was just the card he had been dealt in life. As with other games, there were no mulligans in life. He found a shaded clearing off the side of the road and decided it would have to do for now.

Setting his things next to a tree, he began to dig a small fire pit with his hoof. He gathered a pile of sticks and arranged them in a teepee, and then began digging in his pack. After a moment he pulled out a fire started and lit the campfire. It burned slowly, becoming a decent blaze just as the sun was setting on the horizon.

“Well, looks like I’m going to have to dip into the ol’ savings fund, eh?” He said to himself, chuckling.

The sun finished its setting and the moon rose from its hiding place, bringing with it a multitude of stars that adorned the blue night sky. Life had dealt him a bad hand today with lodgings, but it more than made up for it with this show. He lay on his back, staring at the incredible night sky. The city may have its perks, but there was something to be said about being in the countryside too.

He awoke with the sun, the golden rays sweeping gently across his face. Sitting up slowly, he stretched and yawned.

“Best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages…” He said to himself. There had been no reason to wake up in the night. With no one else around, he didn’t have to worry about his things being stolen, or being told he couldn’t sleep in that particular spot. It was refreshing.

Relaxed or not, it was time to find some grub now. He gathered up his belongings and started towards town, hoping the garbage hadn’t been collected yet.