C'est La Vie

Fluttershy was hesitant in knocking on the door. She wasn’t quite sure why, as she regularly came to visit Twilight. She supposed she just didn’t want to bother anyone. Just as she had worked up the courage to knock, the door swung open, Spike standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hey Fluttershy. Twilight’s upstairs.” He said, walking past her.

“Oh, um, thank you.” She said quietly. Maybe next time she’d knock.

She walked inside and closed the door behind her, then made her way up the stairs to Twilight’s room. Luckily, the door was open. Twilight looked up from the book she was reading and said “Oh! Good morning, Fluttershy. What’s up?”

“Well, I need help with something. Do you know what C’est la vie means?”

“That’s a rather… Odd question.” Twilight replied.

“Some of my raccoon friends came to me yesterday saying there was a strange pony sleeping in their cave. When I told him it was their house, he said he’d find somewhere else to sleep. I don’t think he has a home…”

“What’s this have to do with your question though?”

“Well, I told him I could help him find someplace to stay, and he said not to worry about it. Then as he was leaving he said C’est la vie.”

“Hmm, that’s pretty strange. I know I’ve heard that before…”

Twilight began rummaging through various piles of books before exclaiming “Aha!” and setting down a thick tome on the desk.

“Here we are! The beginners guide to Fancy.”

“Fancy?”

“Yeah, it’s a language. Here it is… It means such is life.” Twilight said, looking just as confused as Fluttershy.

“I don’t get it…”

Padlock had made a decent haul this morning. There weren’t too many ponies out and about, and the garbage had yet to be collected. His rummaging had turned up a veritable feast of old food, and even an unopened bottle of cider.

“Truly this is a glorious day.” He said, packing his foraged goods into his bag. “A feast fit for Celestia herself.” He loaded his pack back onto his back and started towards his makeshift campsite.

Fluttershy and Twilight stepped out of the library, looking to get some breakfast when Fluttershy noticed him walking down the road away from town.

“That’s him!” she said, surprising herself with the volume of the voice.

“I think breakfast can wait. I say we follow him.” Twilight said, starting down the path.

“Oh, I don’t know Twilight. I don’t want to bother him…”

“We’re not going to bother him. He won’t even know we’re there.”

“Oh. Okay. Wait, what do you mean?”

“Just come on…” Twilight groaned, pulling Fluttershy along with her.

Padlock arrived at his camp and set his bag down next to the now cold fire pit. He gathered up some more nearby sticks and set about preparing a new fire to cook his breakfast with. Every once in a while he would hear a noise and look around, trying to spot what was causing it.

“Fluttershy, be careful!” Twilight whispered.

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to sneaking around like this.” She replied

“Well, it’s not exactly sneaking when we keep making noise…”

The fire began to blaze nicely, and Padlock set about preparing for his morning meal. He pulled an old cloth out of his bag and laid it down next to the fire, then began setting the food he had acquired upon it. Again, he heard that noise. Smiling, he called out “Why don’t you two come join me for breakfast? I’ve got plenty here.”

Fluttershy’s face turned bright red, and Twilight let out a small sigh. The two of them stepped out of the bushes and walked over to the makeshift camp.

“We’re sorry for spying on you.” Twilight said. Fluttershy just looked at the ground, her face still scarlet with embarrassment.

“It’s okay. Don’t really know why you’d bother though. I’m not really that interesting.” Padlock replied, still preparing his meal.

“Well, it’s about what you said the other day to my friend. C’est la vie. What did you mean by that?” Twilight replied.

“Heh, that’s a bit of a long story. How about you join me for breakfast, and I’ll try to explain?”

Twilight looked at the scraps of food on the cloth, wondering how old the food was.

“Umm, sure…” She said after a moment, and sat down by the fire. Fluttershy sat next to her, still silent.

“Oh, don’t worry about the food, missy. When I’m done cooking it up, it’ll look like a five star chef made it. Well, maybe a two star, but it won’t look like that anyways.” Padlock said, chuckling.