Make myself a winner

Madeleine made apple pancakes with fresh blueberries, whipped cream, and maple syrup for breakfast. It was more dessert than a meal, but Misty wolfed it down amid telling tales of Kirin Grove.

Only Savarin had visited Kirin Grove, and she stayed quiet while Misty spoke.

"It sounds marvellous," said Madeleine.

"I want to visit someday," Tatin said around his fork. He sawed at his pancakes and took a huge mouthful before setting down his fork so he could speak properly. "There's this Kirin I know who can do fire tricks. Could you do that, Misty?"

Misty smiled and didn't say a word. Her control over her nirik form wasn't the best, and she couldn't do any magic tricks. "More syrup, Tatin?"

Tatin grabbed the syrup jug from Misty and poured some more over his pancakes.

"What are you planning on doing today?" Madeleine asked.

"I can help out if you need any-" began Misty.

"You're on vacation, dear."

"I insist," Misty said. "If there's anything..."

"We do need more syrup," Madeleine said, eyeing Tatin who had just set down the syrup jug.

He blinked when he noticed Madeleine, Misty and Savarin were all eyeing him. "What?"

Misty let herself laugh, and soon Madeleine and Tatin joined in while Savarin's eyes twinkled with quiet laughter.

Misty hovered a scrap of paper from the table and a pencil and wrote down syrup. "Do we need anything else?"

Madeleine hummed, and Tatin scrunched up his brow in thought.

"Apples, sugar, and eggs," Savarin said right away.

Misty wrote them down. After some more thinking, Misty added vegetables to the list.

Tatin insisted on coming along, and the three of them set off.

The sun was bright, and the sky was a bright, shining blue. The weather was so warm, and almost everyone was out and about.

"I love Summer," said Tatin. He breathed in and then breathed out. "We have to sightsee."

"I've seen most of the places," Misty said. "I used to live here."

Tatin tutted. "But there are places only the locals know." He tapped his nose and winked.

"It's true," Savarin said simply, with an expression saying to humour him.

They went and did their shopping, and returned to the Bakery to put the food away before Tatin set off to show Misty the best places in Ponyville.

The places Tatin took her and Savarin to she had seen before. Still, she didn't want to ruin his fun, so she kept her lips sealed.

By the time the tour was done, it was noon, and the three stopped at a sandwich shop to eat.

Misty was daintily eating her sandwich when she heard some whispering, the source being two ponies a table over.

"Excuse me," Misty said, setting down her sandwich. "What are you two whispering about?"

The ponies looked over. One propped up a menu on the table, blocking his face and Misty from view and he whispered: "Twilight's student is here. Luster Dawn."

"Hey, doesn't she go to your school, Savarin?" asked Tatin.

The two ponies gasped, fixing Savarin with a wide-eyed look.

"She is. She's three years older," Savarin replied.

"She doesn't go there anymore," said the pony. "She lives in Ponyville now."

Savarin squeaked. "She's here."

"We know that!" snapped the pony.

Misty was about to tell him off, but Savarin pointed a quivering hoof.

Walking down the street was Luster Dawn walking with four other creatures, two of which Misty recognized as Gina and Hamburger. The other two were a yak and a kirin.

Misty couldn't taste the rest of her sandwich. Each bite was a gluey mess weighing down her tongue.

Once they had finished eating, Savarin paid for their sandwiches, and they set off home.

"It's pretty cool. Twilight's student is living here," said Tatin. "I'm so jealous of Winter."

"Who's Winter?" asked Misty.

"The kirin Luster's friends with."

Misty shared a look with Savarin. He knows them.

Savarin shook her head; she didn't know Winter. It must be because Winter -the kirin- was Tatin's age.

"Winter Gale. We were in school together," continued Tatin. "The yak I don't know well, but her name is Yafa. She moved from Yakyakistan a year ago. Winter's friends with her. Then there's Hamburger and Gina..."

Misty smiled and nodded along until they reached the Bakery.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Delicious dinner," said Misty.

Madeleine twittered, and Misty trotted upstairs, carefully closing Savarin's bedroom door behind her.

She sat down on the floor next to Savarin, leaning her back against Savarin's bed. "I'm here for one more week. It will give us time to change our asteroid plan."

"They will try to stop us, now that they are here."

Like with everything, Ponyville was the centre. The asteroid would fly by Ponyville and be in range for them to use their magic rope to lasso it.

"We will figure it out," Savarin said. "We always do."

Misty breathed in, trying to get some of Savarin's confidence. Her legs shook. "Are you still friends with Gina?"

"We haven't talked since the party a week ago." Savarin's shadow shifted next to Misty. "We need a back-up plan. Tatin."

"Are you okay with your brother being a mole?"

"Moles are cute."

Misty cracked a smile. An image came into her head of Tatin as a mole and a tiny top hat for some reason. "I'm in Kirin Grove, and you're at school in Canterlot. He sends you letters, and we can keep track of Luster and her new friends. We'll be one step ahead."

"It is perfect. Tatin will have some new friends. Ever since he graduated, he's drifted away from his old friends..."

"Everyone wins."