Mixology 101

It was a warm morning in the burrowgatory when Reverie opened their sleep crusted eyes. Beams of light shone through the window of their room, warming their bed. Reverie rolled onto their side with a huff, turning away from the intruding glow. Usually, they wouldn't wake up until late into the day, as sleeping was their favorite pastime. Today would be different though, as Hops had invited them to learn how she did her bartending, and specifically how to make a Peach Hellini, their favorite drink. Normally, they wouldn't agree to anything that would mean they had to be up anytime before 3pm, but Hops was a good friend and Reverie knew that it would upset her not to agree. They sighed and wiped the blurriness from their eyes, stretched in bed, and then finally decided it was time to really get up."It can't take that long, surely?" they thought to themself. "And when I'm back, I can have a nice long nap. Maybe she'll even give me a drink on the house before I head home." Standing up onto their hooves, they headed towards their bathroom to get ready for the day, wetting their hair a bit so their curls would bounce back and hopefully correct a bit of the bed-head they always had. They brushed their teeth, and put on a light cardigan before heading out the door.

They were happy to arrive at Hops bar when they did, the light of the day felt too bright for their tired eyes and they had been struggling to keep them open on their walk over. "Rev! You actually made it in time! To be honest, I kinda thought you'd have slept in and we'd have to reschedule." Hops called out in a laughing tone. "You know I really do try my best to make it to things, Hops, but sometimes my bed is just.. so comfy." Reverie sighed. "You mean, most of the time." Hops chuckled, causing Reverie to smile sheepishly at her. "Now that you're here though, come hop behind the bar with me! No pun intended." Reverie nodded and strode over to where she was standing behind the bar. It was a lot more organized than it typically was during the night, with the customers piling in with seemingly endless requests. Hops pulled two wine glasses out from under the counter, setting one out for the both of them, and then grabbed a bottle of white wine and a fresh peach. She cut the peach into quarters, saving a slice as garnish for both of the glasses, then taking the remainders and blending them into a puree. Absentmindedly Reverie reached towards one of the slices, and Hops gently slapped their hand away. "Those are for the drinks! And no sampling before we finish." She said, scolding Reverie. "Sorry! I just, I forgot to eat before leaving." Reverie responded with a bit of a laugh. Hops nudged them with a smile before turning back to the peach puree. "Now, we don't want to completely overload the drinks with this. It'll give it a weird texture. But the right amount of it takes the bite of the wine away." She filled the wine glass a fourth of the way up with the puree before handing it to Reverie, and they did the same. "Now, we put a slice of peach into the drink. Did you know putting fruit in with the wine can kind of infuse it? Then you get to eat some fruit with a kick to it." She winked at Reverie. She uncorked the wine bottle, and slowly poured it into her glass. She then handed the bottle to Reverie. "Pour it slowly so you don't spill it, please." As Reverie poured the wine out, they looked over to Hops. "Is this all? Honestly, with how good these are, I thought there'd be more that went into it." Hops' eyes sparkled at Reverie. "There *is* one more thing, actually." She pulled a key out of her pocket, and walked over towards the cabinet she always kept locked. Reaching in, she pulled out a small satchel before returning back to Reveries side. "What is that?" Reverie asked her. "Its my secret ingredient!" she responded with a wink before sprinkling a bit of its contents into both of the drinks. "Now we stir them up a bit!"

As they stood side by side, stirring the drinks, Reverie nudged her with their elbow. "Okay, but what's actually in it? Spices? Sugar?" Hops laughed. "Like I said, its a secret! No one knows but me, and I intend to keep it that way. But here," she handed the opened satchel to Reverie, "take some of it with you, and you can try making a drink yourself at home." Reverie smiled at her, then closed the satchel up and put it in the pocket of their cardigan. "Actually, speaking of drinks.. can I have this?" They asked, staring down at their glass. "Hmm." Hops responded. "Maybe if you had eaten breakfast, but I can't let you have this on an empty stomach. But next time you come in, I'll make you one on the house!" Reverie frowned a bit but couldn't argue against Hops reasoning. "Anyway, I need to clean up now and head out for some errands, but thank you for coming by! It's nice to see you when its still light outside." Hops laughed. "It was nice seeing you too." Reverie chuckled while giving Hops a parting hug. "I hope you know I'm holding you to that free drink when I'm in here next!" they yelled as they walked out the door.