Cheers!

Minuette placed her screwdrivers back in their box, which in turn was placed back on the shelve where it belonged. She was tired, but happy. Her little misfortune had passed quickly and she was back in business before long. What little delay had occurred had been swiftly taken care off, both with and without Flitter's help.

How did that pegasus have so much free time was unknown, but for now, she didn't care.

"I hope Berry has cider or something like that." she thought as she left her house. The sun was setting, so the temperature was slowly falling. A nice breeze flowed in the air, serving as a reminder that summer was ending.

Most glasses in town had been replaced by now, which was good. It was getting tiresome hearing ponies complain about it every time, blaming both Octavia and Vinyl for the whole thing. Granted, it was their hot headiness that caused it, but no pony could have predicted it would end like that.

She didn't have much time to think about it though, as the Sweeping Pony was quite near her house. The lights were already on. A couple entered before her, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Summer love.

"Hey Minuette!" Berry called as soon as the unicorn entered. "Be with ya in a second!"

With skill gained by years of work, Berry pulled a bottle from behind the bar, spinning it on her hooves and serving two glasses. The couple from before thanked her before going to their own table.

"Not a lot of customers I see." Minuette looked around. Other than the couple, another elderly stallion and herself, the bar was empty.

"Yep. Summer is usually a low going point for the bar. Too hot to be cooped up inside it. Winter however….now thats a different story. Last year, I had a line waiting outside just to get in. I had to hire some extra hooves just to keep going."

"Your sister?"

"Nah, she wouldn't help around even if I paid her." Berry sighed, looking at the door that led to the stairs to the second floor. "Anyways, what can I get you?"

"A mug of cider please."

"One mug, coming up."

Minuette levitated her mug, taking a long sip from it. It was cool and bittersweet, just like she liked it. She noticed that Berry wasn't drinking anything.

"What about you? Aren'y you going to serve yourself?" Minuette said.

"I'm working. I'm gonna close up soon though. No sense in keeping it open if no there are no clients. "I hope the others show up soon."

"We're here!" a cheerful voice chirped. At the entrance of the bar, stood Flitter and Cloudchaser, the later grinning childishly.

"We saw a poster of the princess on a wall, it was all glittery and stuff, and it was enchanted so it reflected the light of the day!" Cloudchaser paused for a second. "Or night…but it was really cool anyways!"

"Step in girls." Berry said. "What would you like to drink?"

"Do you have some soda?" Flitter asked as the twins sat besides Minuette. "It sure is hot outside."

"Soda?" Berry asked. "You don't want some cider? Beer or anything?"

"We can't." Flitter answered. "We're not allowed to."

"Not allowed to? How old are you?" Minuette.

"Underage." Cloudchaser said between gulps from the glass that Berry placed before them.

"Fancy that." Berry said. "But a small sip hasn't hurt any pony…" she continued while waving a bottle of cider in front of them.

"Thunderlane said that we couldn't."

"Your brother? He's rather stern, isn't he?" Minuette said.

"He's a soldier. Its part of how he is." Flitter answered. "Mom and Dad are always on trips, so he has to keep a close watch on us when he's around."

"And when he's not around?"

Neither of the twins had a chance to answer, as the doors of the tavern opened once more, allowing a cheerful Fleur and a rather grumpy Octavia to enter the tavern.

"I had to convince her a little bit, but here we are!" Fleur smiled.

"I only came came because I was asked. I wasn't waiting for anypony though." Octavia said. Minuette was about to comment on her rather specific denial, but chose against it, not wanting to provoke her friend.

"Well, you're here and thats what matters." Berry grinned. "What can I get ya girls?"

"I would like a martini, please." Octavia said. When Berry gave her a rather unsure smile, she sighed. "I will have some cider."

"I would like a glass of whisky Berry." Fleur asked.

"A cider and whisky coming up."

"You have whisky, but you can't prepare a martini?" Octavia asked.

"I don't have gin. They box orders gets here next week. But hey! At least you're getting some cider. " Berry answered as she served the glasses. Fleur couldn't help but notice some similarities with her technique and how Octavia played her cello. They way Berry held the bottles with her whooves, making sure not a drop was spilt. She even spun the bottle a bit before putting it away.

It was quite a flashy way to serve.

"What were you doing that Fleur had to, eh, convince you?" Flitter asked.

"I was practicing with my cello."

"Again with the cello. Maybe you ought to give it a rest. Considering what happened last week..." Berry smirked.

"Last week was…a mistake on my part." Octavia gripped her mug a little harder. "But the Sun gala is coming soon, and I have to be prepared for it."

The Sun Gala. A high class party done to celebrate the end of summer and to thank the sun goddess for her light and her warmth. There was another one too, but it would be a long time before it came. Why should Octavia bother with it.

"The gala? Is it here already? Summer is ending faster than what I remember." Fleur said. "Oh, how I wish I could go there. Imagine all the high class ponies, all educated to the highest level of culture!"

"You want to go celebrating the end of summer just so you can trade fancy words with other ponies?" Minuette said.

"Oh no. Nothing so shallow like that. I could do that with Octavia. What I wish for is learning things. In Canterlot there is a certain society, the Equestrian Literacy Group. I have always wanted to join them since I was young."

Octavia had heard of the Equestrian Literacy Group. A small  club of ponies who had dedicated themselves to both write and preserve written works that they deemed worthy. They were mostly old stallions though. And they didn't took kindly to young ponies.

"So you're going to talk to the most old-fashioned and closed minded ponies in existence to do that. Brilliant plan." Berry laughed.

"But Octavia is from Canterlot, and she's not old." CloudChaser said.

"She means that they think like your grandma, not that they look like her." Berry replied. "Still kinda boring Fleur. I kinda expected more."

"Did you now? And what would you girls do?" Fleur frowned. Minuette emptied her mug before speaking.

"I have a project on my list. I lack the funding however. So, instead of wasting my time in daydreaming and talking, I would try to do some work and find some pony who would be willing to fund my project."

Maybe she could more luck if she actually ponies. This was the first time Octavia heard of it!

"Yeah!" Flitter cheered.

"Those high class stallions are quite loaded…" Berry mused.

"The gala is supposed to be a celebration dear Minuette, not a place for working." Fleur smiled.

"I really don't have time for anything else but work. If I'm going to this gala, I might as well do some productive while in it." Minuette replied.

Octavia slowly drank from her mug. The cider was sour and rather strong. To be honest, it wasn't that good. But she didn't want to tell Berry. Letting her mouth run had gotten her into enough trouble already.

"Are you taking us Octavia?" Cloudchaser asked. Octavia choked on her drink. Making the pegasus pat her on the back with her wing. Everypony was staring at her expectantly.

Octavia cleared her throat. And then said the words that somewhere deep in her mind, she knew she shouldn't have said.

"I wasn't planning to."