Cheerilee roughly opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it with one of her hind legs. It slammed shut, sending vibrations throughout her entire house. With a sigh, the mare set down her bag, not caring that nearly all its contents rolled out. She wouldn't be needing it for the next two days anyway. There was no school on Saturday or Sunday.
Another sigh escaped the earth pony's mouth before she announced, “I'm home.”
A few moments passed before another mare stumbled into the living room. She approached Cheerilee, and swung a foreleg around her neck.
“Welcome home~” she slurred, giving Cheerilee a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Cheerilee quickly wiped the slobber off and freed herself from the other pony's grip.
Cheerilee scrunched up her nose. “You smell revolting. How much did you have to drink while I was at work?”
Berry Punch continued to stumble, eventually landing herself on the couch. “Only a... few...” she said, as if it were a challenge to remember.
“How much?”
“Not thaaaaat much...”
“For Celestia's sake, Berry. It's not even past 6, and you're already this drunk?”
“You should halfa some tooooo, Rileeee. It'so gooood.”
Cheerilee cringed at the sound of that particular pet name Berry had for her. Once Berry was drunk enough, she'd only call her that when she wanted something specific.
The drunken mare got up off the couch to make her way back to Cheerilee. Again, she clung herself to the other mare.
“Comonnn Rilee. Let's go half some fun,” she suggested. Her hoof found it's was to the teacher's flank and rested there.
She slapped Berry's hoof away. “Not when you're like this. Try again once you're sober.”
Berry frowned. “Yer no fun at allll.” She stumbled back to her spot on the couch, plopping down with no coordination whatsoever.
Cheerilee ignored that comment and trotted into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she found some old leftovers, cider, and several open bottles of beer. With yet another sigh, she shut it.
“I'm going to go lay down upstairs. Feel free to join me after sobering up,” the mare coldly called into the living room. From there, the soft snores of Berry Punch were heard. With a roll of her eyes, Cheerilee proceeded up to their shared bedroom. The bed was messy, but she didn't care much. She flopped onto the bed, pulling the covers up over her head.
It been a rough day at work for the mare. Being only a few days after Hearts and Hooves Day, three certain students of hers have still been pestering her about a 'very special somepony'. They had tricked their teacher and another pony, Big Macintosh, into drinking a love potion, forcing them to fall in love. Thank Celestia; it got sorted out by the end of the day.
When Cheerilee had told her real lover about the incident, she responded by jokingly(?) suggesting a threesome, much to Cheerilee's disgust.
The magenta-colored mare turned onto her side, trying to get comfortable. The large bed felt empty without Berry Punch laying beside her. Cheerilee shut her eyes, thinking.
I can't keep going on like this... constantly having no money because Berry blows it all on alcohol... always coming home to a drunken pony... having to hide our relationship all the the time from everypony...
Very few ponies in Ponyville were in same-sex relationships. It wasn't like Princess Celestia banned them or anything, but a lot of ponies still discriminated against them. Being open about her relationship with Berry Punch could cost Cheerilee her job, or even more. She shuddered at the thought.
Eventually, the mare's worries put her to sleep.
~
About 12 hours later, Cheerilee awoke with a start as a hoof prodded her shoulder. She turned to meet the eyes of an awake (and sober) Berry Punch.
The mare smiled sheepishly at her partner. “Morning,” she said in a low tone. Cheerilee turned away from Berry, still frustrated over what happened yesterday. Berry Punch frowned.
“Hey... can we talk?”
“...About what?”
A sigh, and then, “Me. Yesterday; everyday. I'm sorry, Ri. I really am.”
Cheerilee looked hard at her lover's face. “I can't keep doing this, Berry. I can't. Whenever I need you, you're either out of the house or passed out from drinking so much. Or, both.”
“I know. And I'm going to change that. I promise, I will.”
Berry got onto the bed with Cheerilee, wrapping a foreleg around her stomach and pulling her close. She kissed her neck and upper back repeatedly, softly saying 'sorry' with each gentle kiss.
Cheerilee shrunk in her lover's grasp. It's always been like this. Each time Berry got drunk, she'd apologize with promises of changing. She would lay off the alcohol for a week at the most, only to retreat back to drinking.
“...It has to be different this time, Berry. No more; at all. You have to promise me it'll be different this time.”
“Mmm... I promise. I love you, Ri.” She wrapped her other foreleg around Cheerilee, hugging her tightly.
Reluctantly, Cheerilee grumbled, “love you too.”
~
“Awww, come on Miss Cheerilee. Just give him ooooone more chance. Pleasepleasepleaseplease--”
“No means no, Sweetie Belle. Besides, I don't like him in that kind of way. Only as a friend. And I know that he feels the exact same way, too.”
The young unicorn hung her head in defeat as she walked back to her friends. Even from her desk, Cheerilee could hear whispers coming from the three young fillies.
“We just can't give up! Miss Cheerilee deserves to be happy!” said Sweetie Belle.
“Ah think that if she jus' gave him one more chance, it'll work out for sure!”
“I dunno, Applebloom. Maybe we should just let her be? She really doesn't seem interested in him,” offered Scootaloo.
The magenta-colored mare put her head down on her desk, waiting for the school day to be over. She had decided to wrap up class early, leaving the kids with 5 or so free minutes to talk amongst themselves.
“I heard that Miss Cheerilee is one of those disgusting filly-foolers. That's what my daddy told me,” a cocky voice said. It belonged to Diamond Tiara.
Cheerilee's heart stopped for a second. Suddenly the daisy sandwich she had eaten for lunch didn't feel quite right in her stomach.
Laughter was heard, undoubtedly from Silver Spoon. “Yeah! That's why she won't date your brother, Applebloom!”
The mare didn't dare to lift her head from her desk. At least, not yet.
“Buck off! There's no way our Miss Cheerilee is like that! You're just making dumb stuff up, Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo retorted angrily. The duo just laughed some more in response.
“My daddy doesn't lie. He said he always sees Miss Cheerilee hanging around mares, and never around stallions. It has to be true!”
Cheerilee couldn't help but let her eyes become watery. Finally, she lifted her head from the desk.
“Girls, that's enough. We do not discuss the private lives of others in this schoolhouse,” she said coldly: mainly to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
Thank Celestia, at that moment, the shrill ring of the school bell sounded, signaling for everypony to go home. All the students raced out the door as soon as they could, pushing and shoving each other in the process.
The only ponies that took their time were Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They were muttering amongst themselves quietly; out of Cheerilee's earshot.
Hesitantly, as if she were unsure about something, Applebloom called out, “Ahm... Have a nice evenin', Miss Cheerilee,” on her way out the door.
“Bye, girls,” she responded quietly. The small fake smile she wore when saying goodbye to her students still lingered on her lips a few seconds longer until she couldn't take it anymore, bursting into tears.
~
“Welcome home!” An extra-cheerful Berry Punch offered her best smile to the mare as she walked through the door. Cheerilee wiped any excess moisture out of her eyes and returned the smile to her lover.
“Who are you and what have you done with Berry Punch?” Cheerilee joked, her tone somewhat serious. The mare has come to know very well the two sides of her lover: the sweet and caring sober Berry Punch, and the perverted and lazy drunken Berry Punch.
“Awww, come on, Ri! Besides, do you know what today is?”
“...I don't, actually.”
The mare frowned. “It's been exactly two weeks since I've stopped drinking! Aren't you proud of me, Ri?”
Cheerilee grinned; she was proud of Berry Punch. Extremely proud, actually. For the first time in quite a while, the magenta-colored mare gave her lover a kiss on the lips. She wrapped her forelegs around the (for once) sober mare, pulling her closer. The kiss deepened as both mares melted into it. All too soon, Cheerilee pulled away. A true, sincere smile widened by the second.
“I'm proud of you, Berry. Great job.”
“So... remember a few weeks back when I tried to seduce you while I was drunk?” the mare suddenly brought up.
“Mmm... Yes, I remember,” Cheerilee said, knowing exactly what Berry was going to ask soon.
“And then remember how you told me to try again once I'm sober?”
“Mhmmmm.”
“Well how about now?” Berry Punch planted a sweet kiss on her partner's cheek. She then began to do the same to the mare's neck.
Cheerilee giggled. She couldn't remember the last time Berry had been this sweet to her. “I guess good girls should get a reward once in a while, hmmm~?” The mare had completely forgotten the events that happened earlier in the day, now solely focusing on her love.
Berry Punch nodded eagerly. “Please, Ri?”
The magenta earth pony freed herself from the grasp of Berry Punch and began her way up the stairs. “Well, then what are you waiting for~?” she teased.
Once the two mares were in bed together, Cheerilee said, again, “I really am proud of you, Berry.”
Another kiss was shared between the two.
“I promised, didn't I? No more, at all. I'm here for you, Ri. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
~
