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.”
~