Chapter 1
"Nurse" was not Nurse Redheart's first name. Although it very well may have been.
That was what nearly everypony called her, after all. Even when she wasn't on the job, ponies would always refer to her as Nurse Redheart. It didn't bother her in the least; she loved her job, and was more than happy to let it define her. The cutie mark on her flank said it all. Her special talent was caring for those who needed medical assistance, and she was quite proud of that fact.
This wasn't to say that her job was all fun and games. Far from it, actually. Dealing with sick ponies was no romp in the park, and it certainly took its toll on her at times. It was all worth it for the smiles on the faces of the ponies she helped to recover, but that didn't mean that dealing with the sicker ones didn't hurt her. What made it even worse was her connection to the town and its citizens. She had lived in Ponyville all her life and come to know so many of its citizens, a fact that didn't help when she had to see ponies she knew so well coming in with debilitating illnesses, injuries, or other situations. This was the unfortunate situation she'd found herself in for the last few days, although the situation was admittedly more unfortunate for the other pony involved.
This past Tuesday wasn't the first time that Berry Punch had been brought into the hospital in some state of extreme inebriation. She was a regular by this point, often finding herself admitted after her latest bender by either her friends or the bartender of her last stop of the night. Each time she was brought in, she would swear up and down that it was the last time anypony would see her there. She would typically be referring to the detox center, although during some of her darker moments she'd be referring to other things, things which Redheart didn't like to think about.
Redheart had known Berry for years. They had lived next door to each other and gone to school together. The close proximity of their houses made them friends by default when they were younger, but once they started school, the slow divide of their friendship began. To say they hung out with different crowds was an understatement. Redheart was always more at home with the quiet crowds, while Berry was more of a party animal even back in their teenage years. Redheart had warned her before college about the dangers she'd have to deal with if she kept up her rampant partying, but Berry had taken offense to her comments, and their friendship crashed and burned. It was the last time the two had interacted in a setting that didn't involve Berry getting her stomach pumped or being treated for an injury incurred during a drinking binge, and even those talks didn't go far given Berry's usual state of mind.
Redheart supposed she could have tried a little harder to reconcile with Berry over the years, but Berry hadn't made an effort either, so she wasn't the only one at fault. She figured, though, that this new assignment would pretty much force the two to speak. After all, if she was to be living with Berry as her "sober companion," it would be odd not to talk to her. This was hardly the type of situation that she'd envisioned the rekindling of a friendship to occur in, but at this point, she was pretty positive that such a rekindling wouldn't be happening. The two simply seemed to be too far apart. Redheart was living a moderately successful life and doing what she loved, and Berry was...in need of a sober companion. She had promised herself to try and not look down on Berry; she understood perfectly well that alcoholism was a legitimate problem. Given the situation, though it was hard to go into it with an unbiased mind.
Redheart's hoof made contact with Berry's front door, as she wondered what state of disrepair she would find her former friend in. It had been a number of days since she saw her in the hospital, and that was plenty of time for her to work herself into a negative mental state. That was fine, though. Well, not fine, per se, but it was something that she was here to help with, and something that she was prepared to see.
The door swung open, and Redheart admitted to herself that maybe she wasn't quite prepared for what she would see as she thought she was.
"Hello," the young filly who answered the door said with a smile. "Who are you?"
Redheart had heard talk that Berry had a child, but had never actually seen her. She shouldn't have been surprised; she had seen Berry's records, after all, and that was a piece of information that had been provided to her. For some reason, though, she still found herself mentally unprepared to face the reality that Berry was doing what she was doing to herself while she had a child to care for. She took a deep breath, trying not to think too much about what the poor filly had to be dealing with.
"Hi there," Redheart answered with a smile. "I'm Nurse Redheart, and-"
"Oh, you're mom's foalsitter," the filly answered nonchalantly. "I'm Ruby Berry Daiquiri Pinch! But my friends call me Pinchy." Redheart couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She seemed like such a precocious child, and the thought that she had to deal with her mom's problems was not a pleasant one.
"Why does mom need a foalsitter anyway?" Pinchy asked, looking the nurse up and down. "I'm twelve and I don't even need a foalsitter anymore." Redheart smiled awkwardly. There was no way that Pinchy could possibly be unaware of her mother's affliction, not with how bad she always was when she saw her.
"Well," Redheart said, rubbing the back of her mane with a hoof. "You see, your mom-"
"Who's at the door, Pinchy Pinch?" Berry's voice sang from the kitchen. Redheart watched with a slight frown on her face as Berry trotted through the doorway. She could tell from her gait that she was already well on her way to inebriation. She looked down to Pinchy, afraid to see her expression.
"Your foalsitter's here," Pinchy said, seemingly indifferent to her mother's current state. "Can I go hang out with my friends?" Redheart offered Berry a weak smile, a smile which Berry did not reciprocate.
"Yeah, sure," Berry said, frowning. "Go ahead. Me and the foalsitter gotta talk." Redheart sighed at her tone. She had imagined that this might be a bit difficult, but she had hoped that there would at least be no hostility.
"Kay!" Pinchy said cheerfully. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by a clearing of her mom's throat.
"I think you're forgetting something," Berry said in a stern tone. Redheart winced, afraid that Berry was about to yell at her poor little daughter for some forgotten chore.
"O-oh," Pinchy said, looking sheepish. "Right..." Redheart watched Pinchy trot up to her mom, preparing for the worst. Then she let out a sigh of relief as Berry scooped Pinchy up in a big hug.
"I love you, my little Ruby," Berry slurred, nuzzling the little filly.
"Heh...I love ya too, mom!" Pinchy responded. "But you're embarrassing me in front of your foalsitter!"
"Don't even think about her," Berry told her with a scoff. "Just pretend she's isn't even here." She gave Pinchy a kiss on the forehead and placed her back on the ground, waving her off as she galloped out the door. Redheart gave her a wave as well, but she was paid no heed, just as Berry had instructed. The nurse turned back to look at Berry, and was met with the same scowl as before.
"So," Berry sneered. "Youuuu think you're here to fix me, huh? Miss hero's here t'save the day and make the quote unquote outta control party animal all better, that it?" Redheart winced slightly, Berry's words stinging her as she gave her a harsh reminder of the last name she'd called her on the day their friendship ended.
"Berry," Redheart spoke, as calmly as possible. "You need help. You have a problem, and-"
"I don't have a problem!" Berry spat coldly. The nurse groaned and shook her head. Berry was exactly as stubborn as she'd remembered.
"First off, it's 12 PM on a Friday and you're drunk," Redheart told her. "And second, like I was saying, you have a problem, and I can't help you properly until you can admit it."
"Like you even wanna help!" Berry shot back.
"I do want to help!" Redheart responded. She stopped herself before she could say her next thoughts, but they rang clear in her head: "Like you even want to change."
In truth, Redheart had very little confidence that Berry would turn things around for herself. She vividly recalled Berry coming to her while they were still in high school, telling her how last night was her last night of partying ever. Of course, it never was, and Redheart had been given very little reason to believe that anything had changed for her since then.
"Then why don'tchu help by getting outta here!" Berry growled, slamming a hoof on the table. The table's shaking was enough to knock her beer bottle over, and she quickly scrambled to clean it up. Redheart watched, unamused, as Berry soaked the spill up with some paper towels. Then she glared at Redheart. "See? I don't have a problem! Somepony with a problem woulda drank that off the table!"
"Well, like it or not, I'm spending the next 30 days, at the very least, staying here and helping you out," Redheart replied, crossing her forelegs. "You agreed to this program, after all."
"Yeah, when I was drunk!" Berry shot back.
"Exacty," Redheart replied. The two stared each other down for a few tense moments.
"Fine, whatever," Berry finally said, throwing the beer-soaked paper towels away. "But I don't need it."
"Yes, you do," Redheart responded. "Now just sit down and take some time to relax. I'll make us a nice lunch to talk over." Berry responded with a noncommittal grunt, a better answer than Redheart had honestly expected. Redheart gave Berry one more quick look, even trying to offer a bit of a smile. Berry refused to reciprocate, and Redheart shook her head as she entered Berry's kitchen. She always was stubborn.