Of Goddesses and Failures

Blade's eyes darted back and forth between each customer, keeping each one of them in check. The thing about bar tending is not only do you take care of the bar, you protect it. You may not be the owner, but on your shift, you have to act like it. If something gets out of line, it's almost always your job to break it up. Luckily for Blade, he had an easy shift. He stayed from about 5:00 - 10:00, before any of the real alcoholics came in. That misfortune fell upon Cider, an honest earth pony with a great smile and a humble personality. Some days he'd stumble in with a black eye and a sore head. Blade almost felt bad for him, but work is work. His job was pretty simple, actually. As long as no pony got out of line, all he had to do was serve drinks. Being a simple little bar, they didn't have anything Blade couldn't make. Add that to his experience with his father's drunken rage, and you have a pony that knows his way with bars. His suit was alright too. He had to admit Luna was right; he did look pretty good in a dress shirt and tie.

Two particular stallions were obnoxiously loud, bellowing and laughing along with each other. One was a brown earth pony and the other a light green pegasus, and both were bulky. The conversation had started off as friendly banter and had turned into crude sex jokes. Now I know why mares dominate Equestria, Blade thought. They can keep their minds off of sex for longer than a minute. For once, he got to laugh.

"I'm tellin' ya, THIS big," the green one demonstrated with his hands.

"Bullshit. No fuckin' way you got any of that."

"Of course I did, ya fuckin' asshole! You wouldn't doubt me, would ya?" The brown one started to frown.

"Well ya still owe me 100 bits for that ladder accident, remember? Ya not very good at this stuff, man."

"Ah, fuck off with that. I'll get to ya when I can." The conversation only went down from there. It was almost shocking how such a friendly conversation turned into the spew of curses it did.

"You don't fucking understand! You're only pissed 'cuz you know I'm right."

"Bullshit!"

"Fuck off!"

"Gentlemen." The commanding tone brought the two to attention. Blade glared at the two. "Would it be asking too much for you to quiet down? You're startin' to piss people off." The brown one grunted at him and the green one leaned in.

"I'm havin' a conversation ova here, alright?"

"No shit," Blade returned, "but quiet it down, alright?" The two returned to their conversation, seemingly unaware of what they were arguing about before. It wasn't long until that topic, whatever it was, returned. This time, it turned to swings. In drunken stupor, the two were swinging at each other, landing a few out of what they threw. Blade walked out from behind the bar, confronting them.

"Alright, that's it. Both of you. Out." Blade didn't want to do this, but he'd be pleasing more than he angered. The two were really drunk now, and they turned on him immediately.

"What in the hell now? Quit this shit, man!" The green one swung, and Blade ducked under it in time. He felt his blood boiling, and he started to sweat.

"Out. Now." He gave them a second chance. This time, the brown one swung and connected, knocking Blade back into the seats. His vision was fuzzy, and he felt a warm feeling in his mouth. For the first time in his life, Blade was bleeding. And he didn't like the feeling. The pegasus had taken advantage of his friend's situation and threw him to the floor. They wrestled on top of each other, cursing the whole time. Blade stood up, and knocked the pegasus in the back of the head with his hoof. Brown kicked him in the stomach, and Blade crumpled to the floor. The two stood up, and threw him into the glass case by the door. The glass shattered, flying everywhere, and customers began to flee. Blade sat against the wall, bleeding from the back of his head while the two fought each other. He couldn't see what was happening, but he took a moment to relax. Memories rushed back into his head. His father and his booze. And then his failures.

"You fucking disappointment! The hell are you even good for?!"

"You waste of fucking time!"

"Why did is my son such a failure?! Why?!"

Blade was done. He had taken a lot over the years. His life up to now had been the rising action. He'd taken hit after hit, scream after scream, and he took it all knowing it was his fault. I can't please you, can I? Blade fumed. You can't accept me, can you?! But the anger he took in, he turned it into poison. He flicked out his dagger. Blade dived onto his enemies, slashing through the two with grace and ease. For his father, for his mother. For all the ones he had murdered. For everything. When he was done, the two bled profusely on the floor, the distant screaming of customers falling deaf to Blade's ears. Blood on his shirt and blade on his arm, he stumbled home.

At some point, she had to confess how she felt. Luna had felt her emotions boiling inside of her, and she could only hope that the one she loved felt the same way about her. For somepony she'd met only a few days ago, it was shocking to see how fast she came to love him. But she understood why. Never had anypony understood her the way he had. Blade understood everything, from her loneliness to her rejection to her situation. He understood all of it, and what was even better was, he cared. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have helped her. He gave up his career, his safety, his entire way of life, and all just to save one forgotten princess. That's why she loved him. So lost in her emotions was Luna that she didn't even notice the door open. Blade rushed immediately to the sink, washing the blood off of his face while Luna came to greet him. His face was bruised and he had a gash on the side of his head. He groaned as the water ran over his cuts, bringing both pain and sweet relief.

"Oh my-what happened?" Blade didn't respond. He kept the water on until he'd had enough.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." Luna wasn't taking this for an answer.

"Of course you aren't! My god, you're bleeding horribly!" Blade sat on his bed, holding his head and cursing to himself.

"Dammit, dammit all to hell!" The outburst shocked Luna as she backed away. "Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. Just, dammit, I thought I was past this!"

"Past what?" Blade sighed.

"Tonight, some guys got into a fight. After I tried to break them up, they turned on me. Something, just, snapped inside of me. I...I killed them both. I didn't want to do that. I-just, dammit!" Luna sat down next to him, leaning against and almost hugging him.

"I'm sorry, I see why you're upset now. Is this hard for you?" Blade cast his head down.

"No need to be sorry. I've brought this upon myself." He smiled. "I'm glad you understand though." She nodded and smiled warmly.

"You're trying to put that behind you, aren't you? It's the one thing you've done your whole life, and it's hard trying to get over that." Blade turned to face her.

"I could talk to everypony I've ever known, and none of them would have understood it like you have. Thank you, Luna. I appreciate it." She blushed.

"I do what I can." Then she did what none of the two were prepared for. She put her front leg behind his head, pulled him in and kissed him. Blade's eyes widened as their lips locked in perfect unison. He closed his eyes like she had and savored it. They sat there, each basking in the other's love. When the two finally pulled apart, Blade stared at her, eyes completely open and jaw hanging.

"What in the..." Luna cursed.

"Oh, I knew I'd screw it up! I'm sorry about that, I just-" Blade cut her off.

"N-no. That..." he smiled, "that was amazing." Luna's eyes brightened.

"Wha-It was?" He laughed.

"Of course it was! I'm just shocked, that's all! I just, I didn't know that's how you felt about me, so right now I'm just-"

"I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way, I just couldn't hold that in much longer. Ah, dammit I really screwed this up!" Blade looked at her deeply, their eyes connecting in a way that said everything.

"Then you don't need to be sorry. Luna, I think you're the best thing that's happened in my life." She was about to speak, but he held up a hoof. "Until now, my life's been a gruesome one. I haven't had much to call my own, no pony to care for, and no pony to love me either. But, meeting you, I think that's changed. Luna, this is all or nothing, but, I think I love you." Fireworks went off in Luna's mind.

"Ah yes! I love you too!" Their lips met again, and although it was just a minute, it seemed like the world stopped, just for awhile, just for them.