Post by Applejack on Dec 18, 2014 3:52:07 GMT -5
One night at Cafe Tobiano...
'Applejack: You are cordially invited to a meeting of utmost importance to discuss the future of Ponyville. Please attend at Cafe Tobiano at eight o'clock PM this evening.' That's what the card said in florid cursive. If there was any doubt it was *not* from Mayor Mare's office, those doubts are completely and utterly vindicated the moment she walks through the door. Far from bustling, it's empty and most of the tables have been cleared away, save one in the middle, and it (and most of the cafe) is inundated with candles. And flowers. Bioluminescent ones by the look of it, adding a cool, frosty glow to meld with the candles. Oh, and Bardigan at the far end of the cafe, framed in the light of an early-risen moon and dressed to the nines. He slowly turns the moment he hears the creak of the opening door, and flicks his mane away from his eyes. "Why, Applejack. Thank you ever so much for coming. I do love punctuality in a mare." He says this even if she's late.
Applejack is pretty close to exactly on time, mostly out of curiosity. The mayor does her business at City hall, not the cafe; it's not Rarity's hoofwriting; and she doesn't know who else in Ponyville would have SENT her such an over-wrought overdone c- "Oh", she says as she pushes through the door, seeing Bardigan. Of course. Her face settles into a skeptical half-smirk and she approaches the table. "Uh. Evenin'. Bardigan. So... what in tarnation's this all about?"
Bardigan raises a hoof as he hurriedly trots over to intercept Applejack before she can get to the table. "Shh shh shh! No need to be so business like! Tonight..." He pulls out the chair and offers her the seat. "Tonight we are only two ponies sharing a glass of something tasty, a bite of roasted truffle... and discuss a few things of middling importance. I wouldn't waste your time, Applejack," he says very seriously, sitting across from her and steepling his hooves. "But I *will* ask, with all sincerity, how you have been doing recently. I know I haven't swung by as often as I used to." He makes a clicking noise with a snap of his wing and a waiter bustles in, drops a chilled bottle of champagne on their table, pours, and leaves again. All in about five seconds.
Applejack sits, and before she can even START her no-doubt country-fried-invective-laden speech, she's suddenly being struck with the full brunt of what Bardigan thinks is irresistable charm and then viciously and without warning served champagne. She folds her ears back and looks a little worried; this is not something she's used to at all. "Uh... Ah'm... doin' okay, Ah reckon. Had that Blueblood feller workin' on th' farm fer th' harvest... he did better'n Ah thought, but-" AJ breaks off and blinks. The waiters seem to have taken ninja training. Those breadsticks were NOT there a moment ago, and the artisan daisychain salad is even now being delivered with speed and aplomb and- "Okay, that's ENOUGH. What in tarnation's all this about, Bardigan?"
"Exactly what it looks like," Bardigan says, slowly spreading his hooves as the candlelit dinner magically appears before them, as if he summoned it with telepathic powers. "Pleasant conversation in a safe, quiet, and above all private area with a pony I consider a good friend." Unperturbed by Applejack's flabbergasted reaction, he folds his hooves back over his chest. "There are no ulterior motives, sneaky plans, or revelations waiting to jump out at you, beyond that I really wanted to see what you looked like in this light." He smiles placidly. "I was wrong. In a good way."
Applejack gives Bardigan The Eyebrow. "What it *looks* like, *sugarcube*, is a date. A pretty an' high-falutin' date, like exactly th' sorta thing might tickle Rares or Twi. Or Fluttershy. But that ain't what it said on yer message, an' th' LAST time a pony tricked me into a date, he had all kinda strange plans an' hopes pinned on me when he ain't even TALKED ta me much." She pauses and stares at the food. Admittedly, it smells really good. AJ picks up the flute of champagne and drains it in one gulp, then sets it back down. "So this don't make me feel nothin' but suspicious. Y'ain't fixin' ta confess some kinda weird crush on me, are ya?" Nice, AJ. Real sensitive.
Bardigan shrugs in the way a prankster does when they're found out. "Really, Applejack, with how I talk I'd be surprised if I hadn't confessed that six or seven times by now." He leans forward and sips his champagne at a much more genteel pace, his face glowing in half candle-orange, half flower-blue. "But if you came here expecting a date, I'll let you think whatever you'd like." He swirls the glass, glancing to one side. "I did dearly miss your company. Of anything I say tonight, that is the most true."
There is silence for a moment as Applejack swallows a mouthful of the salad. It really is tasty... "No, Ah came expectin' some kinda meetin'. Wasn't too sure WHAT it'd be, but... Bardy, y'all actually got somethin' important ta talk ta me about, or was this all some kinda setup? Y'all oughta know, it ain't gonna endear nopony ta me makin' up some kinda cockamamie story just ta feed me greens an' somethin' that wants ta be cider when it grows up."
*Now* Bardigan has to deadpan. "Applejack," he says flatly, "is it really so hard to believe that me, Bardigan, would go to all this trouble no matter *what* the purpose was? You forget who you are talking to. And." He eats a bite of salad. He chews it. With *authority.* "Is it so hard to believe that I *want* to spend time with you, and try to make the best of it with what I know?" He takes a deep breath. "But if you *must* know, then yes. I *do* have something I want to ask you. But I want to do it as your friend. A friend who, though you may not be familiar with, well... all of this-" He gestures at the finery. "-is trying to make what time we have together enjoyable." He steeples his hooves again. "I see you eating that salad. Admit it. It's good, isn't it? Rarity insisted she help with the candles. Something about feng shui."
Applejack gives Bardigan a highly skeptical look. "Yeah, it's tasty, sure. Ain't said it didn't. But Ah think it's a mite unfair o' y'all t'act all hurt 'bout me askin' that when it's WHAT YER NOTE SAID." AJ pulls out the note, drops it on the table and points to 'a meeting of utmost importance to discuss the future of Ponyville'. "THAT is what Ah was expectin', not alla this.... FANCY." She sighs and takes a bite of a truffle. "Mf. Ain't had this since Ah stayed with mah Aunt an' Uncle Orange. Yeah, it's nice, but... Ah do got stuff ta do, an' if'n yer note ain't lyin', somethin's important enough ta *worry* about. So... what's that somethin'?"
Bardigan taps his hooves together. "The future of Ponyville can be fancy," he mutters, and puts his hooves on the table. "Fine. *Fine.* I wanted to cushion the blow, but if it's what you want..." He looks Applejack square in the eye for this. "I need you to be dishonest via a lie of omission about anything that might go down at your farm involving Diamond Dancer's presence, Nightmares that might be attracted as a result of whatever she is doing, and/or whatever may happen due to Apple Bloom and Dinky's assistance. Even if Princess Luna asks you to your face."
"Because Princess Celestia promised to fight her if she tries to stop what will happen, and I *really* don't want them to throw down all over your orchard and neither do you, so I hope you agree to this."
Applejack stares at Bardigan, stricken. Half of a truffle falls out of her open mouth. "S... P... Celestia said WHAT??" AJ drops her elbows on the table and her face in her hooves. "That's WAY th' hay more complicated than Ah ever signed on fer." She stays that way for a while, but just as it seems like she might somehow have fallen asleep like that, she straightens up and looks Bardigan in the eye again. "No. Ah'm sorry. Ah can't do that. Never even mind that Ah don't DO that kinda thing, it wouldn't even be right. All y'all're bein' mighty unfair ta L- Princess Luna, assumin' she'd go flyin' off th' handle uncontrollable-like. An' this IS her domain. Dreams, nightmares, monsters even. PLUS Apple Bloom's started messin' with... with stuff Ah don't think she even KNOWS what she's doin' now, an' Ah'm WORRIED. Bardigan, if'n we ain't s'posed ta turn ta th' Princesses when somethin' big threatens us, 'specially somethin' in their domain, what in tarnation are they even FOR!?"
Bardigan weathers the storm with surprising calmness. He keeps his hooves on the table, and his face stony. When she is done, he speaks in a low, gentle voice. "To inspire us to stand up and do the things that they cannot. Which is quite a bit, Applejack. They are, at heart, only ponies. Luna will in all likelihood try to stop Diamond. I am asking you to do this for the sake of my family. My little gem. My Diamond Dancer. She is *dying*, Applejack. She has been slowly dying since I met her. And if what she needs to do will save her, let her feel, let her live, then I will fight Princess Luna *myself* if necessary." He tilts his head. "Don't tell me that isn't a worthy cause because I won't listen."
Applejack listens to all this, and her expression slowly hardens. When she speaks, it's not anywhere near yelling. It is a low, quiet tone, made of solid iron. "Don't you dare. Don't you of ALL ponies try ta tell me what Luna is 'at heart'. Ah know *exactly* what she is, more'n you, more'n Diamond. It ain't ME that's treatin' her like a dangerous monster. An' now Apple Bloom is caught up in this an' messin' with stuff could get *her* killed - so don't you dare try ta pick holes in mah heart with yer family when it's yer family that came endangerin' MINE." A brief pause, then her eyes narrow. "... again."
Bardigan raises an eyebrow. He's faced down worse than an angry Applejack. If anything, the lack of theatrics makes him that much more strange looking. "If you are going to lash out at everything that endangers your family, Applejack, you'll find that you very quickly run out of hooves to lash with. I'm asking you, apart from your feelings about me, apart from your feelings about Luna... will you help save my sister's life?"
Applejack says "Lash out? Listen, runnin' full tilt half-cocked at somethin' - like Diamond does everythin', pretty much - THAT is lashin' out. Askin' fer an audience with somepony in authority ain't 'lashin' out', an Ah gotta say it's plumb *weird* hearin' y'all accusin' me o' losin' mah temper when Ah ain't done nothin' o' th' sort. Which, frankly, is a goldarned miracle right now, 'cause Ah am COMPLETELY surrounded by yer lies an' manipulation, alla this... stuff... that y'all thought would butter me up fer whatever yer tryin' ta get me ta do! An' so far Ah ain't heard one solitary *shred* of a reason why gettin' Luna's help would be BAD, other'n everypony assumin' she'd go loco an' kill Diamond or somethin', which is plain stupid!"
Bardigan sighs and rubs his temples. "That is what she has been trying to do *all along,* Applejack."
Applejack says "Oh please. Yer tryin' ta tell me that Luna couldn't kill somepony with a flick o' her head if'n she wanted to?"
Bardigan shrugs. "It is her version of mercy for the incurable disease that's been taking Diamond away piece by piece. She knew that Diamond was happy serving her, and the myriad horrible and dangerous things that Diamond has done in her service were, generally, in the hope of giving her an honorable, fulfilling end to her life. Nothing short of a miracle can save Diamond now. Or kill her, really."
Applejack glares. "So now yer tellin' me that this here all-powerful princess of th' night, presented with this fearless hard-ta-kill filly who's dyin' from a disease, is gonna waste everyone's time sendin' her on increasin'ly dangerous missions HOPIN' she'll die doin' somethin' she likes, somethin' HEROIC an' IMPRESSIVE? An' yer tellin' me THAT make ANY kinda-" AJ stops, blinks once at Bardigan, then drops her head on the table with a crash. Truffles jump and roll about. "actually that makes perfect sense. consarnit. that's exactly what she's doin', ain't it?"
Bardigan sips his champagne. "Probably should have just opened with that, in hindsight."
Applejack lifts her head and looks at him wryly. "With th' truth, ya mean? Funny how that *works*, ain't it?" She straightens up, then slouches backward in the chair. "Ah still don't see why everypony thinks tellin' Luna 'bout this Persifer or whatever it was would make her... not help Diamond, or try ta kill her HARDER."
The champagne glass comes down with a thunk. "You saw Nightmare Moon, didn't you? In the flesh? All you need to do is ask yourself what happens if we fail, and a very angry, very powerful monster that wants nothing more than to kill or enslave every mortal being it comes across suddenly gets a body that cannot be destroyed. Princess Luna might believe that it will be her duty to destroy that body to protect Equestria. And I'm not going to gamble my sister's life on a 'might.' Or at least no 'mights' that I'm not prepared to accept."
Applejack says "... but yer prepared ta gamble th' lives of everypony else in Equestria?"
Applejack says "Seems ta me if'n anypony knows how ta deal with nightmares, it's Luna." She looks away for a moment. "An' no... Ah didn't 'see' Nightmare Moon a'tall."
Bardigan looks at Applejack over the candles, all traces of humor or smiles or lies or theater gone from his face. This time, it's he that his the iron in his eyes. "Like I said," he whispers. "No mights that /I'm/ not prepared to accept."
Applejack says "Fine, but why should Ah take th' same gamble as you? If'n everypony's life is at stake - an' that includes mah family again that yer gamblin' with - why shouldn't Ah HELP th' Princess? Ain't this when we gotta think about th' greater good?"
Bardigan says "Of course it is. This is the time when you look deep inside yourself, and you ask 'How much is the love of two ponies worth?' I love my sister. Dearly and deeply. She is the only pony who has ever loved me without guile, without reservation, without any need to finagle or charm or sweet-talk. The only pony who would never abandon me no matter what I said or how much I destroyed myself. That is because she loves me too, more than I ever could love her. We're going to put the greater good in extreme danger for the sake of that love. You *should* grapple with whether or not you out us now and hope Luna is merciful enough to just lock us both up forever. Is love worth lying for? Dying for? Knowingly endangering others for, even if it is only going to save one life compared to many? For me, yes. For you? Well."
Bardigan takes another sip of champagne. "That's why I asked you here. So, really, I wasn't lying when I said the note was to discuss the future of Ponyville," he says as an afterthought.
Applejack listens to this, then stands up and nods. "Well said. An' th' answer is 'no'. No love is worth other folks' lives. That ain't even a price Ah could choose ta pay, 'cause their lives ain't mine ta throw away." She starts to turn away, then looks back, and her expression softens a bit. "Yer a romantic, Bardigan. So Ah reckon that's where ya got th' idea that 'love', Ah dunno, is th' greatest thing. Take it from me, it don't matter how much anypony loves anypony else, they still die. An no matter how much ya love someone, ya got no right ta take someone else's life fer them." She looks away again. "Ah wish you th' best, you an' Diamond Dancer. Hope it works out fer ya. Wish it weren't like this. But wishin' don't bring th' harvest in." She takes a deep breath. "G'night, Bardigan. Ah got a train ta catch." - and with that, AJ heads for the door.
Bardigan nods slowly. He waits until Applejack has left the room and doesn't come back before deciding to eat the rest of the truffle himself. "Well then," he says with a full mouth. "I'll put a hundred bits on Celestia."
'Applejack: You are cordially invited to a meeting of utmost importance to discuss the future of Ponyville. Please attend at Cafe Tobiano at eight o'clock PM this evening.' That's what the card said in florid cursive. If there was any doubt it was *not* from Mayor Mare's office, those doubts are completely and utterly vindicated the moment she walks through the door. Far from bustling, it's empty and most of the tables have been cleared away, save one in the middle, and it (and most of the cafe) is inundated with candles. And flowers. Bioluminescent ones by the look of it, adding a cool, frosty glow to meld with the candles. Oh, and Bardigan at the far end of the cafe, framed in the light of an early-risen moon and dressed to the nines. He slowly turns the moment he hears the creak of the opening door, and flicks his mane away from his eyes. "Why, Applejack. Thank you ever so much for coming. I do love punctuality in a mare." He says this even if she's late.
Applejack is pretty close to exactly on time, mostly out of curiosity. The mayor does her business at City hall, not the cafe; it's not Rarity's hoofwriting; and she doesn't know who else in Ponyville would have SENT her such an over-wrought overdone c- "Oh", she says as she pushes through the door, seeing Bardigan. Of course. Her face settles into a skeptical half-smirk and she approaches the table. "Uh. Evenin'. Bardigan. So... what in tarnation's this all about?"
Bardigan raises a hoof as he hurriedly trots over to intercept Applejack before she can get to the table. "Shh shh shh! No need to be so business like! Tonight..." He pulls out the chair and offers her the seat. "Tonight we are only two ponies sharing a glass of something tasty, a bite of roasted truffle... and discuss a few things of middling importance. I wouldn't waste your time, Applejack," he says very seriously, sitting across from her and steepling his hooves. "But I *will* ask, with all sincerity, how you have been doing recently. I know I haven't swung by as often as I used to." He makes a clicking noise with a snap of his wing and a waiter bustles in, drops a chilled bottle of champagne on their table, pours, and leaves again. All in about five seconds.
Applejack sits, and before she can even START her no-doubt country-fried-invective-laden speech, she's suddenly being struck with the full brunt of what Bardigan thinks is irresistable charm and then viciously and without warning served champagne. She folds her ears back and looks a little worried; this is not something she's used to at all. "Uh... Ah'm... doin' okay, Ah reckon. Had that Blueblood feller workin' on th' farm fer th' harvest... he did better'n Ah thought, but-" AJ breaks off and blinks. The waiters seem to have taken ninja training. Those breadsticks were NOT there a moment ago, and the artisan daisychain salad is even now being delivered with speed and aplomb and- "Okay, that's ENOUGH. What in tarnation's all this about, Bardigan?"
"Exactly what it looks like," Bardigan says, slowly spreading his hooves as the candlelit dinner magically appears before them, as if he summoned it with telepathic powers. "Pleasant conversation in a safe, quiet, and above all private area with a pony I consider a good friend." Unperturbed by Applejack's flabbergasted reaction, he folds his hooves back over his chest. "There are no ulterior motives, sneaky plans, or revelations waiting to jump out at you, beyond that I really wanted to see what you looked like in this light." He smiles placidly. "I was wrong. In a good way."
Applejack gives Bardigan The Eyebrow. "What it *looks* like, *sugarcube*, is a date. A pretty an' high-falutin' date, like exactly th' sorta thing might tickle Rares or Twi. Or Fluttershy. But that ain't what it said on yer message, an' th' LAST time a pony tricked me into a date, he had all kinda strange plans an' hopes pinned on me when he ain't even TALKED ta me much." She pauses and stares at the food. Admittedly, it smells really good. AJ picks up the flute of champagne and drains it in one gulp, then sets it back down. "So this don't make me feel nothin' but suspicious. Y'ain't fixin' ta confess some kinda weird crush on me, are ya?" Nice, AJ. Real sensitive.
Bardigan shrugs in the way a prankster does when they're found out. "Really, Applejack, with how I talk I'd be surprised if I hadn't confessed that six or seven times by now." He leans forward and sips his champagne at a much more genteel pace, his face glowing in half candle-orange, half flower-blue. "But if you came here expecting a date, I'll let you think whatever you'd like." He swirls the glass, glancing to one side. "I did dearly miss your company. Of anything I say tonight, that is the most true."
There is silence for a moment as Applejack swallows a mouthful of the salad. It really is tasty... "No, Ah came expectin' some kinda meetin'. Wasn't too sure WHAT it'd be, but... Bardy, y'all actually got somethin' important ta talk ta me about, or was this all some kinda setup? Y'all oughta know, it ain't gonna endear nopony ta me makin' up some kinda cockamamie story just ta feed me greens an' somethin' that wants ta be cider when it grows up."
*Now* Bardigan has to deadpan. "Applejack," he says flatly, "is it really so hard to believe that me, Bardigan, would go to all this trouble no matter *what* the purpose was? You forget who you are talking to. And." He eats a bite of salad. He chews it. With *authority.* "Is it so hard to believe that I *want* to spend time with you, and try to make the best of it with what I know?" He takes a deep breath. "But if you *must* know, then yes. I *do* have something I want to ask you. But I want to do it as your friend. A friend who, though you may not be familiar with, well... all of this-" He gestures at the finery. "-is trying to make what time we have together enjoyable." He steeples his hooves again. "I see you eating that salad. Admit it. It's good, isn't it? Rarity insisted she help with the candles. Something about feng shui."
Applejack gives Bardigan a highly skeptical look. "Yeah, it's tasty, sure. Ain't said it didn't. But Ah think it's a mite unfair o' y'all t'act all hurt 'bout me askin' that when it's WHAT YER NOTE SAID." AJ pulls out the note, drops it on the table and points to 'a meeting of utmost importance to discuss the future of Ponyville'. "THAT is what Ah was expectin', not alla this.... FANCY." She sighs and takes a bite of a truffle. "Mf. Ain't had this since Ah stayed with mah Aunt an' Uncle Orange. Yeah, it's nice, but... Ah do got stuff ta do, an' if'n yer note ain't lyin', somethin's important enough ta *worry* about. So... what's that somethin'?"
Bardigan taps his hooves together. "The future of Ponyville can be fancy," he mutters, and puts his hooves on the table. "Fine. *Fine.* I wanted to cushion the blow, but if it's what you want..." He looks Applejack square in the eye for this. "I need you to be dishonest via a lie of omission about anything that might go down at your farm involving Diamond Dancer's presence, Nightmares that might be attracted as a result of whatever she is doing, and/or whatever may happen due to Apple Bloom and Dinky's assistance. Even if Princess Luna asks you to your face."
"Because Princess Celestia promised to fight her if she tries to stop what will happen, and I *really* don't want them to throw down all over your orchard and neither do you, so I hope you agree to this."
Applejack stares at Bardigan, stricken. Half of a truffle falls out of her open mouth. "S... P... Celestia said WHAT??" AJ drops her elbows on the table and her face in her hooves. "That's WAY th' hay more complicated than Ah ever signed on fer." She stays that way for a while, but just as it seems like she might somehow have fallen asleep like that, she straightens up and looks Bardigan in the eye again. "No. Ah'm sorry. Ah can't do that. Never even mind that Ah don't DO that kinda thing, it wouldn't even be right. All y'all're bein' mighty unfair ta L- Princess Luna, assumin' she'd go flyin' off th' handle uncontrollable-like. An' this IS her domain. Dreams, nightmares, monsters even. PLUS Apple Bloom's started messin' with... with stuff Ah don't think she even KNOWS what she's doin' now, an' Ah'm WORRIED. Bardigan, if'n we ain't s'posed ta turn ta th' Princesses when somethin' big threatens us, 'specially somethin' in their domain, what in tarnation are they even FOR!?"
Bardigan weathers the storm with surprising calmness. He keeps his hooves on the table, and his face stony. When she is done, he speaks in a low, gentle voice. "To inspire us to stand up and do the things that they cannot. Which is quite a bit, Applejack. They are, at heart, only ponies. Luna will in all likelihood try to stop Diamond. I am asking you to do this for the sake of my family. My little gem. My Diamond Dancer. She is *dying*, Applejack. She has been slowly dying since I met her. And if what she needs to do will save her, let her feel, let her live, then I will fight Princess Luna *myself* if necessary." He tilts his head. "Don't tell me that isn't a worthy cause because I won't listen."
Applejack listens to all this, and her expression slowly hardens. When she speaks, it's not anywhere near yelling. It is a low, quiet tone, made of solid iron. "Don't you dare. Don't you of ALL ponies try ta tell me what Luna is 'at heart'. Ah know *exactly* what she is, more'n you, more'n Diamond. It ain't ME that's treatin' her like a dangerous monster. An' now Apple Bloom is caught up in this an' messin' with stuff could get *her* killed - so don't you dare try ta pick holes in mah heart with yer family when it's yer family that came endangerin' MINE." A brief pause, then her eyes narrow. "... again."
Bardigan raises an eyebrow. He's faced down worse than an angry Applejack. If anything, the lack of theatrics makes him that much more strange looking. "If you are going to lash out at everything that endangers your family, Applejack, you'll find that you very quickly run out of hooves to lash with. I'm asking you, apart from your feelings about me, apart from your feelings about Luna... will you help save my sister's life?"
Applejack says "Lash out? Listen, runnin' full tilt half-cocked at somethin' - like Diamond does everythin', pretty much - THAT is lashin' out. Askin' fer an audience with somepony in authority ain't 'lashin' out', an Ah gotta say it's plumb *weird* hearin' y'all accusin' me o' losin' mah temper when Ah ain't done nothin' o' th' sort. Which, frankly, is a goldarned miracle right now, 'cause Ah am COMPLETELY surrounded by yer lies an' manipulation, alla this... stuff... that y'all thought would butter me up fer whatever yer tryin' ta get me ta do! An' so far Ah ain't heard one solitary *shred* of a reason why gettin' Luna's help would be BAD, other'n everypony assumin' she'd go loco an' kill Diamond or somethin', which is plain stupid!"
Bardigan sighs and rubs his temples. "That is what she has been trying to do *all along,* Applejack."
Applejack says "Oh please. Yer tryin' ta tell me that Luna couldn't kill somepony with a flick o' her head if'n she wanted to?"
Bardigan shrugs. "It is her version of mercy for the incurable disease that's been taking Diamond away piece by piece. She knew that Diamond was happy serving her, and the myriad horrible and dangerous things that Diamond has done in her service were, generally, in the hope of giving her an honorable, fulfilling end to her life. Nothing short of a miracle can save Diamond now. Or kill her, really."
Applejack glares. "So now yer tellin' me that this here all-powerful princess of th' night, presented with this fearless hard-ta-kill filly who's dyin' from a disease, is gonna waste everyone's time sendin' her on increasin'ly dangerous missions HOPIN' she'll die doin' somethin' she likes, somethin' HEROIC an' IMPRESSIVE? An' yer tellin' me THAT make ANY kinda-" AJ stops, blinks once at Bardigan, then drops her head on the table with a crash. Truffles jump and roll about. "actually that makes perfect sense. consarnit. that's exactly what she's doin', ain't it?"
Bardigan sips his champagne. "Probably should have just opened with that, in hindsight."
Applejack lifts her head and looks at him wryly. "With th' truth, ya mean? Funny how that *works*, ain't it?" She straightens up, then slouches backward in the chair. "Ah still don't see why everypony thinks tellin' Luna 'bout this Persifer or whatever it was would make her... not help Diamond, or try ta kill her HARDER."
The champagne glass comes down with a thunk. "You saw Nightmare Moon, didn't you? In the flesh? All you need to do is ask yourself what happens if we fail, and a very angry, very powerful monster that wants nothing more than to kill or enslave every mortal being it comes across suddenly gets a body that cannot be destroyed. Princess Luna might believe that it will be her duty to destroy that body to protect Equestria. And I'm not going to gamble my sister's life on a 'might.' Or at least no 'mights' that I'm not prepared to accept."
Applejack says "... but yer prepared ta gamble th' lives of everypony else in Equestria?"
Applejack says "Seems ta me if'n anypony knows how ta deal with nightmares, it's Luna." She looks away for a moment. "An' no... Ah didn't 'see' Nightmare Moon a'tall."
Bardigan looks at Applejack over the candles, all traces of humor or smiles or lies or theater gone from his face. This time, it's he that his the iron in his eyes. "Like I said," he whispers. "No mights that /I'm/ not prepared to accept."
Applejack says "Fine, but why should Ah take th' same gamble as you? If'n everypony's life is at stake - an' that includes mah family again that yer gamblin' with - why shouldn't Ah HELP th' Princess? Ain't this when we gotta think about th' greater good?"
Bardigan says "Of course it is. This is the time when you look deep inside yourself, and you ask 'How much is the love of two ponies worth?' I love my sister. Dearly and deeply. She is the only pony who has ever loved me without guile, without reservation, without any need to finagle or charm or sweet-talk. The only pony who would never abandon me no matter what I said or how much I destroyed myself. That is because she loves me too, more than I ever could love her. We're going to put the greater good in extreme danger for the sake of that love. You *should* grapple with whether or not you out us now and hope Luna is merciful enough to just lock us both up forever. Is love worth lying for? Dying for? Knowingly endangering others for, even if it is only going to save one life compared to many? For me, yes. For you? Well."
Bardigan takes another sip of champagne. "That's why I asked you here. So, really, I wasn't lying when I said the note was to discuss the future of Ponyville," he says as an afterthought.
Applejack listens to this, then stands up and nods. "Well said. An' th' answer is 'no'. No love is worth other folks' lives. That ain't even a price Ah could choose ta pay, 'cause their lives ain't mine ta throw away." She starts to turn away, then looks back, and her expression softens a bit. "Yer a romantic, Bardigan. So Ah reckon that's where ya got th' idea that 'love', Ah dunno, is th' greatest thing. Take it from me, it don't matter how much anypony loves anypony else, they still die. An no matter how much ya love someone, ya got no right ta take someone else's life fer them." She looks away again. "Ah wish you th' best, you an' Diamond Dancer. Hope it works out fer ya. Wish it weren't like this. But wishin' don't bring th' harvest in." She takes a deep breath. "G'night, Bardigan. Ah got a train ta catch." - and with that, AJ heads for the door.
Bardigan nods slowly. He waits until Applejack has left the room and doesn't come back before deciding to eat the rest of the truffle himself. "Well then," he says with a full mouth. "I'll put a hundred bits on Celestia."