Applebite

by Matthias Ramsey

Bargaining

Bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement. Bargaining is an alternative pricing strategy to fixed prices. Optimally, if it costs the retailer nothing to engage and allow bargaining, he can divine the buyer's willingness to spend. It allows for capturing more consumer surplus as it allows price discrimination, a process whereby a seller can charge a higher price to one buyer who is more eager (by being richer or more desperate). Haggling has largely disappeared in parts of the world where the cost to haggle exceeds the gain to retailers for most common retail items. However, for expensive goods sold to uninformed buyers such as automobiles, bargaining can remain commonplace.
Dickering refers to the same process, albeit with a slight negative (petty) connotation.
Bargaining is also the name chosen for the 3rd stage of the Kübler-Ross model (commonly known as the stages of dying), even though it has nothing to do with price negotiations.

Twilight spent most of the next week pondering the unsettling memory piece she had recalled. Maybe Applejack HAD killed herself. But why would she do that?

Early in the evening a week after she had first learned of Applejack's death, a knock came at her door.
She opened it to reveal Rainbow Dash, who began to greet her but quickly adopted a concerned look. "N-No one else is here?"
"Just me, Rainbow."
She chewed her lip. "Dammit, I'm early...i was supposed to meet the others here...we w-waah!"
Rainbow's statement was cut off as Twilight roughly yanked her inside, slammed and locked the door, and pushed her into the table.
"Oww...Twilight, that-"
"Shut up. I'll be doing the talking."
"Twilight, w-"
Twilight stamped her hoof and amplified her voice with magic. "I SAID SHUT UP!!!"
Rainbow Dash actually looked scared. "I-" She clamped her mouth shut, afraid of what would happen.
"Good girl. Now, you're going to answer my questions, or I might actually get angry enough to hurt you. Understood?"
Rainbow nodded shakily.
"Let me hear you SAY IT!!"
"Y-yes, I understand!!" Rainbow said frantically.
"Good. Now, first question. Do you know what happened the night AJ died?"
"I'm not-"
"Did I ASK if you were supposed to tell me what happened?! NO!! DO. YOU. KNOW. WHAT. HAPPENED."
"Y-Yes! Yes, I know what happened! I was there, j-just like the rest of us!:"
"All right, NOW what happened?"
"I-I can't tell you-"
"Why not, Rainbow Dash? Why can't you tell me? Because YOU killed her?"
"No, Twilight, I-"
"Tell me the truth, Rainbow Dash! Why are you guys giving me the cold shoulder? Why don't I remember almost anything about what happened? JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH!!!"
Rainbow Dash burst into tears. "T-Twilight, stop yelling at me! I-I wanted to tell you the t-truth all along, b-but they wanted to w-wait..."
"Wait, who wanted to wait?"
"The others! They don't think you can handle the truth! You know what, I don't think you can either, but bad news doesn't age well."
This was what Twilight had been waiting for. "Oh god...Rainbow Dash, I'll do anything, just tell me the truth! Please just tell me what happened!"
"Anything?"
"Anything at all."
"Would you....would you wait for everyone else to get here? We were going to tell you together, but I'll tell you when they get here."
Twilight backed away from Rainbow and nodded. "Yes. I'll wait. I'm sorry about what I did and what I said...did I hurt you?"
"No...I was just scared. I thought you were going to hurt me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't...I'm sorry."
"It's...I'm all right." Rainbow brushed wings with Twilight. Twilight smiled, knowing that was as close Rainbow ever got to giving someone a hug.
"Thank you."
"You're gonna need it after you hear the truth."

Barely five minutes later, the other three arrived.
"Twilight, we, uh-"
"Girls, it's okay. I'm going to tell her."
"Are you sure, Dash?"
"I'm sure. I wanted to tell her from the start, after all." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "Twilight...Applejack committed suicide."
"I figured that from the-"
"She killed herself because she was in love with you."

Comments

[ATKGWFOPLM]

dat last sentence