"…and what happens next?" Rainy Fields asks.
"Well, after that, there's not much to tell," I answer. "Me and AJ go on that date the next day and have a good time. We keep dating, eventually get married, and have you."
"And you didn't have any more big fallings out like that?"
"Nothin' as bad as that first one," Applejack says from beside me. "Sure, we've had our disagreements, but we haven't let anythin' get outta hoof too bad."
"But if you got together in such a bad way, then how come you didn't have any, like, super-huge mega-fights?" Rainy asks.
Well. Our beautiful daughter proves, once again, that she has definitely inherited both her moms' tactfulness (which, by the way, has made for some hilarious parent-teacher meetings). I ignore it for now, though.
"I grew up," I simply say. "I mean, I'll be the first to admit that back then, I could be… kind of a jerk sometimes. The Second Chance incident was probably the biggest example of that. But… I've gotten better since then, I think."
"Ya ain't the only one who's needed to do some maturin' over the years," Applejack admits. "Heck, I'd say I've had to learn just as much as you have."
"So what's the lesson?"
"Huh?"
"What's the lesson of the story?" Rainy asks. In that adorable tone that foals use when they want to tell you something they think is really important, she states, "Twilight says that every story has at least one lesson, and probably more."
"Of course she does," I mutter quietly enough that she can't hear me, but loud enough to get a snort out of AJ.
Well, at least it's not too hard to find a lesson here. When you manage to screw something up so colossally it threatens to completely ruin a great friendship (and in this case, potential romance), "don't do that" tends to be a pretty obvious piece of advice.
"Well, I guess the lesson is that you should be honest with the ponies you care about. I mean, it's not like you need to confess your deepest, darkest secrets to everypony you know, but ya know. Don't use an ancient spell to cheat information out of your friends instead of just talking to them upfront, especially when the latter woulda been a thousand times easier."
Applejack adds, "Also, since we just brought it up, I guess there's the part about how none of us are perfect. And that's just somethin' we gotta accept, and work on becoming better ponies. Like I said, we've both learned a lot together, and our other friends have helped a bunch too. We're still learning, too. Reckon we always will be."
"I guess it's good we have each other to learn with, huh?" I ask, turning towards AJ.
"You can bet your bottom bit it is, Sugarcube," she says, likewise turning to me.
I kiss my wife.
Next to us, Rainy makes some standard-issue "My Parents Are Making Out and That's Gross" gagging sounds.
I've made mistakes. Big ones, too. I doubt I'll stop making them anytime soon. But as long as I try to learn from them, pay attention to the ponies I love, and make the most out of my second chances…
Then I think I can at least avoid making the same mistakes again.
And that's gotta count for something.