I stood at the entry to Sweet Apple Acres with Princess Celestia and Spike. I looked at them fearfully as I parted from them. My heart was now beating faster now then it ever had before. Not at the wedding, not when Celestia approached the door at the crack of dawn, not when I told Applejack the truth about how I felt about her. Nope. I was more scared to tell the Apple family the truth then I had ever been in my entire life. The truth is, whenever I thought about this, I suppressed it. I replaced it with something else in my mind so I wouldn't have to think about it. It was made worse by the fact that I loved Applejack's family, and I didn't want to hurt them in anyway, nor did I want them to hate me. On top of that, I feared Big Macintosh - the kind, humble, hardworking labor horse of few words- more then the villain I was about to go confront.

I walked up to the front gate, stopped, and looked back at the Princess and Spike. Deep breaths, AJ, come on, you can do this. This family has always liked you, and they love Applejack more then life itself, just like you do. They're just fine with us being best friends, they won't be upset with her no matter what she decides. I was far away from my family, which was my own decision, but I knew that if I was telling this to them, they would never speak to me again. Her family is not my family. They will be more upset by the fact she's in danger and in need of saving then the fact that she married someone like me. I had suppressed more then just this event; I never fully addressed the pesky fact that she was a pony and I was not; now I had to swallow it and take it head on with the Apple family. Applejack was so innocent, loving, and friendly she didn't seem to care about the difference in species, so I didn't either. I had been so unbelievably lucky since I moved to Equestria, but now I was on my own. I walked under the sign and took deep breath after deep breath. Applejack and I are like two little foals the way we love other each other. What's wrong with that? We just... made it official by... getting married in secret? Ok, that is NOT something two little foals do. Oh, gosh; this is gonna be harder then I thought.   

I saw all three of them sitting out on the porch as I walked up, no doubt waiting for Applejack. I walked up to them and tipped my invisible hat to all of them. They didn't even know where she was, she never returned home when she went to get the peaches. They saw me and their faces lit up eager for answers.

"AJ! You seen mah' sister? She never made it home yesterday," said Apple Bloom, jumping up from where she had been lying down in front of her brother. First I had to tell them where she was. That was the easy part. Still, I suddenly found it incredibly difficult to deliver them the bad news. I looked down at the ground and back up, without any kind of smile or happiness in my expression, only fear and sadness.

"Applejack and her f-friends w-were called on a mission to save Equestria yesterday. She's... she's in trouble. The Princess and I are going to go save them right now. I beg you; place your trust in me and the Princess, I swear to you all we will bring her back safe and sound."

Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom's expressions all changed into complete shock and sadness. They all looked at each other with tears and began to hug each other, which was terrible torture to me. I had shed a lot of tears in the last twenty-four hours, but I was not going to cry this time. I had to look down at the ground to make sure this didn't happen. Applejack and I are not only the best of friends, we're married. We were going to tell you soon. I thought it, but I didn't speak it. I can't do this. I just... can't. I turned away to start to walk back the Princess and Spike, but my feet were planted to the porch floor. I just couldn't manage to speak the words that needed to be said.

I slowly turned around to face them again. They all looked up at me, still crying from the bad news of their beloved family member, and realized there was something more going on. I looked into their eyes, and my vision went blurry as tears started streaming down my face. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cloth that Applejack had made for me for our wedding. I knew they'd recognize it was her creation. I ran my hand over the silhouette of Applejack and me in the setting sun, and saw the heart and arrow at the bottom that read "AJ + AJ." Crying softly, I calmly handed it to Big Macintosh as I deeply inhaled and exhaled. I can't tell you what his expression was because I did not have the heart to look him in the eye. I fell to my knees and bowed my head.

I looked back up, and Granny Smith and Apple Bloom stood behind Big Mac, looking at the cloth. They looked at me with wide open mouths of complete shock. The tears were coming even harder. They knew. They knew about Applejack and me. They knew, and there was no going back. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom had tears of sadness, but Big Mac... he had tears of rage. His eyes were filled with fury, and he looked at me and raised his hoof as if to hit me. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, ready for the hardest hit of my life.

I waited for it, and finally, after many hitless seconds, something huge crashed on top of me to the floor, where I laid there motionless. I opened my eyes, and Big Macintosh had hugged me into the porch floor. The rage in his eyes was gone, but the tears remained. He buried his head into me, and I embraced him with all of my might as I sobbed into his shoulder. "Just bring her back to us," he whispered. Apple Bloom, and yes, even Granny Smith joined in on the most dramatic family hug that ever was.