I didn't run away in the end.
I thought I could hide in Fluttershys old shed behind the cottage, but I ran straight into Big Mac. The stallion, my uncle as soon as Mom and Applejack seal the deal, just looked at me an knew something was wrong. He dropped the tools he had with him and came over to me. He was probably there to repair something for his wife.
Big Macintosh is also one of the ponies who really seemed to have changed over the last years. He is still a stallion of few word, but he changed his look so much. If you had asked me a few years ago I would describe him as the strong goofball from the farm. With his messy mane and such. Well, his mane is still a mess but with his neat sideburns and the orange stubble at his chin, he looks more like one of this "lonely, slightly dark, I work alone superheroes in trench coat" from one of my comics. If he would exchange the strangle of straw for a cigarette, it would be perfect.
He saw the bag I had with me and asked where I was headed. I just shrugged my shoulders, cause I didn't really had an answer to that. Not any more. The moment I turned to continue my journey he put one of his big hooves on my shoulder and pulled me over to a tree stump. Big Mac asked again what was wrong. I thought of running, but nearly every pony is faster than me. Especially from the apple family. So I told him about me and Sweetie, about my the stunt I pulled on hearts and hooves, the arcade an just everything. He is a very good listener, I give him that. He didn't interrupted me, or asked anything or so on. He just let me talk for once. And when I finished, he had this knowing smirk on his face. Just like Rarity if she had figured out a secret, or Mum if she found something in a book she had searched for days. Very much like his sisters "I told you" smirk.
"Do you know how I tell folks that Shys my mare?" He then asked me. I could only shake my head. "I do nothing. Shy was a model once. Stallions recognize her if we go into a bigger city and often try to hit on her. Let them look, let them try. Because I know she loves me. She would never hurt me willingly. So all I think, when another stallion looks, is that: Yeah, that's my mare. You can't have that. Or we take our little seedling with us and they don't even try. Young colts this day run if they only so much as smell a diaper."
Big Mac has it all figured out it seems. After that, he took me with him back to the farm. We talked more, about mares, about... stallion stuff and so on. Shy was happy to see me. I should visit more often she said before she made us dinner. I had a great evening with both of them. I think I will talk with Big Mac again in the near future. So many things make sense now, after I talked to him. For examples, mares want to be looked at. But you had to be sneaky, because they would be offended it you thought you could do it so plain and... Yeah. Don't really get it.
I nodded off on the couch at the farm later. I hope I didn't worry someone to much. It's not that I told anyone I would be gone. So hopefully nobody noticed I wasn't home the last night.
But, it looks like someone found my diary. Again. I put a little gem dust on the first cover and that was gone as I picked it up. Maybe it wasn't that good of a hiding spot under my mattress. Will taking a shower now and then I head to the boutique later. And always remember, if you have dirty thoughts, do as Big Mac and think of Granny Smith. Yeah, this will work.