Twilight stood there like a statue on my threshold glaring at Rarity with a look that was somewhere between anger and awe. Likewise Rarity looked like a foal who had been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Helping Chase up I had to ask the most important question in the world right now,
"PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WHY THE BUCK ARE YOU AND RARITY IN MY HOUSE?"
Both mares flinched at my out burst. Twilight walked in like she owned the place and sat beside Rarity. She then looked over to me with an apologetic look,
"Your name is Thunderlane, right?"
I nodded yes.
"I'm truly sorry about this but I came when I felt a magical surge come from this area of Ponyville. I didn't expect to find Rarity throwing a tantrum in your house. But be glad that I did because Rarity here," she motioned to Rarity, " was about to do something she would latter regret."
"I would never do something as undignified as throw a temper tantrum!" said Rarity as she dropped her meek façade.
"Rarity just look at this place," said Twilight as she pointed out various destroyed and ruined objects, "If this is you not throwing a tantrum I would hate to see what you could do when you were."
"Ok, perhaps I did throw the tiniest temper tantrum but you need to know why."
"Ok, please explain."
"Bwahaha!" laughed Rainbow Dash from her seat on the floor. She wasn't holding out on making us all feel like were a joke. Rolling on her back she was crying from laughing so hard. After she got the majority of the ridicule out of the way she sat up.
"So let me get this straight," said Dash while trying not to laugh, "You and Thunderlane went out on Friday. And then he and Blossomforth had a fight about why he was dating you instead of her Sunday morning. Then You, Flitter, Blossom walk in on Cloudchaser and him bumping uglies this evening?"
"I'm not talking about this Rainbow Dash!" said Rarity as she folded her forelegs over her chest.
Eyeing Blossom Dash posed the same question to her.
"I um... We um... Ugh!" said Blossom in frustration before she raised a wing to cover her beet red face.
"Ok, what about you Cloudchaser?"
Chase didn't even look up she just kept preening her wings,
"Leave me out of this I'm just the friend."
Dropping her wing Blossom shot Chase a cold glare. Rarity didn't just stop with a glare her face twisted up in anger,
"Just the friend! What kind of friend screws another friend when she knows that he is romantically involved with another mare."
Raising an eye brow Chase spat,
"He and I just screw around sometimes, what the big deal. Its not like I'm trying to steal him away, sheesh."
Sparks started to fly from Rarities horn as her anger boiled to the surface.
"What kind of friend are you?" yelled Blossom at Chase. Stopping her preening Chase looked up at Blossom and blinked.
"Uh, what did you say?
"I said what kind of friend are you. You slept with him knowing that he was involved with Rarity and knowing full well that I had feelings for him too. So, what kind of friend are you?" Growled Blossom.
"The best, duh!" she answered flatly. Blossom reached up and started to pull at her mane in frustration. This situation was spiraling out of control and if I didn't do something blood was going to be spilt,
"GIRLS!"
They all turned to me with a different expression. Rainbow Dash looked like she was going to start laughing again. I was actually kind of relieved that all she was doing was laughing because when she first invaded she looked like she was going to peal all of my skin off one strip at a time. Chase just looked board. Blossom looked like she was about to start crying and Rarities face was red in anger.
"I'm done!"
They all looked at me confused.
"Darling, what do you mean by done?" asked Rarity.
"I'm just done. I've done my best here. Raising Rumble and trying to just get by has taken everything out of me. So, I'm going to take him to my grandparents and see if I can get him to stay with them for a while. I don't know who I am or what I want. I like each of you. You are all amazing ponies and I don't want to hurt you more than I already have."
"What are you saying, Lane?" asked Chase with a hint of concern.
"I've been offered a Weather Managers job down in Appaloosa. And I'm going to take it." I said resolutely.
"But, you can't! I don't know about the other two here but even though I hate your guts right now I don't want to see you go," wined Blossom.
"And you were going to tell me this when?" added Dash.
"I hadn't even considered it until now," I answered.
"Your just running!" said Chase as her face tightened up, "Don't be a coward Lane. You have never backed out of anything before that mattered. Why are you starting now?"
"I'm not discussing this because I've already made up my mind," I answered as I got up from the couch. Looking around the room I couldn't help but admire how it now looked. Twilight had cast some kind of repair spell and it now looked better than it did before Rarity trashed it.
Hearing the door open I turned to see that Twilight had returned,
"So I've been going through my books and apparently this is something called a domestic dispute, and it is a misdemeanor. Under-" said Twilight before she was joined by Blossom.
"Section eleven thousand one hundred and sixty subsection D of the Equestrian Penal Code" finished Twilight and Blossom in unison.
Turning to Blossom Twilight had to ask,
"How did you just quote that from off the top of your head?"
Rolling her eyes Blossom answered flatly,
"Before I changed my major to meteorology I was studying prelaw."
"Egg heads," muttered Dash as she left clearly not wanting to stay for the study group.
"It doesn't matter Princess Twilight," I sighed, "I'll pay what ever fine there is and I'll go."
"Go?" she asked puzzled.
Sighing again I looked over the girls that I had treated like garbage, well all except Chase. Rarity was mad again and Blossom was slouching on the couch with her lip stuck out. And then there was Chase who was looking at her hooves like they were the most interesting things in the world.
"I'm leaving Ponyville, Princess."
She looked me up and down and then sighed herself,
"Girls would you give Mr. Thunderlane and I some privacy please."
Blossom was the first one up, she seemed to be relieved that she didn't have to sit through any more arguments or interrogations. Rarity followed close behind her. Her eyes never left me as she walked over and out the door. I looked at Chase. She didn't move.
"Ahem!" grunted Twilight. Chase ears laid back and she slid of the couch looking droopy. Watching her go I felt my heart in my throat. I tried to convince myself it was just post-coital longing but that didn't seem to help any. Before walking out the door she looked back over her shoulder and gave me a week smile just before she closed the door behind her.
"Thunderlane I don't know much about you and to be frank I know even less about relationships beyond friendship. But what I do know about you is that your not a quitter. I've seen you with little brother Rumble and besides that one time the pegasi of Ponyville had to deliver water to Cloudsdale for the weather factory I've never heard of you running. But, that's what you are doing now." she said.
I sat there with my back to her and I knew deep down that she was right,
"Listen Princess-" I said before she cut me off.
"Just Twilight will do!"
"Ok, Twilight. I've bucked up. I have amazing friends and an amazing little brother but even with all of them I feel- lonely. I feel like I'm alone and I've felt this way for such a long time. I thought if I found somepony that I wouldn't feel so lonely and all I managed to do was make some pretty amazing mares hate me."
Feeling a wing brush against my shoulder I turned to see that Twilight was siting beside me,
"I've felt that way before but I didn't want to admit it. I found friends and all of that changed. But you, you have friends and no matter what you've done to them if you give them time I believe they will forgive you."
Nodding I didn't really want to talk anymore.
"Have you ever heard of Depression?" she asked calmly.
"Yeah, that some kind of head sickness that makes a pony feel down and unsatisfied." I answered.
"Well it's more than that but you got the gist of it. Look every year around this time quite a few of Ponyville's citizens start to fell sad. There are more than a few families that have had a family member or a close family friend that died while serving their country. Others are sad but they temper that sadness with pride because they are proud of their love ones sacrifice. Now I don't think that is the only reason that you are trying to self medicate on the good feelings that accompany a budding romance or the after affects of coitus but I think the problem lies in your sense of loss."
Pulling away I gave her an angry look,
"I don't want to talk about this. That isn't my problem. I'm just a stupid stallion who tried to juggle to many mares is all. It's not like I'm the first slime ball."
She shook her head,
"No, a slime ball wouldn't have cared what a mare thought of him. A stallion like that wouldn't run because he doesn't think he is wrong. But you do."
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" I spat.
Twilight threw out her wings and stood up. Her eyes glared at me and I felt like she was about to spontaneously combust.
"I didn't want to have to do this but, Thunderlane you broke the law. You were involved in a domestic dispute that got so out of hoof that you neighbors filed complaints about the noise. So you stand guilty of breaking noise control laws and participating in a domestic dispute so I will now pass sentence." she yelled said in the most serous tone.
"You can't do this," I complained.
"I am a Princess of Equestria it is within my full right! I sentence you to, therapy!"