Maud felt her mouth go dry. She couldn't say anything.
The stallion stepped forward. "Hello there. My name is Crystal Geode. You?" It looked like he was struggling on his words a bit; like he was preventing himself from saying something.
"My name is Maud. I like rocks," Maud said, averting her glance away from him and to the shelves. Crystal awkwardly moved his hoof on the ground.
"Well... there are many different types of rocks here! Find whatever suits you!" He replied as he gave her a smile.
Maud looked at a crystal and picked it up. It shimmered under the light of the shop. She took it to the counter where Crystal Geode had replaced the other stallion, who had walked into the back room. She felt extremely awkward because of the current going crazy throughout her body.
She placed the crystal on the counter and got out some bits. She quickly paid for it as Crystal took the money and processed it. He then smiled at her. This made Maud's stomach explode with raging butterflies.
"Thank you for shopping," he said as he held his hoof out for Maud to shake. Maud realized that this was her time to finally get rid of the current. Time to see if he really was the special one for her. Her ears perked up as she moved her hoof towards his. As soon as they touched, Maud felt the current being transmitted from her body into his. After a second, Crystal pulled his hoof away and looked at Maud in confusion. It looked like he was trying to find the right words.
"What in Equestria was that, Maud?" He asked as Maud felt her heart plummet. She found it hard to say the real reason.
"I don't know."
Crystal scanned her face before nodding.
Maud waited in silence for a moment before speaking up. "Crystal, do you by chance know where any hotels are?"
Crystal looked back up at her as his ears flicked. "Y-" he cut his words off. "I do."
Maud picked up the crystal she bought and blinked. "Where?"
Crystal thought for a moment before turning into the backroom and calling the stallion from before to watch the counter. He then stepped by Maud. "I guess I'll just have to show you. Let's get going."
Maud walked by Crystal's side, and immediately felt warmth course through her body. She suddenly wished to press herself up against him. Oh, I really love him, don't I?
The two stepped outside and turned a corner, walking the streets of the Empire. It was very nice outside, and Maud whole-heartedly enjoyed looking at the crystals jutting out from the ground. They sparkled and shined in the sun. Just like Crystal Geode...
Crystal smiled down at her when he caught sight of a hotel in the distance. "There's one! How does that look?"
Maud looked at it, and blinked. Blinking was her primary way of expressing herself. "It looks nice." Now, she could have done that cheesy thing that's in almost every romance movie and stare at Crystal as she said that, but she decided against it. Maud has her moments, as rare as they are, to be discretely cheesy, but now was not one of them.
Crystal looked between Maud and the hotel before glancing back. "Well, I think you'll be fine from here on out," he said. Hearing this, Maud felt a pang strike through her heart. She wanted him to stay with her.
"Okay." She said before blinking. Crystal had an uneasy expression on his face before waving.
"Goodbye."
"Bye."
And then, Crystal turned and left. Maud couldn't help but stare at his body; the way it sparkled in the sunlight. She completely adored him, though she would never admit it. Nopony would be able to find out, either. Different from her sisters, who show their embarrassment (or in Limestone's case, a deflation of ego) very often, Maud can hide nearly every emotion that she has. She always seems neutral, so if anypony would ask her if she liked Crystal, she could say no without stuttering, and they would believe her. However, her sisters are the only exception. They could tell from her eyes if she's lying or not. Her eyes hold her emotions, though only ponies close to her can pick up on them.
She now entered the hotel, looking at the shimmering floors. She found a crystal mare behind the counter smiling at her.
"Welcome to the Crystal Suites, how may I help you?" She asked as Maud took a lot of her bits out of her saddlebag and placed them on the counter.
"I would like to stay here."
The mare blinked. "Okay...?"
Maud blinked back. "How many nights would this much cover?"
The mare looked at the bits, her ears folding back. "I'm sorry, but it will only be enough for one night."
Maud's eyes widened. She had not expected this. "Alright. One night it is."
The mare took the bits, leaving about a third left. Maud put the rest back into her bag.
The mare gave her a room key, which, unsurprisingly, sparkled.
"Thank you."
"You are very welcome! You are in room 104!" She replied as Maud turned and walked, looking for her assigned room.
After climbing a flight of stairs, she finally reached the room she was looking for. She scanned the room key under the door handle, and the door to the room unlocked. She pushed it open and walked inside, her jaw dropping at what she saw.
The wall was painted a really pretty turquoise color. The floor was carpeted, and it was a lavender color. The lights were made out of crystal, shimmering in the sunlight beaming through the window. Maud shut the door and placed her saddlebag on the bed, which was really soft. It felt much more comfortable than her own at home.
She now made her way over to the window, gazing at the Empire. Everything looked stunning. She loved every part of this place. Maud normally is able to travel to many places with being in a geology school and such, but she has never travelled here. Well, she was in geology school. She finished classes shortly before she used the Choosing Stone. She had learned a lot there, and was confident that she was ready to take on a profession in geology. Maybe a school teacher! I'll have to look into that...
Even though it doesn't seem like it, Maud loves being around foals. Especially if they're eager to learn about her passion: rocks. Though, the foals may not enjoy her lack of enthusiasm. Oh well. Maybe teaching high school would be a better alternative...
After taking a few more seconds to look outside, she decided to take a nice walk around the Empire. She left her room and made her way outside.
The sun was still high up in the sky, refreshing her. The Crystal Empire is a very different way of living than the rock farm. Maud really enjoyed it, nonetheless.
She walked on the paths, observing and taking note of the shops and restaurants around the Empire. It all looked beautiful. Canterlot is only a fraction of beauty compared to the Crystal Empire.
As Maud continued walking, she passed by Crystal Geode's shop. She looked through the window to see him working, wishing she could stare at him forever. She felt butterflies whirl in her stomach as she caught sight of him. However, she continued walking, not wanting to seem creepy. After all, she just met him, and it would be weird to see a mare you just met always staring into your eyes. Amazing, gorgeous, crystal eyes...
Maud blinked to clear her thoughts. Though, she couldn't get those gorgeous crystals out of her head. She continued walking, her heart rate increasing. Her pace also increased, but only by a bit.
As she was walking, she heard a gasp from a distance. She turned her head to find a purple unicorn mare walking up to her, her coat shimmering. Her cutie mark was about six red lines in a circular arrangement, which Maud guessed symbolized that she could pack a punch, to say the least. The mare was smiling brightly.
"Oh my gosh! We don't normally get non-crystal ponies here!" She remarked as Maud backed up a space, looking at the mare's crystal emerald eyes. The mare put a hoof on her chin, brushing some of her turquoise mane out of her face. "Well, besides Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, of course! Ooh, and the new princess! Did you hear?"
Maud tilted her head, confused. "What?"
The mare smiled even brighter. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor had a foal! Her name is Princess Flurry Heart!" She then looked at Maud a little closer. "Besides those three, you are the only pony I've personally seen that's not crystal!"
Maud blinked a few times before the mare bit her lip.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I completely forgot to introduce myself!" She lifted her head up a little bit. "My name is Crystalline! I work as a royal guard! What's yours?"
Maud blinked. "I am Maud Pie. I like rocks."
Crystalline nodded. "So... can I call you Maud?"
Maud nodded.
Crystalline's pupils shrunk. "Oh, you don't seem happy! Am I annoying?"
Maud shook her head. "I have a different way of showing enthusiasm than others. And you're not annoying. My sister is more hyper than you."
Crystalline now smiled again. "Yay! I thought you were mad!" She stopped for a moment before continuing. "Say, do you want to come over to my place? I want to ask you about your culture!" Her smile faded. "Oh... I forgot, you're probably on vacation."
A small smile appeared on Maud's face. "I can come over. I have a lot of time here. I think." She then remembered her shortage of money. An idea then flashed into her head. I can stay with her!
The mare bounced. "Yay! Follow me!" She then led the way to her house.
Now, many people would tell Maud that she was crazy to follow a stranger into their house. But, Maud could tell that this pony was sincere. She just had a hunch. Pinkie Pie has these sort of things as well. She calls it her "Pinkie Sense". Neither of them had ever been failed by their senses.
She followed Crystalline to a modern size house and made her way in. It looked very nice in there, the lights sparkling just like her hotel room. Crystalline closed the door and took a seat on a chair, motioning for Maud to sit across from her. Maud did just that, and blinked.
"So... first things first, do you have any friends here? Well, besides me, of course," she asked.
"Well... I am friends with a stallion named Crystal Geode-"
"What?!" Crystalline interrupted as her pupils widened. "Crystal Geode?!" She stared for a moment before erupting into a fit of laugher. "Oh, please, stop pulling my leg!"
Maud tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Crystalline calmed herself from her laughing fit. "Ever since Crystal Geode stopped his modeling career, he never made another friend."
Maud's eyes widened. "Modeling career?"
Crystalline nodded. "Mmhm. He was one of the stallion crystal models a little while back. He quit, for whatever reason. He then started working at a rock shop, and never really gave anypony the time of day." She thought for a bit. "Well... I think part of that is because of all the mares chasing him. If you're a model, it's common knowledge that mares from all over would ask you out. He probably got tired of it. I don't know."
Maud took all of this in. It didn't make any sense why he wouldn't want to make friends.
Crystalline looked at Maud for a minute. "What makes you think you're his friend, if you don't mind me asking?"
Maud's heart rate picked up as she remembered. "Well... I asked him where hotels are, and he walked me to one."
Crystalline nodded. "That does sound a little out of the ordinary for him. He seems like the type to just say a location and get back to work. I don't know." Her ears flicked back. "I hate to say it, Maud, but I think you might have overlooked it. He was probably just trying to be helpful for once."
Maud felt her heart sink as she heard these words. If we're not even friends... there's no way we can be more! She looked down at her hooves.
Crystalline looked visibly uncomfortable. "Well... maybe I'm wrong. Here. Tomorrow, let's meet up and go to his shop. I'll stay outside and witness. I can't just rule out the idea of you two being friends."
Maud's ears perked up and she nodded. "Sounds good. Though,.. why would you not come inside?"
"He probably wouldn't react as friendly if I'm in there. I bought from his shop once. He didn't like me very much." She gave a snort. "Well... that was probably because my friend was flirting with him. She does that with every attractive stallion, though, so it's not too much of a big deal."
Maud blinked. "Okay. That sounds good."
Crystalline clapped her hooves together. "Great! I'll meet you in the morning, at...?"
"Crystal Suites. I am in room 104. You can knock on my door when you're ready. I won't leave anywhere before you come."
Crystalline smiled brightly and jumped up from her chair. "Sounds good! See you then, I guess!" She then looked at the clock behind her. "Oh my! It's getting pretty late! I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Maud!"
Maud nodded, a very small trace of a smile appearing on her lips. "See you later."
They waved as Maud stepped outside, welcoming the evening air.
On her hotel bed, Maud pet Boulder before giving him a cracker.
"Oh, I hope Crystal and I can work out..." she silently said, hoping Boulder would be able to emphasize with her love struggles.