Crystal felt himself breathing heavily as he ran on the crystal pathways. He pushed a few ponies out of the way. He wouldn't tolerate anypony blocking the way right now. There was only one thing fresh on his mind: get to Maud.
"Hey! Geode!" He heard from the right. He couldn't figure out who was calling his name at his current state, nor did he want to stop and talk. He had a strong feeling Maud was in his mansion, and he was determined to make it there as fast as he could.
He soon reached his front doors, bucking them open. He wouldn't be surprised if he made a mark. He instantly took to searching the mansion.
She wasn't in Geode's room. She wasn't in any of the rooms. Geode ran everywhere, making sure she wasn't sitting somewhere. He finally decided to run back to the front door, about to run to the gardens. As he reached the front, he found his co-worker, Tangerine Slate, standing outside.
"Crystal, I saw you running by, and-"
"Did you by chance see Maud run by the shop?" He asked, his voice filled with anger. Tango's ears folded back at his friend's tone.
"Uh... I think I did. She was... running in the direction of the train station if I remember correctly-"
"Train station?!" Geode got out as he slammed the door and took off again. Tango watched him run away, confused.
"What do you mean?!"
"I tell you the truth, sir. She left on the last train to Ponyville. You're going to have to wait a half hour until the next one rolls into the station."
Geode's ears fell. "Er... thank you..." He grumbled before sitting down on a bench, waiting for the train.
Maud had apparently run to Ponyville. Great. She was upset. Really upset. How was he going to explain this to her?
He felt his body uncomfortably twitch. He knew the source: the dark magic he used. Every time he uses it, he gets quite uncomfortable. It has always done weird things to his body. That, and he starts to have magic spasms at times. He's not an advanced unicorn, so he can't restrain the dark magic. It just sort of... comes when he's mad. Oh well. At least he didn't destroy something worse.
His head started pounding. Great. Just great. The headaches are coming. Dark magic had a way of giving him throbbing headaches as well. He sighed heavily. Hopefully he would feel better once he gets to Maud. Another thing about dark magic: it starts to dissipate when the holder is in a good mood. Maud would be more than enough to "scare" the magic away, causing Geode to feel normal again.
A train rolled into the station, propelling Geode up from his seat. Now, he could get to Maud. A wave of relief washed over him. He would get on the train, get off at Ponyville, and then find Maud.
When the train arrived in Ponyville, he stepped off, his head still throbbing due to the dark magic reacting to his anger still residing in his head. The dark magic wanted to seep out; it was like it had a mind of its own. Geode fought everything to keep it within him. He didn't want to singe passing ponies. Dark magic really hurts if somepony takes a bit of it. Heck, it could kill them if they're not helped. Dark magic was something not to be messed with, and Geode absolutely hated having access to it.
He looked around the station, hoping to find a pony he was familiar with. If they saw Maud run in a certain direction, he could figure out where she was.
"Babs? Where's Babs? Applejack, you said she would be on this train!" A voice came from nearby. Geode followed it to see a yellow filly pouting at her older sister, whom he definitely recognized.
"Sorry, Apple Bloom, I forgot there was a train from the Crystal Empire comin'," Applejack responded. She looked up and spotted Geode. "Hey, I know you! You're Maud's stallionfriend!" She greeted, immediately picking up his distress. "Ya look worried, sugarcube. Is somethin' wrong?" She asked.
Thank Cadance for the convenience, he thought to himself. Geode nodded to Applejack's question.
"Do you know where Maud is?" He asked.
Applejack's eyes widened. "In fact, Ah do. Ah saw her runnin' to Sugarcube Corner."
"Where is that?" Geode hurriedly asked.
"Go straight from here, and you'll see it. It's a large, pink building; it's quite hard ta miss."
Geode tried giving a smile, but found it a little difficult. "Thank you... uh..."
"Applejack. Ah don't think Ah gave ya my name during the time we reformed Sombra," Applejack responded.
"Applejack. It's nice to meet you. So... uh... goodbye!" He replied before taking off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.
He kept running straight ahead, ignoring the confused glances from other ponies as he ran by. He was determined to get to Sugarcube Corner and find Maud.
He soon saw a large pink building. Applejack was right. There was no way he could miss it. It was mainly pink, and it was large.
Geode kicked the doors open, but made sure not to apply his full force so he wouldn't leave a dent.
"Hello, dear. What do you want?" A voice came from the counter. Geode looked up to see a blue mare looking over at him, a welcoming smile on her face.
"Is Maud Pie here?" He asked, trotting over to the counter.
"Hm... you mean Pinkie Pie's sister? Yes, she's upstairs, dear."
"Thank you!" Geode responded, joy seeping into his tone. He immediately ran up the stairs, excitement rising.
With all that excitement came a whole lot of dread. How would Maud react to him? Would she... be mad he didn't help back her up? Would she think it's the best if they separate for family reasons? Would she not want to get married because-
Woah, slow it down, buddy. We shouldn't even be thinking about marriage anyway! He thought to himself. He looked to see Pinkie Pie slouched on a wall outside of a room. Her ear flicked at the sound of approaching hoof steps, causing her to look Geode in the eye.
"Is..."
Pinkie stood up. "Yes, Maud is in there," she cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say. "What did you do to her? She's not opening up to me." Pinkie finished, her mane slightly deflating.
Geode looked to the ground. "I... I didn't do anything. Look, my parents have some real issues. Can I please see her?"
Pinkie nodded and opened the door. "She's all yours. I'll come back in a few minutes with some cheer up cupcakes," she replied as Geode walked in. Maud was on a bed, had her face pressed against a pillow, and her body covered by a fluffy, light pink blanket. Geode slowly made his way over to Maud, taking cautious steps.
He reached her head, and slightly poked her shoulder.
"...Maud?"
Maud lifted up her head. It didn't look like she was crying, but her eyes had an unmistakable sadness in them. Geode's eyes kept locked with hers.
"I'm... I'm sorry about my parents. Why... why did you run off?" He asked, sitting next to her on the bed. Maud let out a breath.
"I thought... I thought we wouldn't be allowed to be together anymore because your parents have different preferences for whom you marry..."
Geode stayed silent before quickly wrapping her in a hug. "Maud, what made you think that? Even if my family ordered me to separate from you, I wouldn't listen to them."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. And never forget that." Geode exhaled, happiness easing its way back into his body. He was with Maud now, and the comfort was overwhelming, but he wanted to never have to leave. He also felt that all the dark magic pangs were gone. He was happy now, and that was more than enough to chase the darkness away; deep into his body. He briefly chuckled. "Do you wanna know what I did to them?"
"What did you do?"
Geode blushed, still a bit embarrassed. "I used dark magic and destroyed the table."
Maud's eyes widened. "Wait... you can use dark magic?!" She asked in surprise.
Geode blinked. "Oh, yeah, you don't know."
Maud looked at him in confusion. "Know what?"
Geode's ears drooped. "Well... I suppose I should tell you so you're not completely surprised one day," he started, taking a brief pause. "Back when King Sombra took over the Empire, he... of course had tons of dark magic. He had an overload, and turned into the monster he used to be. Well... there were so many ponies he enslaved. He had trouble keeping them all in shackles. So, he grabbed the unicorns, and made them his personal servants.
"He infused us with dark magic so we would bound anypony who escaped the chains, and even use the magic to... help torture victims. I can't remember anything of what I did, of course, considering I've forgotten everything that happened during his rule. There was apparently a journal that Sombra wrote in. We were controlled by the magic, so we were acting against our will. He wrote that he loved seeing our minds want to break free from the dark magic, but the body doing whatever he commanded. He writes that he enjoyed seeing the tears fall from ponies as they harm their loved ones."
Geode shivered slightly. "Sombra was... quite insane, and a horrible pony. So, because of what happened, every crystal unicorn that lived through the age Sombra ruled has dark magic within them still, and it appears every once in a while when the unicorn is really mad. It is also known that the offspring of the unicorns will also possess dark magic. It's apparently genetic, considering Sombra used a very... strange way of infusing it, and nopony really knows what exactly he did, because he never specified."
Maud blinked, taking this all in. "Wow... that's... awful."
Geode nodded. "Isn't it?"
Maud lay in silence before smirking. "Oh, and I have a question."
Geode smiled at her. "Yes?"
"Is your middle name really Cerulean? It's..."
"Feminine, I know," Geode responded as Maud lightly giggled. "Well... even my first name is feminine because... well... I was originally supposed to be a filly."
Maud did a double take. "Wait, what?"
Geode nodded, his face turning red. "It's true. The doctors thought I was going to be a filly. So, since they told my parents that, my parents named me Crystal Cerulean Geode in advance. They didn't want to give up the name when they figured out I was a colt, so they kept it."
Maud slyly smirked. "Are you sure you're a stallion?"
Geode snickered. "Well, duh."
"Before you start showing her proof that you're a stallion, could you please take these cupcakes from me?" A teasing voice from the door said. The two sat up in surprise, looking at Pinkie Pie, who wore a smug expression.
"Uh... when did you get here?!" Geode stammered, his face growing red. Maud's showed a small hint of a blush as well.
"Just now, and I happened to listen into your conversation," she replied, bouncing her eyebrows.
Maud stood up from the bed and walked over to Pinkie, taking the cupcakes. "Next time, make yourself known before scaring us like that."
Pinkie giggled. "Oh, Maud, I could've walked in at a worse time, ya know," she replied, giving her eyebrows another bounce.
Maud stared at her and put a hoof to her head. "Celestia, you're spending too much time with Limestone when she's in her teasing mood," she replied, taking a bite out of one of the cupcakes.
Pinkie giggled. "How do you know what I meant by that? You're probably thinking about-"
Maud stopped her with a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, mom would be so proud of her dirty, joking daughter." She said sarcastically, finishing her cupcake. Pinkie giggled as Maud extracted her hoof.
Geode took a cupcake as well, and his ears perked up. "Oh my goodness! This is really good!"
Pinkie lowered her eyelids. "This won't be the only thing you're enjoying tonight~."
Maud blinked before grabbing Geode's tail and dragging him away from the pink menace. "Pinkie, I am going to demand Limestone to never talk to you ever again," she said, loud enough for Pinkie to hear.
Pinkie snorted. "Good luck with that!" She replied. There was something else she said, but Maud didn't hear, considering her and Geode were down the stairs and out the door.
Maud put a hoof to her head. "I am so sorry about her. Limestone must have... taught her a few things."
Geode chuckled. "Well, it was pretty amusing, honestly."
Maud blinked in realization. "Oh, goodness..."
"What?"
"I'm staying here tonight. I have that to come home to."
Geode nudged her. "Well, then I guess I'll bear your sister with you. She probably will get her little... joking fuel out of her by the time we get back."
Maud shook her head. "You obviously don't know my sister."
Geode smiled before thinking. "Wait... where exactly are we going?"
Maud shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I don't know about you, but I didn't have much of a meal for dinner."
Geode chuckled. "Same with me. Isn't my parents' cooking awful?"
Maud thought. "Well, I wouldn't go to that extent, but-"
"Be honest. I've always hated their food."
Maud slightly smiled. "Okay. Yeah, it sucked."
Geode suddenly wrapped a hoof around her. "Good. I finally have somepony to agree with me," he said before sticking his tongue out. "So... where do you want to go to eat?"
Maud leaned into him, feeling a bit tingly at his presence. "Hm... what about a picnic?"
Geode snorted. "Wow. A picnic in the evening as the sun's setting. That's totally not cliché and romantic."
Maud bumped him. "I'm sorry, Snowfall Frost, I thought we were hungry. And I was also thinking to buy some food from the Apples, but it appears you think you're too cool to have a picnic."
His tail flicked. "Is their food good?"
Maud nodded. "Very. Too bad you're not getting anything."
Geode nudged her. "Fine, we can be romantic tonight."
Maud flicked her tail, hitting his back legs. "Hey, I thought you liked being romantic. What's up your rump tonight?"
Geode snickered. "Well, we were just snuggling until Pinkie surprised us with a joke."
Maud smiled. "Oh, I see now."
"What?"
"You're afraid of my sister jumping out of nowhere and teasing us."
Geode blinked, his mouth hanging open. "Uh..."
Maud chuckled. "It's okay. She won't come over to disrupt our night. Pinkie has some dignity."
Geode let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good."
Maud nodded. "Yeah."
When the two reached the farm, they saw Applejack bucking a tree. Maud raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Hey, Applejack. Why are you bucking a dead tree?"
Applejack's ears perked as she looked up to the tree before red appeared on her cheeks. "Uh... Ah just have a lot on mah mind..." She silently said before turning to Maud, her blush dissipating. "And how've ya been, Maud?"
Maud thought. "I've been... okay. But I came to ask if Crystal Geode and I can buy some food for a picnic," she replied as she gestured to Geode, who sheepishly waved.
Applejack giggled. "You don't need ta buy anythin'! Our farm is very successful at this time of year... we have too many apples, apple cider, apple fritters, and apple pies! Why don't ya take some off of our hooves?"
Maud blinked. "Oh. Thank you, Applejack."
Applejack winked. "No problem. Have a nice picnic ya'll!"
The two walked off towards the barn as Applejack continued with her evening chores. It looked like she wasn't in the working mindset, considering she let a lot of apples roll down a hill nearby. Luckily, it looked like Big Macintosh was coming over to help. She definitely needed it.
Maud took the final bite of her apple pie, savoring the taste. Apple family treats were always amazing.
"Maud, you were right! These apples are perfect!" Geode replied before taking another bite of an apple. "We need to come here more often!"
Maud nodded. "I totally agree." She leaned into Geode's side. "Hey... I'm still sorry for worrying you earlier. I was just... concerned we would have to-"
Geode quickly kissed her, shutting her up. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Maud, never think that. I'll never let you go."
Maud smiled at him before staring out into the sky. It appeared that Celestia was lowering the sun. Luna brought up the moon, and it cast a refreshing silver glow on the land.
The two scooted even closer to each other. It seemed like Luna purposely made the moon more beautiful than ever on this night.
"Not to bring up the similar subject, but you should have no trouble meeting my parents." Maud said.
Geode smiled. "That's a relief. When are we seeing them?"
"At Limestone's wedding, which is... a month from now? Wow, time flies."
Geode nodded. "Yeah. I'm excited to meet the rest of your family."
Maud smiled. "I'm just excited to see my sister get married. I mean, all her life, she would rant about how she never wanted to settle down with somepony. Now that she is, it's just... exciting."
"I bet it is," Geode replied, looking up into the sky. A wedding. It sounded really nice...
"So... Geode, you're staying here with Maud?" Pinkie asked. The three were sitting at a table in Sugarcube Corner, having a few treats.
Geode nodded. "Yep."
A mischievous smile crossed Pinkie's face. "Well, be sure to keep it down. When Limestone was here with Lightning, it was so difficult to get some sleep!"
Maud blinked before standing up, and silently walking away. Pinkie cocked her head.
"Maud... I meant that Limestone and Lightning talked really loudly for an hour, making it impossible for me to sleep, cause I'm in the room next door!" Pinkie explained, causing Maud to stop. "What did you think I meant?"
Maud blinked again before heading back to the table. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks. "N-nothing."
Pinkie giggled. "Geez, Maud."
Maud rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I never know with you, Pinkie."
Geode yawned, looking towards the mares. "I dunno about you two, but I'm heading upstairs."
Maud nodded. "Same with me." She turned to Pinkie. "See you tomorrow, Pinkie."
Pinkie waved. "Goodbye!" She then made a teasing face, causing Maud to roll her eyes. Pinkie immediately sputtered into a fit of giggles as the couple disappeared.
Mrs. Cake looked to Pinkie, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Pinkie?"
Pinkie stopped giggling and looked to Mrs. Cake. "Oh, I'm just making fun of my sister and her little stallionfriend," she replied, fighting to hold in more laughter.
Mrs. Cake nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Well, you continue with that. I have to put the twins to bed."
Pinkie jumped up. "Ooh! I want to help!" She replied as she left, leaving the main area of Sugarcube Corner in complete silence.