Chosen Love

by Just A Random Pegasus

Maud: One Happiness, One Sadness

Maud felt a beam of sunlight shine on her through the window. She opened up her eyes, looking around the room. She already had a feeling it would be a good day.

She rose from her bed and proceeded to pet Boulder, who was sitting on the counter. He seemed as though he was enjoying the sunlight just like she was.

Maud slipped into her tunic, placing Boulder in her pocket where she has always kept him. After applying makeup, she left the room she was staying in, glancing around the mansion. She couldn't find Crystal Geode anywhere. She shut the door and proceeded to walk downstairs.

As she neared the stairwell, she heard the opening and closing of a door. She glanced behind her to see Geode walking out of his room, flashing her a smile.

"Good morning, Maud. I take it you rested well?" He greeted as he walked up to her and brushed up against her coat. Maud leaned up against him.

"Yep. Now, I'm ready for a fun day together."

Geode looked down to her with a smile. "So, you're not leaving the Empire, right?"

Maud blinked. "As long as you want me to stay, no, I am not leaving."

Geode smiled even brighter. "That's good. And, I know it's Sunday, but I have to get to the shop. Apparently, some miners found some stuff they wanted to give to me." He then stepped in front of Maud and lifted her chin up. "But I promise I will spend the day with you after I'm done. Okay?" He replied, giving her a very quick peck on the lips.

Maud gave a sincere smile. "Okay. It's not too early, so I'll go see Crystalline or somepony."

Geode took a step away. "That sounds good! Now... would you like to accompany me to the shop?"

Maud nodded. "Absolutely."

The two made their way out the door and to the streets of the Crystal Empire. All was peaceful, which was much to Maud's delight. She didn't have a chaotic day in mind.

When the two reached the rock shop, Maud stopped before Geode entered. He then turned around to face her.

"So... come back here when you're done with whatever you're doing, okay? I don't know how long this will take me."

Maud nodded. "Sure thing. See ya."

Geode smiled at her as he opened the door. "See ya."

After seeing her new coltfriend vanish into the shop, Maud started on her way. She knew Crystalline was off today, so she had hopes of visiting her.

When she arrived at the mare's house, she gave the door three, short knocks. Silence. After standing in silence for a few moments, the door creaked open ever-so-slightly, and all Maud saw was a very small glow seeping out from the inside. Confused, she cracked the door open a little farther.

"Crystalline?" She asked. As she spoke, she saw a purple muzzle appear out of the darkness. It belonged to Crystalline, who looked quite deflated. There were no sparkles to be seen on her coat and mane. Her mane laid limp on her head, and her eyes had very little energy. Maud looked at her in confusion, convinced that the pony staring at her is not Crystalline. At least, not the Crystalline she knew.

"May I... come in?" Maud asked, giving her friend an uncertain look. Crystalline flicked her tail, her expression slightly changing.

"Sure." Crystalline replied, stepping back a little. Maud made her way into the darkened room, and saw a few tubs of ice cream scattering the floor. After closing the door, she turned on a light switch, causing a lamp on the ceiling to flicker on. The two stared at each other in undesired silence.

Maud looked her in the eye. "Are you... alright?" It was all she could ask. She knew something was wrong, but had not the slightest clue of what it could be.

Crystalline drew a long, shaky breath. "Oh, I would be alright, if I wasn't a second choice!" She snapped as she flopped on the couch. She levitated an unopened tub of ice cream over to her and started angrily eating. A snarl was visible on her face.

Maud raised an eyebrow. Is it something I did?

She decided to find out for herself. "Well... what do you mean?"

The unicorn slammed the lid on the tub and jumped up from the couch. Now, her eyes were almost burning with fury.

"There's somepony else, that's what! Somepony more special than me! Somepony better than me!" She burst, her ears pinned to her head.

Maud blinked, confused. "What?"

She closed her eyes, her cheeks puffing. She finally drew another long breath, irritation easily distinguished. "I-I told Flash that I like him! He apparently was told yesterday that Captain Shining wanted him to leave for Ponyville today, since he thought Princess Twilight couldn't wait any longer for guards. So, I knew I had to tell him." She paused, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "When I told him... he said that he couldn't love me because there's somepony else! Somepony who he thinks is better than me! If I ever find that pony, I'm gonna, ugh!" She finished, falling to her rump. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, but she kept them in.

Maud blinked, processing. "Oh." She tried to think of good advice. "Well... are you able to talk to him again? Is he still here? Maybe you can ask why he likes this other pony more than you?"

Crystalline shook her head. "He's not here anymore. He left this morning. Thunder and Abalone gave him a goodbye."

"Did somepony mention my name?" A voice came from the front door. Crystalline and Maud turned to find Thunder and Abalone standing in the doorway, looking to Crystalline. They shut the door and made their way over.

"Oh, hey, Maud!" Abalone greeted. Maud waved to her.

Crystalline looked up to Maud. "Maud... you're on a vacation. Why are you helping me? I don't want to ruin your time here."

Maud's eyes slightly widened in concern. "Oh... well, I'm staying here now."

Thunder looked to her, raising an eyebrow. "And why is that? Did something happen?"

Maud's cheeks turned red for a split second. "Uh... well... Crystal Geode and I started dating, so he's letting me stay with him."

Everypony stared at her in shock for a moment before Crystalline spoke up.

"Well, count your blessings. You are making love with a stallion you literally just met, while others are second choices to a stallion they've loved for years!" She burst, thrusting her arms up in frustration. She stood up, brushing some dust off of her.

Abalone put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Crys, I know it's hard, but that's no reason to reply to Maud's exciting news with a rude comment."

Crystalline's form deflated. "I-I guess you're right." She then turned to Maud. "I'm sorry, Maud. Oh, and congratulations. I've always thought you and Crystal Geode looked cute together."

Maud blinked. "Thank you."

Silence hung over the room. Crystalline looked around to the three friends near her.

"What... what should I do? I... don't know how to get over a broken heart."

Abalone thought for a moment before her ears perked up. "Well... none of us know how to cure a broken heart. But, I know someone who does."

Crystalline stepped a bit closer to her. "Who?"

Abalone smiled. "Princess Cadance."

Crystalline's eyes widened. "Oh, of course! But... will she help me? She has a foal, Abalone. She may not have time for me."

Abalone started pushing Crystalline towards the door. "Come on! She's the Princess of Love! I don't think she will turn down a client, especially considering you're one of her personal guards!"

Crystalline meekly nodded. "Uh... okay..."

---

And that's how Maud ended up in the crystal palace, one door away from Princess Cadance. Abalone said that Cadance was probably in her throne room, so they could knock on the door and she if she was there. Even though Maud has no affiliation with the guards, she still was granted permission to tag along.

Crystalline looked like she was a little nervous, but started calming down. From what Maud has heard, she and her friends have a good relationship with Princess Cadance.

Abalone crisply knocked on the door a few times. Almost instantly, a perky voice answered.

"Yes?"

Abalone cleared her throat. "Princess Cadance, it's Abalone Pearl, Thunder Spear, Crystalline, and one of our other friends. Crystalline needs help with something."

"Oh! Well, come on in!" The voice called again. Abalone nudged the door open before stepping inside, smiling at Cadance, who was sitting on her throne. To the side of her was her husband, Shining Armor, and their daughter, Princess Flurry Heart. She was currently giggling as her father played peek-a-boo with her.

Cadance smiled as she saw the four. "Ah, hello there! And... I don't think I've met you yet," she said, pointing to Maud.

Maud nodded. "My name is Maud Pie. It's nice to meet you, Your Highness," Maud replied as she dipped into a small bow. Cadance smiled at her.

"Oh, you don't have to use that formality! You can just call me Cadance." She then looked at Crystalline. "So... you have a question for me?"

Crystalline nodded, her cheeks turning crimson and her ears folding back. "Well... it's something about... love."

As she said this, Shining Armor's ears perked up. He turned around to the others in the room. "Uh... I think that's my cue to leave. I don't know much about love advice," he said as he picked up Flurry Heart in his hooves and carried her out of the room, though she was waving her hooves towards her mother.

As the door was shut, Cadance gave Crystalline a peculiar look.

"So... what's your question, Crystalline?"

Crystalline looked down to the ground, her ears now fully back on her head. "Well... do you know how to cure a... broken heart?"

Silence hung over the room for a few seconds before Cadance took a few steps closer to Crystalline.

"Oh, Crystalline, I'm sorry that your heart was broken," she said, giving the unicorn a hug. She then parted. "And it depends. How was your heart broken?"

Crystalline turned her head away. "Well... I-I have a crush on Flash..."

Cadance nodded. "I know."

Crystalline's ears shot up. "W-what?! How?! I never-"

Cadance giggled, cutting her off. "I can sense it, Crystalline. It's my talent."

Crystalline blinked before continuing. "Uh... yeah. So, after I figured out he was going to leave yesterday, I... decided to tell him how I felt. He told me... there was somepony else." She was now blinking back tears.

Cadance thought for a moment, appearing saddened over the news. "Well... to fix this heart of yours... I would say, do whatever you can to take your mind off of him."

Crystalline's eyes had a certain glare to them. "How?!"

Cadance raised a hoof, causing Crystalline to calm down. "Whenever you feel yourself depressed over this, you can find at least one of your friends and go for a walk outside with them. Start up conversations, and let your mind drift to other things. Create new inside jokes. You're the best at that, Crystalline," Cadance replied with a wink. This caused a light smile to appear on the unicorn's face.

Cadance continued, "And it's a good thing that Flash isn't here. Sure, it's going to be very strange not having him guard me anymore, but this also helps your situation, Crystalline. Since you're not going to be seeing him much, there's less chances of thinking of him. Whenever you see him, you will probably feel depressed about what happened. You picked a good time to tell him."

Crystalline nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Cadance. I'll use that advice."

Cadance smiled. "No problem! Oh, and by the way, Shining is interviewing some guards. By tomorrow, your new partner should be known."

The three guards nodded. "Okay!"

Cadance gave them all a smile. "So... unless there's something else you wanted to discuss... I'll see you later! Good luck, Crystalline!"

The four waved. "Goodbye!" They chorused as they started to turn.

"Oh, and Maud?" Cadance called, stopping Maud in her tracks. Maud turned to look at the princess.

"Yes?"

Cadance gave her a sweet smile. "If you ever have a love problem, feel free to talk to me about it. I promise I'll try to help to your satisfaction."

Maud gave her a light smile. "Thank you. I'll hopefully see you around the Empire."

After catching a farewell smile from Cadance, Maud left with the three, her next destination in mind: The Crystal Emporium.

---

Maud swung open the doors and caught eye contact with Crystal Geode, smiling. She walked over to him.

"Oh, hey, Maud!" Crystal greeted, giving her a slight peck on the lips. "Did you have a good time?"

Maud nodded. "Oh, you have no idea. It was... interesting, alright. I met Princess Cadance."

Geode's jaw dropped. "W-what? How?"

Maud's tail flicked. "I'll tell you later. Right now, let's have some time together."

Geode nodded, flirtatiously raising an eyebrow. "Of course. Let's go back to my house."

Maud nodded. "Okay."

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Poor Crystalline, getting rejected is never easy.

[Just A Random Pegasus]

7123806

Nope...

[HolyCross9]

Thank goodness that Princess Cadence was able give some advice to Crystalline for her broken heart.

[nekomyah]

7123871
Whispers to maud:
"You should tell Crystalline about the choosing stone......."
X3

[Ultimate Warrior of Zera]

Ooo, a conflict is brewing. I hope Crystalline doesn't do something she might regret.

[Light Spark]

Getting Rejected that's always tough i've seen it but never felt it. I know it hurts poor Crystal I hope she finds someone else that can make her happy.

[DualKitsune]

hmmm... Cadence is going to help pick Crystalline's new partner? My what an...opportunity.

[Just A Random Pegasus]

7124125

If the Stone could be used by anypony, love would certainly be a lot easier. Especially for poor Crys.

7124168

Hopefully not!

7125009

Yeah... I've been rejected before () but it wasn't nearly as painful as what happened to Crystalline. She took quite the dose of pain.

And hopefully with help from Cadance and her friends, she will find someone.

7125687

An opportunity indeed.

[Light Spark]

7126620 It is i've witnessed at least 3 times it's not good. It really hurts who get's rejected.

[Just A Random Pegasus]

7126643

Ouch. It probably hurts almost as much to watch as it is to take it.

[Light Spark]

7126652 Yep 3 times. Twice to one friend and One time to another it wasn't fun to see or hear about i felt heartbroken for my friends it took a while for them to recover.

[Fruity Treeze]

I knew the Princess of Shipping would make an appearance here somewhere! Though, how did she not recognize the surname Pie?

[queen nyra]

I wonder if Cadence knows of the Stone...
Great story, btw! ^^ I'm really enjoying it so far. :3

[Just A Random Pegasus]

8274363

Thank you! I'm glad you like it!