Chosen Love

by Just A Random Pegasus

Maud: Frozen Mines

Author's Note:

A very short time jump is taking place in this chapter. A week has went by since the last chapter.

Geode smiled brightly. "Wait... where are we going? For our date you planned for today?"

Maud blinked. "It's a surprise, silly." She then gave him a slight smile, causing him to roll his eyes. He gave her a smile back.

"Well... lead the way, I guess!"

Maud turned and started walking toward the doors of the mansion. She opened them, revealing the light from outside. Luckily, it was Sunday, and Geode didn't have anything to work on.

The two walked outside, Maud's head held rather high. She knew he would like what she had come up with.

As they walked, Maud took a few lefts. Her destination was near the mines of the Crystal Empire.

Geode immediately recognized the direction they were heading. "Say... are we going mining?"

Maud's ear flicked. "I can't tell you."

Geode got right next to Maud, trying to see through her face to maybe be able to tell if she was lying. But, of course, Maud kept her stoic face. He finally gave up after a few seconds.

"Maud, you're lucky you have the ability to conceal your emotions like that!" He said as he continued walking. Maud smiled slightly.

"I'm glad you see that as a good thing."

Maud was now on the lookout once again for the building. When she spotted it, her pace increased ever so slightly. Geode followed her over, keeping up with her.

Maud soon was right outside the door. "We're here," she said as she pushed the doors open. Geode immediately recognized what it was.

As Maud approached the counter, the stallion recognized her. He smiled. "Ah, Maud! Here for your tour?"

Maud nodded. "Yep."

Geode looked down to her, perplexed. "Wait... what? A tour?"

Maud looked up to him and nodded. "Yeah."

Soon, a white crystal stallion emerged, flipping his blue mane out of his face. He looked at the two.

"Hello, Maud Pie and Crystal Geode. My name is Ice Frost, and I will be your tour guide of the Northern Mines."

At this, Geode started to visibly shake. "Uh... when you say Northern Mines, do you mean..."

Frost gave him a peculiar look. "Why, there is only one Northern Mines, and that is a little farther north of the Empire! And if you're fretting for your safety, don't worry about it. It's perfectly safe. I've been doing this tour for roughly five years; you will be safe."

Geode looked down to Maud and then at Frost. "Oh... okay."

Maud nudged him. "I thought you said you always wanted to go to the Northern Mines?"

Geode blinked, his glance turning into more of a glare. "Well, yes, but did you hear that I mentioned the dangers of the Frozen North? Do you know the dangers of King Sombra?"

At this, gasps were heard and everypony around them stopped. Frost gave Geode a small glare.

"Please, Crystal Geode, do not mention that name in front of me while we are on our tour."

Geode shakily swallowed. "Y-yes, sir."

Frost stepped forward a few paces. "Very well, then. We shall be off," he said as he handed two mining vests to Maud and Geode. "We are going to be taking a helicopter there. I will show you to it."

The three left the building as Maud nervously looked up to Geode.

"Hey? Do you... not like this idea?"

Geode's ear flicked. "Oh, I do like it! I'm just... scared, I guess. I'm sorry if I seemed like I was ridiculing your choice."

Maud pat him on the shoulder. "It's okay. That's understandable. But I made sure that it would be perfectly safe, and now, you can go mining in the North like you've always wanted to."

A smile creeped up Geode's face. "Well... I suppose that makes up for it. I mean, I'll be able to find so much for my shop!"

Maud nodded. "Yeah. I'll help look."

The two soon found themselves being led to a helicopter. Ice Frost climbed up the stairs leading to the helicopter, and opened the door. He held it open for the two as they walked inside. After all three of them were safely inside the small aircraft, he closed the door. Ice then gestured to a few seats.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. We're about to fly to the Frozen North. Make sure that your mining vests are securely fastened. It is very cold up there, and you need to make sure you'll stay warm while enjoying your trip," Ice informed as he started up the helicopter. The propellers slowly started to swirl as the aircraft gradually lifted off the ground.

Maud looked out the window at the escaping ground of the Empire. She was honestly quite excited for this trip. From what Geode had said, the Northern Mines definitely seem like a place worth visiting. Maud knew she could probably find many rare rocks on this trip to add to her display at home.

Geode poked her in the shoulder, causing her to turn around. "So... let's make the most of this trip and mine in just about every place that seems like it could house a valuable rock."

Maud nodded. "Yeah. That was my intention when I planned this."

Geode smiled at her before looking out the window, watching houses fly by underneath him. "I hope everything goes well. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

---

The two landed on a landing platform next to a visibly large mine. As the propellers eased to a stop, Ice looked back with a slight grin on his face.

"Well... we're here! Follow me into the mines. Oh, and take some tools. They are over there," he said, pointing towards the back of the helicopter. Maud and Geode both grabbed pickaxes, shovels, and bags, ready to start their trip.

As they disembarked from the helicopter, a chill instantly hit them. It wasn't too bad, but it was still quite a noticeable chill. Snow was whipping in their face, and they knew it would be very difficult to see without the goggles the suit provided.

Soon, they saw a staircase leaning down into a large cave with crystals jutting out from the sides. Lights seemed to be adorning the walls, which they assumed made it much easier to see in the darkened cave.

As they stepped hoof on the ground of the cave, their range of vision was immediately taken up by the many crystals. Geode walked over, getting his pickaxe ready.

"These would be super valuable in my shop! Do you know how many ponies would buy crystals like these?" Geode said as he got ready to strike below the crystal. As he was going to, a sharp voice cut him off.

"Before you start, let me initiate a few rules," Ice Frost cut, causing Geode to look over to him. Once Ice saw the pair's eyes looking at his, he continued. "There is no limit of how much you can mine. However, there is a time limit. A two hour visit was paid for in advance, so that's all the time you have to mine here. Second, you must be careful, and not run off without my supervision. It is very easy to get lost in these caves, and I'm the only one out of us who knows the caves practically inside and out. Third, make sure to not pick a bad place to mine. If you see a large boulder right above where you want to strike, I highly recommend you don't mine there, unless you want to get crushed. Does that all sound good?"

The two nodded in agreement as Ice got out a pickaxe as well.

"Good. I'll be mining alongside you two. Tell me when you want to move forward, and I will lead the way."

Maud took this as a signal to carefully look along the sparkling ground. She was trying to find an amazing rock to keep for herself.

She soon saw a few crystals that sparkled like a rainbow. As she looked closer, she realized they were attached to a rock. It was a sedimentary rock as well.

Quickly, she took her pickaxe out of her pocket. She struck beneath and above the rock, trying to get it lodged out of place. After a few minutes, she had finally gotten it out. It was a fairly small rock; a little bigger than Boulder. The crystals jutting out from it looked like miniature versions of the crystals in the Crystal Park.

The thought of the Crystal Park made her heart flutter uncontrollably. That's where she had her first date. Her first kiss. A smile slowly climbed her cheeks as she put the rock in a protective wrap that was in the pockets of the mining suit. She then fitted it into one of the suit pockets, and continued looking.

She felt a tap on her shoulder while focusing on the ground. She turned to see Geode looking at her, a proud smile on his face.

"Hey, wanna see what I found? It's one of the most valuable crystals I've ever seen!"

Maud nodded. "Sure!" She followed him a few paces to the left and stopped in front of a wall of crystals. Geode showed Maud one near the ground, and her mouth fell open.

On the ground, there was a crystal which was practically radiating light. Every color she could ever imagine was on that crystal. She watched as Geode mined all around it, soon grabbing the crystal from the wall.

Maud and Geode both stared at it when it was in his hooves. Maud couldn't believe that there were crystals with this much beauty that other tourists easily passed by.

"Wow... you'll be able to make a lot of bits by selling this in your shop."

Geode let out a hearty chuckle. "Maud, you actually think I'm going to sell this?"

Maud raised an eyebrow. "Uh... yeah. You said you were looking for valuable things to sell."

Geode shook his head and grabbed Maud's hoof. He placed the crystal in it and smiled at her.

"No. Why would I sell something that's already yours?"

Maud's eyes widened as she looked between him and the crystal. "But... you'll be able to make so much bits if you sell this!"

Geode nodded. "That is true. But, why give this away just for bits, when I can give it to the most amazing mare I've ever met?"

Maud tried to say something, but she was speechless.

Geode nudged her. "Exactly. Now, let's continue mining, shall we?"

Maud smiled and nodded, wrapping the crystal in the protective wrap. Very carefully, she slid it into one of her large pockets, trying her hardest to take extra good care of it.

---

Maud put an igneous rock into her large, almost overflowing pockets after wrapping it up. Her suit was getting even heavier, and it became slightly harder for her to move. Though, she's had to carry much heavier things before, so it didn't bother her. It looked like Geode was carrying just the same amount of rocks as her; maybe even a little more. Ice Frost was carrying a few rocks, but it didn't look like he was carrying much. Ice stepped forward, clearing his throat. Both Maud and Geode looked over.

"Alright. So... we have about twenty more minutes in here. Make sure to get your last mines in!" He remarked. Maud nodded, turning her head to look for more rocks.

Suddenly, a strange glow captured her glance. It seemed to be a... crystal? Maud couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but it was strange. Whatever it was had a dark, red, and eerie glow enclosing it. It looked like something Pinkie might like to use for one of her many decorations for Nightmare Night.

Out of curiosity, Maud walked over to the glowing object. As she grew closer, she saw light pouring in from above. She looked up to see that the ground above had been broken; maybe by whatever was glowing. As Maud grew closer, she saw the red glow start to intensify. Whatever it was, it was very bright.

Maud reached her hoof down to pick it up and put it in her pocket. As she touched it, some sort of darkness spewed out from it. She quickly withdrew her hoof, but the darkness continued to flow out.

This must have been enough to capture Geode's attention, because all Maud could hear was him yelling: "Maud, run! Get out of here!"

Maud turned to see Geode double timing it to escape. As the dark cloud started spreading, Maud fled in an instant. It looked like Ice Frost was right behind her, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

As soon as the three got out of the mines, they jumped aboard the helicopter. As Ice Frost entered, he slammed the door. Beads of sweat appeared to dribble down his face. He quickly jumped into the cockpit and started up the helicopter.

Maud was confused about what was going on. Heavy breathing was heard to her left. She looked to see Geode completely pale, his pupils smaller than she'd ever seen them. Beads of sweat were also starting to fall down his face as he tried to get better control of his breathing.

"What's wrong?" Maud asked as Geode looked to her, his expression completely unreadable. It looked like pure fear and dread were engraved in his eyes.

"Maud... that... that darkness... is... King Sombra..."

Comments

[HarmonyRain]

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNN!!!!!!

[HolyCross9]

Zoinks! Sombra has returned!

[Just A Random Pegasus]

7152599
7152623

ih1.redbubble.net/image.113120829.6014/flat,1000x1000,075,f.u3.jpg

[Ultimate Warrior of Zera]

So Maud picked up an Umbrum crystal. Not good. It was fun while it lasted.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

7152641 Ruh-oh!

[Snowdrifter]

Well, that took a...
(Wait for it...)
... Sombra turn!

[Dimensional Librarian]

Welp things gonna die now

[Grekoy]

7152599 Aw man you beat me to it.

great chapter.

[Calaxy]

YOOOOOOOO! DID NOT SEE THAT COMING FAM!!!

[Just A Random Pegasus]

7154447

Well, I think I did a good job then, fam.

[Light Spark]

Sombra's returned? Oh no...

[Fruity Treeze]

What a tweest!

[notyouraveragecupcake]

Geode smiled at her before looking out the window, watching houses fly by underneath him. "I hope everything goes well. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

[Truthseeker]

I mean, what's the worst that can happen?

YOU FOOL! You have invoked Murphy the all-powerful!