I am referring to rocks in this instance. Individual crystals grow together in an igneous rock as it solidifies. I know that the $\ce{SiO4}$ tetrahedron is the basic building unit of silicate minerals, and metal cations attach to ensure electroneutrality.
What I am wondering, however, is what force keeps the crystals together (as in bound to one another) in the solid? For comparison, sediment grains are held in place by a silica or calcite cement in fragmental rocks, but what stops individual crystals from breaking free in crystalline solids?