Both Link and Emerald Storm stood before the royal guard stationed at the mountain gate. The stallion looked down at Emerald and frowned. "You. Ain't you supposed to be in your temporary home?"

Emmy shook her head. "You may have tossed me out once, but this time, I brought reinforcement." She turned to Link at her side, and Navi on his head. "Those two will vouch for me."

Link looked at her and also frowned, but turned back to the guard and straightened his expression. "Agreed, I'm here to request passage up the mountain. Emerald Storm here, is to be my attendant."

"See that sign over there?" the stallion asked, pointing at a wooden sign stuck in the ground to his left. "'No Entry', and that means you two."

"Might be more effective closer to you," Link commented. "Besides, I do have permission." He took out the letter and showed it to the guard.

"Oh, this is..." The guard took the letter in his magic and looked closer. "Surely, this is her insignia." He opened it and read aloud, "'This is Link and Emerald Storm. They are granted access to the mountain. The two are under orders, from Princess Luna and myself, to aid the mining city.'"

Emerald held her head high in pride, only to waver when the guard started laughing. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"That she would send a kid to deal with their chief is such a laugh!" The guard tried to calm down, and after a minute or so, he succeeded. "Don't get me wrong, I'll let you through, but I gotta warn you, he can be rude."

"I've heard that one before, but want to or not, it has to be done."

"As you say, kid. Orders are orders, after all." The guard struck the ground with the base of his spear and the gate began to open. "Just be careful up there 'Mr. Hero'. As for you, I better not need to escort you out again."

"You won't have to. I'm taking responsibility for her," Link said.

"Well in that case, you'll need this." The guard gave Link a slip of paper. "That there is a voucher good for one absurdly sturdy shield. It'll help if you plan on climbing to the top. Show that to one 'Titanium Hammer', he'll make ya one."

"Thanks for that. I could use a better one."

"Now, since I gave you some advice, I could use your help. I got a boy, and he's been bugging me to get him a mask. A shop opened up recently in Canterlot and, well, I'm stuck here. It's alright if you say no, I'll understand. But if you do, I'll pay you for it."

Link paused and thought. "Why not... It'll do me some good. What mask did he want?"

"Great! He wants the Kitsune mask. Yellow face, black nose, pointy ears, can't mistake it." The guard bowed and added, "Thanks again, kid. I would go, but... This is my job."

Link bid farewell and departed with Emmy up the trail. She leaned over to him and whispered, "So... your real name is Link?" He sighed and put his hand to his forehead, causing Emmy to laugh a little. "Nothing wrong with it. It's a good name, and I like it."

"Really wish he didn't read the letter aloud like that..." Link looked ahead and saw a large boulder. "I never told you my name, because... do you remember?'

"You didn't think it was important, right?" Link nodded. "Well, I'd say you put yourself into a position where your name has value." Emerald turned the corner to her right and continued, "And on that subject, do you remember when you called me on your ocarina? The first time? Well, when you did, I was entertaining a guest in Canterlot."

"Not too long after that, I got your letter telling me exactly that."

"Right, I did send one... Had to make sure you got it. Anyway, what do you think about her? The mare, I mean?"

Link paused. She's asking me what I think of Epona. "For starters, she's very kind-hearted, and more than friendly. Every time I come into the room, she tackles me to the ground."

"Y-you live with her?!" Emmy yelled. "Since when were you into ponies?"

"What? She's more of a friend. Yeesh, what crawls through your head scares even me." He stopped and put a hand to his chin. "You know, since you bring it up, she told me a little about a mare she met... Might she have been referring to you?"

Emmy turned and smiled widely. "She talked about me?!" she nearly shouted.

Link nodded and continued, "Sure did. Even used a word to describe you. What was it..." Emmy couldn't stand still as Link tried to remember. Suddenly, he held up his index finger in triumph. "Obnoxious."

"She... she called me... obnoxious..." Emmy hung her head and started walking up the path again. "thanks..."

"H-hey now. Don't be that way. I'm sure she meant 'endearing'. And if not..." Link ran to catch up with her, and patted her lightly on her shoulder, "then whatever you did, you dd with good intentions." He looked up the path and saw a sign. "Now that sign has proper placement." Close up, he saw an arrow left and an arrow right. "'Mining City' right, and then 'Mountain Summit' to the left..." Link walked to the right and saw the path go into the side of the mountain. "That's got to be it."

As the three got closer, Link found that Emmy was more fascinated by the circle of rocks on a platform just outside the opening, than by the opening itself. "Don't see that every day. Wonder what it means?"

"Any number of things, really," Navi offered. "Back where I'm from, circles of rocks were everywhere. More often than not, a swarm of butterflies would be flittering within the border it made. Sometimes, people made wishes, standing in the circle, and the butterflies would grant the wish." Navi flew around the rocks. "Though, these could be decorative pieces."

Link laughed a little. "Who'd have rocks as a decoration?" he asked, picking one up to look at it.

"I'd put that stone down, if I were ye," a voice from the side suggested. "Wouldn't want to offend the Keeper."

Link and Navi closed the distance between them and the pony, while Emerald sat in the middle of the rocks facing the opening. "Keeper? Who's that?"

"Our landscaper. He's very picky with his rocks. Put another ring near the entrance to the caves, he did. Swore they brought good luck."

"I'd say they're faulty, what with the trouble y'all've been having." Link looked down and saw a strange plant. "What's this thing?"

"That there's our special crop. Made to make stuff go boom." The pony grinned a creepy grin, then continued, "Bomb flowers they are. We harvest these guys, cut the fuses, and make our own bombs with the shells left behind. Got a whole bag of finished product in those caves, but with that boulder in the way," the pony pointed over the edge, "we can't get in to get them. Since we can't get in to get them, our - ye know what? Never ye mind about that last part." Link and Navi looked between them. "Reckon ye're in a bit of a hurry, so I'll let ye move on."

Link bowed. "Thank you for your ... short explanation. And yes. We are in a hurry." He turned back and saw Emerald in pout stance. "Oh boy. And it seems she's still upset. Me an' my big mouth."

"Upset yer ladyfriend did ye? Shame-"

"My what?" Link questioned. "I'm only 13. Way too young to be thinking about that. Good try though." He walked back to Emmy and asked, "Hey... you alright?"

"Yeah... I'm alright. Just... let's go." She stood and began walking toward the mountain hole. Link got in front of her and crossed his arms with a scowl. "what?"

He sighed, and eased his expression. "I said something wrong, something I shouldn't have... and I'm sorry. I didn't know it'd strike a sourspot."

" ... Like I said, it's fine. Can we go now?" Emmy asked impatiently. Without waiting for an answer, she quickly vanished inside the mountain.

In the blink of an eye. That was strange... fast as she went, I didn't feel any current... "And she's gone." Link turned to the entrance and walked in, only to see Emerald talking with one of the residents. "Uhh.."

"Link, you're too slow. We'll never help these villagers if you walk so slowly," Emmy scolded in a happier tone than before. She turned to the mare at her side. "She was just introducing me to the village." She and the guard walked to the edge of the walkway and looked over the multi-layered village in the ground. "Isn't it spectacular?"

"Not sure that's the word I'd use to describe it. Hey what's that out there?" Link pointed to a rock platform hanging over the middle area.

"That's just our night watcher. He sleeps out there, bein' a pegasus an' all. Feel free to wake 'im up," she replied. "'course I wouldn't. He been awful tired lately, what with all the bad stuff going on."

"Bad stuff like..." Emmy inquired. Link pulled out his notepad and started writing the details.

"Like, our sentries malfunctioning, our mine's blocked by a rock too big to move, an' our chief took that magic stone an' holed himself in his room with it." The mare began pacing. "Our workers are getting restless since they can't mine no more, an' because of that, our special crop's dwindlin'."

"'Crop'?" Emmy asked.

"The bomb flowers, right?" The mare nodded. "They grow in the mine?" Another nod as Link wrote it down. "Is there anything I should know about what the mine yields, that you can tell me?"

"Aside from the boom plants, aye. Several rock types an' minerals, mostly metal. Used for smeltin' by our own blacksmiths. Ye can find them on the second floor if ye're interested."

Link closed his notepad. "Thank you. Which way is down?" he asked, putting away his material and looking down.

"Ever thought of jumping?" Emerald asked in an all-too-serious tone. "You'll be fine if you roll. Might want to start a bit ... closer to the ground first. huh?" She saw him climb over the fence. "I wasn't serious, I hope you know."

"Sounded like you were." Link looked down. "If I don't fall now, I'll be afraid to in the future. If I get hurt, I walk it off." Link held his breath and leapt off, falling the 15 feet to the floor below, rolling a few times to stop his momentum. Emmy could hear his breath of relief.

"Ye coulda just used the stairs," the guard offered. Emmy flew down and chuckled at him.

"You didn't have to jump, you know that... right?" Emerald laughed some more.

"It worked didn't it?" he replied, pointing at her face. "I got you to come back."

Emmy fell silent and returned to her gloomy self. "Yeah, well... I didn't ask to be cheered up."

"Didn't have to. Now let's go one more." Again, he started climbing over the fence, only to be stopped by Emmy's reaching hoof.

"Let's not, okay? You could really hurt yourself. We'll take the stairs. Besides, I'm not carrying you if you can't walk any more." She turned to a staircase behind them and walked down, listening for Link to follow.

And he did, smiling. "That was too risky, Link. You seriously could have been hurt," Navi said, concerned.

"Good thing I rolled." After an unknown amount of minutes later, they found themselves on the next lowest floor. "You've got to be kidding me!" he cried. "Just how deep does this city go?"

"Only about one more floor. Our boss lives on the bottom," a stallion replied, "behind a stone door. Got a store down there too if ye want to buy somethin'."

"I thought this place is military owned?" Link asked him.

"Aye, ye're not wrong. However, there are those who live here who aren't. Ye'll find the houses on the floor above ye."

Link shook his head. "No thanks. Come on, Emmy. We can't-"

"Hold on, just a moment, Link." Emerald turned to the stallion and asked, "If there are houses up here, why are there still houses in the village before the mountain?"

"A fair question. Our city here is reserved for workers an' smithies. Miners an' the like have moved into the mountainside to have a better commute to work."

Link thought, got his notepad out and started, "Since we're asking questions, I have one for you: I was told the chief holed himself in his room with the magic stone. Why would he do that?"

"Ye heard about it, huh? Aye. Took it from the platform up there an' locked it away in his room. I didn't ask, didn't think I should." The stallion shrugged. "Why are ye interested in such a stone anyhow?"

"I can't answer that. One more: I was recommended to a particular smith by the name of Titanium Hammer. Where can I find this individual?"

The stallion pointed to a long hallway. "At the end o' that one. Best to leave him be for now though. Been real upset that he ain't gettin' much work. I mean, sure there was one request about a week ago. But that was small."

"I see..." Link closed his notepad and stowed it away once more. "Thank you for your assistance." The two walked down another hall, another flight of stairs, and found themselves on the lowest floor. There, in the middle, stood a giant clay urn. "That's pretty cool, now that I see the detail. Who made it?"

"I'd bet the chief of this place," Emmy answered. "Wouldn't surprise me any. Anyway there's a shop down here."

"We'll stop by later. Right now, I want to get in the chief's room." Link looked around at the doors and saw one with a carpet in front of it. "Must be that one." Upon further inspection, the carpet was decorated with various diamond shapes, each with three triangles coming out of the top. "Strange pattern. Uh... How do we get in?"

"Try knocking?" Emmy rapped on the door a couple of times. "Chief? Are you-"

"GO AWAY!!!" he shouted beyond the door.

Emmy and Link looked at each other. "Princess Celestia sent us to help you and your city."

"Likely story! Where's yer proof?!" he bellowed once more. "Without evidence, that door ain't openin' for NOPONY!"

Link tried to reach for his letter, but failed. "Right, I left the letter with the gate guard..."

"Perfect. How are we going to get in now?" Navi asked. "He's obviously very set on this door not opening to just anyone."

"No proof, no entry. Now stop wasting my valuable time!"

He looked around and saw the shop. "Guess we're asking somepony else..." They entered the shop and looked around. A few barrels of sticks, some rolls of rope, a few well-worn picks and replacement parts scattered the room. Behind the counter, a mare was watching them.

"What can I do ye for?" she asked.

Link looked at Emmy, who looked back at him. "She asked you, not me. Go ahead."

Emmy took a breath and approached the counter. "My friend and I are having some ... trouble, getting an audience with the chief. Is there a way to get him to open his door?"

The mare behind the counter nudged a glass jar on the counter. "Information like that comes with a price, lady." Emerald looked at link and smiled. With a sigh, he placed two bits in the jar. "First an' foremost, Boss don't like no visitors, 'specially those from the outside."

"Alright, but that wasn't my question," Emmy complained. Again, the mare looked at the jar, and again, Link deposited two bits, glaring at Emerald. "Now, how do we get in to actually see him?"

"Stingy fellow ain't ye? Alright, ye gotta prove ye're here on business. Who sent ye exactly?"

"The princess did. But we left our proof with the gate guard before the mountain." Emerald looked back at Link who dropped his glare.

"Have ye anything ye can prove yer sent by the princess? Anything at all?"

"If we ha-" Emmy felt Link's hand cover her muzzle and muffled her complaint.

"One thing, but it's a longshot," he admitted. The two turned and started walking out.

The mare behind the counter waved her hoof. "Don't count on it working," she said, causing them to stop and turn around. "Won't tell ye why though," she added, looking up and to the side.

Quickly, Link dropped three more bits and asked, "Why shouldn't I expect it to work?"

"He's been in a foul mood lately. Almost a week. Somethin' about a 'miscalculation'? I hear all his colorful language, an' I can tell ye he gets pretty mean..." She looked at Link and finished, "That be all I can tell ye."

Again, Link and Emerald put their backs to the shop and started walking. Link stopped a moment, and turned one more time. "Before I forget..." He walked to a pile of rope. "How much?"

"Fer the rope there?" He nodded. "3 bits a yard."

"Great." Link dug into his money pouch and retrieved 60 bits. "Twenty yards should do."

The mare got out from behind her counter, measured out the length he paid for, and took his money. "What in the world ye need rope for anyway? An' why so much of it? Shouldn't ten be plen'y?"

"Just something I might need later. Thanks again." He took the rope and coiled it neatly in his pocket. Then he paused. "Specifically, I'll be needing it for exploration."

For the third time, he and Emmy turned and walked out. "So, what's this 'longshot' you mentioned?"

Link went and stood on the carpet before the door. He took out his ocarina and held it up. "This." Carefully, he played the song he learned from Twilight's book. Celestia's Lullaby, or at least the first 11 notes he knew.

"That's not a longshot, that's a song!" Emmy argued. All the same, the door opened upward and allowed them to enter. "That was cool, I'll admit."

Inside, Link saw a large earth pony stallion hunched over a table wearing a black apron and goggles. "Well, ain't ye full o' surprises," he said, turning to look at them. He revealed a similar tattoo on his left foreleg near the shoulder resembling the mark on the carpet. "Last thing I expected was to be met by some fledgeling barely big enough to crawl."

"Uhh..." Link tried.

"That my Sworn Brother would send a kid to 'help', when what I need is a seasoned vet... Have I fallen so low?! Does the princess think my problems so easily solved that she'd send a half-pint to do a stallion's job?!"

"But we-"

"Get out! Messenger or not! I-" Link began playing the song again, while Emerald hid behind him. For some reason, this calmed him down. "Nice try boy, but that one got ye two in here. If ye really want to play music, let me hear something from the heart and soul. Let me feel your passion."

Link looked behind him at Emerald. "I might have something like that... But I'll need your help, as I don't know it all."

"M-Me?" Emerald asked, looking up at him. "What, my song?" Link nodded. "Alright... But I can't guarantee it'll come out right. I mean, it may be my song, but this'll be the first time I've done something like this..." She got out and stood beside him. Quietly, she began humming her song, just loud enough for him to hear. Link closed his eyes and listened very close, putting a finger position for each note. After a minute, she stopped. "Did you get it?" she asked him.

"Maybe I lost a few of the notes, but I got most of it. Let's go through it a few times." Emmy started humming loudly, and Link began playing along with his own music. The stallion began nodding his head in rhythm to the music. After a single play through, Link started it over. This time, Emmy added some background music to go along with Link's main sound, and it fit perfectly. Wildly, the stallion began dancing to the music, flailing his forelegs and stomping his hindlegs.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about! That beat, the rhythm, the passion! Such a hot mixture of sound! It rivals the heat our bellows produce!" he proclaimed as he slowed to a stop. "I want to apologize for my earlier anger. My name is Heavy Swing, Village Chief, but everypony calls me Boss, for obvious reasons. We've been hit with more than our share of problems lately. First our mine gets infested with creatures, then the sentries we created to fight them off go an' get corrupted all 'cause we used a metal core. Then, in an effort to cut our losses, we drop a boulder in front of the only way in an' out. Needless to say, until our issues are fixed, this mine's out of order."

Link pulled out his notepad and asked, "I heard from some of the others that you took the magic stone and hid it in here. What is the significance of this stone?"

"Funny ye should ask that. Our village was nothing before we found it ages ago. We decided to hoist it high above our city, as we believed it brought good fortune. We built our city around it, an' thanks to the spoils of the mines, we've lived happy lives. Our smithies have minerals to use, which we make weapons an' such for the royal guard. The crops we grow help to expand the mine too."

"Which leads me to my next question: The pony by the bomb flower on our way in said there's a bag of finished product still in the mine somewhere. How is the finished bomb different from the flower version?"

"The final bomb can be carried and lit at any time. The flower, while it has a longer fuse, ignites the moment ye pull it from the ground."

"Alright..." Link said, crossing it off his list. He closed it and asked, "You specified metal core. Why's that?"

"Eh?" the stallion asked. "Oh, ye mean the sentries? Aye, metal is right. The other 7 were made of stone, and as such, we cast a spell to control them. But, we soon found that when not given orders, they'd stand around, so we crafted a bigger, better sentry with a metal core. This one was meant to be the leader, an' relay the orders to the others. But the spell went awry an' caused a major malfunction. Soon enough, they believed we were the enemy, so we had to lock them inside with the monsters."

"That's unfortunate. In any case, I have a deal to make with you, if you're interested." Link put his stuff away and continued, "In exchange for my services, including: the removal of the sentries you placed, and the monster clearing, I want something in return."

"Hold on there, kid. I got one last request before ye go on yer merry way. That metal core I mentioned... Well, I'll be needin' it back. To find out what went wrong, an' to make it better so somethin' like this don't happen again."

Link asked, "Is there a way to deactivate it? Like a switch or something?" The stallion shook his head. "So you want me to destroy the rock body but not the core. Alright..."

"Aye. An' in return, I'll give ye our magic stone. Sound fair?"

He's just going to give it to me? I was going to ask for it anyway, but now I don't have to. That works. "Alright. You have yourself a deal."

"That's great and all, but what do I get out of it?" Emmy asked him.

"Oh that's right. Ye're helping him too ain't ye? Tell ye what: he gets the stone, ye'll get a congratulations. As I heard it, ye were caught recently sneaking around here."

"Right..." she replied.

"Consider yer time here borrowed, young miss," the stallion replied. "The entrance is just behind the boulder ye likely saw on yer way up here. Not sure how ye plan on gettin' in, but best of luck to ye."

Link and Emerald bowed, then left the room. Outside his door, Link took out his notepad, and turned it to an empty page. With his writing material, he wrote, "'Destroy Sentries x 7', 'Destroy Monsters', 'Retrieve Metal Core'. Sounds like a short list, but considering what all that entails..."

"Yeah, each one could take forever." Emerald looked up at the urn. "How do you plan on getting through the boulder anyway?"

"I've got an idea, but we need to go somewhere else first." Link walked up the multiple levels of the city to the exit. "Wow, it's already getting dark out," he said, looking up at the sky. He turned his attention to the pony by the flower from earlier. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, ye again..." the mare replied. "Couldn't find what ye were looking for?"

"No, I found it. Oh, this is Emerald Storm. The other pony from before." Link walked to the edge and looked down, seeing the boulder. "How much do you know about the bomb-making process?"

"Everything, seein' as how I'm one of the ones who makes 'em."

"Great. Maybe you can answer a question or two. One: how long does it take for a bomb flower to explode?" Link asked, judging the distance from the cliff to the ground.

"About... 12 seconds. After the final bomb is made, it's only 8. Shorter fuse an' all," she replied.

"Two: Will it explode on impact?"

The mare looked up and replied, "I doubt it. Them shells are tougher than the rocks in the mine. It'd take a serious hit to dent them things. Not sure why you- Hey, what're ye doin' there?!"

Link reached down to the flower and pulled it out of the ground. "Getting rid of your problems. Well, some of them..." Quickly, he threw it off the cliff and watched it hit the ground, the lit fuse visible in the increasing darkness. Seconds later, it exploded, shattering the boulder blocking the cave and opening the entrance. "There we go." He turned to the mare. "You're welcome."

"Ye're an imbecile! Why would we go to the trouble o' closin' it if we wanted to open it again?!" the mare shouted.

"Calm yourself, ma'am. I'm on orders from Canterlot to assist with purging the mines of hostile forces." Link turned to Emerald. "And she is going to help. We are both qualified, to an extent, so please, have faith in us." Link and Emerald silently bowed and walked down the path, leaving the mare to stand there with an open maw of surprise.

Out of earshot, Emmy admitted, "You're so cool sometimes, you know? I didn't even know that was over there. Probably because I was moping before, but I'm really fine now. The way you handled the boss guy inside, that mare behind the counter, all of it. Makes me wonder why you even asked for my help."

"To get you out of trouble. It wouldn't be the first time I did that for somepony, but I'll tell you about that later. For now..." They stopped in front of the entrance to the mines. "We've got a mine to clear." He turned to his left and noticed several whole rocks making a half-circle. "Oh no... The Keeper isn't going to like this at all..."

"Keeper?" Emerald asked, as they walked inside the surprisingly lit mine.

A friend of mine gave me the idea to use rock sentries. The core idea was mine.
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I am under the belief that the gorons from Ocarina of Time are idiots for not throwing the bomb off the edge themselves.
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Oh, and Emerald's depression? Deserved, kinda. After all, she got it in her head that the two (epona and herself) parted ways as sorta friends. So to hear that she called her obnoxious... put her in poor spirits.