Ys: Memories of Celestia

by DragonTamer314

2: The Ponyville Mine

~The Ponyville Mine~

Twilight didn’t really have any sort of plan as she rushed into the mine. It was more so ‘enter, save miners’ than anything else. She started by running towards the left of the cave, following the scaffolding along the walls. When she came across a gate, however, a large amount of boulders were in her way. Seeing no way to move them, she hurried back and followed the cave system the other way, towards the right of the entrance.

“Hold up there, sugarcube!” a familiar voice called out. Confused, Twilight turned around, only to find Applejack running in the cave after her. Applejack was panting. “Ah step away from you for a few minutes and you just go on and charge in here alone? Where do you think you’re going?”

“Now, calm down…” Twilight said. She shook a hoof at the mare. “St-Stay back, no need to chase after me…”

“Oh no! Ah’m not letting this go, Twi. Am Ah supposed to just turn my flank around and leave while you go get yourself killed?” Her voice was at once both concern and anger at the lavender mare.

“Listen, Applejack, I came in here to help…” Twilight said. “I… had a vision outside the cave, of sorts, and it said something about me being a swordsmare. I mean, I just had to come in here and help the ponies in here…” Applejack stayed silent for a few seconds, her Stetson tipped in thought. She then leveled her eyes at Twilight.

“Ah think Ah know what’s going on here. You’re one of THOSE ponies, aren’t you?” At Twilight’s confusion, she continued. “All you do-gooders just have to stick your muzzles where they don’t belong, right? You just have to try and solve everypony’s problems and drag others along once you’re doing it!” The red-garbed unicorn cringed under the blue-dressed mare’s words. Applejack then smirked. “…Well, Ah know better than to talk your kind out of this. That’s why Ah’m going to give you this.”

Applejack reached back into her saddlebags, which weren’t present in the tavern, and pulled out a short sword. It looked as if it barely fit in the bag, from the size of it. Twilight thanked the mare, and strapped the sword’s sheath to her left flank, the tip of the sheath not far from the ground. “Ah don’t want your corpse on my conscience, after all. Ah can’t believe you were seriously thinking of walking in here with nothing but your hooves… you’re a unicorn, not an earth pony!”

“I’m a what…?” Twilight asked, before reaching a hoof to her head. Sure enough, she felt a horn poking up from her mane. “I… don’t remember…”

“Landsake’s, you don’t even remember how to fight?” Applejack asked, apparently genuinely shocked at this point.

“I-I can manage it! Look,” Twilight grabbed the sword’s hilt in her mouth, holding it relatively well in her jaws. “Ah con hood i’ jus’ fin.” Applejack smacked her own face with a hoof.

“FINE!” She shouted suddenly. “Ah’ll come part of the way with you. ONLY part way, you got me?” Twilight simply sheathed her blade, smirking present on her own face.

“Now who’s being naïve?” she said cockily.

“Ah shut it. Let’s just get this over with.” The two mares trudged on, until meeting a solitary stone statue. “Hmm…” Applejack studied it closer, running a hoof on its surface. “This is a pretty old-looking tablet…” she muttered. Curious, Twilight touched it, trying to see what secrets it held. The entire thing started glowing orange with a small humming sound as soon as her hoof made contact. “Wh-What? What did y’all just do?”

Twilight went into panic mode. “I ONLY TOUCHED IT!” she said, shocked as well. “I didn’t do anything other than that!” Applejack nodded in agreement, more confused than before. “Maybe it’s because I’m a unicorn?” Shrugging, Applejack simply moved on, muttering something about just getting in and out of the cave as fast as possible.

It was at this point the cave started becoming more rugged, with unmined veins of gold, copper, and other metals still in view. As well as a few curious little creatures running around. “Yep, those are monsters alright.” Applejack said. They appeared to be small moles, but their heads were coated with an unnatural white fur and their eyes glistened red in the sparse light form the lanterns in the mine.

“What are they doing so close to the entrance?” Twilight asked. “Shouldn’t they not even be here?”

“Well, it just means we got to drive them back. How’s it feel to hold a sword again, Twi?” Applejack gestured to her companion’s still-sheathed blade.

“It feels kind of natural. I mean, if I were to believe that voice, I am used to it. I guess it’s just my memories helping me?”

“It’s good to hear that anyway, sugarcube. We’ll find out why and how you remember that later.” She gestured with an armored hoof towards the monsters. “Why don’t you take some practice? These monsters are nothing compared to the dangers of the Everfree, so you should be fine. You seem like you could use a little warm-up anyways.”

Twilight nodded, and approached the beasts with her sword in her maw. She swung the blade at on before it noticed her, and the beast stumbled back in shock and pain. Confidence rising, it only took two more swings to dispatch the first beast. Unfortunately for Twilight, its friends noticed, and each of them attacked. Their claws sunk into her hide, drawing blood but not doing anything serious. “Nut gunna le’ tha’ bo’her ne!” Twilight said to herself, around her sword’s hilt. She dispatched the three troublemakers who attacked her, suffering only one other minor wound in the process. She sheathed her blade when the last one was slain.

“Well, it looks like your body knows how to use that, even if your head don’t.” Applejack said. “But what Ah’m wondering is why you didn’t use your magic to just levitate the sword. Or do you not remember how to do that?”

“Magic?” Twilight asked.

“All unicorns- you know what? Ah’ll tell you about it when we get out of this mess. It’ll take too long and Ah’m not exactly an expert on it.” With that, the earth pony trudged on, leaving a slightly confused unicorn to catch up.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”

“Did you hear that?” Twilight asked.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”

“Sounds like somepony…” Applejack responded.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”

“In trouble!” Twilight said, drawing her blade and running off into the cave.

“That mare is going to get us both killed.”

Author's Note:

There we go. Last update until next week, and you can expect at least one chapter per weekend until I'm done. See you all next time!

Comments

[Deathwind64540]

Wow Ys has changed a lot since the ones I played, then again I haven't played a Ys game newer than #3. I take it the one you are basing this on is one of the remakes of book 1?

[DragonTamer314]

5200545
Well, I was actually unaware that this was a remake! I started the series with #7, the Ark of Napishtiem (Pretty sure I spelt that wrong). So, I guess I am basing this off a remake, but as it's the only version of it I've played, I guess it doesn't really matter...

[Deathwind64540]

5200777 after a bit of research I see that Ys: Memories of Celceta is actually the replacement for Ys 4, it just has a lot in common with Ys book 1. On a side note it turns out is Ys 3 is entirely non cannon.

[DragonTamer314]

5202740
I did a little digging, and apparently Memories of Celceta is a remake of Mask of the Sun, which is also a remake (what a !). So I'm pretty much three degrees from the original...
Well, I thought the game was good. It would have to be if it got TWO remakes.

[DarknessLilly]

i like the story and the writing style. ^_^ keep up the good work!