Carmino

The Castle Voltera's halls were dark and dry. Pea and her friends wandered through the well kept halls but small scratches from the ghouls could be seen on the stone bricks and tapestry edges. The castle had a unsettling feel to it, almost welcoming but still hiding something.  Joe and Mumal held torches for the crew in the pitch dark spaces of stone. Mumal became unnerved when they approached a large staircase going to the castle's lower levels.

"Mumal not like the lookah dis," the Ettercap whimpered.

"Whats wrong with it?" asked Dew," their just stairs."

"But whats down 'em?" Mumal snapped.

"I don't know, thats why were looking around!" Dew snapped back.

"Oh stop being so hissy," Joe snorted," I'll go check it out, yall can wait here if ya like."

"Off he goes...again," groaned Dew.

Pea Gravel rolled her eyes and studied a near by tapestry as the mule walked down the stairs, his torch's glow fading away as he ventured deeper. The piece of wall art before her astounded the grey mare. Though it had it's worn out spots, the picture was still visible. There was a silver alicorn next to a taller dull red one. They looked in different directions, the silver with lime eyes and a flowing mane of jade to the left and the red with pink eyes with a purple mane to the right. It was apparent that the silver alicorn was a princess due to her gem crusted tiara and regalia. The other was a princess as well, but she wore a neckless with a large black gem. Their surroundings also interested Pea.

Around the silver one were ponies in suits of armor with bright dots for eyes in their visors. There were also snakes made of metal as well who had a single gem on top of their heads. The other princess' surrounding were different. She had skeletons of ponies with bright dots in their sockets and magenta ponies with yellow teeth. Behind the silver was a castle, much like the one the tapestry was within and behind the red one  was a massive, knobby looking tree.

Dew looked at it as well," Who do you think those two are?"

"One of them should be Voltera," Pea offered," That or these are Voltera's daughters or something...I dunno."

In a short time Joe came back up with helpful news. He reported the finding of a library, only one problem. There were suits of armor in formation in the hall leading to its massive, ornate doors with images of books on them. Not to mention that a small light shown between the doors, as if someone were still using it. Pea shrugged and trotted down the stairs and the rest reluctantly followed. Joe was correct,  there were suits of armor leading to the book collection.

These suits were massive, Joe would fit snug or not at all in some of them. The armor was almost completely solid metal plates, save chain mail at the joint ends, the necks and waist were a series of small metal plates fitting to make a scaled look. Some of them had large shoulder plates with and even spikes. Their heavy looking helmets had small visors or round blinders with a net of holes for eyes. Their halberds mounted to their sides were arched over the walk way. These dark blue metal suits confounded the crew. How could metal in an age old abandoned castle be so pristine and...polished?

The entire crew felt on edge inside the confines of the stone walls as the neared the library's entrance. The tall door seemed to hum with energy when the crew approached it. Joe lifted a hoof to the knockers and pushed...nothing. He checked the door's hinges to make sure he was pushing the right way. He tried again, harder this time...still nothing.

He snorted and handed his torch to Dew. He rolled his shoulder and neck muscles and threw all of his weight against the door. A small, almost ripple-like wave of light emanated from the impact. He bashed the door a second time and before he could do it again Dew placed a hoof on his now bruised shoulder.

"Hey you big lug," She said cynically," Your gonna kill yourself doing that...not that I'd mind but whatever."

"Excuse me?" Joe snorted," What the hell kinda talk is that?"

"You don't need to be so brutish! The doors probably barred from the inside, dummy. You should your brain more before you smash it into mush, the way you hit things like that."

"Alright Miss Dew, got any bright ideas?"

Oza walked between them and placed a hand on the door. The quiet humming stopped instantly and the doors unfroze from their places. The one Oza had his hand on swung open slowly and the light from within shown more and more. Joe's mouth hung open in disbelief, Oza smiled a big toothy grin and waved at him. His cheery demeanor became astonished as well as he and the others took in the sight of the archaic library.

This was simply too much. There was a carpet with comfy looking sofas and a lit fire place near the entrance. Next to the fireplace was a small, slender, polished blue suit of armor for a pony. Instead of being upright like the others outside it was leaned up against the wall. If it was alive it would've looked like it was asleep, cozy next to the fire. There were a few short tables and shelves around this 'reading corner' but the actual collection was much, much larger. The shelves reached up to the high celling, about fifty feet above the floor. They stretched out making a maze of isles between them, with small yellow balls of light every ten feet up. The crew all looked to Pea for instructions and, possibly reason.

"Ummm...I guess look for books on either Ponyville or Carmino," Pea shrugged," Or look for books you can at least read, I guess?"

Joe was the first to venture off, followed by Oza. Mumal sat next to the door cross legged and refused to move, Pea and Dew tried to convince him but he insisted he had done his part. The mares left him alone and Dew began to look around at the massive book shelves, leaving only Pea. The grey mare wanted to look along with the others but the strange suit of armor in the corner had her attention completely. She walked over to it slowly with eyes wide open. The fire crackled lightly as she approached it, her hooves grazed the carpet. The blue armor glimmered in the fire light. The head piece had a wide visor where no light shown, giving the whole suit an off putting look. Pea reached out a hoof to touch the helm.

"Yes miss, you need something?" The armor asked in a metallic, feminine tone.

Pea jumped back squealing. Inside the armor's visor blackness now two purple eyes glowed inside, their light warm and friendly. Pea blinked in disbelief as she watched the ghostly figure move. The armor straightened up and Pea scooted back further. Its joints slid across each other quietly and the armor's neck was bent at an awkward angle for a moment before it pulled its head up. The armor blinked her ghostly eyes back.

"Excuse me," said the armor. Her voice quiet and friendly," Is there something I can help you with?"

"Ahhh..." Pea's mouth hung open in a loss for words. The stranger had her metal head tilted to the side again. Her eyes seemed to be raising an eyebrow in response to Pea's reaction to her.

"Oh um, help...right," Pea shook her head," I-I do actually."

"Are you interested in a particular book, perhaps one on cooking?" The armor said, almost autonomously.

"No not cooking...that'd be silly," Pea giggled. The shock had died down and she began to accept this 'librarian'.

"Well then miss, what would you be interested in then?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any books on something called 'Ponyville' would you?" Pea asked timidly.

"...Ponyville...one moment," The armor said. Her eyes disappeared  from view and she stood silent for a few moments.

"I have a result," she said with a peppy tone," We have exactly...two books on the subject. Sorry miss, they are off limits though, they are in the Princess' privet collection."

"What?" Pea cried," What do you mean I can't? There is nobody but you, me and my friends here. I saw no princess when I walked in."

The armor shook her head, "Miss you must be mistaken, her highness always informs me when she goes out on business."

"Tells you huh?" Pea pulled a sly look," So what were you doing yesterday, hmm?"

"I'm not supposed to chat with visitors but I guess I could a little," the armor said as she sat back down," I was talking with her highness yesterday about her advancing skills in Soul Craft in the courtyard garden and reorganizing the fiction section due to a mix up last week." She stared into space for a moment,"Dose that answer your question?"

"Oh dear," Pea said with a hoof to her lip," I was in the court yard not to long ago. The place was overgrown with tress and vines and the grounds were infected with Ghouls. Are you sure you saw the princess yesterday?"

The librarian cheerful composure seemed to falter slightly," N-no your lying, miss. I'll have to ask you to leave...there are several students who would need my assistance at the moment...I must get going." She got up and began walking toward the rest of the library. She only took a few steps and froze in her tracks.

"There must be a mistake..." she whispered, mostly to herself," There must be a logical reason..."

"Whats wrong?" Pea asked," Did you forget something?"

"I only rested my eyes for a moment...her highness was just here, she said something about-" She spun around and stared at Pea with her lavender eyes, now they seemed to be in pain.

"You said something about...ghouls? Outside in the castle grounds?" The librarian's voice was wavering, "Please miss, you need to tell me!"

"Yeah there are ghouls...inside and outside the castle," Pea looked to the side in thought," its weird...none of 'em are in this part of the castle..."

The suit of armor stood ridged, her legs trembling slightly. Pea became concerned...who was this? Why was the news of the ghouls so bad? Dose she know that nothing is living in the castle anymore?

"Ummm hey lady," Pea asked quietly," Can you tell me whats wrong?"

The librarian stood silent, her lavender eyes stared at the ground. A few glowing purple drops fell from her soft eyes, ghost's tears.

"T-the princess...she was with me in the library as I placed her journal here," Her knees buckled and she landed heavily onto the floor," She told me I could rest for a short while...and she's not here."

"I saw a tapestry of the princess and another alicorn, they were surrounded by skeletons and metal ponies-"

"Impossible!" the armor blurted," There is only one tapestry of them here...that one is of the royal family, your lying! I need to find her!"

The librarian shot up and sped to the exit quickly. She didn't notice Mumal napping there and smashed into him. He lazily lifted his head and blinked all eight of his eyes, the ghostly metal pony squealed and ran back into the library. She raced toward the massive bookshelves in panic. Several minuets passed as she eventually bumped into the rest of Pea's crew in her panicked run.  She ran into Oza last. She slammed into his leg, almost knocking him over.

She looked up at him,"AHHHH! DRAGON!" she screamed. Oza rolled his eyes and lifted her off the ground. He hefted the panicked suit of armor on his shoulder and craned his neck to see the rest of his crew.

She squealed in protest as Oza searched for his companions. They all rounded up at the reading corner where the librarian started, even Mumal joined the meeting. Oza placed the hysterical metal pony on one of the sofas and held her in place as Pea tried to calm her.

"Come on, we have questions and so do you," she said kindly. The librarian was darting her eyes around and fidgeted under Oza's grip.

"Alright," Pea continued," take a deep breath and calm down."

"I can't!" the librarian cried," I don't have lungs! I'm an enchanted suit of armor!"

Not knowing what else to do Pea smacked the helmet of the armor, hoping it would  bring her back to her senses.

"AHH!" she squealed," Now your hitting me! What on earth did I do?"

Dew grabbed a water canteen from her pack and looked to Pea. The grey mare nodded and Dew poured the water inside the helmets visor, not really have very many other open spaces on the helmet. The metal pony stopped squirming and squealing, the room became dead silent;  except the noise of water dripping out of the sabatons of her leg armor. She sighed sadly and tapped Oza's hand with a metal hoof. Oza released his grip and she adjusted her seating on the sofa, trying to regain some sort of professional composure.

"I-I'm so sorry everyone...I'm not a civilian, I'm a servant. Its horrible of me to act in such a manner," She closed her eyes, leaving the wide visor dark and empty." I'm just...shocked at the events...thats all."

"What events?" Joe asked," According to our guide nothing has been going on around here for thousands of years."

"Well, as your friend informed me," The librarian gestured to Pea," There are...ghouls outside and even inside the castle..."

"And?" Dew said," That is bad yes, but what do they have to do with anything?"

"The princess-" The blue suit of armor stopped and opened her eyes," wait...how did you all get in here? The gate was sealed with magic!"

Oza took an sudden interest at looking at the ceiling," Oza not open door...don't look at him!"

Pea rolled her eyes," Oza your a terrible lier."

The librarian raised a metal hoof," Wait, wait...I suppose if we are going to exchange information then I should introduce myself. My name is Sebrina. Her highness Voltera created me to catalog and keep our precious library in working order. But thats beside the point...who are you all, if I'm so bold as to ask?"

Pea smiled like a Tv showmare," I'm Pea Gravel, the red mare over there is Dew Berry, Joe's the big blue mule, Oza is the dragon here and that guy," she looked around to see the Mumal who was hiding behind another sofa," Thats Mumal. He helped us find the Castle."

"Is that thing an Ettercap?" Sebrina asked timidly," Their evil ,meat eating creatures! You should stay away from him."

"Evil? Mumal?" chuckled Dew," He wouldn't hurt a fly..." Dew blinked in astonishment of how silly she just sounded.

"Well...Pea Gravel was it? Shall I take you to those books you requested?" Sebrina kept her gaze from Oza and Mumal.

Pea was about to jump to the chance then stopped," You said they were off limits, right?"

"I did," Sebrina sighed," but the situation has changed..."

"Hold on," Joe butted in," Where is this 'Voltera'? You were talking about her as if you knew her!"

"I do...or did," Sebrina said solemnly.

"Well then," Joe's voice was staring to show his frustration," what the hells going on? No ones lived out here in thousands of years...that'd make ya...really, really old."

"Perhaps...if what I fear has happened then I may be the only one left from that time...pity isn't it, little old me is the last one."

"Last of what?" asked Dew.

"I suppose I should tell you...since I have no one else to talk to. You see, I'm one of many servants that was created by Voltera. She was a master of Soul Craft and the ways of metal smithing. Her sister was also a master of Soul Craft but chose a different path. One more...organic. " Sebrina sighed sadly. Dew hid a half disgusted look from Sebrina, Joe sat down with a facade of bravery.

"They became bitter rivals in the years that followed," Sebrina continued," I knew they were both competitive, but they weren't fighters. One day Voltera told me she was going to do something and said I could rest. Then I woke up from Miss Gravel's touch and here we are."

"Alright Sebrina," Pea said,"Thats good enough for me. I'll take those books you told me about now, if its not to much trouble."

"Not at all, though its most irregular."

Sebrina led the Pea toward the book shelves. The rest of the crew looked at each other wondering if they should grab Pea and try an escape from this 'enchanted' place. Pea called for them to follow and they did reluctantly. They all arrived at the opposite end of the large room where a set of large pillars stood against the wall. Sebrina pushed an off colored brick on the wall and there was a loud sound of grinding stone. The pillar before them spun slowly around like a secret book case. They were astounded to find it hollow with a spiral stair case inside. Sebrina walked inside with Pea following close behind.

"Come on guys!" Pea called," Its okay, her eyes glow in the dark! Its really cool!"

As the crew followed Pea and their new guide they fond the place creepier an creepier. The fact that Sebrina had spotlights for eyes didn't lighten the mood. The arrived at the bottom of the stairs after what seemed an eternity.

"So she left the light off then?" Sebrina asked herself," Ah, she was so careless..."

Sebrina shot an orange laser out her spotlight eyes. Instead of going straight however, it spiraled into a ball and lit the cluttered room with a warm glow. The secret room was much smaller then the library but was by no means small. There were pieces of armor lying around and a work bench with blue print notes and a rainbow of gems.

Suspended from the wall were several armor torsos, some half finished and others completely ruined. There were helmets of many odd designs stacked on a shelf  next to the work bench. On the floor were note of paper with measurements and sketches scribbled on them. At the far end was a thick wooden door. The crew was huddled near the entrance while Pea explored the room with Sebrina.

"Woah Sebrina," Pea said in awe," This is Voltera's secret room?"

"Yes, very few are...were allowed down here. I'll show you to the books, Miss."

She led Pea to the door at the far end and opened it. A gust of warm air came from the other side. Pea walked in with the librarian and Oza followed, not wanting Pea out of his sight with such strange things going on. Sebrina made another light to reveal the inside. It was small and homely, much like the reading corner in the upper level. There were a few book shelves with thick, ancient looking books. There was a podium in the center of the room with a book bound inside a golden cover. Sebrina eyed it, Pea trotted over to the book.

"What, have you not seen it before or something?" Pea smirked.

"No...that one is new," Sebrina said flatly.

Pea pursed her lip. She looked at Oza and Sebrina at first for advice. They both looked back at her puzzled.

"Well, Im gonna touch it!" she said as she grabbed the book.

"WAIT!" Sebrina cried, "IT COULD BE A TRAP!"

Pea held the book for a moment as she stared wide eyed at Sebrina," Well why didn't you tell me-" Suddenly the grey mare feinted suddenly and landed limply on the floor. Oza rushed to see if she was alright.

TO BE CONTINUED...