Professor Layton and the Equestrian Silence

by Crystal Blue

Interlude: Out of the Blue

Interlude: Out of the Blue

It had been far too long since he had seen his greatest friend. Many tales had to be told, feats of gentlemanly conduct to be relayed. Yet a little boyishness couldn’t help but escape via how he carried himself.

The young man, Luke Triton, was dressed in his traditional blue cap and v-neck jumper, brown shorts and shoes. He stepped proudly into the foyer of Gressenheller, and immediately the smell of a distinct tea hit his nose.

“Hmmm... Earl Grey, with a bit of lemon mixed in!” The prodigious puzzle-solver broke into a dash down the familiar corridor.

As he reached the professor’s office, he pushed on the door, only to find it locked. Strange, Luke thought. He pulled out a chain from his pocket, and hanging from it was a single key. Sliding the key into the lock and twisting it a full turn clockwise, he twisted the door knob slowly, so as not to disturb his mentor should he be sleeping inside. The door creaking incessantly as he opened it, he saw no silhouette of the man he came to see.

“Professor? Professor?” Luke called out in vain, hoping wishfully for the man to step from any shadows. Alas, not a hint of movement could be gleaned from the half-light. He thought the situation through to himself. Of course! If the professor couldn’t tell Dean Delmona where he was headed, he would always leave behind some sort of clue of where hewas going in his safe. The boy marched quickly over to the professor’s fossil-dusting desk and opened the cabinet in the left leg, revealing a heavy metal safe.

“Let me see if I can remember the code. It’s made of three numbers, I know that much... Huh? What’s this? A clue?”

Puzzle 025

“Those who want to find me should know me,

My name alone, total the acronym,

Next, turn forever on its side,

Finally, a baker’s dozen five-fold, less a pair.”

“Of course! The professor’s birthday! How could I forget?” With several swift turns of the wheel, the door’s gap swung wider in an instant. Luke reached in and pulled out a scrap of paper with writing in smooth black ink: an address.

“I must find the professor! He’s not going on an investigation without the help of his apprentice!” With a fresh and comfortable resolve, he gathered his bag and bolted out of the office, barely stopping to close and lock the door.

Half an hour’s worth of bus trip later, Luke stepped off, confident enough in his knowledge of London’s transport system to push himself onward.

Stepping onto the street in question, he quickly found the house in question. Upon approaching it, he saw a puzzle on a plaque, along with four dials. The numbers were not set to zero, but arranged in a particular order. Luke looked at the plaque, mulling over the riddle for a while, before figuring the shown numbers as right.

“The professor must have been here! Well, here goes!” Luke reached up and pressed the red button beside the dials. A portal appeared in place of the door.

“What is that?” It was not the most peculiar experience that he’d ever experienced, although it ranked highly with ending up in a deceptively glitzy village or being transported to a future London. Luke reached into the portal with his right hand, before it sucked him inside.

“WOOAAHH!” Luke could barely do anything but scream in transit. It didn’t take long for him to black out.

After what seemed like a couple of hours, the young boy awoke to find himself on the floor of a marble-lined bedroom.

“It’s not the worst trouble I’ve been in,” he remarked to himself whilst gazing around the highly-maintained space. Elsewhere in the building, though, one being’s senses brought her to attention.

“Guards!” commanded Princess Luna in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “To the guest bedroom! Immediately!” A shuffling of hooves came and went rapidly past the closed throne room doors.

Back in the bedroom, Luke sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his feet forwards and backwards, humming ‘The Ballad of the Eternal Diva’ to himself whilst giving the room another look-over. His wistful daydream was shattered by many a thud on the floors of the corridor outside. Shortly afterwards, the door to the room flung open as if by magic, followed by the entrance of several ponies, two grey and two white, clad in golden armour.

“Halt, trespasser!”

“Wha-what?”

“You are to be escorted to the Princess. You are to answer for your crime of trespass!”

“What?! I just woke up in this room! I don’t understand!” It was of no use. Luke was being carted off for a crime he didn’t even realise he’d committed.

At that moment, he cursed his curiosity.

Comments

[The Doctor is cool]

LUUUUUUUKKKKKKEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[FloydienSlip]

Aw, poor Luke. Honestly, he should know better by now.

[New Dawn]

LUKEY!!!! NOOOOOOO!