Professor Layton and the Equestrian Silence

by Crystal Blue

Chapter 2: The Divine Equines

Chapter 2: The Divine Equines

“Are you sure that this... human... will help us?”

“I should expect so, little sister. He almost as famed for his gentlemanly conduct as for his archaeological and deductive prowess.”

“He will have expectations impressed on him like none before.”

“Indeed, but we can help him as best we can.”

The professor awoke, but felt far too comfortable to shuffle himself from his current position. Wearily opening his eyes, he noticed he was lying on a king-sized four poster bed, underneath a gleaming white quilt.

“Hm... Where am I?” Layton looked around for any sort of clue. The room around was spacious, with finely-carved marble walls and a ceiling crafted with the utmost care. To the right of where he lay was a roaring fire, sat comfortably behind a mesh guard. Upon gathering his thoughts, he noticed that he was still in his apparel, and that (mercifully) his trademark hat still rested squarely on his head. He had quickly deduced that he was in a royal residence, what with the level of beautiful yet understated opulence.

“Well, I believe that is time to meet these Princesses,” the professor told himself. After clambering out of the bed and flattening the quilt once again, he headed to the door. He opened the door and took a peak into the corridor, which ran from left to right. It was a similar marble affair, lined with potted plants of various designs mounted on pillars. The floor had a smooth red carpet running along the middle of it. However, one particular feature caught his eye: a marble plinth with a brass plate, sat in the hallway. The plaque read:

“Welcome to the Royal Palace. We are grateful that you have answered our call. We await your presence in the Palace Throne Room, but you will need directions."

Puzzle 003

“You can reach the Throne Room by following one of the walls either side of you, left or right. The wrong direction will lead to an intruder trap. You’ll be surprised how many try to break in for my prized cider from Sweet Apple Acres. However, you will not know which way to go unless you ask anyone. Three step into view. One pony always tells the truth, one always lies and one can lie or tell the truth.

“The first pony states that he can’t stop lying, that the second pony could tell either a truth or a lie, and to follow the left wall. The second pony states that he speaks only the truth, that the third pony is lying and to take the right wall. The third pony states that he cannot tell a lie, that the first pony is indecisive on his truths and that the left wall is the one to follow.

“Which wall do you follow?”

A small smile wondered onto Layton’s face as the answer stood out at him. He took the appropriate direction, following the wall all the way, until he came across a pair of regal doors. Upon closer inspection, he notice a curious panel reaching across the gap, and a telltale brass plaque on the right door:

Puzzle 004

“A final test for you, Professor, we promise. We hope that you are a man of letters as well. We shall give you this phrase to help unlock this door."

LADLE ACHE!

“You need to use all of the buttons to solve this.

“See you on the other side.”

The man in the hat placed his hand to his chin again, thinking what the symbols could be. Then it clicked.

“Ah, puzzles are not without answers, and this one is no different. Let’s see, now...” Layton punched in a combination of button presses, before hitting the centre button. Within moments, the doors swung inwards, revealing a cutting light from across the throne room. The professor shielded his eyes as he walked into the light. He braced himself for whom he was about to meet.

The throne room, much like the rest of the castle, consisted of marble walls and pillar plants, with the red carpet stretching to the throne podium. The podium itself was made from gold, with the carpeted pathway sloping up towards the throne, also gold with deep red cushions. There were beautiful blue flowers in bloom at the base of the pedestal, and water flowed from the podium’s sides into pools. The furnishings seem quite fitting for royalty, Layton thought to himself. As he approach the throne, there before him stood two winged ponies with long and slender horns protruding from their heads. These two ponies were flanked by two dark grey stallions, also with horns and clad in golden armour. At the base of the platform, the Professor bowed his head, as best he could without losing the hat from his head.

“Greetings, Professor Hershel Layton,” a soft yet authoritative female voice carried to him from the left pony. She was white with a pink tinge, with a gentle and sparkling spectrum of sparkling hair billowing from her head and flank. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of magenta. She wore a matching crown and necklace, along with golden shoes holding themselves to her hooves. A detailed image of the sun decorated her flank on both sides. The pony in question smiled softly.

“You don’t seem surprised that we are not human.”

“I had anticipated it from your hallway test, Your Majesty,” the professor answered, smiling subtly.

“Please, call me Princess Celestia.” At this point the second pony, presumably Princess Luna, cleared her throat. She was a deep shade of blue, with black patches and a white crescent moon on her flank. Her mane and tail were also blue, with transparent edges. These also seemed to billow and glitter without aid. She wore a solid black crown and necklace, spare the white crescent moon on the latter. She wore glimmering shoes made from light blue crystal.

“We have brought thee to help us in this time of need, dear Professor,” Luna spoke sombrely.

“I am at your service, Princess,” Layton replied. “Please relay to me the details of the situation.”

“Very well,” Celestia agreed, before detailing her prized pupil’s disappearance. The professor paced the chamber during the description, hand on his chin and his eyes closed.

“Normally,” the white alicorn continued, “I would not call for help. But seeing as Twilight Sparkle is my personal protégée, I deemed it necessary to call on a fine mind such as yours, Hershel. Will you help us?” Layton turned to the throne.

“Of course, Princess,” he responnded, smiling again. “A gentleman always endeavours to help when he can.” Celestia and Luna smiled, placing their implicit trust in the human before them.

The first port of call for Layton was to the carriage storage area. The professor, following the instructions given, opened a pair of doors leading into the darkness. He reached for a valve on the right wall, before twisting it open. The room, now illuminated by candles, revealed that the professor was stood on a balcony, overlooking a group of canopies covering the carriages below. Standing beside him was a brown earth stallion with a matte grey mane and tail, with deep blue eyes and a cartwheel on his flank.

“Ah, excuse me, sir,” Layton began. “Would you happen to know the... pony in charge of storing and maintaining the carriages?” The pony cocked his head sideways slightly.

“Yep, that would be me,” replied the stallion, not even reacting to the professor’s form. “Name’s Cartwright.”

“Ah, excellent. The Princesses sent me here for an investigation. I am looking for the carriage named ‘Excelsior’. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?”

“Hmmm... Let’s see, now...” Cartwright pulled a catalogue from the pocket on a nearby wall, flicking through the pages. “Ah, it’s a four-pony-pulled gold carriage with a roof.”

“Of course. Do you know where it is?”

“I’m afraid my memory’s a little fuzzy, but I think a couple other memories may help...”

Puzzle 005

“From what I remember, Gallant is a silver open-top carriage, and Courage and Jimmy are pulled by two ponies each. All our carriages are kept under those canopies. Is that of any help, Professor?”

“That is very helpful, Cartwright,” cheerily replied the human. “I’m curious, though, as to why one of the carriages is named Jimmy.”

“Ah, that was Princess Celestia’s idea. Just a bit of fun, really. Princess Luna’s got one named Ploddington down there.”

“Ah, that’s fair enough. Shall we?” Layton and Cartwright travelled down the metal steps into the belly of the room, stepping under the appropriate canopy. Cartwright immediately noticed that the nine carriages were in the wrong order.

“Drat!” he barked in disgust. “I’m gonna have to re-arrange them to find the Excelsior carriage!”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Cartwright. I believe I know which one is Excelsior.”

Puzzle 006

“I would believe that these symbols on the undercarriages would represent some sort of emblem. However, one of these does not fit the pattern in any way, shape or form. I believe that would be the carriage masquerading as the Excelsior.”

“Masquerading? As in the carriage is fake?”

“Indeed. Let’s have a look inside.”

Upon opening the door, the first thing the professor noticed was the smell of burning. Closer inspection noticed two of the seats were scorched.

“Tell me, Cartwright. Is it possible for anything to break inside this carriage whilst it is transit?”

“Break in? No. The outer shell is protected by a spell that Princess Celestia herself put on it.”

“Spell?” Layton enquired. “Is it possible to escape under the same circumstances?”

“Yep. Sort of a safety protocol. If there’s any need to abandon ship, they can.”

“Yet,” the professor added, “The door was properly closed when the carriage arrived, and from what the Princesses said there was no point in the journey when the carriage stopped. He looked back in the carriage, knocking on the wood panelling at the foot of each seat. The first knock was a dull thud, but the second knock gave a telling ring. He lifted the seat to confirm that the space beneath the cushion was hollow.

“Excellent. I believe some progress has been made in my investigation. I must report to the Princesses.” The professor turned to the maintenance pony. “Thank you, Cartwright. You have most helpful.”

“Any time, Professor. If you need anything else, please feel free to stop by.” Layton tipped his hat and smiled.

“But of course.” With that in mind, the professor quickly made his way to the throne room again.

Comments

[Frost]

Read the narration with Layton's voice; it makes the whole thing 20% cooler.

[Mariorulez14]

Oh man, this is getting all my likes.
I'm sad that there's no Luke though...I wanted him to tag along.

[TheProfessor529]

Sir/Miss, as a critique, i like to point out that you missed a few quotation marks, but besides that it is very well written and an engaging story, thank you.

[FloydienSlip]

I was able to get the puzzles this time!

So the seat was hollow, which might explain how our villain got into the carriage. But then, where did he/she go?

[psychicscubadiver]

Three out of four puzzles solved correctly. How many picarats did I get?
Puzzle four was the one that stumped me. I focused too much on the colors and shape names to count edges.

I like the way you integrate the puzzles, it's both good storytelling and a brilliant extension of Layton's gameplay into Equestria.