Whose Hat is it Anyways?

“An alert? At this time of night?  Ugh, I hope this isn't Twiley trying to break in again.  Men, let's go check it out.  Open the gate to the archives.  What do you mean, you can't?  You can't even unlock it?  I'll go in to check it out first.  Hah! I'm in.  That teleportation spell Twiley showed me sure came in handy.  Men, stand guard; I'll check it out.”

“Dum-dee-dee, dee-dum.  Hooomm, dittle-leeee.”

“Who's there?”

“Oh? You got in?”

“Hey! Leave those scrolls alone.  This room is forbidden for just anypony to use—especially at night.”

“I'm learning. I need to understand how your magic works.”

“If you wanted to know, you could have asked, but breaking in has gotten you in trouble.  Now, if you don't want me to send you to prison, come with me quietly.”

“Make me.”

“All right, don't say I didn't warn you.”

“Hm... I can't move.  Is this a binding spell?  I wonder how long you can hold it.”

“Long enough.  I'll just unlock this door, and presto! Huh?  It won't budge.”

“I wonder why that is.”

“What did you do to the door?”

“I wonder.”

“Would you stop that?  Get this door open.”

“You'll have to release me, but I will if you do. I haven't come to cause anypony harm, and I have already succeeded in my mission.  I'll even leave willingly.”

“How have you succeeded in your mission?”

“Easy, I learned how your magic works.  I read all the scrolls I needed to, and I got to see it in action on more than a basic level.  You have helped in the latter part.  As such, there is no more reason for me to be here.”

“Hm... I still don't trust you, but I will allow you to go free if you stick around for some questioning.  I want to know who you are.  Since my men can rip the door off and take you away, I suggest you take this offer.”

“Sure, why not? I prefer that over conflict.  Ah, good, I can move now.  I shall unlock the door immediately.”

“I already unlocked the door.”

“Ah, but you didn't.”

“Huh?  What are you talking about? ...what is the glowing blue stick and what is that sound?”

“Presto! You can ask your questions now; I am in a hurry to be somewhere.”

“Uh, okay.  I'll be as quick as I can.  Who are you?”

“I am a traveler.  You can call me Mr. Physician, though.”

“Physician? That's an odd name.  Are you a doctor?”

“Sure.”

“All right, you are strange.  Either way, I want to know what you plan on doing with the magic you read abou-wait a second, you have no horn.  You can't use magic. Thinking about it, it's kind of impossible for you to know how magic works.  Why would you say you do?”

“Isn't that obvious? It's because I know how your magic works.”

“That's impossible.”

“Yup.”

“Okay... and what was the instrument you used earlier?”

“Sonic Screwdriver.  I wouldn't leave home without it.”

“Sonic... screwdriver?  How does it work?

“I don't have time to explain.  In fact, I have to be off now.  The sun is rising, and I have a date with destiny.  Bye.”

“Wait, stop!  Grrr... no, don't chase him down.  We know enough about him to track him down, in case he causes trouble.”