Doctor Whooves and Derpy are walking along a dirt path. A heavy forest borders both sides of the path. Derpy is walking ahead of her companion, apparently watching both sides of the forest at the same time. She is keeping a brisk pace, and Doc is trying to keep up with her.
Doc speaks up, slightly out-of-breath. “Look… Miss Derpy… where exactly are we going?”
Derpy turns around and raises a hoof to her mouth. “Shh, Doctor please. I’m in the zone.” She turns back around and continues forward. “Call me…the Daring Derp.”
Doc stands still for a moment, looking at her with a look of disbelief on his face. “O… kay….” He breaks out of his daze and quickly catches up with her. “… But what are we doing out here? Do you even know where we are?”
Derpy turns her head to look at him, but continues to walk forward. “Well, were traveling, right? That’s kinda what we have been doing.”
Doc slowly rolls his eyes from one side to the other as he thinks. “Well… yes, but we have always had a destination in mind. We’re just-“
Derpy does a little hop of excitement. “We do have a destination! Legends tell of an ancient castle that lies in the middle of a giant ravine that holds an item of great power. So, that’s where we’re going!”
Doc is becoming flustered and starts to stumble over his own words. “B- But why? W- What do we even know about this castle, or- or this item? It probably doesn’t even exist! The whole idea is just-“
The forest is now behind them and in front lies an amazing sight. A sheer cliff drops into a large canyon that appears to be about a mile across. Near the center of this canyon lays a large pillar of stone, on top of which is an impressive, ancient-looking castle. Its multiple towers and spires seem to rake the sky. The castle’s gate is reachable by a skinny, winding pathway; an inexplicable wall of stone that makes it seem that the canyon was actually dug out around it. From this distance, there does not appear to be any signs of life coming from the ancient battlements.
Doc and Derpy are just standing at the edge of the cliff, staring in amazement at the sight. Doc suddenly finds his voice. “Actually, I’ll admit, that… that’s quite impressive.”
Derpy turns to look at him. She has a huge smile spread across her face. “See? I told you it was here. Come on!” She starts to head down the pathway towards the castle.
Doc tries to stop her by putting a hoof on her back. “Now hold on Derpy, something isn’t right here. Something about this whole situation just seems off. You seem so intent on finding this item, but you don’t even know what it is! If you ask me, this just reeks of a MacGuffin-“
Derpy suddenly turns around, startling Doc with a face with huge eyes and a smile that was wider then he had ever seen before. “DID YOU JUST SAY A GA-MUFFIN,” she shouts with glee. She quickly takes to the air with a flap of her wings. She holds her forelegs over her head as she looks towards the sky. “IT SHALL BE MINE!” Her voice deepens on the last word, and she zooms off towards the castle faster than Doc had ever seen her fly.
Doc just stands there with his mouth open but contorted into one of horror. “Oh dear,” he says, watching Derpy fly straight towards the castle. He closes his mouth and shakes his head. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I mean really, what could harm her in an ancient castle….” His head starts to drop and his eyes scan back and forth. “… Where an artifact of great power….” His head quickly snapped back up. “… Oh dear...” He quickly starts running down the path. “Derpy!”
He doesn’t get very far before he stops dead in his tracks, his mouth completely agape. Derpy had just dived straight through the reinforced wooden gate that led into the castle, completely splintering it. Though he is still quite far from the castle, he can hear noises that seem to be coming inside, as clear as if was right next to him: Splintering wood, clanging metal, crumbling stone, rattling chains, and squealing pigs for some reason. He wants to run and help; he wants to make sure Derpy is safe, but he can’t. His legs aren’t moving, no matter how hard he tries, as if something was holding him still. He just stands there, watching and listening, as stones start to fall from the castle’s walls. The castle is starting to fall apart, made clear as a tower separates from the castle and falls into the ravine. Doc tries to scream out to Derpy, but no noise comes out. He stands, immobilized, until he sees something shoot into the sky from the castle. He strains to move his head to get a better look. It’s Derpy and she’s holding a muffin of unusual size. She’s quickly flies towards Doc, laughing gaily the whole time.
Doc sits down on his haunches slacked-jawed, staring at Derpy and the giant muffin she had procured from the now collapsing castle in the distance. “I must be dreaming.” He sits still for a moment before suddenly furrowing his brow. He cocks his head to the side. “Hold on….” As he thought, his eyes slowly widen. He quickly stands up straight and smiles. “… That’s it, isn’t it? I really am dreaming!” He chuckles as he looks around at his surroundings in a new light. “Fascinating.”
A new thought enters his head, changing his expression to one of curiosity. “Now wait a minute….” The right side of his face scrunches up, causing his eye to close and his mouth to form an unusual smirk. It reverts to normal before he continues to speak. “… Right! Sure-fire way to check if you’re dreaming is to test your pain responders.” He looks down at his front hooves. He moves them up and down a few times - first the right, then the left - all the while maintaining a quizzical smirk and a furrowed brow. At last a solution comes to him, though he doesn’t seem particular pleased with it. “I really hope I am dreaming,” he says hesitantly as he raises his right hoof so that it was a fair distance away from his face. He swings his hoof back towards himself, and as soon as it makes contact with his head, he vanishes without a trace.
*Doctor Whooves awakes*
Derpy is oblivious to the sudden disappearance of her companion. She remains content and completely unharmed, lying atop the giant muffin, slowly nibbling at it. Her eyes are closed and she has a big smile on her face. The castle has completely crumbled into the ravine below; there was nothing left of the grand structure that once held that widely sought-after GaMuffin.
*Derpy awakes*