Fizzy was alone, surrounded by the metal walls of her underground home. The only light in the room came from a dim bulb hanging above her. Confused, the unicorn looked for the door, for any way out, but there was nothing. She was trapped in a dark, suffocating box. She had never had a problem with confined spaces before, but now she began to hyperventilate.

She turned around and her parents were there, watching her with cold, dead eyes. The two were covered in deep cuts and wounds from which a thin brown liquid poured out. Fizzy couldn't turn away, utterly shocked.

"Fizzy Pop?" said her mother. "Where are you?"

"Please come with us," her father said. "We're all waiting for you."

"What are you talking about?" Fizzy said. "Waiting for me where?"

They ignored her question. "Come with us," they chanted. The liquid poured faster and faster from them; soon it began to flood the room. The filly could do nothing to block out the chanting. She covered her ears in desperation.

"No! Get away!" The liquid was now up to her neck and rising quickly. She struggled to stay afloat. "I'm sorry! I couldn't save you. I couldn't save anypony!"

"Come with us. Come with us." The metal box was becoming a watery grave for Fizzy. She couldn't keep her head above water, and the liquid began to fill her throat and lungs, suffocating her. She opened her mouth underwater, letting out an unheard scream.

She was drowning in Sparkle-Cola.

Fizzy sat up in bed, her heart pounding within her chest. She could remember every single detail of that dream. Her mouth was dry, so she licked her lips with her tongue. For a fleeting moment, she thought she could still taste the beverage, but she passed it off as her overactive imagination.

The unicorn looked around the room. Dirt was sleeping in the bed at the other end of the room, snoring softly. She put a hoof on her chest to calm herself, then looked at the time on her PipBuck. It was about eight o'clock in the morning. She debated for a minute on whether to wake her companion, but ultimately decided that he needed his sleep. She hopped out of bed and made her way downstairs, passing the old lady who tended the inn on her way down.

Fizzy trotted outside. She figured that she might as well take a walk to kill some time. Besides, she needed to shake that awful dream from her head. The mare had never had a nightmare like that in all her years in the Stable. Yet, one day in the Wasteland had done so much to her. How much would it change her over the course of a week? A month? The rest of her life? She didn't want to think about it.

Fizzy Pop was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of a loud thunk. She flinched at the sound, not sure what to think of it. She looked to where the sound had come from, an alley. Despite her fear, her curiosity was piqued. She paced down the alleyway in search of the source of the noise.

She saw a group of ponies surrounding an unconscious pegasus mare. One of them, a green stallion with a baseball bat, looked at Fizzy and narrowed his eyes. "This ain't your business, little pony. Get out."

Fizzy wasn't so easily persuaded. She took a step forward and got a good look at the victim. The mare had a grey coat and a jet-black mane and tail. One of the her wings was wrapped in a bandage, and her face was covered in fresh blood. Even Fizzy could tell that the mare had been in a one-sided fight. As Fizzy stared, the grey mare opened her eyes a bit, letting a pained moan escape her bloody lips. The stallion raised the baseball bat, preparing to hit her a second time, but Fizzy galloped in between him and his target.

"Wait!" she cried, making the green pony hesitate. "Why are you doing this?"

"I already told you it ain't your business. Get outta the way before I smack you with this thing." He didn't lower the bat.

Fizzy held her ground. "You wouldn't. Now tell me: what did this poor mare do to you?"

"She's a member of the Enclave!" shouted a pony in the mob. "She deserves to die."

"Enclave?" asked the unicorn.

The one with the bat rolled his eyes. "You get shot in the head or somethin'? The Enclave is a group of bastard pegasi that are tryin' to take over Equestria with propaganda and fear tactics. They're good for nothing, all of 'em!"

The pegasus attempted to stand, holding her head with a foreleg. She mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?" said the stallion in the crowd again.

The mare cleared her throat. "I said, how many times..." She rose to her hooves. "...do I have to tell you..."

The stallion, seeing her efforts to get up, swung the bat in his teeth. The mare caught it with a foreleg, then brought her other one down upon it and snapped it in two. The shockwave made the green pony spit the remainder of the bat out of his mouth. The pegasus reared and kicked him in the chin, sending him sprawling across the alleyway. "...I'm not with the Enclave anymore," the mare finished.

The remainder of the stallions were dumbfounded, standing completely still. They shook themselves out of their stupor and began to charge at her. Faster than lightning, she pulled a knife from her boot and jabbed at the space in front of them. They stepped back, not expecting this turn of events.

Fizzy backed away as well, not sure of which side to be more afraid of. This mare, armed only with a knife, was managing to hold back five muscular stallions. What kind of training did she have?!

One earth pony charged at the pegasus and was met with a slash to the side that toppled him over. Two more approached, but she caught one of them with a hoof to their face. The other knocked the knife out of her teeth and pinned her against the wall with his foreleg. The pegasus mare only grinned and kicked out with her rear leg, hitting the poor stallion where it counted. He fell to the concrete, writhing in pain. The others, seeing that they were clearly outmatched, turned tail and galloped out of the alleyway.

The pegasus watched them leave, blood trickling down her forehead. "You better run! Next time, bring an army!" She scooped up her knife, wiped the excess blood from it and sheathed it back in her boot. Then she turned her attention to Fizzy. "Thanks for distracting those guys. I would've been dead if it weren't for you." She cantered out of the alley and into the street.

"Uh..." Fizzy hesitated. "You're welcome, I guess?" She followed behind the stranger, not necessarily with her, but definitely not against her.

Out in the streets, a group of ponies armed with guns were assembling. Once they saw the grey pegasus step out, they set their sights on her. Of course, the pegasus dove behind a mailbox for cover (like it would really help). Fizzy stood a good distance away to avoid getting caught in any crossfire.

"Get down on the ground, Enclave scum!" ordered a mare with a brown cowpony hat and a copper badge. Most likely the sheriff.

"Perhaps you didn't hear what I told those other fellas not more than a minute ago," said the pegasus. "I am a Dashite!"

"Then why isn't your flank branded?" chimed one of the stallions.

"I happen to like my cutie mark," called back the Dashite.

The sheriff scoffed. "She's probably an Enclave spy." She looked back at the pegasus. "Come out and get down on the ground! I promise we won't kill you."

The Dashite peeked over the mailbox. "You're not very good at lying, ma'am. Has anypony ever told you that?"

This was just about the last straw for the sheriff. She groaned loudly, then looked to the crowd of armed ponies. "Shoot her! Shoot her so we can get this over with!"

The Dashite scrambled away from the mailbox and across the street just as the mob began to open fire. The metal box was torn to shreds by a barrage of firepower, and by the time they realized she had moved, it was too late. The pegasus was out of their sight. The crowd poured down the street after her, guns at the ready.

Fizzy, having watched the event unfold, didn't know what to think. What in the world was a Dashite, anyway? At that moment, Dirt came galloping down the street. When the stallion saw Fizzy, he hurried over and stopped in front of her, panting heavily.

"Fizzy! What in Tartarus is going on? Why were there gunshots?" He turned around and looked at where they had been firing not thirty seconds ago. "And what did they do to that mailbox?"

"There was this pegasus pony," she began. "The sheriff thinks she's a member of the Enclave or something. The whole town is after her."

Dirt blinked. "I think it's about time we get out of here. This place has gone nuts."

Author's Note

Boy. That escalated quickly. I mean, that really got outta hoof fast.
-Endless Madness