Somewhere high in the mountains surrounding the Maripony military base, a single pony slowly limped forwards, his hoof violently clutching his injured side. The blood oozing from the wound was barely visible on his sleek black stealth armour, but the pain more than made up for the lack of visual effects.
He knew he didn’t have much time.
With great effort, he slowly bent down, taking the long sniper rifle from its holster on his back and setting it up on a small flat rock at the edge of a cliff overlooking the facility below.
He was well aware that, ultimately, the task he was about to carry out was a fruitless one as the distant wailing meant that soon he wouldn’t have anypony to report his success to. However, he opted to complete it regardless. He was Her Majesty's agent and not completing an assigned mission would be an utmost indignity, regardless of the circumstances. Not to mention that then wasting his life fighting those guards would have been for nothing.
So, with a newfound determination and spirit, he gripped the trigger of the rifle in front of him and carefully put his eye on one side of the scope. He blinked hard a few times, trying his best to drive away the red veil consuming his vision so that he could properly see his mark among the panicked ponies running around in the valley below.
He recognized the pony as soon as he saw him.
It really wasn’t that hard as, unlike most others, this pony kept a dignified stance and slowly strolled amongst the chaos, flanked by his loyal griffin bodyguard. What really gave him away, however, was his face which was ingrained in the operative’s memory from all the time spent reading dossiers and reports the Office had on him. From what he gathered, the pony was once an ambitious researcher who turned his back on Equestria, collaborating with the Zebra Empire to further his personal goals. His network of influence was substantial and helped him escape the agent’s grasp quite a few times. The two of them have been playing this cat and mouse game for some time, but now he had the chance to finally finish it once and for all. And so, as soon as he saw an opening, he breathed out the air he was holding back.
As the air exited from his lungs, so did a lone bullet from the front of the gun’s barrel. It whizzed through the air and moments later, a single pony suddenly collapsed in the valley, the panicking ponies too busy with saving their own lives to notice his exiting from his eyes.
“It is done.” – the black-clad pony announced to the wind as he finally slumped down, rolling to the side and fixating his eyes on the horizon. – “The mission is complete.”
After a few moments of staying still and basking in the feeling of self-pride for at last completing the mission he was pursuing for many months, the pony moved again, slowly reaching for something in his saddlebag. He weakly rummaged around it a few more moments before finally feeling the smooth cold surface of the object he was looking for.
Out of his saddle bag came a single bottle, tightly sealed with a cap and filled to the brim with a clear brown liquid. At the sight of it, the pony allowed himself to think back to the time he got it, right after completing his first mission. As he reported back to the headquarters, the commander, his mentor, presented him with it, saying it was to be his retirement gift.
“Keep thinking of its sweet taste every time you find yourself in a tough spot, and you will surely live to see another day. And another. And another. Until you finally retire and indulge in its delightful embrace.” – the commander said to him as the then-young operative eyed the crystal brown liquid.
At the time, he considered the words of the commander to be nothing but ramblings of a tired old colt, but over time, as his job tore apart his family and kept his friends away, he came to realise the need of having something to live for. Even if it is something small and seemingly pointless as a bottle of Appaloosa’s finest.
Banishing the memory, he struggled a bit to unscrew the cap. By now, his adrenaline had subsided and a wave of weakness washed over him. It took a few tries, but finally, after some time spent fidgeting with the cap, the obstacle finally budged, opening the bottle to the world. A powerful aroma hit the pony’s nostrils and he inhaled deeply, the fumes already taking hold of his debilitated state. For a moment, he put the bottle aside and used his other hoof to unclasp a small locket tucked away under his armour. As he opened it, he looked upon the picture of a beautiful smiling mare posing in front of one of Canterlot's many spires as two foals ran around her.
It was his family.
Not wanting for the locket to lay in the dirt, he hung the small memorabilia on the stock of his rifle, the eyes of his family in level of his. He took a moment to admire the scene in front of him, but didn't allow himself to dwell on it for too long. Time was a luxury right now and there was not point in dying with a tear in his eye.
So, as he separated his eyes from the ones in the photograph, he once again looked up towards the horizon. Through the clouds, he made out an elongated shape which was rapidly approaching the valley below. Without any further ado, he grasped the bottle in front of him, raising it towards the sky and the descending balefire missile. In his mind he toasted to himself, to his family, to his friends and colleagues, to the Ministries and the Ministry Mares, to the Princesses, and finally, to Equestria itself. Slowly, he opened his mouth, taking a sip and letting his throat fill with the brown liquid.
It really was every bit as delightful as the old man said it would be.
A moment later, a bright green flash consumed the valley below, taking along everypony in it.
Soon, many others like it shattered the land. They consumed the lone operative, his family, his friends and colleagues, the Ministries and the Ministry Mares, the Princesses, and finally, Equestria itself.
And in their wake a new world would arise. A harsh world. An unforgiving world. A world seemingly abandoned by love and friendship.
A world know to its inhabitants simply as...
The Wasteland