Scrap outta luck, ammo, hell I'd settle for a single friend... -Applebits

Tenebris was dead, the town was in ruins, Gladius was broken, and I was looking over their guns, some friend I am. I pulled out a small collection of bullets and started to load them into my saddle. My EFS began counting from zero, and settled at thirty thousand, fifteen thousand for both of my guns. I looked up to see twin missile pods sitting on a shelf with ammo next to them.

"I don't want to take something that is going to be used, but those missile pods work?" I asked as I levitated them out and shook off the dust.

"Yeah, they are extra." the buck behind me said without looking at them as he too ruffled through ammo and pulled out weapons for the road head.

"I'll see if Lightning can hook them up to my armor, it would be nice to have cover busters again." I said as I walked out with a couple small crates of missiles and the two pods.

"Eeyup, they are always helpful." the buck stated as I walked out of the armory, I gave him a nod before leaving.

Outside the others had assembled with their fully loaded equipment and Bulls Eye was getting ready to escort the ponies that were going to Nowhere. Luckily they had a plentiful unit of soldiers coming with them, since the ghouls were all outfitted in their armor with weapons ready to go. Lightning and I had decided to stay behind for awhile with Gladius, even if he is a ghoul, he would need somepony to stay with him. Shadow and he two sisters were practically ordered to go with the larger group to Nowhere by Lightning, he was seemingly on edge, like something was coming.

"Paladin?" a mares voice called softly as Moonlight Shield came up to me, tears still in he eyes.

I took off my helm and bowed my head in respect before I looked at her expectantly.

"Look after my husband for me please, he isn't in a good state mind." she said as she began crying softly again.

I gave a nod before she sat down to begin flooding the ground with tears. I approached he slowly before helping her up and giving her a great big hug, it was the best I could do for her since she had just lost everything. I backed off and used my hooves to tell her that we would not be far behind them, that she will see her husband again. She gave me a nod before Bulls Eye walked he over to the remnants of the townsfolk.

"Think he will remember the broadcaster?" Lightning asked me, completely un-phased by everything that just happened.

"He will, and Nowhere will help them as soon as he lets them know he is coming." I replied as I put my helmet back on, "I hope." added in a mutter.

Lightning nodded before we walked over to where Gladius was and sat down next to the Steel Ranger mare who was watching as a lone vigil.

"Bits, hold still while I put these on you." Lightning ordered quietly, knowing that Gladius was still mourning over the loss of his daughter.

I sighed before I stood up at attention to let him work, the ranger next to me fixated on Gladius, though I could hear her softly crying from behind her helmet.

"So, how's Gladius holding up?" I finally asked, drawing the Ranger's attention away from him.

She sounded like she was biting back her tears and trying to compose herself behind that cold visor before she spoke in a soft voice. "No....Not well I'd s...say. He...He's taking it harder t...than I've ever seen anypony handle a loss."

"And what about you? How are you holding up miss...?" I questioned.

`"Deathbloom...my name is Deathbloom." the mare replied, shifting slightly as to get more comfortable. "I'm...managing...They buried my squad here as well...honored them the same way...It hurts...and I wanted to grieve my friend's loss in peace just the same as your friend there."

"Applebits, and I'm sorry for your losses." I replied, as we watched Gladius remain as still as a statue.

Lightning finished his arming of my new pods as fifty cal round punched through my right rear mechanical leg. Screaming in pain I spun around to see four Steel Rangers galloping towards me, I glanced at Gladius, but he didn't move as more gun shots pierced the serenity of the graveyard. Lightning took off and vanished from sight as he blended into the clouds, Deathbloom charged along side of me to the edge of the ruined town, keeping the fight away from Gladius and the hollowed land.

"Applebits watch out!" Deathbloom said as she dodged a missile that was intended for her.

"Got it!" I yelled in response as I ran through a freestanding wall and plowed into on of the rangers, placing my hoof through his helmet and ignoring the crunch that was followed by a squishing sound as his brain was flattened.

"Two more on you!" my fellow ranger yelled just before she was blown back by a grenade.

"Deathbloom!" I yelled as I watched her fly through an undamaged building.

I spun around to have a steel hoof slam against the side of my head, knocking me unconscious.

-----------------

I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was that my armor was gone, along with my hind legs, and I was laying in water. Pulling myself up to my forehooves and looking around I saw a ruined city on the other side of a massive green in color lake that I happened to be sitting in. Before I could do anything else I heard voices coming towards me, naturally I laid low to avoid detection and since I already looked like a dead body with how battered I was they didn't even look at me.

"Shoot, why the hell are we goin' to Hoofington Skull?" a rough looking light blue stallion asked his friend.

"I'll tell ya why, its our contract." the mare, named Skull, replied, her grey tail hitting me in the face.

"Hey, who's that?" the stallion asked looking down at me.

Luckily I had closed my eyes when Skull's tail hit my face, "I don't know, probably some poor mare who was beaten to death." she replied in a tone too casual for me to believe.

"My goddesses, her flank is gone!" the stallion yelled in horror at the nubs where my flank had once been.

"Hmph, you know she doesn't look too dead Razor." Skull commented.

Deciding to play along I slowly opened my eyes, as if I were just waking up, and looked up in surprise to see the mare in faded woodland camouflage reach out a hoof to me.

"You look like you've seen hell!" she said as I took her hoof in my shaking right hoof.

"Ranger attack, I was knocked clean out from an armored hoof to my head." I said as she pulled me out of the water.

"At least you're still alive." Razor said coming around to my back and picking me up.

They set me down a good distance from the water and Razor began looking me over, mostly where my flank had been. Skull was more occupied with our surroundings seeing as though we were still in the wasteland.

"Rangers huh?" Skull asked, turning her golden eyes towards me.

"A large amount of them, caught us off guard during a funeral for my friends filly." I said, wincing at the pain in the side of my head.

"Putting aside tha mass amount o' bruising and tha nice sized welt on yer head, ya seem tah be in good health." Razor said as he came into my line of sight, his green eyes were slightly aglow.

"Good to know, thanks." I replied taking a look to my back to see for myself.

"Wha are we gonna do with her?" the stallion asked Skull.

"She is dead, there is no coming back after being left for dead in these parts." she replied.

"But!" Razor seemed upset, glancing back to them after looking at my ruined backside I saw him frowning heavily.

"She is dead, even if her body don't know it yet!" Skull yelled, Razor just gritted his teeth in anger.

"No she aint, we can help her!" he yelled, looking his partner straight in the eye.

"Help me or not, I'll be fine." I calmly said as I pulled my front half up with my forelegs, surprising the mare in front of me.

"Well then, you got muscles." she said impressed that I could stand up, even without my hind legs.

"I'll just drag myself towards my friends, I can't be too far away." I replied as I looked around to see if I could find a landmark.

"Yeah right, no you don't even know which way is which." Skull laughed before looking at Razor and giving him a nod.

The stallion picked me up and threw me over his back sideways as he began to walk slowly next to Skull's left side, his twenty two was rubbing against my chest with every step.

"You don't need to help me." I said, hoping that I wasn't going to impede them.

"Don't worry, we just have to deliver something that we just spent two years getting for our boss in Hoofington before our contract is over, then we can go find your friends." Skull said as she jiggled her saddlebags.

"Thanks, my name is Applebits." I replied, figuring that they should at least know the name of the mare they were helping.

"Names Skull, and this is my big bro Razor." the light blue grey mare replied as the one eye'd stallion nodded his head.

With that my body said it was time to sleep, even if I did want to stay awake, but before I closed my eyes I could see several ponies approaching us in the distance that looked like raiders.

Author's Notes:

So Applebits is in a predicament again, but can she trust these two oddities in the wasteland. More to come about them soon, I promise. Meanwhile Lightning vanished during the fight and we have no idea what happened to Gladius and Deathbloom since Applebits was knocked out.

Stay Brony Everypony!