Pinkie Pie didn't know what to do. The pony who she believed was her sister, was getting closer. Pinkie reached around for her cleaver, but it was nowhere nearby, so she did the only other thing she could think of.

''EVERYPONY WAKE UP!''

The others shot bolt upright, reaching for their weapons, and standing up to face whatever threat Pinkie had woken them for. Pinkie suddenly held up a hoof. ''Hold it! I need to try something.''

Pinkie slowly approached the now still pony she believed was Maud, and stared t her. ''Maud? Is it really you?''

The pony took a few steps forward, growling again.

Apple Jack began to take a step forward, ready to defend her friend, but Swift blocked her with a hoof. ''Wait.''

Pinkie cautiously approached the growling pony, and reached warily a hoof out. ''Maud?''

The mare suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her hooves around Pinkie in one of the tightest hugs Pinkie had ever received. Swift and Apple Jack lunged forward, their weapons ready to end the mares existence, however, Pinkie Pie was faster, she suddenly moved from where she stood with the gray mare wrapped around her, to behind the two attackers.

''Stop! She's not trying to eat me like a I would a cupcake!'' Pinkie cried, wrapping her hooves around Maud protectively.

Apple Jack and Swift paused their attack and realized she was right, the gray pony Pinkie had wrapped in her hooves was not taking chunks of flesh out of their pink friend, nor was she really doing anything.

''Oh ma Celestia...Is it really you Maud?'' Apple Jack asked, tears of joy beginning to well up in her eyes.

Pinkie released Maud from her hooves, and took a step back to allow her sister to speak.

The gray mare said nothing at first, she just stared at the group of ponies before her, before finally breaking the tense silence. ''Yes. It's me, its good to see you Pinkie, and you too Apple Jack, its been a while hasn't it.'' Maud said flatly, with barely any emotion.

Now that they were paying attention, Pinkie's sister looked like she hadn't had a bath, nor a change of clothes in days. Her mane and tail was matted and greasy, and her dress was covered in muck and grime, and had been torn in several places. She had several scratches across her face and front hooves, some still oozing blood.

Even though her normally expressionless face showed no sign of pain or fear, Pinkie could tell just by looking into Maud's eyes, her sister was in pain, and she was scared beyond belief. She had to do something.

''Um, Maud? we had better get you checked over, so look like some hurty boo boo's.''

''I'm fine Pinkie, don't worry yourself about me.''

Swift took a few steps forward, his blade back in its sheath. ''So your Pinkie's sister, its nice to meet you, I'm Swift Blade.''

Maud stared at him blankly, before nodding, ''Nice to meet you too.''

''Even though I want to ask you a few questions, we had better get you patched up, and get you something to eat, you look half starved.'' Swift observed, glancing at the mares dress, which hung looser than it should have.

Maud nodded again. ''Thank you.'' Before Vinyl began leading her towards the wagon.

Swift and Pinkie watched the two mares head away, before Apple Jack nudged them with a hoof. they turned to face the farm mare, looks of puzzlement on their faces. ''What's wrong Apple Jack?'' They asked at the same time.

''Jinx!'' Pinkie added, giving a small giggle.

''Listen here ya two, your sisters hiding something Pinkie.'' The orange farm pony whispered, making sure they couldn't be overheard by Maud.

''How can you tell? I cant see a thing past that blank stare of hers.'' Swift said with slight surprise.

''Element of Honesty, remember? I could see right through her, she's hiding somethin, so keep an eye out.''

''You got it Apple Jack!'' Pinkie saluted, and began trotting towards the wagon.

''If Maud's hiding something, it has to be pretty big for her not to tell even her sister about it...'' Swift muttered. He shrugged it off, ''For now, we had better get her some food, and them we can start asking questions.'' He stated to nopony in particular.

Apple Jack chuckled at him, before turning to follow Pinkie. The swordstallion, blushed at forgetting the farm pony had been right there while he was talking to himself, but followed without pausing.

Maud tore into the sandwich, not seeming to care if there wasn't rocks in it, like a wild animal. She had devoured it in a few seconds, and tore into the next one with gusto. It was a sight to see, Pinkie had never seen her calm and collected sister like this before, and it made her realize just how bad things were getting.

They had bandaged her wounds, but when they asked if she had any more injury's under her dress, she immediately brushed them off. So fast that it made the survivors, even Scootaloo, suspicious, but they had decided to deal with it later.

Now Maud was tearing through several sandwiches Pinkie and Apple Jack had fixed for her so fast they were afraid they may run out of food.

Pinkie suddenly held up a bowl of steaming green liquid, with a large rock sitting in the middle, and offered it to Maud, ''Here, your favorite, rock soup!'' She exclaimed, smiling as the gray earth pony accepted the soup and began slurping it up greedily.

Swift nudged Pinkie from behind, a look of concern plastered across his face. ''Um, Pinkie? Why's the rock in there? Wont she choke on that...?'' He winced.

''No silly, Maud and the rest of my family can well...eat rocks!'' She giggled, but her pupils began to dilate. She turned gingerly back to her sister, who had just finished swallowing the stone and setting the bowl down.

''Maud...? What happened to mom, dad, and our other sisters...?''

The gray mare stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity, before finally speaking:

''They didn't make it Pinkie, I'm sorry, I was the only one who managed to escape.''

Pinkie didn't move, or make a sound, she just plopped down on the ground, the shock overwhelming her. This couldn't be, they were all gone, the rest of her family was gone, erased, and she never got to say goodbye.

The pink party pony didn't even realize she had began to cry, her tears streaming down her face like waterfalls. She slowly wrapped her hooves around herself, her eyes shut tightly, and her mane fell flat, as she began to blubber. Pinkie's small wails pierced the hearts of all the ponies present, and soon Apple Jack had her own hooves wrapped around her friend, sobbing quietly with her friend.

A single tear fell from Swift's eye, as he watched his friends sob. More ponies were lost everyday, and now even Pinkie's family was dead, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it! He was going to find that cure, and if there wasn't, he would wipe out every zombie in Equestria by himself if he had to.

Slowly, Maud and Swift joined Pinkie and Apple Jack, wrapping their hooves around the two. Maud's tears flowing freely, while Swift allowed tears to fall one at a time. Soon, Vinyl and Scootaloo joined in the embrace, their heads lowered.

Pinkie gave no signs of knowing what was happening, the only thing she did, was continue to bawl.

The forest sang a woeful song around them as the leaves rustled and the trees groaned. They traveled in silence. The only sound Pinkie's continued whimpering and the sounds of Maud trying to sooth her.

Vinyl traveled in front of the wagon, ready to defend Apple Jack, who was pulling the cart again.

Scootaloo and Swift sat next to each other. The filly was quietly chewing on an apple, while Swift sharpened his blade, figuring now was the best time.

The swordstallion set down the sharpening stone he was using and sheathed his weapon, before grabbing a bottle of water, taking a quick drink from it, and hopping off the cart.

Swift quickly moved to Apple Jack's side, and offered her the bottle, which she accepted with a nod. The farm pony took a quick swig and hoofed the bottle back to the blue stallion, as she continued to pull the cart.

Swift then quickly approached Vinyl and gave her a quick smile, offering the water bottle. The unicorn returned the smile and took a long drink from the bottle with her magic, before capping it and returning it to the stallion.

The stallion shoved the half depleted bottle into his saddle bag, and began trotting next to his marefriend.

''We're getting close to Canterlot'' Vinyl tried to grin, but all of the sadness Pinkie had been spreading from earlier had infected her too, and her smile faltered.

''You okay Vinyl?'' Swift's concern was clear in his voice.

''Yeah, its just...now that I think about it, I have no idea if my family's okay. I haven't contacted them in weeks, and now...I just don't know.''

Swift wrapped a leg around the DJ, letting her know that he was there, ''Vinyl, don't worry, if they have been turned, we'll use the cure on them first, I promise.''

It felt like the wrong thing to say, but his mouth had acted before his brain did, however, the DJ smiled at him, ''Thanks dude, your the best.'' She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and turned back to the road ahead.

Pinkie's tail began twitching, and she stopped crying for a second, standing up and shouted: ''Look Out!''

Swift and Vinyl barely had time to react before a large timber wolf leapt from out of the bushes, heading straight for Swift. The swordstallion let out a quick cry before tackling Vinyl, sending the two ponies tumbling away from the savage beast.

Pinkie leapt off the cart, and began helping Apple Jack untie herself, ''Hurry Pinkie!'' The orange farm mare exclaimed, making a quick glance at the struggle between the wooden terror and the two ponies.

Swift had his longsword drawn and was jabbing at the wolf, trying to keep it back, while Vinyl was hurling logs and rocks at the monster.

Maud wrapped Scootaloo in her forelegs, trying to sooth the terrified filly, as she watched the battle.

Apple Jack grabbed hold of her war hammer and charged the timber wolf, the large weapon colliding with the beast, sending it flying into a tree trunk. The wolf snarled and stood back up, a black fluid dripping from its mouth.

''Oh ma Celestia...'' Apple Jack watched with horror as she spotted the black ooze drip from the timber wolfs mouth. This wasn't a normal timber wolf.

Vinyl grew enraged, and began to advance on the beast, her magic spear floating by her side. ''You...Your kind took my best friend from me, and your going to pay for it!''

''So that's an infected timber wolf...'' Swift muttered, before leaping in Vinyl's path, trying to block the DJ. ''Wait! You cant fight that thing alone! Not this time!''

Vinyl stared at him for a few seconds, before nodding, ''Your right...lets do this!'' She magically raised the spear over her head, and the tip began to glow bright, charging up.

Swift grinned, and turned around, his eyes went wide. The undead wolf had taken the chance to lunge at them again. He raised his sword to protect himself, but a blast from Pinkie's party cannon knocked the beast away from him.

''Thanks Pinkie!'' He shot a smile at the party pony, before returning his attention to timber wolf, who was trying to stand up again.

Swift charged, swinging his blade at the monsters left front leg, taking a large chunk out of its wooden leg. The wolf stumbled, but turned to growl at the pony who had attacked it. It swung a large claw at the stallion, who caught the swing with his sword, holding the claw back.

A large colorful ball of energy shot from the tip of Vinyl's spear, connecting with the timber wolf's side, causing it to fall back a few steps, a large hole now in its side.

Pinkie and Apple Jack joined Swift, their weapons at the ready, waiting for Swift's signal to attack. Vinyl levitated the spear over to Scootaloo, with a quick: ''Just in case kid!'' Before galloping to join the three ponies.

The timber wolf whirled around and lunged, but was met by the combined power of Pinkie's party cannon and Apple Jack's hammer, sending it back into another tree. Before it could try to stand, Vinyl's horn cast a flame spell, somehow igniting Swift Blade's longsword without melting the steel. Holding the burning the burning weapon, Swift jumped high in the air and swung the blade downwards at the monsters head, cleaving through the wooden flesh like it was tissue paper.

Swift leapt back, landing in front of the now unmoving wolf's body, when it made no sign that it was still a threat, he turned around, ''That was way to close, good job everypony.'' He panted, a little tired from the fast paced fight.

Apple Jack panted, letting the hammer fall to the ground, ''What the hay was that!?''

Vinyl turned to the farm pony, ''That was a undead timber wolf, remember how your dog attacked us as one of those things? This thing seems to infect anything.'' She glared at the corpse.

Swift nodded, ''Well, I had my doubts about that, it is a creature of wood after all, but now we know, nothing is safe from this infection...''

''Not even me...'' A female voice said, sounding just as dull as ever, before a cough was heard.

Pinkie's eyes shrunk to the size of needles, and she raced to her sisters side, begging with all her might that her sister was not implying what she thought she was implying. ''Maud! Please don't tell me that your-''

''Infected? Yes, I've been bitten.'' Was Maud's response.

''No! Your lying! There isn't any bite marks on you! Your fine!'' Pinkie began tearing up, telling herself over and over again that her sis was alright, she was fine!

However, when Maud pulled back the flaps of one of the many holes on her dress revealing a chunk of fur and flesh missing, Pinkie's heart felt like it had stopped, and her tears began flowing freely.

''No! Maud! Not you too! Please no!''

She began hugging her sister, her tears staining Maud's dress as she bawled, trying to make everypony, including herself, believe it wasn't true, but it was.

Scootaloo was staring at Maud's bite wound with a combination a shock, horror, and sorrow. This couldn't be happening...It just couldn't.

Apple Jack lowered her head, her own tears beginning to fall as she sobbed silently. Vinyl laid a hoof on the orange farm pony, patting her on the back, before hugging her, trying to sooth her.

Swift for his part, merely stared, before heading over to the cart, climbing into it, and embracing Pinkie and Maud, mumbling, ''I am so sorry Pinkie...''

With all the survivors no paying attention to anything around them anymore, Maud was the only one who noticed the incoming danger. A large group of zombie ponies was heading right for them, they were converging from through the trees and were now getting closer, if she didn't do something before the horde got to them, there would be no time for them to escape.

Maud Pie suddenly broke free from her sisters embrace, and hopped from the cart, facing the oncoming horde.

Pinkie began to shout ''What are you do-'' Before Maud cut her off.

''There wont be any time for you to hitch up to your wagon before the horde is upon you. I will buy you some time to get out of here.''

Apple Jack and Pinkie screamed, ''NO! Maud! You cant do this!'' But Maud gave them a knowing smile.

''I wont last much longer anyway.'' The gray earth pony coughed again, more violently this time, until she spit up blood. A bit of the red liquid dripped down her lip, as she smiled sadly at the group. ''It was nice seeing you one last time Pinkie. Goodbye.''

The mare threw herself at the oncoming horde, the ravenous monsters grabbing hold of her as they began to tear her apart, blood and guts flying into the air as Maud Pie screamed before she disappeared under the horde.

Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack let out one last scream of: ''MAUD!'' Before Swift and Vinyl shoved them into the wagon, and Swift hitched himself up to the wagon with Vinyl's help, before galloping away from the gory scene playing behind them.

Pinkie reached back towards where sister had disappeared, crying out for her dear sister, while Apple Jack hugged her sobbing friend, her own tears pouring down her face.

Vinyl hugged a sobbing Scootaloo, who had watched the whole scene, and now was letting all the emotions in her flow out as she sobbed at the memory of watching a pony get torn to pieces.

Swift pulled the cart as far away from Maud's final resting place as fast as he could, a few tears running down his cheeks. He hadn't known Maud long, but she had seemed like a good pony, and her being Pinkie's sister made her okay in his book, but seeing her die in such a horrible way, under her own power, was to much for him.

The sad scene long behind them, the group continued on, their hearts heavier than ever before, they had lost so much, and now they had just lost another.

Something large poked out in the distance, and Swift squinted his eyes, taking in the sight in the distance. Canterlot castle, the home of the princess's of the sun and moon, lay before them.

Canterlot.

If there was a cure anywhere, it had to be there.

Swift began increasing his pace, panting as he began to feel the effects of exhaustion, he had been pulling the cart for a long time, not switching with Apple Jack since they had escaped the horde. He knew the farm mare had been through a lot and was in no condition to pull a cart full of ponies anywhere.

However, with his goal in sight, it didn't matter how tired he was, he get them there, and they would find that damn cure. the swordstallion let a small smile creep across his lips, as he continued towards the city.

Somewhere in Canterlot...

''There's a wagon full of ponies headed this way.''

''We had better inform the boss about this.''

''Got it, the boss will know what to do, lets go!''

The two figures turned from the high power telescope they had just been using and began making their way through the building to find their boss.

The boss would find this information very interesting...

Author's Note

Maud's dead...Its sad, but she died to save her new friends, so at least it wasn't in vain.

Now there's a bunch of unknown figures watching the survivors, and they might be hostile, but that's up to you my readers!

Give me OC's to put into my book and it shall be done, just send me a message all about your OC, gender, what type of pony they are, if they are a pony, strengths, weakness's, favorite weapon, crush if any, all of that, and then tell me if they are on Swift Blade's side, or if they're hostile.

Depending on how many votes come in about if OC's are good or evil, the majority of votes win!

Submit your OC's now!!!