As Big Mac made his way through the forest he looked around to make sure nothing was going to sneak up on him as he dodged roots. Every now and then he stumbled as his giant hoof caught on a root that was sticking a bit to far out of the ground. He would usually curse under his breath as he tried to gain his footing again. One time he completely lost his footing and slipped out of the bush, landing right on his face.

"Gosh darn it, stupid roots..." Big Mac grumbled as he struggled to get to his feet, slipping again in the mud.

"Big Mac?"

Big Mac quickly looked up and saw his little sister, Applebloom, but something was different about her. She seemed, darker and more...

...evil.

"Applebloom?" Big Mac asked slowly as he got to his hooves. Mac quickly looked around and saw both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing next to what looked like Trixie's cart, but heavily modified with a deck and some windows. When he looked below Sweetie Belle he noticed a rather strange looking pool or red liquid, it almost looked like...

"Is that blood?" Big Mac asked lazily as he stared at the pool, hoping it was just some kind of juice from a berry they found in the forest.

"Uh, yeah, it is..." Applebloom said sadly as she kicked the dirt slowly.

"Why?" Big Mac asked stupidly as Sweetie Belle walked over, her hooves covered in blood. She didn't say anything as Mac stared at her in confusion. Soon after Scootaloo made her way over, one of the stitches in her neck starting to come loose, revealing a small amount of flesh behind it.

"Well, uh, you see..." Applebloom started to say but trailed off, quickly looking to her left for help.

"We're kind of, um..." Scootaloo said before turning to Sweetie Belle.

"Dead" Sweetie Belle finished, leaving Mac in complete confusion. It didn't make any sense, how could they be dead if they were all talking to him right now, and he's seen some stuff since Twilight came to town, but he's never seen anything like this. Not even the stuff he's seen Zecora do was as weird as this.

"How?" Mac asked slowly when Sweetie Belle noticed the stitching comic loose on Scootaloo's neck. She quickly rushed Scootaloo into the house and Mac could hear them fighting as Sweetie Belle tried to fix the stitch. After a few minutes they came back out, with a small trickle of blood coming out of Scootaloo's neck and with Sweetie Belle's two front hooves coated in a thin layer of blood.

"What is going on?!" Mac shouted as he fell to his knees. Everything he was seeing made no sense, it reminded him of something out of a horror story. Despite his tough exterior Mac was a real softy, and was always scared by any horror stories someone told him or that he read in a book. He would always cuddle up to Zecora when he heard the Timberwolves howled at night, and would always jump into bed with Zecora when something went bump in the night. Seeing his sister and her two friends like this, was just too much for him to take.

"Big Mac, are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked as she put a hoof on his shoulder. The coldness of her hoof make Mac freak out even more. In every horror story he had heard where there were zombies they were always cold to the touch.

"Uh, Mac, what's going-" Scootaloo said as the stitching on her neck came out again, shooting a small spray of blood onto Mac, "Son of Discord!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Mac shouted as he turned away from the three fillies, he tried to run but tripped on a root, whacking his head on a tree, knocking him out. Applebloom quickly ran over to him, checking him for any injuries, finding nothing but a small scratch on his leg. As she breathed a sigh of relief she felt something pull at her from the back of her head.

Eat him

"No he's my brother!" Applebloom shouted.

Eat him!

"NO!" Applebloom shouted as she turned away from Big Mac

EAT HIM!

"AH SAID NO!" Applebloom cried, both her and Sweetie Belle falling to the ground. Scootaloo knew what was happening, and quickly ran to Big Mac's side, shaking him to try and wake him up.

"Wake up Big Mac! You have to wake up now!" Scootaloo screamed as she looked over to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, who were both shaking violently, a sign that they were going to change any second now. Thankfully Mac woke up and stumbled to his feet with Scootaloo's help.

"What's going on?" Mac asked, still a little dazed.

"You'll find out later, just run!" Scootaloo shouted as she pushed Mac away from Applebloom, who had begun to run at him. Before he could get far enough away Applebloom managed to get a quick bite on his hind leg, causing him to stumble slightly, but he managed to regain his footing and he took off, running towards Zecora's house. Scootaloo quickly jumped between Applebloom and Big Mac, stopping Applebloom as she tried to chase him. With Scootaloo in her way Applebloom quickly changed back, noticing a strange taste in her mouth.

"Scootaloo, is this..." Applebloom trailed off, looking at the ground around her.

"Yeah, but don't worry, he got away" Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle walked over shakily.

"What happened? We didn't, you know..." she said, shaking her head.

"Naw, I guess he got away safely, but, I must have bit him before he got away" Applebloom said as she spit out the blood in her mouth,  small bits of red fur going with it.

________________________________________________________

Big Mac continued to run until he saw the familiar outline of Zecora's hut between the trees. He slowed down as he got close to it, looking around to see if Zecora was back yet, but when there was no sign of her he decided to simply find a way into her house. Surprisingly he found the door unlocked, but then again it wasn't like anypony was going to go into the forest to steal anything.

"Zecora, are you home?" Mac asked weakly, his eyes trying to shut. He stumbled through the main room, heading to the bedroom hoping that Zecora was just sleeping. As he walked into the bedroom his vision had begun to blur. Before he could get into the bed he fell to the ground with a thud, his chin colliding with the corner of Zecora's bed as he fell.

"Ugh..." Mac groaned as he tried to get to his hooves again. When he was almost back on all fours he lost his footing again, this time through himself towards the wall. Before he hit the wall he turned his face away, choosing to take the hit to the side of his head instead of the front, although the effect of hitting the wall was still there. Big Mac finally slid to the ground, his eyes shutting tight.

A few minutes after Mac had passed out Zecora entered the forest, having been discharged from Ponyville Hospital. She had apparently become sick from something she ate, and when it got to the baby her body tried to stop it. Although her body went a bit crazy and shut her down completely, thinking that she was in danger. Thankfully the baby was okay so they let her out that as soon as she could walk again. When she was close to her house she saw her front door wide open, along with a trail of blood leading into it.

"Hello?" Zecora said quietly as she walked into her house, following the trail of blood towards her bedroom. When she looked at the wall opposite her door she freaked out. As soon as she could she ran to Big Mac's side, checking for breathing. When she found out he wasn't breathing she tried to do CPR, but he coughed before she could start. Zecora quickly looked over hoping to see Mac alive and awake, but instead she saw blood coming up from his throat. When she tried to do CPR again Mac's head slip to his shoulder, and she immediately ran to her other room, looking for her special potion, the same one she used on Scootaloo.

As she poured the potion into Mac's throat he coughed again, spitting some out onto Zecora. She quickly pulled Mac onto his back so the potion could flow down his throat and work it's magic. After a few minutes Zecora walked away, thinking that it was too late. She had to go tell Granny Smith that her last grandchild was dead, dying in the Everfree like the other two...

"Zecora?" Mac groaned from the other room, causing Zecora to turn around on the spot to run to his side. She couldn't speak at all. The father of her child almost died, and she had given up on him, but he was back, and he was...

"Zecora, are you okay?" Mac asked as she ran into the other room, coming back with a pen and paper. She quickly scribbled something down and handed the paper to Mac.

I'm so happy you're alive again

"Again?" Mac asked stupidly, standing up to look into Zecora's mirror. When he looked into the mirror he was terrified. His coat and mane had darkened, and his eyes had blacked out, glowing green from where his irises should be.

"Zecora, what happened?" Mac asked as Zecora started to quickly write on a new sheet of paper.

I came home and you were dead, I don't know why though

"Well, I ran into Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but they were..." Mac said, pausing as she shook slightly, "Dead". He looked behind him to see Zecora writing something down again, this time taking much longer.

I've known for a few days, but couldn't tell you about it. Did they bite you?

"I think Applebloom got me before I ran away, but..." Mac started to say before he saw Zecora start to lean side to side, "Zecora?". Zecora quickly vomited on the floor, causing Mac to jump back into the mirror, breaking it with his hind legs. After helping to clean it up Mac continued to ask Zecora about what happened to him, only receiving one more answer.

You died, and I brought you back to life. You are now like Scootaloo

When Zecora said that Mac lost it. How could he be dead?! If he was dead he shouldn't be able to talk or think. Unless he's a zombie, or Zecora did something to him, but why? Why him? What did he do to deserve this?! Although his thoughts brought on more question to mind.

"Does this mean Applebloom won't attack me?"

Zecora nodded slowly, still trying to recover from being sick. Mac quickly stood up and hugged Zecora, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before he left. Thankfully his blood trail was still on the ground so he had a way to get back to his sister. If he was going to be dead, and his sister was going to be dead too, then he was going to be the best dead big brother ever. Next Chapter: Guardian Zombie Estimated time remaining: 40 Minutes