'The Walking Dead' promo photos reveal Daryl hanging out with a pony

The sand is running out of the hourglass for the third season of AMC's The Walking Dead. The show's best year so far has seen the central group of survivors, led by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), come under fire from the Governor (David Morrissey), the despotic and potentially tyrannic leader of a town of survivors called Woodbury.

The tension between the two groups has exploded into deadly violence several times, but is it too late for a truce? Andrea (Laurie Holden) doesn't seem to think so, and in next week's episode, "Arrow on the Doorpost," she arranges a meeting between the two to hash things out. Given the fragile mental state of both leaders, it seems unlikely that any good will come of the meeting, and "Arrow on the Doorpost" will be just another step toward the inevitable bloodbath that will end the season. 

But "Arrow on the Doorpost" will apparently feature more than just the long-awaited confrontation between Rick and the Governor. It will also feature Daryl (Norman Reedus) and a pony. 

Promotional photos from the episode (courtesy of Zap2It) show everybody's favorite redneck zombie hunter spending some time with a lighter and a horse (though not at the same time). Daryl seems to be pretty fond of this horse -- and let's be honest here: it's surprising that this horse has made it this far into the zombie apocalypse. Just look at what happened to the horse on which Rick rode into Atlanta. It died. Graphically. 

No word yet on where Daryl's new horse pal resides or why it's even in the episode, but it should at least get Daryl fans a little more excited for the upcoming episode. 

Check out the promo photos of Daryl's equine pal -- and some others, featuring Rick and the Governor -- below. 

The Walking Dead will air "Arrow on the Doorpost" this Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.