Today was a day that the yellow, Earth-Pony Philly, known as, Apple Bloom had been waiting for months to arrive; today was the day that Ms. Cheerilee was going to take the whole class on a field trip to the Ponyville History Museum and no one was more excited about this day trip than Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom couldn't wait to learn more about the history of her hometown's culture and she could hardly contain her excitement as she and the rest of the class followed Ms. Cheerilee down the small, cobblestone path that lead to the museum.

"Gee, Apple Bloom, calm down; we're just going to some boring museum for the day. That's hardly anything to get excited about..." Apple Bloom's friend, Scootaloo commented as she watched her friend excitedly bounce along the pathway, like the infamous Party Planner, Pinkie Pie would do.

"Borin'?! This field trip is gone be anything but borin'! We're all gone learn about the history of our home town! Ain'tcha excited to learn about your ancestors?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"I-I guess..." Apple Bloom's other friend, Sweetiebelle replied in an attempt to be polite.

"No, not really..." Scootaloo honestly but bluntly replied, earning a glare from Apple Bloom and a worried frown from Sweetiebelle.

"Here we are class; the Ponyville History Museum!" Cheerilee announced as the class had finally arrived at the museum. Apple Bloom could hardly contain her excitement as she drowned out the boring lecture from her teacher not to get separated from the group. Apple Bloom listened intently as Cheerily explained the history of the Princesses, the famous Wizard, known as, Starswirl The Bearded and even the Apple Family's ancestry. Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle, however were struggling to stay awake through the boring history lectures until something caught Scootaloo's attention out of the corner of her eye. Standing on a large stand in the very middle of the museum, surrounded by red, velvet ropes to protect it from physical harm and possible damage was what looked to be a stuffed hybrid between a Earth-Colt and a Donkey though it was hard to tell for sure because of the old-fashion body coat it was wearing that covered it's face and body. From the parts of its body that were visible, Scootaloo could make out its dark, blue-grey coat, its elongated, Donkey-like ears and its piercing-blue eyes that seemed to stare right into her soul.

The orange, Pegasus Philly nudged both of her friends to get their attention and once it was earned she pointed a hoof over to the strange, crudely-stuffed being.

"Who's that?" Sweetiebelle wondered out loud as the group of Phillies cautiously approached the being, staring up at it in awe.

"Says here that his name's Bartholomule..." Apple Bloom pointed out as she read the plaque on the stuffed being's stand.

"Ah! Yes, Bartholomule used to be a cart puller many Moons ago. His father was a Earth-Pony and his mother was a Donkey so that made him a Mule. Back then this kind of interspecies relationship was uncommon so Bartholomule was often mocked and viewed as a mistake by the citizens. Because he felt so ashamed of his heritage, he would hide his face underneath a body cover. The only job he could get because of his heritage and unusual appearance was a job pulling Ponies to and from places in carts.

One day, a Pegasus Pony known as, Firefly was being particularly rude to him while he was pulling her to Ponyville's very-first Grand Galloping Galla. She never arrived at the Galla that night and she never returned home so a search party was conducted. Firefly's body was found with her skull smashed apart. She had been struck from behind and the town knew who was to blame for the murder. The town formed an angry mob and hunted down Bartholomule. Bartholomule was hung and stuffed by the townsfolk and used as a store decoration for centuries until his body was finally donated to this, very museum.

Legend has it that because Bartholomule's body was never put to rest, his spirit still walks the Earth, seeking revenge on those that were responsible for his death, but that's just an old Pony's Tale." Cheerilee happily explained the Mule's origins to the Cutiemark Crusaders as they listened in awe, horror and disgust.

"Finally! Something cool in this museum!" Scootaloo cheered. Apple Bloom and Sweetiebelle rolled their eyes and their friend's display of excitement. Of course something morbid would capture Scootaloo's interest.

"Come along class!" Cheeriley called out as the herd of Phillies followed her to the next display. The Cutiemark Crusaders ignored her however as they continued to stare up at the stuffed Mule that was towering over them.

"D-Do you think he really murdered that poor Pegasus?" Sweetiebelle gulped.

"Well, ifen he did, the monster's dead now and he can't hurt Anypony else..." Apple Bloom reassured.

"Yeah! He ain't so tough! Oo! Look at me! I'm Barf-olomule!

I'm a weird hybrid! My mother was a Donkey! I killed a Pegasus just for for being rude because I'm a coat-wearing weirdo!" Scootaloo began to mock the stuffed Mule, much to her friends' horror.

"Scootaloo, whata ya doin'?! That's disrespectful!" Apple Bloom scolded.

"You're gonna make him mad!" Sweetiebelle cried.

"Relax, guys; he's dead, he can't hurt us!" Scootaloo pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that..." Sweetiebelle grinned as she began to join in on Scootaloo's harsh mocking.

"W-Well, I reckon he does deserve it..." Apple Bloom hesitantly agreed, before giving into peer pressure and joining her friends. The three Phillies stopped their mocking, however when the air around them began to feel thick.

"H-Hey, does Anypony feel like Somepony's watchin' them?" Apple Bloom broke the eery silence with a fearful squeak as the Cutiemark Crusaders began to scan their surroundings. It was then that Apple Bloom had fallen to the ground once she felt a pair of large but invisible hooves come in contact with her face.

"Alright! I got kicked in the face! I got kicked in the face!" Apple Bloom panicked as her friends rushed over to help her up. Once Apple Bloom was back on her hooves, the Cutiemark Crusaders scrambled out of the Mule's display area as quickly as they could and back over to the group. Little did they know that this was not the end of their paranormal problems.

TO BE CONTINUED...