"Man, what a night..." Apple Bloom groaned as she groggily sat up in her bed. There were bags under her fall-colored eyes and her magenta-mane was disheveled.

"That was some crazy dream...Last time I have Apple Cider before bed..." Apple Bloom groaned before exiting her bedroom. When she had entered the living-room, Apple Jack, Big Mac and Sweeitebelle were all waiting for her along with the rest of the Mane Six, minus Rainbow Dash that is.

"What's goin' on out here?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"I'm afraid we've got some bad news, sugar-cube..." Apple Jack began with tear-filled eyes.

"Your little friend, Scootaloo's had a horrible accident..." Twilight continued from where Apple Jack had left off.

"What kinda accident?" Apple Bloom questioned, already fearing the worst.

"Well, you see, dear? Your little friend was found...how should I put this?" Rarity trailed off.

"She was impaled by a sharp tree!" Pinkie Pie over-enthusiastically shouted.

"WHAT?! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENIN'!" Apple Bloom Shrieked.

"Well, that's not exactly the way we wanted to tell you but we think that Rainbow Dash may have been responsible..." Twilight proceeded.

"Rainbow Dash?!" Apple Bloom questioned.

"Yeah, fell asleep and nearly let her own house burn down...Scootaloo musta tried to fly away but couldn't...We figured she musta had one-too many Ciders..." Apple Jack explained.

"Well, I for one am just glad that slacker finally got what she deserved! I would absolutely hate it, if that were my sister, Sweetiebelle under her negligent-care!" Rarity scoffed.

"But it wasn't Rainbow Dash's fault!" Apple Bloom suddenly shouted.

"Whata ya mean, sugar-cube?" Apple Jack questioned in concern.

"It was Bartholomule! He's an evil spirit that wants revenge on us all for makin' fun of him!" Apple Bloom frantically explained.

"Not this again...Apple Bloom, there are no-such things as spooks!" Apple Jack rolled her eyes.

"An evil spirit, you say?! Come, Sweetiebelle! We must seek protection!" Rarity panicked before using her Unicorn-magic to drag Sweetiebelle out of Apple Jack's home. Normally, the younger Unicorn would question her older sister's motives but with Everypony dropping dead around her, she figured that seeking protection was in her best interest.

Apple Jack merely rolled her eyes at Rarity's overdramatic display as the rest of the remaining Mane Six exited her home to attend Scootaloo's funeral.

"Get ready; the funeral's in an hour..." Apple Jack instructed before heading toward her bedroom to get ready.

"Big Mac, you believe me, don'tcha?" Apple Bloom looked to her older brother for support.

"Nope..." Big Mac responded nonchalantly before heading toward his own bedroom to get ready as well.

Apple Bloom's ears drooped in disappointment and anxiety as she headed toward her bedroom to get ready as well. While the remaining Apple Family members prepared for Scootaloo's funeral, Rarity took the drastic measures of dragging Sweetiebelle to Zecora's hut, in hopes of finding a way to protect her from evil spirits. As Zecora began her vain chant of protection over Sweetiebelle, the white, Unicorn Philly took notice to the masks that were hanging on Zecora's walls as their original, blank expressions twisted into horrifying expressions of malice. A worm even crawled out of the mouth of one of them. Zecora stopped her chant with a gasp when Sweetiebelle had suddenly began to float.

Before the white, Unicorn Philly even had a chance to ask questions, she felt a pressure on her windpipe as the indention of a large, horseshoe print began to visibly show on her neck.

"SWEETIEBELL!" Rarity tearfully shrieked as she helplessly watched her younger sister be choked to death, right in front of her. Once the life had left Sweetiebelle, her corpse fell to the ground and the horseshoe-indentation on her neck disappeared. Meanwhile, having had enough of the sadness of Scootaloo's funeral, Big Mac decided to explore the funeral parlor. The large, red Colt stopped to admire a grandfather-clock that decorated the lobby but his eyes widened once he had taken notice to his reflection.

Standing behind him, in his reflection on the glass-door of the grandfather-clock, was a large Colt with Donkey-like ears that was wearing a full-body cover. Big Mac turned sharply to face the ghostly-being as the face-portion of the cover lifted ever-so-slightly to reveal the Mule's blue-grey lips. The ghostly-Mule then leaned in to deliver a soft, sweet kiss to Big Mac's lips, much to the red Colt's surprise. Big Mac took a few steps back as his veins began to bulge. The red Colt wailed in agony but was unheard by the other Ponies that were attending the funeral as he turned into pure air that was then sucked into Bartholomule's still-exposed mouth.

Bartholomule's still-exposed lips grinned sinisterly as the his fur began to transform from blue-grey to red and his ears began to decrease in length. The Mule then removed his full-body coat to reveal that he now took on the appearance of Apple Bloom's older brother, Big Mac.

"This is worse than I feared..." Zecora frowned as she watched Sweetiebelle's corpse disappear into nothing.

"What is it?" Rarity questioned, her eyes widening in shock at the sight as well.

"We are not dealing with an evil spirit but an angry spirit that was never laid to rest..." Zecora explained.

"B-Bartholomule..." Rarity squeaked upon remembering her Great Aunt Buttons recounting the tale of Firefly's death to her.

"Bartholomule?" Zecora's eyes widened at the mention of the infamous-name as she turned her back to Rarity.

"He cannot be killed...If his body is not put to rest soon, he will kill and consume all those who were involved with the desecration of his remains, including their ancestors..." Zecora explained as Rarity quickly exited her hut to gain the assistance of her friend, Twilight.

"Oh, there ya are, Big Mac." Apple Jack gained the attention of her brother's imposter once Scootaloo's funeral had ended.

"We're 'bout ready to head out so you can go ahead and get the cart ready so you can take us home." Apple Jack explained as the being that she thought was her older brother flashed her a death-glare. Years of constantly having to pull a cart for ungrateful-Ponies had eventually lead up to his death so naturally, Bartholomule was experiencing some post-traumatic, stress from the idea of having to revert back to his old job.

"Um...Okay? I'll handle it then..." Apple Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion before exiting the building with Apple Bloom.

"Apple Jack, I have to go to the bathroom..." Apple Bloom wined.

"Alright sugar-cube, just be careful in there; I don't like the looks of them undertakers, in there..." Apple Jack dismissed her younger-sister as the pale-yellow Philly rushed back into the funeral home. Apple Bloom cautiously made her way through the darkened, abandoned, funeral home when she took notice to an unusual sight out of the corner of her eye. The pale-yellow Philly gasped in shock at the sight of who she thought was her older brother swallowing the corpse of her deceased, best friend, whole. Apple Bloom shrieked in terror, gaining the attention of Bartholomule as he abruptly began to charge toward her.

Apple Bloom ran out of the funeral parlor as quickly as her little legs could carry her, clinging to Apple Jack's hind-leg the second her hooves had reached the walkway that was out, front.

"Apple Bloom? What in the Sam-heck's gotten into you?" Apple Jack questioned.

"Ready to go?" Bartholomule interjected with a smirk before Apple Bloom even had a chance to reply as he hooked up his harness. Apple Jack merely nodded as she hopped into the carriage. Apple Bloom reluctantly followed close, behind her.

TO BE CONTINUED...