Unmarked

Coltstein's eyes opened, only for him to be standing in a scene he recognized. It was the crime scene of his most disturbing case. He stared at the scene with horror in his eyes, reliving the night that traumatized him for the rest of his natural life, and once again, he'd have to relive the night once more. The scene wasn't crowded like usual, only empty, and the house windows glew a blood red, something he had never seen before in his revisits to that dreadful night.

"That's weird," he said to himself. "This dream is different, and not like the others."

Coltstein decided to investigate further, even though he didn't want to, so he crossed the yellow tape, making his way up the cement walkway, until he was at the door. The door opened itself, opening with an errie creaking noise, only to open to what looked like a normal house. The house walls were spotless with no sign of any sort of crime being committed. No blood, bullet hole indentations, or any sort of heaviness that he normally felt when he returned to this nightmare.

He was confused, seeing this was a different dream. A much more peaceful one, immediately calming his nerves. Out of the silence of the home came a younger filly, staring directly at him. He recognized the filly as the one that committed suicide inches from his face, but she didn't look troubled. She had a smile on her face, as if she never had been possessed by Annie. She continued to stare at him, causing him to wonder if she could see him.

"Can you see me, sweetie?" he asked.

The filly looked at him, nodding her head.

"Don't be afraid, mister," she said in a strange tone. "I'm only here to help you."

Coltstein wasn't sure what to think about the situation.

"Help me?" he questioned.

"Yes. You've been troubled for too long, and I'm here to help you in your struggle."

"Struggle?" he questioned.

"The thing that possessed me that now possesses the filly you're trying to free."

Coltstein's eyes bulged. Had this filly become a part of him, or was he imagining things? Seeing he had no idea of what to do, he decided to listen to the filly.

"How do you know these things?" he asked.

"Ever since the night I died, I became a part of you," she confessed. "Annie did it as a way to torture you, and she continues to torture you. You cannot let her torture you. No matter what she throws at you, you must be strong. She saw you as a stronger victim, which is why she can't possess you like she does the filly you are trying to help. Your heart is strong, and if anypony can stop her, it's you."

Coltstein became angry, but immediately calmed himself, knowing Annie was a part of him in both reality and his dreams, and if he ever showed weakness, she'd take charge.

"Why am I here?" he asked.

"I'm going to show you something, and you must pay close attention," said the filly. "The answer to saving that filly lies within this dream, and from what I've seen, you're good at catching what others can't see."

Coltstein nodded his head, agreeing to what the filly planned to show him.

"Follow me," said the filly, pointing to a nearby staircase.

She started up the stairs, Coltstein following her and paying close attention to everything.

At the top of the long flight of stairs, Coltstein came to a long hallway with two doors on the right side, and one on the left side. The filly turned to him.

"Before we continue, I must warn you that what lies behind these doors will be quite disturbing, and no matter what, you must not intervene. If you do, it will result in immediate death," warned the filly.

"I promise," he agreed.

"Very well. Let's proceed to door one. My brother's murder."

Coltstein felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of those words, as the filly opened the door. Within the room was a teenage colt sleeping, and a young filly above him holding a pistol. As much as he didn't want to see this, he knew that the filly was trying to tell him something, so he watched as three shots were fired from the pistol, killing the teenage colt immediately.

"How did your parents not hear the shots?" he asked.

"Annie made it that way," replied the filly. "She had full control over me, and if I didn't kill them, she'd possess me to do it. I never wanted to kill them, sir."

The filly collapsed to her knees, starting to cry.

"I know you didn't, but at least they didn't feel any pain," he said, trying to comfort her.

She smiled, as she started to replay the scene.

"Now, watch again, and pay attention," she said.

Coltstein did as she instructed, watching the murder again. Once the horrid scene was done, Coltstein replayed the scene in his head, trying to spot anything in particular. The only thing he could possibly observe that was important, was the number of shots. Three gunshots.

"Onto the next door," said the filly. "My parents murders."

The door opened, showing a long bed with a mare and stallion sleeping on it, and the filly standing above them, holding the same pistol. It wasn't long before another three shots were fired, killing both of them. Coltstein once again didn't see anything important, except for the number of shots. Three shots once again. One door still remained, and he had a feeling of what was coming next.

"Lastly, my murder," she said, opening the door.

The scene was of the filly hiding beneath the floorboards, gripping the pistol in her hooves. She was both scared and angry, as she started to mutter the words that Coltstein remembered very well. I killed them. He watched as she turned the pistol's barrel toward her, as the floorboards were lifted. Coltstein wasn't sure if he could watch this again, turning his head away from the sight.

"You must be strong," said the filly.

"I'm not sure if I can handle watching that again," he confessed.

The filly gave him an assuring look.

"Sometimes it's best to face your fears, rather than continue to hide from them," stated the filly. "I know it's hard, but if you wish to ever be free of the fear that haunts your dreams, you must face it."

Coltstein knew that the filly was correct, so he took in a deep breath, and turned back to the scene. It was just like he remembered it.

"Honey, give me the gun. You don't want to do this."

That's when the gunfire erupted, and the haunting scene of the dead filly in Coltstein's hooves returned to him.

"I wish I could've saved you," he said.

"Don't blame yourself," replied the filly. "You can still save me, but you must destroy Annie for good. Only then, will I truly be free."

Coltstein nodded his head.

"Now, what did you catch from all these murders?" she asked.

Coltstein only thought of the gunshot count, and counted them out in his mind. Immediately, he knew something wasn't right. The gun that was used in the murder was a 38. Special with only a capacity of six bullets per reload. The total number of shots in the murders was seven, so how was the last shot possible?

"Your murder could not have been possible, due to the number of shots," he stated.

The filly nodded her head.

"So, who killed me?" she asked.

Coltstein immediately became aware of the true killer, and immediately grew angry, as he woke up from his dream.

Coltstein woke in his bed, where Cadwell sat in a chair next to him.

"About time you woke up," said Cadwell.

Coltstein rubbed his head, sitting up. He was immediately pushed back down by Cadwell.

"Easy. You took a nasty hit," said Cadwell.

"I've taken worse," stated Coltstein. "I need to get to the Canterlot Morgue, so I can take a good look at the bodies of Apple Bloom's friends. I need to know how they were truly killed."

"We've got the autopsy reports back at the office, Coltstein."

Coltstein shook his head.

"I need to see the bodies," said Coltstein. "That's the only true way I'm going to be able to determine how they died."

Cadwell knew it was useless trying to argue with Coltstein, so he just nodded his head, and helped Coltstein from the bed.

"Time to find out the REAL truth of how those fillies died that night."

Coltstein grabbed his needed accessories, and with Cadwell by his side, prepared for a trip to the Canterlot Morgue.