Unmarked

The happy tree's trail led to a much more dark and thick area of the forest, which didn't surprise Coltstein one bit, seeing the trail was supposed to lead to hell. The atmosphere of the area was heavy, much like the first area he arrived in, causing him to struggle a little, as he proceeded deeper into the uncharted territory. His flesh was scratched by the thorn bushes that grew off the trees, causing his body to burn like fire. He didn't care if he was infected or if he even died, as long as Annie was defeated for good.

After passing the uncharted area, he came to a huge opening, where he saw a hut formed from the tree it was connected to. Two windows glew a florescent light from the moss covered hut, as Coltstein took precautions, walking further into the opening. He knew that Annie wasn't going to allow him easy access. Coltstein was correct, noticing a large number of walls composed of the forest plantation form all around him, along with a sinister laugh in the midst of the newly formed trap.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?!" taunted Annie.

"No, Annie," replied Coltstein. "Do you think I'm that stupid. I know how things work with monsters like you."

"Well, I doubt you'll be able to pass this test, scum!" taunted Annie. "This maze has never been passed by any mortal, and was designed to do so! You may have been able to pass every other test I've thrown at you, but this test is one that not even you will be able to pass!"

"You'd be surprised, Annie," replied Coltstein. "I look forward to seeing you on the other side."

Annie laughed.

"I look forward to absorbing your soul, detective!" concluded Annie.

Coltstein ignored Annie's taunting, and carefully examined the area. He was in Annie's territory now, and this would be his biggest challenge yet.

"This is it, Coltstein," he said. "Time to put all that knowledge to use."

Coltstein knew that he'd have to be prepared for anything. Annie was ruthless, so this maze was packed with traps. Coltstein proceeded with caution down the only path accessible. He came to the first turn, examining the open area carefully. Coltstein couldn't see anything of danger, but Annie was manipulative, so even the safest areas couldn't be trusted. The darkness made it hard to see if there was anything hiding within the walls of the passage, so Coltstein had to think hard.

"Think hard, Coltstein," he said to himself. "I can't just go off of instinct. If I go by my instincts, I'll end up dead for sure."

Coltstein retraced his steps, remembering that he had a key that showed him the truth.

"The key!" he exclaimed, pulling the key out. "Now, I just need a keyhole."

"There's no keyhole," spoke a nearby voice.

Coltstein was confused, as he looked around, hoping to see somepony.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"I am the filly, Sally," spoke the voice. "I can't here long, so I must be quick. As a sign of gratitude, I leave you with words of advice, detective. The key is the answer, but how you see the truth doesn't rely on an entrance, only what remains precious. Best of luck to you, detective, and thank you for freeing me."

Coltstein couldn't feel the presence of Sally anymore, as he thought about what Sally had said. He was confused, but knew that Sally had not given him that information for no reason. He decided to trust Sally's advice, and immediately thought hard about the words.

The key is the answer, but it doesn't rely on an entrance, only what remains precious.

The main part of the riddle that Coltstein focused on was,"only what remains precious." What was most precious to him? He cared for many things. He loved Daisy, cared deeply for Apple Bloom, and even though it didn't seem like it, he did care for his colleague, Cadwell. How did a key have to do with Daisy, Apple Bloom, or Cadwell? They were just innocent victims caught in the middle of a demon's game of chess.

"Is the riddle referring to my past?" questioned Coltstein, as he thought hard about his theory.

Through his thoughts, he remembered an older memory from his filly years. A day when he was playing a board game with his sister.

Young Coltstein sat in his room, playing a strategic board game with his sister. The concept of the game was to build an army, and to destroy your opponent's army, a game called Ponyscape. Coltstein had a stronger pegasus, equipped with wing armor that made it nearly impossible to kill, while Dazzling had an earth pony with a bronze sword. It was down to the final battle.

"My pegasus is clearly stronger than your earth pony, sis!" said Coltstein, ready to claim victory. "Victory is mine, unless you can power-up your earth pony to beat my pegasus!"

Dazzling realizes that her brother is correct, as she thinks hard about ALL of her options. She took her turn.

"Alright, Coltenstein," she said playfully."I'll take my turn, and I'll start by moving my earth pony into your pegasus's magic field, which will decrease my pony's life by 10 life."

Coltstein is confused, yet satisfied, as Dazzling ends her turn.

"You fool, now all I have to do is attack, and I win!" he exclaimed, commanding his pegasus to attack. "I win!"

"Not exactly, little brother," stated Dazzling. "You fell right into my trap. I wanted you to attack, so I can activate my earth pony's ultimate special ability; Angel's Call. This ability can only be activated a turn after when my character's life is decreased by the effect of one of your creature's. My character regains life, equal to the amount of life it lost x10."

"Oh no! That means...

"My creature gains 100 life, and your creature only has 50 life, therefore your creature is destroyed and I win the game," confirmed Dazzling.

Coltstein was shocked. He clearly had the game won, yet his older sister had pulled a bold move to win the game.

"How did you do that?!" asked Coltstein, completely shocked.

"Simple, little brother," replied Dazzling. "I looked over all my possible options, and found a way to outsmart your tactics. Sometimes if you look at things differently, you can find a way to overcome a sticky situation."

"Well, you won fair and square, so I guess I'll be doing the dishes tonight," stated Coltstein, putting the game board away.

Coltstein's mind spiked at the thought of what Dazzling had said that day, remembering that he still had the other key. If he looked through the gem embedded in the key's grip, perhaps it would show him the right path, even though he knew that there was no safe path. Coltstein reached into his pocket and grabbed the gold key, holding it by it's teeth between his hooves. He squinted his left eye shut, and looked through the gem-embedded part of the grip, immediately noticing something strange. He could see what looked like a staircase drawn along the left wall of the passage, which he knew was the only safe way to pass.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said to himself. "I can't believe that actually worked."

Coltstein felt a small boost of confidence, until he remembered he still needed to find some sort of way to trigger the staircase. He turned back to the key, staring through the gem, hoping to find what looked like some sort of keyhole. It didn't take long to find a hidden keyhole just outside of the opening to the passage. Using the key's guidance, he walked to the location of the keyhole, and placed the silver key into the hidden keyhole, turning the key.

Immediately, a staircase made out of concrete grew from the side of the wall, causing a motion-activated booby trap to activate. Ten poisonous daggers shot from the opposite wall, and stuck into the other side of the passage.

"Daggers," said Coltstein, examining the weapons. "Perfect for defence."

Coltstein walked onto the staircase, grabbing the daggers as he did, and sticking them into his pocket. He knew he'd need them, because the traps were far from done. Once he had made it past the first trap safely, he made his way from the staircase, only to see a long, narrow path. Coltstein already knew that this passageway was littered with dagger traps, so to find a way to trigger the trap, he used his only safe-guide.

He couldn't see any hidden passages through the key, even after doing a double check to make sure he hadn't missed anything. That's when he knew that to get past this obstacle, he'd just have to run as fast as he possibly could, and hopefully not get hit by any daggers. Coltstein was pretty athletic, so he could run fast, but this was a matter of life and death, so unless he hoofed-it, he'd be hit by one of the daggers for sure.

Coltstein decided to do a countdown, preparing himself for the long run. It was as if he were preparing for an Olympic event, only the stakes were higher and much more dangerous.

"Don't think. Just run, Coltstein," he advised, preparing for a countdown. "Three. Two. One. RUN!"

Coltstein abandoned any other thoughts, and quickly trotted as fast as he could down the long path, hearing the booby traps trigger. He didn't think of anything, and just continued to trot, focusing on only getting to the other end of the path. He was only inches from the end of the path, when he felt an agonizing pain in his right thigh. He had been struck by a dagger, causing him to falter a little, but with one final lunge, he was out of the danger zone.

His right thigh burned like fire, as he examined the injury, only to see a small steel blade embedded deep into where his cutie mark was located. He knew he had to get the blade out, so the poison couldn't spread any further than it already had. He groaned in pain, gripping the sharp blade, and pulling it out. As he pulled the blade out, Coltstein screamed so loud that it echoed throughout the maze. Even though it was painful, Coltstein knew that the blade had to come out, so he continued to yank on the blade, until it finally came out.

Blood gushed from the open wound, as Coltstein struggled to stand back up, noticing something at the end of the long path just in front of him. Three creatures that looked like dogs growled at him, ready to pounce at any moment. Coltstein looked at the creatures, anger expressed on his face, as he stood back up, gripping the blade that he had just extracted from his wound.

"This is what you've wanted all along, isn't it?!" he stated. "To see me weak and hurt!? Is this what you've wanted, Annie!? IS IT!?"

His tone was of nothing but anger and rage, as he continued to stare at the creatures only thirty yards from him.

"I've been through hell and back because of you, and now, you are going to pay for all you've caused!" he yelled, taunting the creatures. "If this is truly what you want, THEN COME AT ME! I'M NOT AFRAID ANYMORE, YOU BITCH!"

Coltstein watched, as one of the horrendous creatures lunged toward him, ready to attack and finish him off. He continued to grip the dagger soaked with his blood, waiting for the creature to attack. Once the creature was within his reach, Coltstein thrusted the blade into the creature, hearing a "yipe" sound from the dog-like creature. The thrust from the blade had immediately weakened the creature, as Coltstein continued to hold the blade within the creature, pinning the monster against the wall of the maze closest to him.

The blade had begun to slide up the creature, as Coltstein released all the pressure he had on the blade, making sure it was pinned into the wall well enough to hold the creature. The blade had begun to slowly slide through the creature, slicing the creature in two.

"How does it feel?!" taunted Coltstein, admiring the creature's agony. "That's how I've felt for years, because of you! Torn in two!"

Off that statement, the creature's body was sliced in two, causing the other two creatures to retract. The poison had a strange effect on Coltstein. An effect that he enjoyed. An effect he needed. Annie's home was in plain sight, as the infuriated Coltstein made his way down the final passageway, noticing a rusty key right at the foot of the door. Annie's door had three locks, so this was the key to her home. The key to her black heart.

Coltstein grabbed the rusty key, placed it into the rustiest lock, the gold key into the golden lock, and the silver key into the silver lock, turning all three keys. The large lock fell from the wooden door to the ground, dissolving to nothing but dust, as Coltstein prepared to enter Annie's heart. The encounter he had awaited ever since the night he had ever encountered Annie.

"I'm home, Annie," he said to himself, pushing the door open. "We settle this, now!"