Unmarked

Once Apple Bloom was gone, Dr. Coltstein took a seat in his chair, wiping sweat from his brow. He didn't know what to think of what he just saw, but he knew for sure it wasn't a dream. The recorder was still running, so he stopped it, and attempted to listen to the audio he had captured, but he was far too shaken up to even do so. He placed the recorder in a drawer, and shut it tight. His face collapsed into his hooves, feeling uncertain about himself and his patient. His thoughts were interrupted, as his office door opened, and the young Nurse Daisy entered the office.

She took a seat in one of the open chairs, immediately noticing Dr. Coltstein's state. It was similar to the state that she had fallen into earlier that day, when Apple Bloom had startled her into a state of panic she couldn't explain.

"Are you okay, doctor?" she asked.

The doctor's response was shaky, as he raised his head from his hooves.

"I'm just frightened, seeing I just experienced something beyond anything I've ever seen before," he replied.

Nurse Daisy believed every bit of what Dr. Coltstein spoke, seeing she too had been impacted by Apple Bloom's behavior. She was still curious, wondering if the doctor had been able to get any sort of explanation behind Apple Bloom's unusual behavior.

"Were you able to find out anything?" she asked.

The doctor gave her a nod.

"I wasn't just able to find out something, I also was able to hear it," he spoke.

The doctor opened the drawer and pulled out the recorder he had used, switching it on.

"I was able to catch it on recording," said the doctor, as he played the recording.

The recording made the nurse shake, as she listened closely. The sound of Apple Bloom's voice was not like her normal voice, and only made it more obvious with the demonic growl at the end. As the recording continued to play, both of them listened more closely, hearing something else within the recording. It was a strange sound, unlike anything the two had ever heard. The sound was too distorted on the small recorder, so both of them stopped the recording.

"Did you hear that?!" asked the nurse.

"Very faint, but yes. I heard something else," he replied.

"What do you think it was?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but I know it wasn't anything of pony nature."

"Do you suppose it could've been interference?"

The doctor gave her a look that spelled out his answer. If it wasn't any sort of interference or something of pony nature, then what had he caught in that recording? It was clear that he wasn't going to get answers in the facility, so he knew he'd have to take it somewhere where the recording could be altered. He grabbed the recorder, sticking it in his pocket.

"Tell the staff that I'll be out for awhile, Ms. Daisy," he said.

"Where are you going, doctor?" she asked.

He raised his chin, and stood up from his chair.

"I'm going to get answers. In the meantime, I want you to keep a close eye on Apple Bloom's behavior. It could give me some more clues on what I'm dealing with."

"Of course, doctor," she agreed.

The doctor knew that his best option was the Canterlot Police Station, so he caught the first ponycab he could catch, and travelled to the small building. Once he was at his destination, he paid the ponycab trotter seven bits for his services, then made his way into the station where he was immediately recognized by the deskpony.

"Didn't expect to see you in here so early, Coltstein," spoke the deskpony.

"I'm here on business, Cadwell," he replied. "I need your best ponies for this job. It benefits the "Unmarked" case file."

Cadwell gave Coltstein a strange look, noticing the doctor reach into his pocket. He presented the recorder, already playing the audio. Cadwell didn't question the doctor any further, and called for the chief of the police force; Sheriff Hoofman.

"What sort of mess have you gotten yourself into, Coltstein?" asked Cadwell.

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that I've got a troubled filly with a disturbing past. The recording is what finally gave me an idea of what I'm up against," replied Coltstein.

"Sounds like interference to me, but I'm not the head in this case, so I'll keep to myself."

The doctor gave Cadwell a nod, as Sherrif Hoofman walked out of his office, and directed him to come to the office. He wasted no time and made his way into the office, taking a seat.

"How goes your progress in the case, Coltstein?" asked the sheriff.

"It's working slowly, seeing Apple Bloom isn't an easy subject to break," replied the doctor. "I've managed to get bits and pieces out of her, but the best information I've gotten is right here."

Coltstein presented the recorder, sliding it across the table.

"What is this?" questioned the sheriff.

"Hit the "play" button, and listen. You'll have your answer, sheriff."

The sheriff raised one eyebrow in confusion, but it didn't take long for him to figure out what the doctor meant. The recording clearly was enough to clarify what Coltstein meant.

"What in Equestria's name was that?!" exclaimed the sheriff.

"That's what I'm wondering, sheriff," he replied. "I need your best audio debunkers to debunk what is causing that sound."

The sheriff took a close look at the recorder then looked back at the doctor.

"What if it's just interference?" claimed the sheriff.

The doctor shook his head.

"Not possible," he concluded. "The facility has a grid around it that prevents any sort of negative feedback, so that's not an option."

The sheriff expressed a look of confusion, trying to think of any other possible options. The doctor knew what the sheriff was doing, so he cut straight to his suspicions.

"This is going to sound impossible to you, but I believe that what you are hearing, is something like a demon," claimed the doctor.

The sheriff responded in burst of laughter, which didn't surprise Coltstein one bit.

"You seriously think that's the case?" said the sheriff, continuing to laugh.

Coltstein rolled his eyes, then planted his hoof down on the desk, hard.

"You can't count it out, sheriff!" he snapped. "You wanted me to try and figure out why that filly killed her friends, so I need consider EVERY OPTION POSSIBLE!"

The sheriff retracted a little, now knowing that the doctor wasn't kidding around.

"Alright then, I'll get my best officer on the job," claimed the sheriff. "For now, I need you to calm down and get back on the case."

The doctor gave the sheriff a strict look.

"Don't tell me how to do my job," he concluded, storming out of the office.

While the Canterlot police debunked the recording, the doctor decided to settle down for awhile, stopping at the closest coffee shop for a cup. Coffee was the doctor's brainjuice, and usually his top option if he hit a brick wall in a case, which he had. At the counter, he inhaled the sweet smell of the fresh brewed coffee, as a young mare assisted him.

"What can I get you, sir?" she asked.

"Regular brew, please, and make it a large," assured the doctor.

The mare nodded her head, as the doctor wondered more about the case with Apple Bloom. When he was first called on the case, all that was known was that Apple Bloom had been found with blood on her hooves, and was clearly caught a killer. The doctor didn't believe that somepony like Apple Bloom could've ever become what she had become, that was unless there was some sort of thing that caused her to do it. His mind suddenly spiked, as his coffee was presented to him.

He paid the mare five bits, grabbed the plastic cup, and took a seat in the corner of the shop, where it was quiet. He took a sip of the coffee, returning to his thoughts. He had managed to find an opening in the brick wall he had hit, and wanted to explore that opening more. He knew there had to be a motive to every case, but in the time he had known Apple Bloom, she didn't show any signs of being a killer, and he had solved hundreds of cases.

If there was no motive to Apple Bloom, then why would she commit something like murder? He believed that something else had "caused" or "forced" her to kill her friends, and the recording was proof that his belief could very well be the case. If so, what had forced her to kill her friends, and where did it orignate? He took another sip of his coffee, remembering his last case involving a filly only seven years old.
His most disturbing case he had ever been involved in.

The crime scene was nothing but a bloodbath massacre, where three ponies were found slaughtered to death. The three ponies were a teenage colt, an adult mare, and and adult stallion. Coltstein had arrived on-scene, due to the police being unable to gather any sort of information, nor any suspects. The scene was a cold case, but Coltstein knew a thing or two on how to see a crime scene from another view, due to his reputation as "the Case Whisper" which he found as a stupid nickname.

Coltstein started by doing his usual first instinct, which was studying the crime scene. The large amounts of blood splattered within the home was both disturbing, yet impressive to Coltstein. The first thing he studied was the blood, and the pattern it was formed along the walls. There was no need to study any further, because he recognized it as a gun shot pattern, but something else caught his eye; hoof prints within the blood.

Since there was hoof prints in the blood, he knew that it had been drug against the wall by whoever had slaughtered the family, as if they were painting the walls. The thought made Coltstein cringe, seeing he had never seen something as sinister as this in his entire career. What was strange was the size of the hoof prints; they were small. About the size of a young fillies. Coltstein immediately felt his heart collapse, knowing that his killer was a filly, and there was no mistaking it. What he didn't know, is why would a young filly kill a family, unless the filly were one of the family's own children.

Just when he was about to throw up, he heard a faint voice from beneath the floorboards of the wooden home.

"Oh no," he said to himself. "I believe I've got the killer."

He wasn't accompanied by any policeponies, so he wondered if he could get the filly out of dealing with a trip to Canterlot Asylum, so he quietly worked his way to where the filly was hiding. Coltstein approached with caution, because even though his killer was a filly, he knew the filly was still a danger. He lifted the floorboard carefully, immediately being struck by the view of a young female filly, soaked in blood. She was holding a gun, crying and muttering something under her small voice.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he said calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The filly only responded by pointing the barrel of the gun at herself, and muttering the words "I killed them." He didn't attempt to reach for the gun, and just attempted to calm her with words.

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

The filly responded with the same words, and before he could reach for the gun, the filly pulled the trigger.

"I refuse to let another filly die," he said, taking down the last bits of his coffee. "Apple Bloom, what caused you to do this?"

His coffee was gone, meaning his break was over, and it was time to get back to the case.