Author's Note

Things are gonna get a bit freaky near the end.....

A Foreign Territory

"At Glimmering Gems, Glimmering Gems

"There's a place for the smartest and the dumbest of them.

"Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle! Vstavay, my na kintseviy zupyntsi!"

The faint callings of Scarlet echoed against the unicorn's ears as she came to. The rocking had dissipated, yet she still heard thunder and now a violent pounding of a storm.

"Scarlet, vona ne rozumiye Ukreinian." Now she could hear Ophie's voice.

"Oh...right...Sweetie Belle, we're here!"

Sweetie Belle groaned as she stretched out her limbs.

"No need to say it anymore. I'm up. How long was I out for?"

"Hard to say," Ophie confessed. "Maybe....three or four hours?"

"Yeah, that checks out," Sweetie Belle thought.

Sitting up and despite the blurriness, she was surprised to see that the boat was nearly empty, save for the three of them.

"Where are the others?" She rubbed her eyes to wipe away the blurriness.

"They're waiting in the building," Ophie answered. "Mysty and Wonderspark are just outside the docks. C'mon....we need to hurry, or else we'll get in some serious trouble."

Scarlet grabbed her satchel and helped to put it on her before the three galloped off the boat. They were immediately showered by a freezing waterfall of the sky. And sure enough, Mysty and Wonderspark were waiting patiently, their satchels also drenched.

"Sorry to make you wait," Sweetie Belle began quickly before Mysty cut her off.

"No time for apologies, we need to get our flanks into gear before the guards realize we're missing."

The five cantered as quickly as they could, having to stop occasionally to accommodate to Ophiuchus' coughing fits, over to a large gray building, one that looked like some sort of factory. The only difference was that instead of regular steel doors, the place had rotating steel doors that still blocked the view of whatever was inside. But there was no time to question why; the five quickly made their way inside where the group, now much larger than when Sweetie Belle had remembered seeing it, was gathered in apprehensive chatter. It was at this point she took in the design of the place; while the place looked drab on the outside, the interior looked like some sort of luxury hotel. Gold lined the titanic pillars that stretched up to a ceiling that was obscured by darkness. The flooring was tiled in intricate tessellations, polished to the atom. In the background, she could hear the soft symphony of Neighthoven playing as unicorns dressed in fancy cloaks and garments walked around.

There were two in particular that caught Sweetie Belle's eyes. They were mostly obscured, save for dark hooded cloaks and black full-body outfits speaking to one another in low tones. All she could see were their eyes, both with colors on the cool side of the color spectrum, in this case azure and a sort of violet. For a brief moment they both made eye contact with Sweetie Belle before moving on, continuing to whisper as if nothing had ever happened. She tried to shrug it off, but something seemed to nag at her. They seemed oddly familiar....

"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice shattered her out of her thoughts.

Sweetie Belle turned to see a gorgeous ice-blue unicorn with a white wavy mane tinted a slight blue and a snowflake cutie mark.

"Do you know where we are or is everypony in the dark, so to speak?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head.

"I'm just as clueless as you, sorry."

"It's fine. I'm Lydia Blizzard, by the way. I would've introduced myself earlier, but I saw you were asleep and I didn't want to bother you."

"It's fine, I probably wouldn't have woken up anyway." She knew just how deep of a sleep the meds could put her in. "Anyway, I'm Sweetie Belle."

"That's a pretty name."

Sweetie Belle was about to thank her when something caught her attention. Around her neck was a necklace with a charm that looked like a unicorn horn.

"Um...thanks. By the way, what's that around your neck and where did you get it?"

Confused, Lydia looked down and held it in one hoof.

"Oh, this? Yeah, unicorn horn-shaped charms are pretty popular in Trottingham, my home city. My mother got it for me as a sort of good luck charm for the exams. I guess it only kind of worked though, seeing as we're on the same page of failing the kinesthetics' exam, I assume?"

She nodded.

"It's rather odd, though," Lydia commented. "The outside has such a deep contrast to the interior of this place. I wonder why."

"Maybe it's a top secret hotel."

Sweetie Belle's heart jumped into her throat when Rose popped up out of seemingly nowhere.

"How was your little snooze by the way?" she asked. "You looked pretty comfy in spite of everything."

"I....couldn't really feel anything. What did I miss?"

"We stopped at a lot of places," Mysty added. "Manekato, Saint Beneighdict, Manehattan, Seaward Shoals, even Mt. Everhoof."

"That guard pony wasn't kidding about us having to make room in the boat," Wonderspark said. "It got really cramped by the time we got to Whinnyapolis."

"Why were we stopping at all of those places?" Sweetie Belle wondered.

"Hmph, why else?" Another new voice huffed.

Sweetie Belle looked to see another white stallion with a white mane, his head held high. On his flank was an eighth note cutie mark over a microphone.

"To pick us all up. We're all Pass 30s, permanently."

"Excuse me, who asked you?" Lydia quipped.

"She did, it would seem."

"And just who do you think you are?"

"Gossamer Clinquant, Fillydelphia University. I don't know why I've been dropped into this group of....amateurs when I so clearly belong with the highest of society. And yet here I am with you, right at the bottom of the barrel with the scum of Equestria."

"Now listen here, you son of a--!"

Before Lydia could make another retort, a guard whistle sounded.

"Eyes front and center, everypony."

They all turned to face a violet unicorn with a lavender mane wearing square glasses and a lab coat, the latter of which covered the cutie mark.

"Welcome, Pass 30s." His voice was crisp and clear, hardly missing even a single syllable. "To your final destination. I'm Doctor Borealis. I specialize in both medical and mechanical work; as such, should anyone here suffer any severe injuries, do not hesitate to speak up and I shall attend to you to the best of my ability. Now, please follow me. I shall show you to your rooms."

"Rooms?" an orange unicorn piped up in confusion from the front. "What do you mean by rooms?"

Doctor Borealis chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, you silly little filly." He pat them on the head. "Do you think we'd treat Pass 30s so horrifically? Of course not. After all, your academic scores show much promise for you all. I must say, however, that I'm quite surprised that there are some ponies here who scored at the top of their class in the written exams, Canterlot's in particular."

Hearing this Sweetie Belle winced. It truly was a cruel irony that she, Mysty, and Wonderspark had been in the top three for the written portion, but didn't pass the second part. Then again her friends had failed on purpose, but no one else needed to know that. A lump formed in her throat as she hoped that he wouldn't call them out.

"But enough talk," he declared. "We have little to see and so much time to see it all. Wait a minute! Strike that....reverse it."

He turned around and trotted elegantly, keeping his head held high as the others followed.

"The room you are in is, of course, the lobby. The architecture takes inspiration from the art of--"

Almost nopony was listening. Instead they were quietly whispering to each other. Perking an ear up, Sweetie Belle felt as though she would keel over; they were talking about her and her friends.

"I don't believe that the top three Canterlot University students would be Pass 30s," a rose-red pony sniffed. "Their program is far too intensive and aggressive for them to not memorize everything."

"Shame if such a thing were to get around Equestria," an azure unicorn agreed. "The institution's so highly regarded. This could practically tank their reputation."

"Well if they truly are here," a lime-green unicorn added. "I say we find them out. It's more likely they're going to get more privileges here. Maybe if we figure them out, we can convince them to get the staff to give us more privileges."

"But how?" the azure pony asked. "We don't know anything about them aside from them being top of the class and being here."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," the rose-red pony whispered.

Sweetie Belle gulped as her anxiety struck higher, but she knew that she couldn't fall asleep.

"Don't worry, Sweets," Mysty whispered. "We just gotta lay low and we'll be fine."

"If you're sure....." she gulped as they trotted onward.

"At Glimmering Gems, Glimmering Gems

"Of course they'll all get paid, but the question is when?"

After what seemed like ages, Dr. Borealis directed them to the top floor where a bunch of red doors lined the hall.

"And here is where you'll be sleeping," he finished. "You can pick any room you wish. I do advise you have a room of your own, but I believe we should be able to accommodate you all."

Deep in her gut, Sweetie Belle could feel a tense aching sensation. There was something very off about all of this. Why would they just give a bunch of unicorns free hotel rooms, especially when they weren't pass completes? It seemed that everyone else could sense it as well, as looks of anxiety spread across their faces.

"Go on, pick your rooms."

Dr. Borealis' tone made her stomach flip. He was making it very clear to all of them that this wasn't a mere suggestion. Filled with fear, the ponies each trotted over to a door, each of them surprised to find that none of them were locked.

"Um...couldn't we share rooms instead?" one purple unicorn piped up, anxiety riddling her voice.

Dr. Borealis merely chuckled.

"Why would you want to? I thought at your age, you all craved choice and independence."

"Maybe so," Sweetie Belle thought. "But I sure as Tartarus crave security and protection even more."

"Now get into your rooms, silly fillies," he continued. "It's almost lights out. Oh, and we've also provided you with something that should help you feel more comfortable as you rest for the night. I realize that being in a new place can be rather unsettling, so I advise that you all use it. You'll need to be alert for tomorrow."

Once again, a subtle scent of venom slithered into his tone at the very end of the penultimate sentence, sending shivers down the spines of each unicorn. Without so much as a "good night," everypony entered their room.

Sweetie Belle glanced around the place. It appeared to be a standard hotel room with some additional embellishments. There was a bathroom just off to the side with a walk-in shower, toilet, and sink along with a few towels, which Sweetie Belle immediately grabbed and dried herself off with, as she was still dripping wet from having cantered through that storm, which she could still hear raging outside. She was surprised to find that these towels were softer than average. Sure, hotel rooms towels could be rather luxurious and fluffy, but these towels felt as though she was rubbing a cloud on herself.

"It's kind of like the time I accidentally bumped into Scootaloo's wing," she remarked. "It was surprisingly soft, almost as soft as these."

After she was sufficiently dry, Sweetie Belle headed over to the bed area and took another look around. She was surprised to discover that there wasn't a bureau or a wardrobe or any sort of place where a pony could put their clothes. Of course, not many ponies wore clothing, but it seemed to be a sensible thing to have regardless, especially if somepony like Rarity stayed there.

By the bedside was a nightstand and on top of it was a silver tray consisting of a kettle, a mug, a teaspoon, a tea bag, and a bowl of sugar. This seemed a bit off to her. She knew that some ponies used tea to help them get to sleep, but having random tea just placed on a table? Especially by someone as sketchy as that doctor? She could try her pills, but she knew that with the recommended dosage, she wouldn't be out for very long. Nonetheless it was still worth a try.

Reaching into her satchel bag, she pulled out her water bottle, only to find that it was completely empty. Had she really drank that much water when she took her meds? It didn't matter. She just knew that she wasn't going to touch that tea. Climbing into the bed and turning off the bedside lamp, she tried to get to sleep; however each time she'd be close to drifting off, something would startle her awake once more, be it a swift shadow or the doorknob wriggling as if somepony was trying to break into her room or the air vents suddenly working at full blast, making more noise than a jackhammer.

About two hours later, she was still awake. Each time she'd been awoken by something, she found her eye drawn to the tea. Was this really the thing that would help her sleep? On one hand, it was very sketchy to just have tea laying out with a kettle. But on the other hand, her sleep deprivation symptoms were extremely severe.

"I....guess it wouldn't hurt to try it," she told herself, still doubtful. "At least plain."

Placing the teabag in the mug, she poured the lukewarm water into it and let it sit for a few minutes. Picking the mug up, the tea practically spilled over from her trembling hooves as her stomach tensed up. Nonetheless she bought it to her lips and took a sip.

She almost immediately spit it out.

Her face tensed up as her lips pursed and her eyes scrunched shut. The taste was more bitter than pure ginger tea, making her want to puke. But she knew that she needed to sleep.

"That's...probably why they added the sugar," she thought.

Banging down the mug on the bedside table, she desperately snatched up the sugar bowl and practically poured the entire substance into the mug before mixing it in and taking another sip. This time it was far more tolerable and even somewhat delicious, though there was still the bitter aftertaste. Soon enough she had drank the mug in its entirety and got back into bed.

Nonetheless she was still awoken. However it wasn't by anything such as a shadow or the knob wriggling. It was her own body. She needed to use the bathroom. Hopping out of bed, she headed into her bathroom and voided the contents of her bladder before flushing.

As she was washing her hooves, a sudden drowsiness overtook her, practically putting her in a waking slumber. It was as if she could almost fall asleep right where she stood, and yet her anxiety was beginning to re-emerge. Her heart pounding, she tried to walk back to the bed, only to find that everything was beginning to distort. The room was swirling, stretching out, rocking back and forth, and stretching up and down, side to side; the floor was waving like a magic carpet, sinking and rising, shaking, and sometimes all of this was happening at once.

Sweetie Belle could barely think, her mind so overloaded and overwhelmed by all of this stimuli as she tried to stumble her way back to the bed, her head throbbing erratically. Trying to speak, she found herself burbling out random nonsense, as if some sort of alien had taken control of her. Soon she couldn't get herself to shut up and her body was on autopilot, stumbling this way and that as the noises in the room began to fade in and out in echoes. Then out of nowhere her blurry vision froze and her body stiffened along with her face as she felt gravity tilt her to one side.

THUD!

Sweetie Belle didn't see herself hit the ground, but she certainly could feel it as the sting reverberated through her face. Her eyelids twitched up and down like a flashing image. She tried to call out for help, but her throat was slowly closing up until she felt that she could hardly breathe. Her mind began to slowly shut down until suddenly.......

It all went still and silent.