Downtown
Later on in the evening, Sunset and Spitfire headed to The Prancing Pony, a bar located right in the middle of downtown Canterlot. Spitfire had herself a beer while Sunset opted for a whisky on the rocks. “You know, sometimes I think, for all the work we do, we’re just not compensated enough,” Spitfire commented.
“You have a condo,” Sunset said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, but it’s not a house. I mean, it’s like I’m going to be settling down anytime soon but…”
“You found a guy didn’t you?” Sunset asked.
“No it’s…never mind.” Spitfire took another sip of her beer. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I’m not mad,” Sunset said as she downed her drink and asked the bartender for another.
“Come on, you can’t bullshit me. Look, I’m sorry, that was personal and I shouldn’t have-”
“Just don’t worry about it,” Sunset cut her off. “But if you mention it to anyone else I know where you live.”
Spitfire laughed. “Duly noted. So…your first real big mission huh?”
“I’m not trying to complain but…I feel a little out of my league here.”
“Oh come on, so what if she has a few more years of experience on you? People are always talking about you, you know. I mean, you’re still new but imagine when you become a seasoned agent?”
“If I make through this mission first,” Sunset replied. “But you’re right though…the Agency has taught me everything it could. Who knows, maybe I have a few surprises up my sleeve…”
Canterlot International Airport
Lufthansa Flight 137 departed at 7:15am the next morning and it would take about eight hours to reach their destination Reingensberg. H had suggested the pair fly commercial to blend in with the crowd more. At least they’d be flying first class.
“I actually haven’t been to Reingensberg personally, but I hear it’s a charming city,” Coco said. “Not nearly as big or as congested as Manehattan of course.”
“And we’re staying at a Four Seasons?” Sunset asked. “This is my first time living the high life.”
“It’s all part of the cover,” Coco said. “You’re from a wealthy family from Bavaria and have been away for about ten years living with your grandparents in Vanhoover.”
Sunset had no issues with that. H had already explained in detail her objectives and her cover the evening before she left.
“We’ve tracked Glimmer’s last location in Reingensburg about four days ago,” H explained. “We believe she’s there for business of course.”
“Business?” Sunset asked.
“If she was the one who originally made up that list, no doubt many, whether diplomats or criminal bosses, want to get a hand on that information and Glimmer will no doubt ask for a pretty penny. We haven’t been able to track her bank records but it’s easy to say she’s inherited quite a sum of money.”
“Embezzlement no doubt,” Sunset thought out loud.
“Perhaps. For now, you need to locate her and track her movements. See where she goes day in and day out. Only once you’ve figured out her pattern then you can finally interact.”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘interact’ ma’am…?”
“Get close to her, by whatever means necessary. Your cover has you as a wealthy woman as well, which may attract her attention. Share a commonality among philosophies if you must but if she’s willing to trust you, she may give you a key into her organization, and yes, there’s no possible way she’s doing all of this alone.”
Sunset reclined back in her seat and closed her eyes. According to her watch, they had a few hours before lunch would be served. “Wake me up if the attendant comes around…”
Coco just shook her head and smiled. Always business, that Sunset.
Reingensburg
By the time they arrived in Reingensburg, it was well past midnight local time. Fortunately, the long trip gave the two of them plenty of time to rest, even though jet lag was going to set in soon. As promised, the car was waiting for them at the airport and Sunset was quick to turn on the heater.
“I didn’t think it would still be cold this time of year,” Sunset commented.
“Oh yes, it’s like this up until June most years,” Coco said. “Don’t worry, the hotel isn’t far from here.” Despite the short ride, Sunset got a quick feel of the Mercedes and was thoroughly impressed. “It’s a good thing this thing has all wheel drive.”
“How many sports cars in the movies carry all wheel drive hm?” Coco was apparently having too much fun with this. “They can’t handle snow very well can they?”
“I get it Coco, it’s a very handy car to have,” Sunset chuckled.
Once they reached the front of the hotel, a valet approached and offered politely in Germane to park their car for them. They then went inside and headed towards the front desk. The woman at the desk smiled politely. “Good evening.”
“Ah, you speak English?” Sunset asked. That was a bit of a relief.
“Very fluently, I promise you. Name please?”
Coco gave her name, since the reservation was technically under hers. “Ah yes Miss Pommel, here it is. The one bedroom suite, yes?”
There was an awkward silence. “Um…there’s only one bed?” Coco asked. “I remember asking for two queens…”
“Oh dear…unfortunately there’s only one…will that be a problem?”
Coco blushed slightly while Sunset did her best not to smile. “Um…well…are there any other available rooms with two beds?”
“Let me see…no I’m afraid someone managed to get the last one today and currently we’re all booked.”
“I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” Sunset said. “I can always sleep on the futon.”
“I-“ Coco stopped, deciding now was not the time to argue. “Okay, that’ll be fine.”
“Again, we apologize for the inconvenience,” the woman said. “Here are your keys, breakfast is served on the main floor from six to ten and room service is always on standby. We all hope you enjoy your stay at Four Seasons.”
They were on the third floor and on the way up neither of them spoke. Once they reached their room, Coco finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry…this is most embarrassing…”
“Coco…”
“I clearly remember it said two beds. I mean, I’m not the one who booked the room personally but-”
“Coco.” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine…really.” She then smirked slightly. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping in the same bed is there?”
“…Agent Shimmer if you’re teasing me-”
“You’re getting formal now, so obviously this is bothering you.”
Coco sighed. “No…I suppose there isn’t. I mean, we’re both adults here so I have no reason to be worried.”
Once they were inside, they started unpacking. Both of them packed light so it wasn’t as if there was much to carry. Coco plugged in her laptop and turned it on. “I’ll inform H we’ve arrived. There’s not much we can do right now tonight so we might as well get some R&R in.”
“You know, this is actually a king,” Sunset said from the other side of the room.
“Oh…well that should work out well enough I suppose. Just one question…do you snore?”
“I dunno, you were next to me for eight hours. Do I snore?”
“No…surprisingly not. Um…do I?”
“I wouldn’t know but as long as you don’t sound like a lion I’m pretty sure I can ignore it.” Sunset then plopped herself on the bed. “So Starlight frequents this area?”
“According to the footage from the past couple days,” Coco said. “Let’s see…oh there’s an opera house about five blocks from here. I wish we had time to catch a show…”
Sunset had an idea. “Are there any shows going on tomorrow?”
“Let’s see…” Coco was typing away. “Oh yes, seven o’clock tomorrow. I’m surprised they have tickets on sale still. You’re going to it, aren’t you?”
“I’m curious to see if Miss Glimmer has a certain interest in the arts,” Sunset replied.
“Ah…and then we can track her movements. Okay, I was able to get you a seat. Wow, these prices are not cheap…H isn’t going to be too thrilled about this…”
“I’m sure it’s not nearly as expensive as the car outside.” Sunset got up and went up to the window. Despite it being so late, there were still a lot of cars going up and down the streets. It certainly wasn’t anything like Manehattan but at night, like most likely, the view was quite breath-taking.
Sunset then changed into something a bit more comfortable and tucked herself in. Before she turned off the light, she glanced at over at Coco, still glued to her computer. She was guessing that Coco was going to wait until Sunset fell asleep before even making her way to the bed, probably to make things less awkward.
Sunset closed her eyes and felt sleep take her quicker than she had thought. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
Sunset woke up early the next morning around eight o’clock. She felt a warm presence next to her and saw that Coco was next to her sleeping, a little bit closer than she imagined. It didn’t help that the nightgown she was wearing was a bit revealing. “Don’t even think about it Sunset,” she told herself.
She got up slowly, not to wake Coco, and made her way to the bathroom where she took a quick shower. Even the showers here were impressive, and Sunset was tempted to stay in it for another fifteen minutes. She put on a bathrobe and came back out to see Coco standing at the door.
“Oh good, you already showered,” she said as she opened up a small case. “This will make things go quicker.”
“What are you…?”
“Listen Sunset, you have to look the part. Standard clothing practically screams that you’re a government agent. But, if Miss Shimmer is wearing, say, a lovely sundress that’s a lot more disarming isn’t it?”
“Okay, I think you’re taking this a little too far.”
“Nonsense! The fashion designer inside me is screaming for me to do this. Come on, what could it hurt?”
She had a point there. “Fine,” Sunset said, sighing. “How long is this going to take cause I’m starving.”
“Oh not long at all…”
The whole process took about forty minutes. Coco applied makeup, eyeliner, spray to straighten her hair out slightly and, to Sunset’s annoyance, insisted on plucking her eyebrows. Apparently, Coco came prepared with clothing for such occasions like tonight. “And how exactly did you get my measurements?” Sunset asked.
“Oh, from Spitfire, though I admit I was able to do some guesswork on your measurements. My mentor always said sometimes we need to measure with our eyes.”
“That’s…never mind…”
Coco then picked out her day attire, which consisted of a green cardigan with a black skirt. As Sunset was putting on her stockings, Coco commented. “I never understood why guys think stockings make women look more attractive? Is it just the look, or are some guys just perverted that way? I always like to show a little bit of skin if I can…” She then blushed as she caught Sunset’s smirk. “This doesn’t leave the room.”
Finally, after Coco showered and got dressed, the two went downstairs to the banquet hall. There was a wide variety of food to choose and Sunset wasn’t worried about piling her plate, although because of a glance from Coco she didn’t stack it as high as she had wanted.
“So, aside from tonight, what’s on our agenda?” Sunset asked after the two were seated.
“Well, we have about ten hours so I figured we might as well check out the area,” Coco said, looking through a pamphlet as she was eating. “Ooh, they actually have both a national museum and an art museum! This might actually be worth the trip!”
“Coco, this isn’t a vacation…”
“I know, but we need to know our way around and if, and of course this is a big if, we were being watched and were spending most of our time in the hotel, it’d look pretty suspicious wouldn’t it?”
“You sound like you’d be a good field agent Miss Pommel.”
“Oh no…” Coco giggled. “I’m not really one for violence…I mean shooting a gun might be fun but I could never…anyway, I’m much more comfortable where I am right now. Now then…” She put the pamphlet over on Sunset’s side. “Where to first?”