The jet touched down in Dubai less than a day after leaving Washington.
Twilight looked out the window, her fingers tapping on the closed Toughbook she’d been using during the flight. The coffee they’d served helped, but she could feel the fatigue of being on the airplane all day getting to her.
The jet pulled up to the terminal and they got off with the other passengers. The group of seven found their way to the exit. Outside, a blast of desert heat was waiting to greet them.
Each of them had a suitcase, except for Fluttershy who also carried her bag over her shoulder and Rarity who had three suitcases.
Rarity had somehow convinced Applejack to carry her third bag with a free hand, though she didn’t look pleased about it.
At the parking area, a woman leaned against the fender of a black Suburban, arms crossed. Despite the heat, she wore a leather jacket. Based on the picture Twilight had been given, this was Sunset Shimmer.
“You all look like a bunch of dweebs straight from Washington,” said Sunset, opening the back of the truck for them to place their luggage. She glanced at Twilight. “When was the last time you got a tan? Even that Limey has seen more sun.”
“Good to see you too,” said Twilight. Sunset might have been getting just a bit too much pleasure from playing the bad girl.
They piled into the truck with Sunset driving and headed off, leaving the airport.
“Dubai’s not bad,” said Sunset. “I’ve been here for a while. Most people behave themselves, but it’s the dirtbags you have to watch out for. We’ll make a stop by the candy store and then you can do whatever you want.”
Twilight understood some of those words. Sunset didn’t seem to care about filtering down her local knowledge to be more easily understood by the visitors.
Sunset went on. “The Agency’s kept me here for a couple of years. I guess you get used to it after a while.”
“Speaking of being local, we need to figure out where we’re going to find these people,” said Twilight. “But first, a good night’s sleep is an order.”
“No way!” said Rainbow. “We’ve got to hit the town. There’s got to be some seedy bar where we can learn about this guy Sombrero.”
“You think so small,” commented Rarity. “Surely there’s a casino in a place like this?”
“A casino might have both a bar and a hotel!” said Pinkie.
Sunset put on the turn signal. “I know a place.”
“Um, the government’s paying for this, right?” said Fluttershy.
There was a silence in the Suburban.
“I guess we’re just going to have to win at the tables,” said Pinkie.
The casino was on the water. Like most places of its ilk, it had a central theme. It seemed to be over the top opulence, a little like the city itself.
The group of them walked inside, taking in the card tables and slot machines that seemed to stretch on for miles.
“How much money do we even have?” Rainbow asked.
Spike rolled the d20 and did some figuring. “One thousand.”
“One thousand what?” asked Applejack.
“Does it matter?” said Rarity. “We’re in a different country now.”
“It’s kind of a big deal,” Twilight pointed out. “We don’t even know the exchange rate.”
Spike waved his arms to calm them down. “Let’s just say betting chips for now.”
“Twilight’s probably best qualified to play the odds at gambling,” said Rarity. “Could we give her our chips?”
“If you trust me,” said Twilight. “All right, I’m ready.”
Burdened with everyone’s money, Twilight went over to the roulette wheel. Curiously, this one had only twenty numbers. She bet on black.
The ball dropped in and went around, catching on number four.
The others groaned. There went half their money.
“Well, that was a failure,” Rainbow muttered.
“Wait a second, why did we even bet in the first place? We don’t even know how much things cost around here.”
“Well yeah, you could have asked me,” said Sunset. “Hello? Local guide?”
“Well, what should we do now?” Twilight asked.
“How about we go over to the bar and use what money you have left to buy a few drinks and see if it gets anyone to talk,” Sunset suggested.
The bar was large and tiki-themed. Rainbow grabbed a bucket of iced beers and brought them over, along with a bottle of liquor and a tray of glasses.
Rarity stared at the Bud Light and Bacardi. She shook her head and went to order something for herself.
Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie, however, dove in. Twilight crossed her arms and gave them disapproving looks. Fluttershy sat with her hands in her lap and said nothing.
Rainbow filled the glasses from the bottle and distributed them. She stared at Applejack as the two of them lifted their drinks in unison and slugged. Rainbow quickly refilled both and raised her eyebrows.
Applejack smirked. “You’re on.”
“So we’re just drinking?” said Twilight. “Come on, it’s in a game, not to mention we only have limited money!”
“So roll for something to happen,” suggested Rainbow.
“The last time we tried that, we lost half our money!”
“Well, do you have a better idea to shake something loose?” asked Applejack.
With everypony’s consent, Spike rolled. “Fourteen. Okay, the two of you having a drinking contest draws a crowd. You’ll have a hangover in the morning, but you see a suspicious looking individual in the crowd.”
“That man over there looks suspicious,” said Fluttershy to Twilight as the others got increasingly drunk.
“What about him looks suspicious?” Twilight asked, looking where she indicated.
“I don’t know, he just does.”
Sure enough, he did. Twilight didn’t know why, but he did. She took out her phone, pretending to record the rowdy drinking contest, but instead snapped a covert picture. Perhaps someone back in D.C. could determine who they were looking at. It would take some time.
The satellite phone functioned like a normal cell phone but was bulkier and just not as nice all the way around. The reception anywhere was a boon, however.
Meanwhile, it was difficult to discern who had won the drinking contest. Perhaps Pinkie, and she hadn’t even been playing. Rarity had been sipping more sedately.
“We still need to find a place to rest,” said Twilight. “Especially those that are going to be hungover.”
“I’ll tell you what,” said Sunset. “I’ll get you a long term reservation here to act as a base of operations if you agree to spend the rest of your money at my candy shop.”
“Deal!” Pinkie immediately agreed.
“Is that a literal candy shop?” Twilight asked.
“No, it’s actually a gun shop.”
“You’re making us pay for guns? I thought you were our friendly neighborhood CIA agent.”
“Maybe, but I’m not very good at it.” Sunset grinned. “Come on, you’ll have a place to stay and get some weapons.”
After a quick huddle, they all reluctantly agreed.
At least the casino hotel was nice. Sleeping there would fully cure any fatigue they felt.
“I’ll come by in the morning and take you to the candy shop,” said Sunset. “I’ll let you get a little taste of what I’ve got.”
The seven visitors retired to their rooms to rest. They discovered that three rooms with dual beds had been reserved. It wasn’t perfect, but certainly not the worst hardship any of them had ever endured.
Rainbow was quick to stake her claim, tossing her suitcase on the bed. She paused at the window, looking out at the water only a few blocks away, a huge artificial island shaped like a palm tree visible in the distance. Applejack came in, looked over her shoulder, and then flopped into bed. Pinkie had dragged Fluttershy into another room, leaving Twilight, Rarity, and Spike to share the third room with all the gear. Rarity kept a stiff upper lip about it, but did not look pleased.
In the morning, Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie were hungover, but they had the others for support should it become necessary. The coffee maker was working overtime.
Sunset arrived and drove them away from the dazzling buildings of downtown. She turned into the parking lot of a refrigerated warehouse that was battered from years of desert climate. The sign on the outside was in Arabic.
“I try to read it!” said Pinkie.
“Do you speak Arabic?” Spike asked.
“I don't know.”
“Is it on your character sheet?”
“No?”
“Then no, you don’t understand a word!”
“Awww....”
“I speak the local language!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Or I could just tell you what it says,” said Sunset.
“We keep our place inside this refrigerated warehouse,” Sunset explained, as she led them into the building.
The environment inside featured icicles growing from the ceiling and pallets of various temperature-sensitive goods. Suddenly Sunset’s jacket made a lot of sense. Fluttershy was thankful she hadn’t dressed as lightly as some of the others.
“So this is the candy shop,” said Sunset as she led them towards the rear.
“More like an ice cream shop,” countered Pinkie. “Although I imagine your euphemism is indicative of this being the place where you keep the sweet stuff that everybody wants.”
“In a manner of speaking,” said Sunset. She turned a corner around a leaning tower of TV dinners and revealed her wares.
Pinkie’s gasp lasted several seconds before abruptly terminating. “Wait, what are we looking at?”
“For your money, I’ve got you all a standard group of weapons,” said Sunset. “An M4 carbine and a SIG Sauer P226 sidearm each.”
“Don’t we get a choice? Just how many guns do you have?” Rainbow asked.
Sunset stared at her. “Well, you try smuggling this stuff into a foreign country and see how much fun it is.”
“Fluttershy and I had a little bit more money since we didn’t drink,” Twilight reminded her.
Sunset nodded. “Good point. I’ll allow the two of you an upgrade. Would you like more mobility or more firepower?”
“I think dodging attacks is more important,” said Twilight.
“Then I have a compact MP5 PDW for you,” said Sunset.
“Oh yeah, I have the heavy weapons perk,” broke in Pinkie. “Does that do anything?”
“I can upgrade you to a M1014 shotgun for no charge,” Sunset allowed.
Pinkie practically dove into the pile, calling “Dibs!”
Sunset turned back to Fluttershy. “Have you decided?”
“I suppose I’ll take whatever you give me,” Fluttershy replied.
“Then she should get more firepower!” Pinkie insisted.
“All right, an M14 it is,” said Sunset.
“Do I get anything for winning the drinking competition?” Applejack asked.
“There’s no way you won!” Rainbow argued.
“She has higher constitution points,” said Spike. “She won.”
“Well, maybe a small sidearm upgrade: the larger, ambidextrous M9 for a slight bonus to accuracy,” Sunset suggested.
“Somebody needs to be the techie,” said Spike. “Instead of weapons, I’m going to buy surveillance equipment to track bad guy cell phones.”
“Wait, that was an option?” said Twilight.
“For me,” said Spike. “Hey, I’m voluntarily going out on a limb here to be unarmed and I need the rest of you to cover me.”
“Ugh.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Escort missions.”
They picked up their gear. Fluttershy’s battle rifle was a little unwieldy, but Rarity reassured her.
“It’s an interesting aesthetic,” said Rarity. “This rifle looks like it’s been very well preserved for how old it must be. The wooden stock is even varnished.”
“Wait, you actually like that?” Rainbow said. “It totally clashes with the slick new SIGs.”
“You monster,” muttered Rarity.
“Um, I just want to get going,” said Fluttershy.
Rarity nodded and turned to the pile of weapons, selecting an M4 that looked a little cleaner than the others.
“So now that we have weapons, what about armor?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, what about some bulletproof vests?” Applejack asked.
“What, are you scared?” said Rainbow.
“I take it you’ve never been shot,” Applejack retorted.
“Well, if you only had the money for vests…” Sunset smirked. “Just move fast and hit hard. Group tactics.”
She handed over the keys to the Suburban. Rainbow grabbed them.
“That’s it,” said Sunset. “Have fun.”
“I’m out,” said Sunset, getting up from the table. “I’ll be back later if you need anything.”
“See you later,” said Twilight. “We’ll do our best with the scenario.”
“What are we supposed to do now?” Twilight asked as the group of them drove away.
Rainbow drove with a lead foot, which was not too out of the ordinary in Dubai, but also made it easier to determine if anyone was tailing them. Police presence was fortunately low.
Answering Twilight’s question, Spike indicated the electronics he’d picked up. “If we knew bad guys’ cell phone numbers, I could track them down.”
“That’s right, I saw someone suspicious at the bar,” Twilight remembered. “I wonder if the report came back?”
“If he has a phone, we could track him down, or maybe find out who he’s talking to and track them down,” Spike offered.
“Or maybe ping the home office for more information,” said Twilight. “Either way, any of those options could take time.”
“We could break for tea,” Rarity suggested. “There’s always time for that.”
Rainbow snorted, but winced. “Okay, maybe that could help my aching head.”
“Why did we let her drive again?” Applejack asked.