Chapter 10: Catch-Up
The two stood in awkward silence for a moment. Finally, Trixie broke it. "I've finished Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet, but since I'm several hours ahead of target, I'm guessing that's not what you're here for."
Ember laughed and shook her head. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd join me for a coffee and a catch-up. The one I missed out on yesterday."
After a moment, Trixie nodded. "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll meet you at the diner on the corner." Ember nodded and closed the door.
Trixie walked back to the spare room and put on her saddlebag. She then picked up her key to the apartment and levitated it into her pocket. Next, she walked to the kitchenette, picked up a marker from the counter and took it over to the whiteboard near the door. After writing a short message to Bow and Medley, she headed out the door.
***
Trixie walked into the diner and soon saw Ember sitting in a booth by the window. She walked over and sat down, noting the coffee already waiting for her. She tasted it and smiled. "Mocha. You remembered."
Ember returned the smile. "So, your thoughts on Platinum Crown and Griffon's Goblet?"
Trixie took a sip as she thought about that. "Both well-written adventure stories. Both of them introduce the characters well, though I did find it hard to ignore that the author clearly hadn't worked out Derring's relationship with the other two before she wrote Platinum Crown."
Ember nodded, her smile fading. "Yeah I get that. Listen, I'm sorry I gave you that one so soon. I should have realised that Derring might hit a sore spot."
Trixie shook her head. "It's okay. I don't expect that kind of foresight from you." She paused. "Okay, that sounded a lot better in my head."
Ember laughed, despite herself. "I wouldn't either, especially after how I outdid myself on Wednesday night." Trixie stared at her. "Ignoring the fact that you had no problem with renting a room. Bringing Gusty into the argument with Lanie and somehow forgetting you had every reason to be pissed at her. And continuing to not figure that out in the time it took you to pack up and walk out the door."
Trixie took her hoof under the table. "It doesn't excuse my rudeness. She was your best friend, you obviously owe a lot to her. And if nothing else, I was raised to never speak ill of the dead. I could have left without making a scene."
"But I made it for you," Ember replied. "You were happy to give up the room, but I started arguing with a flimsy position that embarrassed everypony in the room and pushed all the wrong buttons. You have nothing to apologise for about Wednesday night."
Trixie smiled, despite not being entirely convinced. "By the way, thanks for sending over Trials of Unity, though I think I got a bit of closure from Platinum Crown."
"Good to know," replied Ember. "Though, for what it's worth, there are reasons I wanted you to read Platinum Crown aside from it establishing the Do family dynamic."
Trixie look at her, somewhat excited. "Does this mean you're actually going to tell me something about your idea for Daring Do and the Alicorn Amulet?"
"Not much - I'm trying to avoid giving away too much about what happens to the surviving cultists, especially now that I seem to have got you genuinely hooked," replied Ember with a smirk. "But just for a clue - do some research on the Platinum dynasty when you get the chance. Just over the last century."
"I'll keep that in mind," replied Trixie. "It'll take a while, though - just before you came around I had a visit from one of the actors in the play I'm opening for." Ember stared at her, her interest piqued. Trixie told her about Ingreen's offer and how she'd be sorting out her shares in the booking fee and the takings tomorrow morning.
"I'll try to be there around 10.00 am," replied Ember. "I did agree to fund your first booking in Fillydelphia, even if this isn't the full show we'd expected."
Trixie nodded. "Not to mention the possibility of an interview with the cast"
Ember laughed. "Not my beat, though I'll certainly be passing the schedule on to the Tribune's theatre criitc."
Trixie smiled, appreciating the favour. "Actually, now that I think about it, what do you do for the Tribune?"
"Mostly I cover crime and local politics," answered Ember. "And I also run the Equestrian bureau for the Sydneigh Morning Herald. They send us major Brumbiland stories, I send back Equestrian stories."
Trixie's interest turned to confusion. "Wouldn't that take at least a couple of days by griffon mail?"
Ember smiled. "Actually we have an almost instantaneous system - dragon mail."
Trixie blinked. "I've heard of using dragonfire to send letters, but I didn't think it could work over that kind of distance."
"It requires a lot of practice to be reliable," Ember explained. "A couple of years ago my assistant was fired after we realised he'd accidentally been sending our exclusives to the Inquirer for nearly two weeks. Turned out he hadn't been as successful in the training program as he'd led my boss to believe. Thankfully, the magic works better between blood relatives, so the Herald sent over their assistant Fairfax's sister Halifax. Since then we've only lost maybe two or three stories to the Sydneigh Daily Telegraph, which is a pretty good success rate."
Trixie could read the admiration and affection in Ember's face. "I take it the two of you are close, then?"
Ember nodded. "Especially over the last few months. After Lanie and I finished work on Daring Do and the Tinker's Seal, I needed a break, maybe a permanent break from the series, and I started putting in a lot more hours at the paper. Eventually, I started confiding more in Hal than in Lanie, especially after he went back to Daring Do and found new partners. Well, a new partner and an old partner," she corrected.
Trixie didn't need Thunderlane's psychology training to sense what Ember wasn't saying. "You know, whatever he may have with Lyra and Medley, there's a reason he came back to Fillydelphia once he was hit by writers block," she said.
Ember managed a smile. "Part of me knows that," she said.
***
After the two finished their drinks, Trixie and Ember returned to the apartment so that Ember could retrieve her copy of Griffon's Goblet. Once there, Trixie found a note on the kitchen counter in Medley's hoofwriting. "She's gone back to Cloudsdale overnight for... something. She hasn't gone into detail."
"Did she say anything this morning before heading out?" Ember asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Nothing comes to mind. I think it must be to do with that letter that arrived just before you turned up." Trixie put the note down and walked past Ember into the living room. The letter wasn't where she'd dropped it. "And I guess she's taken it with her. Oh well, we'll have to ask her tomorrow afternoon. I hope she can make it back in time," she said as she walked back into the hall, levitating Griffon's Goblet as she went.
"She says she plans to," replied Ember, reading the note again. "But she also says not to wait up, and that the rest of us should try to be over here at 5:30 pm." She turned to Trixie, who was putting Griffon's Goblet in Ember's saddlebag. "And I intend to make sure if it," she finished with a grin.