Daring had over a dozen rough drafts of a town charter, what made Twilight uneasy was the name Daring had picked out. Every single draft of a town charter and starting layout all had the name “Fetish” in big and bold letters that were underlined. Spike just laughed when he saw the town name, and Cadance showed no sign of having problems with the town’s name, neither did Celestia or Luna. Twilight was well aware of the meanings for the word, all of them, but she also knew how in the modern era that word had more than a few sexual implications, hence her hangup on the name Daring had chosen for the town.

Her starting layouts for the town were of interest, almost enough to help distract from the name. Every draft of the town layout had a temple, which would also act as the town hall, at the center. The temple would also serve as a housing complex for Daring and Spike, along whatever foals they ended up having and some of the acolytes seeking to have a position as a priestess.

Twilight had genuinely gotten more than a little uncomfortable with Daring and Spike being around her, and temporarily set them up in a townhouse. Twilight told Daring outright that she just didn’t want to deal with Spike in “Honeymoon mode” because it kind of creeped her out. Daring was given an office, with a drawing table, at the townhouse and was told by Twilight to show her best sketches to Cadance and Shining Armor, and maybe Flurry Heart too, when she could.

Daring smiled at her latest layout; the temple took up a good portion of the center of the clearing with a large bathhouse effectively across the street from it. She also had another bathhouse at the edge of the agreed upon border for the gremlins, and a third at the southernmost point the clearing. The central bathhouse was the largest, but she wanted to have more than one communal meeting point that could potentially make the residents feel closer, she also wanted to have as many relaxed environments as possible.

The bathhouses had another good point; they effectively made personal areas optional instead of mandatory. Granted, the logistics of maintaining the bathhouses was a bit more than most ponies, especially politically minded ones, were used to dealing with. By making the bathhouses open to the public, at almost all hours, it also allowed ponies to bath at their leisure. Most modern ponies weren’t used to communal bathing, but historical records from eras that predated Equestria showed that communal bathing was a way of life for ponies.

Spike out running errands, which meant Daring had the whole place herself. It didn’t really matter; she had been focused entirely on the town layout plans since breakfast was finished, during which she joked about Spike having his own restaurant. Although, their shower play after getting up was a little fun. Of course, this was routine she had gone through the past few days as well.

Daring’s focus on her task was intense she didn’t even notice somepony was in the complex until it was too late, the layout she was working on literally pulled out from her workstation while she was thinking of what to add in. It was this point she heard papers ruffling; she had made over a dozen drafts with only about nine actually being something she was proud of. Turning around she saw Cadance leafing through the drafts.

“These are all very nice,” said Cadance without looking away from the sheets, “I especially like the idea for communal bathing areas.”

“Thanks,” said Daring, unsure of how to really proceed, “I thought having areas for the whole community, and visitors, to wash up might help ponies feel less physically conscious around each other. There would obviously be sections for stallions and mares to bath separately, but I’m thinking of discarding that in the larger bathing area. In fact, I'm thinking of doing away with divided bathing areas in the facilities altogether.”

“A truly mixed bath,” said Cadance with a mischievous grin, “I like it,” she then turned her attention to Daring’s latest layout, “and I think this particular layout is probably for the best. A large genuinely communal bathing area with separate smaller bathing areas for the more conscious individuals. Given any thought there?"

“I thought the eastern bath could be a stallions only bathing area while the southern one could be a mares only bathing area, having bathhouses designated for each gender might make guests feel a bit more comfortable.”

“That seems reasonable,” said Cadance, “plus it would force visitors to see more of the community and how it operates. I like how you have the guest housing facility set up in close proximity to the central structure...what exactly is it supposed to be?”

“The temple complex,” said Daring, “it will also act as the town hall and housing for several parties. Namely, the High Priestess, her family, and acolytes in training to become priestesses.”

“So in other words, it will be your home and place of business for both political and religious purposes,” said Cadance with a head quirk, “that would adequately explain why it is so big.”

“The real problem is getting enough circulating water for the bathhouses,” said Daring with a sigh, “just one would be a tremendous effort, but I’ve planned for three. And without an abundantly ready source of water to flow through the structures, they’re nothing more than pretty looking facilities with empty tubs or a great place for collecting stagnant water.”

“I think we can help with that,” said Cadance with a smile, “and I might just use your bathhouses as a template for setting up one in the Crystal Empire. Ponies need reasons to be happy, and a place to socialize without the worries of the outside world can be that. I read over your bathing rules for the bathhouses; I especially liked rule one.”

“If I remember correctly,” said Daring in contemplation, “rule one is ‘leave all attire and concerns at the door’ with rule two stating you are free to speak openly about all subjects with your bathing partners without fear of severe repercussions.”

“Yes, and you only have five rules for the bathing establishments, all of which as simple as they are reasonable.”

“Nice to hear, but that doesn’t solve the logistical problems for the bathhouses.”

“Just let Auntie Celestia, Auntie Luna, Twilight and myself worry about that,” said Cadance with a smile. “I also like how you set it up so the station is is in the northeasternmost corner of the clearing, it keeps the station just far enough away from the rest of the town to be feasible while also making it so anyone who arrives that way or wishes to leave that way needs to pass through quite a bit of the town if they want to save time.”

“Honestly, I just put it there so it would have a minor impact on the community's development,” said Daring as she pretended to search for another sheet of parchment to get back to work, “besides, I didn’t intend for you to see all of the layouts I sketched, just the most complete ones.”

“That is the main reason I’m here,” said Cadance with a worried look, it’s been nine days since our visit to the clearing and the only time you genuinely got outside was when Twilight moved you and Spike out here seven days ago,” she emphasized the word ‘seven’ like it was serious. “I’m thankful it hasn’t been longer, that would really be a problem, but for a once very active pony to be cooped up in a room for days isn’t very healthy.”

“It’s happened to me before,” retorted Daring, “the main difference here is that I can leave the complex anytime I want, of the six cases where I was cooped up by others,” she emphasized the number six, almost as if she was mocking the pink alicorn’s concern, “all of the rooms I was confined to were considerably less spacious than this,” she gestured to the room.”

“I know, I read your books,” said Cadance with a deadpan voice, “and the manuscripts that were used for them, and your personal notes relating each book. Twilight is really focused on the formation of this new publishing house; she wants to make sure everything is in order before it is properly established. Republishing your books will be a good start, I suppose, but publishing both your latest story and the story that actually predates the first book might be what takes it to where it needs to go.”

“Has she always been like that?”

“Intent on doing things the right way? No, she used to be mainly focused on doing things the way they were prescribed without hesitation. But a few years ago she learned to question the efficiency of what she is asked to do and looks for how to improve it. As for what’s happening with her friends, I’m happy you found a new project to involve Fluttershy in, she’s been needing more things to help take her mind off of her pet dilemma.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” said Daring.

“Her pet, Angel Bunny, passed on about four years ago and she’s been partially blaming herself, even though he passed on due to advanced age. He had a few offspring with another lopine Fluttershy was taking care of, but she didn’t want to sully his legacy by taking on one of his children as a pet. She’s been looking around for a few animals to help fill the void, but nothing has really felt right to her. Having those three gremlins around here house is helping keep her mind on something a bit more positive, to which we're all thankful.”

“Frankly, I’m surprised there were multiple takers of the offer. I think, maybe, some of the gremlins in the area we’re going to be working in want to form a new troupe somewhere else.”

“I thought as much myself,” said Cadance with a grin, “but this,” she held up Daring’s latest plan up, “is an excellent template to work with, I’m approving it now. I’ll show this to Shining and Flurry, then you and Spike can help us work on how to improve the overall design, but I like how you have one of the structures acting as a marker for how far the town is permitted to go in the easterly direction.”

“I suppose you also find it amusing that I made it a bathhouse as well?”

“Of course, you seem to have a gift for this sort of thing.”

“Not really,” said Daring, “I just want to do right by my duties. The lack of a report regarding the time my sister disappeared is disconcerting, but I still want to try living up to her memory.”

“A beautiful sentiment, did Zelshirka say anything about me or Shiny? We’ve been so busy with other things I didn’t bother to ask about it, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

“She said something about improving the chances you and Shining Armor would get together, some of Twilight’s ancestors were among her earliest pony followers and she’s been watching their line to the best of her abilities. She’s able to follow you because of the unique connection you have with the Crystal Heart, which means she’s been keeping an eye on Flurry Heart for as long as she’s been around.”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure how to feel about all that,” said Cadance with a slight frown, “I’ll have to talk to Shining and Flurry about this.”

“I figured you would, any other reasons you’re here?”

“Twilight is worried about you, but she doesn’t want to come barging in on you either. She asked me to come and check up on you; it’s also a good excuse for looking at what you have planned for this town you’re designing.” Cadance took another look at Daring’s latest layout, “with the temple acting as your home and town hall you’ve effectively condensed where everypony needs to go if they have to talk to you about various matters. The bathhouses act as a relaxed communal meeting place. You even have the placement of the school near the main bathhouse, which allows caregivers an excuse to wash their foals right after school in addition to allowing them to better deepen their bonds with each other. I like how you’re thinking of having a turnstile and loop near the station to make things easier for returns to the Crystal Empire. Frankly, it looks like you’ve got all the big details taken care of already. We can just use this layout as is, let the rest of us worry about the more minute details. I’m going to have this copied off so Twilight can keep one for her records and we can keep a copy while you keep the original.”

“Honestly, I just sort of drew it all out as a sort of reflex. I think my new divine patron might have had something to do with a lot of this. I just wanted to have a temple, a school, a train station, and a bathhouse, along with a few homes for ponies that want to try moving in. I think the latest designs were a few things getting away from me, and more of an extension of the ideas Zelshirska has.”

“You can’t give her credit for this.”

“I’m not, the idea for the town is all me. She just made some suggestions and used my body as a conduit to show her ideas on how to improve the idea. We exist in a mutual relationship; she can do far more than usual with me acting as a bridge of sorts. And she gives me a few added benefits for maintaining the pact, some of which I have yet to reveal to anypony. Spike says I’m like a character made manifest from O&O; I’m just letting him have his fun on account I’m not entirely familiar with what he’s talking about.”

“Well, now that we have all that taken care of, it’s time for you to go outside, young lady. You’ve been cooping yourself up in this place far too long.” With that Cadance Dragged Daring out of the house in her magic, when the sunlight of early noon hit Daring’s eyes she winced. Still, in Cadance’s magic, she was dragged through the town to one of the town’s restaurants and placed at one of the outdoor tables before Cadance waved a waitress over and began ordering dishes and drinks, not even waiting for Daring’s responses.

It was clear Cadance had plans for a long conversation with Daring. Daring herself felt tired and refreshed in the open air of the daylight; she guessed she really had been in the house a bit too long. Once the food and drinks arrived chances were Cadance would get down to what she really wanted to talk about, Daring was dreading what was to come.

Author's Notes:

I put some thought into the layout, and decided to go with something we really haven’t seen in MLP. We got close with the Spa in Ponyville, but we really haven’t seen anything like a bathhouse before. So, I decided to set up something like that, we’ll get to see it when the chapter for going through the fully built community is up. But to give some cultural and historical context, Bathhouses were used by by the Romans (the first rule you read for the Bathhouses is actually inspired by the recorded Roman policy regarding bathhouses) and are also something I’ve been made aware of (through anime, manga, my own research and cultural Youtubers like Gaijin Goomba) are used in various regions of Japan. So, a little multicultural fun there. I’ll get to the designs of the bathhouses in a future chapter.

As always, you know my policies.