In the eastern land of Neippon, a land renowned for tradition and honor, there exists a form of art known as Manga, which is a kind of graphic novel. After an alliance between the Sleeping Sun and the Knowing Kami, a multitude of art and goods was traded between the two, several completed manga’s being disturbed to the people within the Sleeping Sun. Much like with regular graphic novels, manga’s all depicted beautiful women and various situations in the plot to make these women dress in various clothing and appear in provocative situations given the most ridiculous of circumstances. These tropes became well known, such as “the beach episode”, “the transfer student”, “the class trip”, etc. However, there was one episode that was both famous yet classic among all manga and that episode was the hot springs episode, a chapter in which all characters bathe with one another without clothes, it is a timeless chapter that all readers can enjoy for numerous reasons.

Twilight couldn’t help but be reminded of this fact as she took in the naked appearances of all five of the people she met, Spike was the exception since dragons didn’t wear clothes. Her gaze fell on Fluttershy first, when she had first met the timid avian, she couldn’t see much of her before due to her concealing robe, to say she was curvy was an understatement, her bust and hips were voluptuous yet her waist remained thin, giving her an hourglass figure any woman would kill for. Her long legs dipped into the water while she sat on the edge of the sunken tub, her wings fully extended and her shampoo-slicked hands ran through her hair.

Behind Fluttershy was Soarin, who was tenderly massaging and cleaning Fluttershy’s wings, his toned muscles spoke volumes for his strength yet his care and attention to his massage showed that he was more skilled than forceful. His sharp emerald eyes were focused on his work, so much so that he didn’t even register that Twilight was there. Her gaze trailed down his body, tight chest, abs you could’ve ground meat on, and toned legs. Her eyes didn’t stay on his exposed package for too long, as it was limp.

She then looked to Rarity, her silky hair damp from the water, her skin looked so smooth. Her body resembled that of a model, with thick legs and curvy hips that paired beautifully with her rounded rear. She had Spike scrubbing her back gently scratching and kneading at her backside. With all of her makeup and accessories removed, Twilight felt like she got to see a truer side to Rarity.

Next was Applejack, who at first, Twilight thought nothing of because she had seen her half-naked before just hours ago, but boy was she wrong. Applejack’s now naked form showed off her tight muscles, not too bulky to seem fat but just big enough to display their might. There was something sexy about how Applejack appeared without clothes, her exposed perky breasts showed off her strong shoulders and lead down to her toned belly.

Finally was Cheese Sandwich, who was sitting in the tub, and thanks to the murky water, Twilight couldn’t see anything below his belly. Cheese wasn’t as ripped as Soarin and Flash, but he wasn’t skinny either, his shoulders were broad and his chest defined. His once curly brown hair was now tied back with a hairband to keep it out of his eyes. The man in question looked to Twilight with a warm smile as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Hiya, Twilight,” The goofy Terran gleamed, “didn’t expect to see you here of all places.”

“Did ya get lost or somethin’?” Applejack asked, soaking her arms in shampoo.

“Oh, I do wish you would’ve told me you were coming soon darling,” Rarity spoke up, “I would’ve made preparations for a welcome basket.”

Twilight just stood there with a curious look on her face, how did none of them seem the least bit disturbed by her presence. Furthermore, how come none of them were having any reaction to being naked around each other? She knew that teams were close with one another like family, but what was happening before her eyes went beyond anything normal. Even if this was normal for all of them to bathe together, surely they would’ve tried to cover themselves at the sight of a stranger. If this were a manga, they’d all be screaming at Twilight in high-pitched voices, calling her a pervert and throwing the closest object to make her leave.

“GAH! What do you guys think you're doing?!”

Flash Sentry acted as Twilight’s return of normalcy, now wearing a tight black t-shirt and a pair of loose-fit pants, he entered the bathroom with a beet-red face, doing his best not to let his eyes wander.

“Bathing, duh.” Cheese answered obnoxiously.

“We’ve talked about this, if you’re gonna take a bath then you need to hang the sign up on the door.” Flash glared at Cheese, doing his best to not look down.

“I don’t see what the big deal is.” Soarin chimed in, moving on to wash Fluttershy’s other wing after he finished scrubbing the first one.

“It’s a massive deal!” Flash shouted at Soarin, averting his gaze Fluttershy was in-between the two.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight joined in, her curiosity getting the best of her. She had so many questions and knew she’d get nowhere if she left all of the talking to Flash, “If you don’t mind, how are all of you so calm about this? Is it usual for teammates to bathe with one another?”

“You betcha,” Applejack answered, lowering herself into the tub and letting out a soft sigh of relief as she entered the hot waters, “there’s only so many tubs one can make over the natural hot springs, so we gotta share it.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight mused, “and you’re all comfortable with each other being naked?”

“Oh heavens no, I don’t think any of us would do that.” Rarity answered, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

Twilight looked at the team now more confused than ever, everyone wasn’t comfortable being naked with each other, and yet here they were bathing together like it was perfectly normal. Soarin was even cleaning Fluttershy’s wings, something that should be sending the timid woman over the edge with pleasure yet here she was as calm as could be. Flash quickly caught on and realized why Twilight was confused.

“Twilight,” He spoke, grabbing her shoulder, “by any chance, do you know what Ace-pops are?”

Twilight blinked at the avian, the word he had said didn’t bring up any memories, “I…don’t believe I do.”

“Ohhhhh, that would explain it.” Cheese said.

Flash took a step back and indicated to a gumball machine that was full of gumballs that were colored with the stripes black, grey, white, and purple in that order from top to bottom, resembling the asexual flag. “Those are Ace-pops, they’re a candy designed to help soldiers when dealing with sexual Night Creatures, such as Succubi, Popobawa, Lidercs, etc. They nullify libido and sexual senses for a couple of hours, and since they’re easy to make and mass-produced there’s enough for us to use in our daily lives.” Flash continued, transitioning into the history of the candy, “See, teams need to consist of an equal number of men and women, and since teams need to live together to establish trust and a family bond they have to share things as such. However, this lead to the tendency that the teammates would sleep with each other due to their constant amount of time spent together.”

“How is that a bad thing?” Twilight asked.

“You ever had a work party that you went to and got super drunk at, then wake up in a hotel room and realize you slept with one of your coworkers?” Cheese asked rhetorically. “Always leads to awkward situations, and those can become life costing for us soldiers.”

“Not to mention how costly it can get to give each soldier their private resources,” Flash continued, “so when special herbs were found to temporarily curb sexual emotions, with no side effects, the Sleeping Sun found it to be easier to just make soldiers take an Ace-pop when bathing with each other and before we sleep to avoid any…sexual frustrations with one another.”

Twilight looked to the Ace-pops with morbid fascination, “Why not take them every day? Since sexual desire seems to be the root cause of most issues within the Sleeping Sun.”

“Not exactly,” Flash began to answer, “the effects are temporary with a normal dose but overdosing on it can remove sexual desires for…well, an indefinite amount of time. So they’re to be used with moderation and care.”

“Not to mention that no one is in a hurry to get rid of their libido.” Cheese grinned.

“If it’s alright with all of you,” Twilight turned back to the team in the tub, “I’d like to join you in the bath, after taking an Ace-pop of course.”

The team had no objections to the proposal, after spending time with Twilight they believed that she was trustworthy. Twilight used her magic and grabbed two Ace-pops from the machine, levitating them into her hand. She popped one into her mouth, crushing it between her teeth it had a taste similar to vanilla and black licorice. She offered the second Ace-pop to Flash, who held up his opened hands to signal his opposition.

“I think I’ll just sit this one out, I’ll wait outside the door until you’re ready to turn in.” He stated.

“Awwww, come on,” Twilight teased, “you can’t make it this far only to turn back now. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to join in.”

A soft pressure resonated through Flash’s head, like a small voice was telling him to follow Twilight. Yet he was still hesitant, a voice of reason opposing the pressure.

“Flash darling,” Rarity spoke up, getting his attention, “I have your bath-ware in your locker.”

Rarity, aware of Flash’s hesitation, understood his reasons and possessed the means to solve them. Now, with no logical reason to not go along with everyone, said “Alright, I’ll join you.”

Twilight smiled, pleased in getting her way, “I’m happy to hear it.” She extended the Ace-pop to Flash, only for him to push it back.

“Um…actually those don’t work on me,” Flash stated as he made his way to his locker.

“Really?” Twilight looked at Flash with astonishment.

“Yeah…I possess some kind of natural immunity to charms and sexual magic, in return, for some reason, Ace-pops don’t take away my desires.” Flash explained.

Twilight looked to everyone else in the tub, wondering their thoughts on the matter.

“We know, and we don’t mind.” Applejack answered before Twilight could even ask, “It’s Flash, he won’t do anything.”

Twilight agreed on that part, although she had only met him for a day, Twilight could already tell that Flash wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of others in that way. It had only been moments after consuming the Ace-pop and Twilight could already feel the changes on her body. She felt lighter and more comfortable with her body, like all notions of shame and desire ceased to be.

“Well don’t just stand there, take off ya britches and hop on in while the water’s still piping hot!” Applejack said.

Seeing no reason not to, and with all shame and sexual desire gone, Twilight began to strip her clothing, staring by unbuttoning her skirt she let it slide down her legs and fall to the floor, then she pulled her red turtleneck over her head, throwing her head back to keep her hair in place. She then moved to her boots and high socks, leaning against a nearby locker for support. All that remained were her underwear, a dark red bra and panties, which Twilight took off with ease. Now she stood before the team fully naked, with no sense of shame or discomfort in her vulnerable state.

“Is there someone I can set my clothes?” Twilight asked, using her magic to collect her belongings and have them folded neatly in her arms.

Fluttershy pointed to a nearby small table, which Twilight used her magic to levitate the folded clothes onto. Twilight stretched, showing off more of her body, she felt free and unhindered, a feeling she would’ve never felt under normal circumstances. The door leading to the bathroom opened and closed, signaling that Flash had returned after he exited the bathroom. Twilight looked back, a hint of anticipation to see the winged guard in his naked state, only to have her hopes dashed once her eyes landed on the protector. He wore a pair of white swim trunks and a loose-fitted white swim shirt, not leaving much to the imagination. What Twilight found most provocative was the fact that Flash had a black blindfold tied around his eyes, preventing any kind of sight. He made his way towards the tub slowly, using the nearby lockers for support. As he got more confident in his movements, Flash spend up his pace from a crawl to a normal walk, however, due to his lack of vision, he didn’t notice Twilight right in his path and knocked into her. Twilight fell, grabbing Flash in an attempt to prevent her tumbledown but succeeded in dragging Flash down with her. Twilight landed on her rear first, her hands shot back to land on the floor only to be pushed down by Flash who landed on top of her.

Once again, Twilight thought back to how much this situation was like a manga, the protagonist runs into the wrong bathhouse, slips, falls onto a girl, and just so happens to grab her breasts while she’s down. Just like that situation, Twilight found herself on the receiving end of the event, lying on the floor face up, Flash’s left hand on one of her breasts and his right arm next to her face. His body was dangerously close to hers, only a thin fabric separated the connection between their naked flesh. A normal girl would cry out in panic, but Twilight wasn’t a normal girl and took advantage of an opportunity the moment it arose.

“You know, we need to stop meeting like this.” She grinned mischievously, watching Flash’s expression change like a slideshow from calm to shock to panic.

Flash quickly withdrew from Twilight, a flurry of words of apology spewed from his mouth as he jumped back. He moved so fast that he slammed himself into the locker behind him, smacking the back of his head hard against the metal sheet. He cursed, clutching the back of his head to nurse the pulsating pain. Everyone laughed at the cliche, Twilight couldn’t help but join in with a giggle of her own. Standing up, she approached Flash and extended a hand to him, offering to guide him to the tub. Flash apologized again as he took her hand, the two made their way down the steps into the tub.

Twilight felt amazing once her feet touched the water, a wave of warmth and euphoria caressed her leg as it slowly submerged itself below. She lowered herself more into the welcoming embrace of the liquid, walking to one of the built-in submerged benches on the edge of the tub, with Flash sitting on her left and Fluttershy sitting on her right. Her thoughts returned to the water, there was a smell wafting from it that soothed her mind and healed her body. The pain from her fall just earlier was already vanishing like it never happened, she looked over to see Flash cupping some of the water in his hands and applying it to the back of his head.

“Tell me,” Twilight spoke to Fluttershy, as she was the closest, “does this hot spring have any healing properties?”

Fluttershy nodded as she began to explain, pointing to the walls of the tub itself, “The bathtub is made from a mixture of marble, quartz, and iron, which gives the water a regenerative ability, allowing for cell repair and growth.” She pointed over to Soarin, who was chatting with Flash, specifically to his hair which had several spots of hair that was shorter than the rest.

“What about the water itself? It smells like you’ve mixed something in,” Twilight asked.

“Oh yes, the water comes from natural hot springs so it contains a lot of silica which is helpful for the skin, and there are herbs and plants mixed in by Terrans to give people a boost in energy.” Fluttershy beamed.

“Amazing, please give my regards to whoever came up with these.” Twilight sighed in bliss as she slid further into the water, letting her whole body experience the warmth.

“I’ll be sure to tell Lotus and Aloe.” Fluttershy giggled.

Twilight sat back up, facing Fluttershy. She didn’t know what it was, but she seemed more confident and grounded compared to when she had first met her.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight began, leaning in on the woman, “I wanted to apologize if I made you uncomfortable today. I should’ve realized that you had wounds you weren’t comfortable with sharing.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy blushed, unprepared for Twilight’s confession, “actually…I was just in shock by you…when I saw you were a Maiden, it made me nervous because of how beautiful you looked.”

Twilight hugged Fluttershy, “Well you don’t need to feel that way around me, I may be a Maiden but I’m still a person just like you. Sure I can cast spells and you can fly, but we’re both women here and I want you to know that you have a friend in me.”

That statement made Fluttershy smile widely, turning away from Twilight to hide her embarrassment. “Thank you for that, your grace.”

“None of that,” Twilight booped Fluttershy on the nose, “we’re friends now, you can call me Twilight.”

“Okay…Twilight,” Fluttershy smiled, “you really are everything I wanted to be as a Maiden.”

Twilight cocked her head in wonder, “You wanted to become a Maiden? You’re a Maidous so you can easily apply.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy’s once cheerful tone turned somber, “I’m afraid that I’m no longer applicable. Not after…”

Fluttershy was shaking again, Twilight grabbed her hand to comfort her, “You don’t have to tell me just yet, just know that I’m always willing to listen.”

“Oh, is this about why Fluttershy thinks she can’t become a Maiden?” Cheese chimed in, having eavesdropped on the conversation. “You’ve got to tell her the story of your first night here.”

“Please don’t.” Fluttershy pleaded with the goofy Terran but her pleas fell on deaf ears as his merciless teasing began.

“I’m wounded Fluttershy,” Cheese cried over-dramatically, “not only do you deny what you did to us that night, now you’re preventing us from speaking up!”

“I said I was sorry!” Fluttershy was beet red with embarrassment.

Cheese gasped, “Did it mean nothing to you? Am I just a one-night stand to you Flutters, I thought we were better than that? Or perhaps you just preferred Flash-“ Cheese’s teasing was cut short as Fluttershy lunged at him and held his head under the water.

“Please stop! Twilight is gonna take that out of context!” Fluttershy squeaked as Cheese thrashed to get his head back above water.

“Oh let him go Shy, you know he’s only teasing.” Applejack chuckled.

Fluttershy released Cheese, who came back up from the water with a triumphant grin. When he opened his mouth, a stream of water flowed from it like it would from a facet. He leaned to the side and the water then started to drain from his ears and so on until every orifice was clear of water blockage. Fluttershy gave the grinning Terran a playful punch in the arm, a small smile returning to her face as she couldn’t bring herself to hate the goofy person.

“Well, now I have to know,” Twilight said, desperate for context to their teasing.

Cheese gave the spotlight to Fluttershy, who began to tell her story after she determined that she was in a safe place. Whether it was the Ace-pop, the calming waters, the presence of the Maiden, or a mixture of all three, she didn’t know, but she felt comfortable enough to open up.

“As you know, I am a Maidous, a lesser-maiden, I had requested to be the caretaker of the chaos spirit in the Sanctuary. My predecessor taught me everything so that I was prepared to take his chaos magic and seal him, however…” Fluttershy trailed off, shifting nervously she continued, “I was undisciplined and wasn’t prepared for how…erotic his magic could be. When I took it within myself, his magic overcame me and it…changed me.”

Fluttershy paused, “What happened next?” Twilight asked, the anticipation weighing heavily on her.

Fluttershy looked to Cheese leaving him to tell the rest of the story, “Just…please don’t be too explicit with it.”

“Why do you think so little of me, I’m not going to be explicit,” Cheese flashed a toothy grin, before being as explicit with it as possible, “So, Fluttershy gang-banged every guy in Tintagel on her first week here so hard that everyone couldn’t walk. She did every kind of sexual position you could think of like-ow, ow, ow, ow!” Cheese’s storytime was interrupted with his playful sounds of pain as Fluttershy started bonking him with a nearby wooden bath brush.

“Come on, Cheese,” Rarity sighed, “tell the story how it actually happened.”

“Okay, okay,” The mischievous Terran complied, grabbing the wooden brush from the agitated Fluttershy, “like she said, the chaos magic she absorbed changed her into some kind of hybrid between what we can only assume to be a mix of a vampire and succubus. She flew all over Tintagel, snatching up any male soldier she could get her claws on and plowing 'em like a lobster in heat.” Fluttershy was about to hit Cheese again for his vulgar language, causing him to change up his dialogue, “which they all gave consent to. Point is, she had only transformed for about an hour and that was all the time she needed to put over a hundred highly-trained soldiers out of commission for a few days.”

“The soldiers gave consent?” Twilight cocked her head in bewilderment.

“Technically it was sexual coercion which is the grey line between rape and consent, but none of the soldiers were opposed to the sexual act after it happened to them so…” Cheese shrugged, holding up both arms in an ‘I dunno’ expression. “And in case you were wondering, no, there were no charms or sexual spells cast on the soldiers during the devious act. They agreed to it for two reasons; reason 1,” Cheese indicated to Fluttershy’s bust, “and reason 2.” He then pointed to Fluttershy’s rear.

“So she transformed…does that usually happen?” Twilight asked.

“Not in the case of being turned into a lemon-colored sex-bat, no. But there have been a couple of cases in which Maidous’ get corrupted.” Cheese stated.

“So how did you stop her, clearly you must’ve found a way to, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Twilight asked.

Cheese snapped his fingers with a triumphant smile plastered on his face, “That’s the neat part, we didn’t.”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked.

“Yeah, not our proudest moment, but she overpowered all of the other soldiers so no one could get a clear hit on her, not to mention she had none of the weaknesses of the Night Creature we thought she was. She wasn’t killing anyone either so the only thing we did was just let her have her way until she tired herself out.” Cheese shrugged, “Which she did, after Flash and Soarin tried to subdue her she had her way with both of them before returning to her normal state.”

“Oh really,” Twilight smirked, looking at Flash who was sitting crosslegged during the story, memories of that night flooding into his brain.

“Yep, and that’s how we met our good teammate Flutters!” Cheese declared, embracing the naked woman in question with a bear hug.

“No offense,” Twilight interrupted, “but why did she stay as a Maidous? Surely falling to the Chaos must’ve gotten her banished.”

All eyes looked to Flash, as he knew the answer, “While it’s true that Fluttershy did get corrupted by the Chaos, her rampage was more…disorienting than destructive, she didn’t kill or harm anyone, physically, and she also was able to overpower the Chaos possessing her. Which is very important.”

Maidous’ were hard to come by, due to the devious nature of Chaos there was a fair share of women that fell into corruption by its magic. Many could avoid its temptation but the truly rare and exceptional were the ones that could control it, which Fluttershy succeeded in.

“So you see…that’s why I can’t become a Maiden like you.” Fluttershy’s tone turned somber as she took her seat next to Twilight. “I lost my virginity and took it from several other soldiers, I’m still grateful to even have a sliver of connection to the Divine.”

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted, “do you think you can’t take the trial for Maidenhood because you’re no longer a virgin?”

“…Yes,” Fluttershy answered cautiously, unsure where Twilight was going with her point.

“Fluttershy, virginity isn’t a requirement for being a Maiden,” Twilight stated, as though that fact was common knowledge. Upon hearing that, everyone froze in shock, all eyes, except for Flash’s, was on Twilight. “Did…none of you know that?”

“Hold on a minute there missy,” Applejack spoke, “my granny told me that virginity was the most important requirement for becoming a Maiden. You tellin’ me that my granny was lying?”

“No, it was a requirement for Maidens decades ago,” Twilight began to explain, “but research has shown that Maidens and Maidous’ who lose their virginity don’t lose their connection to the Divine, it is weakened but not significantly enough to disqualify you.”

“You mean that…I can still become a Maiden?” Fluttershy asked, hope filling the young woman.

“Well, I can’t say you’ll become one, you’ll still have to pass the test, but basically yes, you can still become a Maiden,” Twilight answered.

Fluttershy tightly embraced Twilight, tears in her eyes from happiness brimming from the bottom of her heart. Afterward, the conversations between all of them began to die down, she listened in on the conversations between everyone else. Rarity asked Spike for his opinion on some of the gems she had recently purchased, which Spike inspected meticulously, Soarin and Applejack were talking about their plans for tomorrow, agreeing that they’d spar with each other to improve their training, Cheese and Fluttershy were poking fun at each other, which left her and Flash. Her gaze looked Flash up and down, his soaked swim-shirt clung tightly to his body, showing off his tight upper body which she took an eyeful of. Sadly, she still couldn’t see anything below his chest under the murky waters. A thought popped into the Maiden’s brain, going back to manga.

“Flash,” She spoke, getting his attention, “why are you wearing a swimsuit? Aren’t those forbidden in baths?”

When travelers entered the land of Neippon, they were unprepared for the differences in culture and traditions. Specifically bathing, as it was standard for the western countries of Equestria to take showers privately and keep oneself clothed at all times. In Neippon, nakedness was something standard for their people, bathing with one another in complete nakedness was a sign of trust and vulnerability. Swimwear, clothing one would wear when engaging in aquatics, was forbidden in baths, not because of cultural requirements, but because of contamination. People that wore swimwear into baths would contaminate the waters with the materials of the clothing and nullify the healing factors of the water, as well as defeat the entire purpose of bathing entirely.

Flash understood this and had an explanation for his actions, “These aren’t normal swimwear, they’re specially designed by Rarity with materials that won’t contaminate the waters.”

“Really now,” Twilight hummed, turning to the mage in question, “what did you make it out of?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Rarity beamed at the opportunity to show off her work, “I like to make clothes as a hobby for the people of Canterlot, and when Flash had commissioned me to make him a swimsuit that he could bathe with I happily took on the challenge. I couldn’t make it with any standard fabrics like polyester and nylon, so I went to my all-time favorite fabric to use; cotton. More specifically, a hybrid of cotton that has some minerals in it that bond with water and keep it contained to avoid any leakage.”

“Hmmm, quite ingenious, have you worked on the forges by any chance?”

“Oh, I’m afraid not, darling,” Rarity waived, “the heavy tools and hard labor isn’t really my thing.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight said, she wanted to continue the conversation longer, mostly wanting to tease and play with Flash more, but a magical signal went off in her head. Arriving at Canterlot, Twilight had set up magical barriers and wards to keep her room safe in the event of anyone getting too nosey with her items. Specifically, the array of items she had hidden under her bed, and the alarm for her bed was being tripped at the very moment. Silently cursing to herself, she got up from the tub she made her way up the stairs, “you’ve all been so welcoming and generous for letting me spend time with you. But sadly, I must turn in for tonight.”

“Oh, before you go!” Rarity spoke up, quickly rushing after Twilight she ran to her locker and rummaged through it before pulling out a silky black bathrobe. “Here, you looked wonderful in black and I couldn’t sleep right if I didn’t see you wear this.”

“I couldn’t,” Twilight protested at first.

“I insist, I have countless robes like this one and I just know you’ll look ravishing in it.”

Without protest, Twilight used her magic to make the robe surround her body, a warmth emanating from the robe. With her present from the Mage, Twilight teleported away after saying one last goodbye.

As the night wound down, Twilight teleported to her bedroom wearing a silky bathrobe that Rarity had generously given her. The robe clung tightly to her damp body, her clean clothes levitated and sorted into the dresser with her magic. She saw something rustle under the covers of her bed. She approached it cautiously, an attack spell ready in the unlikely event that it was an intruder. However, as she made her way to the master bed, she was not at all surprised to see Starlight Glimmer wriggling under her sheets, a giddy smile plastered on her face as she smothered a pillow.

“Oh mistress,” She moaned, “not there, I haven’t even explored that hole myself.”

“Enjoying yourself?” Twilight smirked as Starlight jerked back in surprise at the sudden arrival of Twilight, causing her to fall off the bed, taking the sheets down with her.

“M-mistress, you’re b-back early.” Starlight stammered, trying to regain her composure.

“I had a lovely tour with my guard and a bath with his teammates,” Twilight explained, “which was rudely interrupted by you triggering the alarms.” Twilight glared but still kept a smile on her face at the many ways in which she would punish Starlight later. “How did your mission go? Did you do as I asked?”

Starlight shuddered under Twilight’s gaze, but she nodded, “Yes, mistress, the Dominous Sunburst was more than helpful in providing me with the information on the castle’s runes and wards, among other things…” A small grin grew on Starlight’s face, which had a far-off look as she thought back to the wizard.

“Can you invert them?” Twilight asked, snapping Starlight back to reality.

“Um…not with all of them,” Starlight admitted, to which Twilight appeared disappointed. Desperate to please the Maiden, Starlight quickly corrected herself, “B-but I can nullify the ones that can’t be inverted.”

“Wonderful,” Twilight cooed, her hand petted Starlight’s head which she gave approval of, “I have another mission for you while you work on the wards, succeed and I’ll give you a reward.”

There was a gleam of excitement and desperation in Starlight’s eyes at the mention of a reward, “YES! Of course, my mistress.”

Twilight reached into her robe and pulled out the Ace-pop she had offered to Flash, rolling it across her fingers as one would do with a coin. “This here is one of their candies that the soldiers use both recreationally and for dealing with their enemies. They call them ‘Ace-pops’, a candy that can turn its consumer asexual for a few hours,” She said as she handed the candy to Starlight, who immediately began an inspection of the drug, “I want you to reverse engineer it and then find something that can override its effects.”

“Right away, mistress. Although I may need some assistance if Terran magic is involved,” Starlight stood up and raced towards the door, intending to head to the Canterlot laboratory that Sunburst had shown her.

“One more thing,” Twilight added, causing Starlight to freeze, “while you’re at it, I want you to make a batch of your Hush Puppies, enough to feed everyone in Tintagel.”

“Of course, mistress, as you command,” Starlight bowed before following out her orders.

All alone in her room, Twilight used her magic to straighten out her bed before lying down on it. She had had a long day exploring the keep, she met so many new faces and was so excited at what was going to happen. Their innocent faces twisted and warped suddenly flashed in her mind, especially that of her protector, which caused her hands to snake down to her nether region, not out of desire but out of habit. Her fingers rubbed the entrance to her lower regions in an attempt to stimulate her sexual desire.

Only to feel nothing. No pleasure, no electric stimulation, she felt as dry as a desert, and it was frustrating. She tried to force her libido into action, her thoughts wandered to many sexual fantasies she was accustomed to when pleasing herself, letting her fingers slip deeper inwards. When she still felt nothing she let her fantasies grow darker, thoughts of controlling her lovers, stealing faithful husbands from their wives, the list went on. When she still felt nothing, she thought of different fantasies, experiments that she had considered trying but only when she was either bored or ran out of options. None of them sparked anything, except she felt a small twinge when she had thought of being dominated by her protector. The feeling didn’t last, as when Twilight tried to continue the fantasy the emotions died down.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she removed her fingers and slammed them onto the bed, to think that a simple candy was enough to affect her of all people. She reached down under her bed and pulled out a large briefcase which she laid on the bed. Opening it revealed several vials and potions she had in her possession, a concoction of ingredients could make her a potion to stimulate her lust. However, Twilight decided against it when she understood that it was best not to take any drugs when you have an unknown drug in your system. Twilight knew that the candy was no laughing matter, if her plan was to succeed then she needed a way to neutralize the narcotic.

With a desire to explore still gnawing at the back of her brain, in replace of her frustration, she got up from the bed and made her way to the balcony. Pushing open the double glass doors a gentle breeze blew entered the room, lifting the curtains into a waft next to the doors. She made her way to the railing and gazed at her view of the city of Canterlot, the wondrous city was lit with a soft glow from different houses, as though the city was a lantern to shine the darkness away. She used a spell of clairvoyance, seeing the places she had already been, observing the guards and their routes. The night watch mostly consisted of Sentinels, though she knew that would change in three days. Her vision transferred from room to room until it fell on the room of the team she had visited. Everyone was asleep in their respective beds, Spike asleep in his own personal one, except one bed was empty; Flash’s.

Curious as to his location, Twilight honed in on the guard until she found him leaning against the wall next to the gates leading into Canterlot. He was wearing a cloak to cover himself and Twilight could tell that he was waiting for someone, but for who? Twilight waited tentatively until the person Flash was expecting arrived, another cloaked figure approached Flash, a duffle bag in her arm. Twilight got a closer look and saw the arrival was the doctor she had seen in the medical ward, Doctor Redheart she believed her name was. She handed Flash the duffle bag, the two talked back and forth for a moment but Twilight couldn’t make out what they were saying as Twilight couldn’t read their lips. The two parted after a moment, Redheart heading back into the keep and Flash taking off towards the city.

“Well now,” Twilight mused, using her magic to clothe herself in her previous outfit, “you’re full of so many mysteries aren’t you, Mr. Flash.”

With a blink of magic, Twilight teleported after Flash into the city of Canterlot.

Author's Note

Knowledge Available for Public Disclosure

Men and Women

Biologically, mentally, and spiritually, men and women are different. However, while men and women are not equitable they are equal in regards to worth and opportunity. Men, those who possess masculine Yang energy, and Women, those who possess feminine Yin energy, both recognize that there are no barriers that can stop them from achieving what they want. A woman can become stronger than a man and a man can become smarter than a woman, granted that adequate training and learning is performed.

In Equestria, the roles of men and women are loosely defined nor explained upon. However, it is a general concept that women have a more “authoritative” role when in a relationship. This is due to the nature of women being able to take in life and produce it through sexual intercourse. Additionally, sex between a man and a woman is generally seen as a woman leading, as it is through women, and women alone, that men are civilized.