Author's Note

Re-written May 2nd.

Chapter 1 - The Chase

Twilight grinned as, with a sneaking glance over the top of her newspaper, she saw a purple mare casually walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. ‘There she is, right on time.’

She stood, and after perfectly folding her paper-based cover back into its original form and returning it to the stand next to her with a quick "Thank you" to the newspaper-pony behind the counter she made her way across the street to follow her mystery mare into a dark, dank alleyway nestled between two Ponyvillian homes. She grinned as she caught sight of her target’s tail just before it could disappear at the other end of the passage, flashes of purples and pinks teasing her into picking up the pace.

Clad in an over-the-top raincoat and hat, a strange wardrobe choice made even stranger with the summer sun shining brightly overhead, Twilight figured that even if the mare turned around and saw her, she more than likely wouldn't recognize her. Yet, seeing as it was hard for her to be anonymous in a crowd what with being the resident Alicorn Princess and all, she figured it would be better to play it safe than sorry. So, in order to keep the gap between them steady, she slowed her pace back down as they walked past a small coffee shop and made their way back out onto the road.

She followed her target through shadowy alleys and mostly-empty streets, a route she had been studying for the past couple of weeks and now knew like the back of her hand. But, to justify her actions to herself even as she pressed her back up against the corner of a building to peer around the corner, she figured what she was doing wasn't stalking, per se. It was more… research than anything else, just another thing she wanted - no, NEEDED - to study to sate the burning itch of curiosity that had been nagging her ever since she had first seen the mare she now followed.

The mare that looked exactly like her.

Or, at the very least, almost exactly like her. While the mare’s hair and tail had been done up in a strikingly similar fashion to her own, including the purple and pink stripes she had never seen on another pony before, there were enough differences between them to, at the very least, quell her fear that a copy of herself had somehow been made by the magical Mirror Pool deep within the Everfree forest. Most notably of which was the obvious lack of a horn on the pegasus’s head and, kind of disappointingly as she glanced down at herself, how much more voluptuous the mare’s body seemed to be than her own.

Of course, she wouldn’t normally waste time she could be spending with her friends or continuing her studies to follow a mare that had decided to copy her hairstyle. She realized she was a Princess of Equestria, somepony a lot of ponies looked up to much like she had done with Celestia, so seeing a mare that had decided to do up her mane like her own wouldn’t normally be that much of a big deal.

What made it a big deal, at least in her mind, was how the mare was dressed.

Whether it was due to her very unsocial upbringing or just the fear that somepony might mistake this mare for the real thing and get the wrong idea about their Princess of Friendship, ever since Twilight had first seen her apparent copy-cat walking down the street clad in a much-too-small tank top and a much-too-short skirt she had felt that familiar nagging sensation in the back of her head. The kind of feeling that told her there was a problem that needed solving, and like with any of her other problems, the first thing she had to do was study it.

Which eventually led to now, with her following her mimic down streets that led deeper and deeper into downtown Ponyville. Each step into the underbelly of her hometown brought with it a nervousness that crept up her spine, a sensation that caused her heart to beat faster and her eyes to nervously dart left to right in fear as the familiar slowly faded away into the foreign.

While she wasn’t completely naive to the field, her previously-mentioned upbringing had left her with little experience in the more… romantic subjects of life. She had read about it here and there, but nothing really substantial past small biology books and picture-less pony anatomy studies had ever graced her reading table back in Canterlot. Which, as she had grown into the mare she was today, left her a little apprehensive when it came to anything pertaining to the dreaded three-letter word starting with ‘S’ and ending in ‘X’.

Which, as they passed a thankfully windowless building with a glowing sign over the door that proudly stated ‘ADULT TOY SUPERSTORE’ in bold lettering, easily explained the vibrant blush on her cheeks and why she rushed by the building without a second glance.

Twilight swallowed a lungful of air and released it in a sigh, eyes kept trained on the back of the mare’s familiar mane lest she see anything far too risqué for her tastes. ‘Alright, Twilight, you’re a grown mare. Nothing wrong with ponies-’ she nervously gulped around the lump in her throat ‘-doing THAT. Just… keep your attention on the mare and-’

Twilight was shocked from her thoughts as they walked around the corner and a large, ominous-looking building came into view. Looming on the other side of the street was a two-stories tall, brick-and-mortar covered establishment that seemed out of place amongst the rest of the shops around it.

Her shock turned into embarrassment as, just above the grand entryway in the front, she saw a large, neon sign of a scantily clad mare twirling around a pole with the words ‘THE PERFECT PLOT’ blinking underneath. Embarrassment turned into fear as she watched her lookalike make a beeline right towards the building and, to finish the cycle, fear morphed into terror as, after she stopped to talk with a large, menacing-looking bouncer at the side entrance, the mare casually opened a door labeled ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ and made her way inside.

Twilight watched as the door slowly swung closed, wincing as the slab of metal slammed shut and the guard retook his position in front of it. She stood there for a moment, eyes bouncing from the side door to the main entryway to the large neon mare winking at her from across the street as her mind tried to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. When it did, she came to the only logical conclusion.

‘Well, I guess that’s it!’ She turned around and started making her way back home, a rather fake-looking grin on her lips. ‘Oh well, you tried your best! Nothing wrong with giving up while you're ahead!’

However, each step she took away from her original goal strengthened that nagging sensation at the back of her studious mind, and right before she made it back to the ‘ADULT TOY SUPERSTORE’ she found herself once again pausing in deep thought.

‘Come on, there’s no reason to be snooping around… THERE. Maybe she’s just visiting some friends for a drink or something...’ She frowned as the rational side of her brain kicked in and instantly threw her rather weak theory away. ‘Ugh… why can’t anything be EASY!? I mean, really, a stripper!?’ She blushed, imagining a mare that looked almost exactly like her doing… whatever it was that a stripper did. Stripping, she assumed, which made the red on her cheeks glow even brighter as she pictured the already scantily-clad mare removing anything at all from her curvaceous body.

She turned back around, nervously tapping her fingers against the sides of her thighs as she stared at the embarrassing building which currently hid the much more terrifying establishment behind it. ‘Oh boy… Am I really thinking about going in there? Is one mare really worth it?’

Suddenly, there was a voice coming from deep within her conscious. A voice she new very well, one that she had heard for many years growing up. Her expression hardened as the voice of her mentor spoke to her, telling her the same thing the wise Alicorn had said when Twilight had been faced with what, at the time, appeared to be impossible.

‘Just because something seems hard to obtain doesn't mean you shouldn't try, Twilight. It just means you should try harder to overcome it.’

Twilight stomped her foot on the ground and grinned. ‘Celestia’s right! Just because I’m a little nervous about going into an... adult establishment doesn't mean I should give up!’ She took a series of deep breaths, using the calming exercise Cadance had taught her upon being a Princess to help psyche herself up. She finished it with a smile, and with newfound confidence she began marching her way back towards The Perfect Plot.

‘Let’s do this!’

She once again made her way around the corner, forging through the small pang of embarrassment that coursed through her veins as the mare hanging above the front of the building came into view. She didn't even pause as the bouncer turned and stared at the strange pony clad in a heavy raincoat marching across the street, keeping her focus on the doorway that grew closer and closer with each step she took. She made her way up to the door as a mare on a mission, pulling it open and walking inside without a single glance back-

She once again found herself frozen in place as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, revealing the seething mass of life all around her that filled The Perfect Plot to the brim.

“Whoa…”

While the building had seemed large from the outside, it was nothing compared to what it actually was on the inside. What she had assumed to be a multi-floored establishment was actually one large, open expanse with ceilings that hung high enough overhead that she couldn't see the top through the darkness. Flashing, multicolored lights were scattered about the premises, illuminating dozens upon dozens of tables that dark, pony-like forms walked to and around as they mingled amongst each other.

One such shadow figure came right up to her, revealing itself to be a somewhat familiar light-brown stallion who paused a few steps away and stared at her questioningly. “Uhm… excuse me? You’re blocking the door.”

Twilight gasped and stepped aside. “Oh! Sorry, Caramel!”

For some reason he recoiled away, as if he had been startled by something she had said-

She gasped, realizing that she had just spoken to somepony who would more than likely recognize her voice on the spot. Inside a strip-club.

Coughing into a hand to build up some phlegm in the hopes it might mask her voice, she reached over to hold the door open and tilted her head down to hide her face beneath her hat. “Uh… I mean… have a good day, sir!”

Caramel lowered his head to peer beneath her hat. “...Do I know you from somewhere?”

Bending her neck enough to almost hurt, Twilight felt a nervous sweat start to build on her forehead. “...Nope...”

Caramel pulled away, continuing to stare at her for a moment before he sighed and made his way towards the door. “...Okay…”

Caramel seemed deep in thought as he walked by, but with a shrug and a nod in her direction he gave up on trying to figure out who she was and strolled out the door. Twilight, however, noticed that something about him seemed a little bit… off as he passed. The stallion’s mane was more frazzled than he normally kept it, his eyes seemed to be dilated far past what was normal, and she got a whiff of alcohol and… something else as he walked past. Yet, surprisingly enough, he seemed to be in quite a happy mood if the dopey grin on his face was any indication, something she wouldn't have expected after seeing how the rest of him looked.

Twilight sighed and ended her scrutiny of the stallion as the door closed behind him, and as she glanced at her hands she realized they were shaking from almost being caught. ‘Sweet Celestia above… what would he think if he knew it was me? ME, of all ponies, walking into a strip club!’ She shivered. ‘Ugh, talk about a field day for the press…’ She checked the surrounding area for signs of her target, yet her hope that the mare would greet her at the door to make things easy didn't come to pass. ‘Well… let’s do this…’

It took a surprising amount of effort to take her first step away from the safety of her only exit, but once she had each consecutive stride came easier as she looked around the room in awe. Ponies from all walks of life passed by her in a blur of colors, some walking to an impressive bar set up at the far right of the room as others made their way around tables, chairs, and other patrons to make their way back to their seats. Glancing towards the back of the room revealed the faint outline of what appeared to be a stage set up in the darkness, one that was currently devoid of life in stark contrast to the rest of the establishment.

Twilight paused about a third of the way into the room, scanning the tops of pony’s heads to see if her lookalike was close by. ‘Hmm, no luck… Where is she?’ She scratched the back of her head, jostling the hat perched atop her mane as she sighed. ‘Well, I guess it was a long shot anyway…’ She frowned and turned around. ‘I guess I COULD just talk to her tomorrow, seeing as I know her route and everyth-’

Twilight never noticed the mare walking behind her until she had already slammed into her, sending both herself and the unexpected pony tumbling to the ground. She fell on her rear with a soft “Oof”, but after taking a moment to regain her bearings she jumped back up and quickly made her way over to the other pony. She extended a hand to help the mare up, embarrassment etched across her face from being so clumsy. “I’m so sorry, I-”

Her breath hitched in her throat as she remembered what had happened with Caramel. As the mare reached out and grabbed her offered hand, her mind quickly conjured up the best stallion-impression it could make as she helped the pony to her feet. “Uh, mighty sorry there, miss! Didn't see you there! Uhm… eeyup?”

The mare, who, now that Twilight could get a good look at her face through the veil that was draped over it, was somepony she felt she had met before, gave her a frown and a haughty “hmph” before she snapped back around and walked away. The mare’s overly-long ponytail whipped around behind her, lightly smacking Twilight across the face before she could duck out of the way of it.

By the time she had recovered from the sudden hair-based assault the mare had already made her way to one of the nearby tables, receiving a round of raucous applause from the stallions sitting around it as she began to mingle. Twilight continued to stare at the back of her head, absentmindedly rubbing the spot on her cheek where the mare’s ponytail had slapped her as she tried to place the mare’s face in her memories.

‘Where have I seen her before…?’

She took a step forward, planning to ask the mare her name to sate her curiosity, yet instead found herself frozen in place as she noticed the mare was getting rather... cozy with some of the other patrons. Sensual strokes against one of the stallion’s faces with the back of her hand stole a gasp from Twilight’s lungs and the high-pitched whistles from the other ponies around the table that followed brought a blush to her cheeks as she watched the proceedings in wonderment.

‘What is she do-’

And then, with a cracking sound of flesh impacting flesh, Twilight nearly jumped out of her coat as one of the stallions reached over and slapped the mare on the ass, spilling some of the drink he held in his other hand onto the table as the rest of his half-drunken buddies erupted into a cheer. She watched with bated breath as the mare turned around, fully expecting her to slap the offending stallion across the face for such a rude gesture.

Surprising both the stallion and, perhaps even more so, the disguised Alicorn watching from afar, the mare wound up giving him nothing more than a warm smile as she leaned over the table and wiped up the mess. Even from several feet away Twilight could see the stallion’s eyes fall from the mare’s face to the ample cleavage now enticingly displayed in all its glory just in front of him, something which he certainly appreciated the sight of as blood rushed into his cheeks. Only when she had finished and stood back up did he turn his gaze away, weakly chuckling as one of his friends teasingly slapped him on the back and the mare moved on to the next pony at the table.

“Yeah, don’t worry about her, Star. She’s just a little pissy about you getting the big show tonight.”

Twilight yelped in fright as a pink mare suddenly appeared beside her, and with a stern frown she rounded on the mare to give her hyperactive friend a piece of her mind. “Pinkie! What did I say about-”

She froze as, instead of the premier party pony in all of Ponyville, her sister-in-law, Cadance, came into view. Or, as she got a better look at her, a mare that was dressed up to look like Cadance. From the yellow, pink, and purple stripes of her mane to the light purple of her irises, whoever this mare was had done a pretty convincing job of looking like her former foalsitter.

Of course, from there on down, things became a little more… risqué than what was normal for the Princess of Love.

The pink mare was holding a tray of drinks in her hand, keeping them perfectly balanced just above her head as she frowned at the other mare who, for some reason, was now climbing up onto the table to yet another round of applause. With the pink mare wearing only a very, VERY thin bra and a matching light-blue skirt, Twilight easily traced the curves of her shoulders down past the twin mounds of her rather ample bosom to the mare’s trim waistline. Just beneath that was her cutie mark, a pair of smiling faces that looked back at Twilight with mocking grins as if they were laughing at her current predicament.

Which, with a start, reminded Twilight that the mare had just spoken to her. Her head snapped back up to the mare’s eyes, cheeks heating up with a blush as she saw the mare looking right back at her with a smirk. “Uhh… huh?”

The mare giggled. “Heh, what are you, STAR struck or something?” She snorted into her hand, a gesture which Twilight never thought she would see coming from her more regal sister-in-law. “Get it? STAR struck? Star? Ah, I kill myself sometimes…”

Twilight blinked a couple times, mind trying and failing to keep up with the strange appearance of an even stranger mare. “...Huh?”

The Cadance-lookalike’s smile fell into a frown. “Wow, is it really that bad?” She backed away and gestured to her clothes. “I mean, I like ‘em. Kinda cute, in the lewd kind of way.” She smirked. “Plus, they really show off these babies!”

Twilight’s eyes widened as the mare suddenly reached up and jostled her breasts back and forth, the mountains of flesh jiggling about but a few feet away from her beet-red face. “...Huh!?”

The pink mare frowned again as she let her mounds fall back into place. “You okay, Star? You seem like you've seen a ghost or something! Are you nervous about the show?” She reached over and wrapped an arm around Twilight’s shoulders, using her other hand to pick at the thick coat covering the Alicorn’s body. “Is that why you got this thing on? Some pre-show jitters?”

Twilight, now blankly staring ahead as this mare she had never met before inserted herself into her personal space, looked down at her coat and frowned. “What?”

The mare grinned and, as she pulled her arm away, gave Twilight a good smack on the back as she started to chuckle. “Pff, you got me, Star! Like you’d ever be nervous about a show… Hah!” She turned around, glancing back at Twilight over her shoulder as she began to walk away. “I gotta get back to work! Nice talkin’ to ya, Star! Break a leg!” With that, the Cadance copy-cat walked over to a table and, just as the other mare had, received a series of hoops and hollers as she began to hand out drinks to the stallions sitting around it.

Twilight watched her go, only tearing her gaze away to look down at her leg as she lifted it off the ground and shook it a couple of times. “Break a leg? What in Equestria is she talking about? I’m not-”

A sudden shout from behind shocked her out of her thoughts. She snapped back around, gasping as the mare she had bumped into came into view and her memory decided that then was the perfect time to start working as she finally remembered what the mystery mare’s name was.

It was Countess Coloratura, or, as it had been with Cadance-but-not-really-Cadance, a mare doing her best to look exactly like the biggest pony pop-star in all of Equestria. She had made her way to the center of the table where a steel pole now jutted out towards the ceiling and, much to the delight of the cheering stallions around her, had had begun to lewdly gyrate her hips against it. Twilight gasped as she tore off her extravagant purple vest, leaving the near-white mare with only a tight-fitting purple undershirt, a matching pair of short-shorts and a couple of studded collars around her neck and wrists on her body.

Twilight looked away, eyes clenched shut as she tried to get the image out of her head. ‘Well, that’s NOT something I planned on seeing toda-’

She opened her eyes, expecting them to be safe from harm, and found herself in the crossfires of yet another erotic scene.

The Cadance copy-cat had followed the other mare’s example and had crawled up onto a table. Literally crawled, the mare staying on her hands and knees as she made her way towards the pole at the center. Which, with her facing away from Twilight, gave the Alicorn a perfect line of sight up the mare’s skirt and at the pink panties emblazoned with the Crystal Heart hidden within.

Twilight watched her pause and shake her tail back and forth for one of the stallions sitting around the table, but by the time she began to slowly crawl up the pole to stand on two legs Twilight was already gone.

‘Sweet Celestia above, that was NOT something I needed to see…’ Twilight brought a hand up to rub her eyes, hoping the image of her near-naked sister-in-law, or at least a mare who looked like her, wasn't one that would be seared to the bottom of her eyelids for the rest of time. She reached up towards her hat, looking to tilt it down to hide the red glow of her cheeks from the numerous ponies walking by her as they sat down for the show. ‘Well, I guess I should've known what I was going to see in a strip club. I mean-’

She paused, hand dancing around the top of her head and feeling nothing but hair. ‘Wait. Where’s my hat?’ A cold chill began to run up her spine as she looked around the floor, unable to spot the article of clothing that was so crucial to her disguise. ‘Where’s my hat!? I- oh, there it is.’

Back where she had bumped into Coloratura was her hat, the shaped piece of cloth no doubt tumbling off her mane as she fell to the ground. Quickly shoving it back on her head and checking the area to see if anypony had noticed the Alicorn walking amongst them, she sighed in relief as it appeared that, luckily, nopony had seen her gaffe or, probably more likely, were simply too drunk to care.

‘Phew… THAT would've been bad. Though, I guess that mare did recognize me as somepony called Star…’ She glanced over at where she had last seen the strange pink mare, and as she saw her crouched down with her legs spread for one of the stallions at the table she immediately regretted that decision. ‘Must be another employee…’

Twilight turned around and gradually made her way across the room, continuing to check for signs of her copy-cat while doing her best to avoid seeing anything too scandalous. Of course, with the business being what it was, that proved to be quite the difficult thing to avoid as mares dressed up as different famous and high-ranking ponies passed by her left and right. Everything from a rather convincing Sapphire Shores to a Daring Do dressed in a provocative tan vest and panties crossed her path, leaving her feeling light-headed as most of the blood in her body rushed up into her cheeks.

A bead of sweat dripped into her eyes, and with a groan she reached up and wiped the perspiration from her brow. ‘Ugh… I need to get out of this crowd and take a breather...’ She glanced up and saw that, luckily, the stage she had seen earlier was now only a few tables away. ‘Thank Celestia… Just need to clear my head and think up a plan...’

She made her way past a final few tables, one inhabited by a group of construction ponies who raised their mugs up in cheer as a mare dressed up as Photo Finish tore off her skirt and tossed it aside. The other table, luckily, had nopony at it other than a rather convincing Spitfire wearing nothing but a bra and a pair of panties as she wiped it down.

As Twilight approached the stage she found that it, too, appeared to be devoid of life, the large, silken curtains at the back no doubt leading to some employees-only area that sat dead-still in direct opposition to the rest of the room. Feeling a slight dizziness from her harrowing journey across the main floor, Twilight turned around and leaned her back against it, the cold, hard wood helping her rest her weary body and frayed mind.

Bringing a hand up and rubbing her eyes, Twilight sighed. ‘Okay, this isn't working. Think, Twilight, think! There HAS to be a way to-’

“Laaadies and gentlecolts!”

Twilight nearly jumped right out of her skin at the sudden blaring announcement coming from right behind her, ears ringing and heart stopping for a moment as she spun back around to face the stage. A stallion was standing there, dressed up in quite a gaudy set of robes as he waved his hand towards the crowd and lifted a microphone to his lips.

“The main event shall begin shortly! Don’t miss out on a front row seat to the show!” The stallion smirked, waving his hand with a grand flourish over towards the silk curtains behind him as he made his way over to the side of the stage.

It took Twilight a moment to remember just where it was she stood in relation to what the stallion had said, but by the time she tried to back away from the stage a mob of ponies had gathered around it and had locked her in place. She found herself stuck in the front row, surrounded on all sides by stallions and, to her surprise, a handful of mares, all of which had their complete attention focused on the curtains at the back of the stage. The loud click of a spotlight being turned on drew Twilight’s gaze as well, revealing a large, bright ring of light now focused on the center of the fabric that seemed to sway back and forth as if teasing the crowd with whatever was about to happen.

“Welcome, everypony, to The Perfect Plot!” Once again the announcer’s voice came shouting through the speakers set up on either side of the stage, though this time it was answered with a loud round of applause from the ponies gathered around the stage. “It is time for our main event! I would like everypony here to give a round of applause to our very special guest tonight!”

A strange mix of intrigue and horror flooded Twilight’s system as she glanced over at the announcer, who was scanning the crowd with a wide grin on his face. “She’s a member of this fair town of Ponyville! A mare who has been one fillies and colts could look up to and” - the announcer’s tone turned more sly along with his smirk - “somepony us stallions, and even some mares, could look at in a very different way…” A round of deep chuckles came from the crowd, sending a tingle up Twilight’s spine. “So, it is my pleasure to introduce…”

Twilight’s attention turned back towards the stage, her heart hammering in her chest as time seemed to slow down all around her.

“The one…”

Her breaths became quicker, shorter.

“The only…”

Her eyes widened, sweat trickling down her forehead as she focused on the little bit of darkness she could see backstage. And then, with a grand flourish and an ear-shattering round of applause from the crowd, the main event stepped through the curtains.

It was her, the copy-cat mare she had been looking for all this time.

“Twiliiiight Spaaarkle!”