Mister and Misses Cake were a frenzy of motion as they ran around the confectioners’ shop they called home making sure everything was in order.
"Honey, did you check the seating? Do we have enough?" the orange baker yelled to his wife.
"Double checked! What else dear?" the blue culinarian replied.
"The Twins! Who'll watch the twins! Oh, we didn't have this problem the last time we had a princess as a guest."
"Pinkie! No, she's going to be at the party too... What can we do! Could Miss Cheerilee watch them?" agitation and fear fully audible in her voice.
"No! She's out of town for the weekend! What about- no. How about- no she's out of town too! Derpy! What about Derpy? Could she watch them?"
"Good idea dear! She's perfect! She's great with Dinky, and we can repay her in muffins!" Mrs. Cake was overjoyed at the idea. "I'll go get the foals!"
As soon as she was out the door she was met with a group of mares, all but one of whom she recognized.
"Oh dear, I wasn't expecting-" she said as her eyes fell back on the purple unicorn, "Princess!" she hit the ground in the deepest bow possible without dropping her foals.
"Nope!" the purple maned, distinctly not Rarity sounding, member of the group, laughed. She actually sounded like Rainbow Dash after a prank. Looking closer she could tell the blue maned one was also lacking the DJ's usual eye-ware.
"What my associate means to say is: Were the princess's personal attendants, despite our appearance." the blond mare shot the Rarity imposter a dark glare, "And we are here to help set up for her party."
Rather than relieved, the mare seemed to become even more tense as she rose to her hooves. "I have to take the foals to a sitter, but my husband will help you. I'll be back as soon as I can. I do hope everything is up to your standards." she said as she began to back away, making little bowing motions as she retreated.
"Okay...?" Brush said as she approached the door.
As the group entered a very similar scenario played out with the husband of the pair as well. He surveyed the group, drooped to his knees, begged the "princess" for his unpreparedness before Cloud began laughing again, and Brush reintroduced them as the princess's entourage there to help prepare.
He responded rather well, only fainting once before they were forced to explain that they were there to help, not to scrutinize everything to check if it was, in his words, "fit for the princess".
Everything was going well until the princess's friends showed up.
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Twilight walked into Sugarcube Corner anticipating one of two things, either the usual friendly greeting from the Cakes, or an absurd show of submission, such as was given to Celestia last time she came to the humble bakery.
She was met by neither though, as instead she was met with what distinctly reminded her of what it would look like if pre-reformation Discord and the Changeling army decided to attack the humble bakery. Namely, it was pure chaos.
From where she stood she could survey Applejack holding down what looked like a tied up version of Twilight's old unicorn self, Pinkie bouncing atop the doppelgänger while the Cakes apologized profusely. Off to the side Rarity was in a shouting match with herself, and Vinyl Scratch was cowering in the corner as another Vinyl laughed her head off.
Twilight, being a sensible mare, took a deep breath before grabbing everyone in the room with her magic and separating them, holding each in an array out in front of her.
"First, Rainbow Dash," she said, addressing the corresponding mare, "how did you meet your pet?"
The winding tale of the race through ghastly gorge was recounted.
"Checks out." she said releasing Rainbow Dash, "Dash, go stand in the kitchen till I'm done."
"Now, AJ, tell me about the time..."
The process went on until only one of the DJ's, one of the Rarities and (obviously) the other Twilight were contained within her magical grip.
Twilight solidified the magic containing her prisoners, allowing her to go into the kitchen, where her verified neighbors had gathered.
"So, girls, what's going on here?"
"We were about to kick us some changeling flank!" Rainbow shouted.
"Did you SEE that imposter? She got my mane all wrong! It's terrible!" Rarity added.
The Cakes had their heads on the ground in apparently terrified submission to the princess, but Mr. Cake rose a hoof like a schoolchild with an answer to a teacher’s question.
"Yes Mr. Cake?" Twilight asked.
"Princess, those ponies claimed to be your entourage... They were helping us prepare for the party. ...Did you not send them?" he asked.
"No, they made the same frantic claims as well, but the hoofmaidens -my hoofmadens- are all blonde with white coats. I don't understand why these-"
"Princess!" an out of breath Brush called from the kitchen doorway. She came in and bowed every inch as deep as the cakes. "I was only gone for a second! I apologize for any transgressions my fellow servants may have caused you or your friends princess! I told them it was a terrible idea to change their manes and such! Please do not banish them! (or me!)"
Twilight was quite upset now. Not at the servants, no, this situation was actually funny once she understood. No, she was upset with herself.
This silly mare really seemed to believe that Twilight intended to banish them for pulling a prank. She actually felt terrible that this pony would think her so much of a tyrant that she would sentence banishment for such a small thing.
The parallelism was not lost on Twilight. These mares did not know her that well, so it could be excused, but in her case... She promised herself she would apologize to the princess as soon as possible.
Twilight looked at the pleading mare with a sad smile, “No, silly filly, I'm not going to banish anyone."
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Preview: "You are under arrest for kidnapping, evading arrest, attempted murder and high treason!" the guard shouted as he and another advanced on the cornered pony.
"What!" Mr. Cake yelled, "Pinkie, what did you do!"