The town of Ponyville was a rather unique place when it came to the various settlements around Equestria. There were few places that had the mix of the three tribes that it did without one overwhelming the others in terms of control. Much of this was due to its location, and not just because of the presence of the Everfree Forest forcing them all to work together more. The presence of the many farms made it a prime earth pony area, yet its proximity to both Canterlot and Cloudsdale meant that many unicorns and pegasii found the area appealing as well. This balance of the three tribes meant that the town was larger than most earth pony settlements, but still small enough so that most ponies living there knew each other.
So when a new home was seen being built on the edge of Ponyville in an unclaimed plot of land bordering Sweet Apple Acres most were curious as to who was moving in. Yet, none of them ever saw the new owners, even after it was finished a year after the construction began. So after ten long years of nothing from the owners rumours had begun to swirl around the home and its owners. From the older residents, the talk was of how an exiled noble was hidden away there or some other scandalous rumour spreading suspicion among them. As for the younger ponies, it wasn't much better as the talk was all about how the house was haunted spreading fear within that generation.
While quickly spreading rumours and suspicion were one problem of a smaller town, that wasn't the only issue that cropped up. With its placement near two major cities, it was a prime target for troublemakers thinking that they could get away with hassling the residents. This was often proven false due to the hardiness of the residents that came from living near the Everfree and the watchful eye of the Town Guard and Weather Ponies. Despite this, it still didn't stop ponies from trying to cause trouble.
“So this is Ponyville, huh? The gang was right, so many luscious mares just ripe for the picking.” The pegasus stallion winged his way over the town with his gaze on the many females below him. His slime green fur and piss yellow mane didn't stand out much so other pegasii only gave him a passing glance as he flew around. Eventually, he managed to spot what he was looking for as he watched a filly away from the large majority of other ponies walked into an alley from the edge of town. With a slimy smirk, he flew down to block said filly's path.
Landing in front of the filly, blocking her path, he looked over her form with a sleazy eye. Her black mane and tail were a rather unique color to see, him not remembering ever seeing that particular shade unless a pony dyed it, and the pigtails she had looked as if they would make excellent hoofholds. Her yellow coat was also rather pleasing to the eye as well as his eyes traced over the young pony's flank. With a smirk, the stallion took a step towards the filly and raised a hoof towards her as she tilted her head with a bored look.
“Well hello there, little filly. You look a little lost out here all alone. Why don't you let me help you and...” His voice was cut off with a squeak as his hoof touched the young pony's shoulder. He slowly tilted sideways until he fell onto his side as he slowly curled up, his front hooves reaching back to between his rear. The filly rolled her eyes at the stallion as he went through a combination of silent screams and vomiting from the pain. Stepping to the side she walked by him as a clinking sound rang out from her tail and a bulbous object slid back into it, leaving the emasculated stallion to stew in his pain.
“Even after all these years, there are still males that are just complete trash. Well, one less to pollute the gene pool now as he won't have a sex drive again. Now, what town did that stallion stick us in anyways? There's something about it but I just can't place my hoof on it.” Looking around as she leaves the alley, her eyes focus on one of the tallest buildings she could see as a landmark and starts heading off in that direction. As she came to areas with more ponies, she started getting odd looks from them which she ignored. As she neared the building, she found that it was exactly what she needed in the form of the Town Hall. Seeing the announcement board near the entrance her eye started to twitch as a sharp pain went through her head as memories came flooding back.
“Seriously? Ponyville again? I thought I asked for somewhere random and new, not someplace I've been to before.” The filly continued to mutter to herself for a while, drawing looks from the surrounding ponies. She was so distracted that she didn't hear a pony approach her until a hoof was laid on her shoulder. With a roll of her eyes, she prepared herself for a repeat of the previous incident, until she looked up and saw the sunglasses and officer hat-wearing mare that was standing above her.
“Can I help you, officer?” The mare tilts her head with a frown before she raises her sunglasses and squints at the filly. The gray unicorn mare, with her brown mane, looked confused for a moment before dropping her glasses and snorting.
“I thought that was you. Does Applejack know what you've done with your mane Applebloom? Well, that's a question for her, what I'm wondering is why you aren't in school right now young lady?” The filly looked at her in confusion at her question and was too shocked to do anything about the mare lifting her up in her magic. The situation was so surreal that she didn't struggle at all as the mare walked away with her floating along at her side. When she finally managed to compose herself she decided not to fight at all as her interest was piqued at the situation, having not been the victim of mistaken identity before. She watched as she was carried along towards a building that she quickly identified as a school and waited as she was carried inside. The mare quickly moved to another door just inside the building and knocked on it, waiting until a mulberry-coated mare answered it.
“Oh, Truant Officer Crumb Key. Is there something I can do for you?” Crumb Key brought a hoof up to tilt her hat slightly in response to her greeting.
“Just bringing a truant filly to class for you Ms. Cheerilee. I caught young Apple Bloom here out by town hall. I'm not sure how she thought she would get away with skipping school, especially when her family finds out.” Cheerilee looks at her in confusion before leaning back to look into her classroom again. Her confusion only grew as she turned back to the truant officer once again.
“But... Apple Bloom is already here?” The truant officer looked confused by this admission before turning her head to look back at the filly in her magic. Cheerilee peered over as well to see the filly in her magic before she froze up in shock at seeing the doppelganger floating there.
“Ms. Cheerilee? What was that about me not being in class?” The voice caused the truant officer to jump in surprise, making her lose concentration on her magic and dropping the filly who landed with a grunt. Putting her head into the classroom she looked to see that, yes, Applebloom was seated in the classroom as the teacher had said. Her head kept bouncing between the filly in the class and the one in the hall in confusion, much to the latter ones amusement. After a few minutes of no answers from either of the adults, three forms soon came squeezing through the doorway to land in a pile at the filly's hooves. The trio of fillies attempted to untangle themselves, until their gazes fell on the other filly in the hall, causing them all to freeze up staring at her.
“Whoa, when did you get a twin sister Applebloom?” The orange pegasus' question was met with a nod from the white unicorn, though the two earth ponies just stared at each other, looking exactly the same except for their different mane styles and colors. The silence lasted for a while, even as the rest of the young ponies of the class jostled with each other to see what was going on. It was soon broken by the newcomer to the town, summing up the situation perfectly.
“This is going to be a running gag for a while, isn't it?”