Ponyville, a quiet little valley town between Manehattan and Canterlot. Situated next to the Everfree Forest, and a short walk from Chateau LaRoullette
Ponyville, a den of rowdiness coated with a thin veneer of Civility. Staving off the howling chaos of the Everfree Forest, the hustle and bustle of Manehattan, and weathering the disdain of Canterlot's upper class by sheltering in the embrace of Chateau LaRoulette.
Sequel to Fragile Diamonds.
Oh, undoubtedly. And they'll get some of the details slightly off, because the narrative works better that way. Which is of course why stories are written: to correct some of those wandering details.
Using descriptions instead of names is good at times to break up monotony, but using a full description can be tiresome and using this to introduce a character we know the name of to the scene can just get very confusing. The impression is given that the character is new, hence a description, when they are most assuredly not.
Okay, I have to give you some credit for the Oatmeal origin. That was clever.