Almond Knack had always thought earth pony settlements to be especially genuine. They had dirt, scuff marks and a remarkably grizzled charm. He had once even visited a small southern town to settle a few buffalo land claims. He could remember the fresh smell of lumber, and the saloons which lined the streets. The name of that town seemed to elude him at the moment, but his fond memories still filled him with nostalgia.
Almond was actually an Equestrian Major, so even though he couldn't find a half-way decent job, he did know the origin of the word "nostalgia". In the Northern alps, certain skirmishes between tribes would last so long, the griffin soldiers would get home sick. This ailment was so present, that the tribe's apothecaries named it "Nost el Gia". Due to language barriers, pegasus explorers shortened the word and eventually brought it back to the mainlands of Equestria.
The irony that Almond's nostalgia was based in a place he had only visited once was not lost on him. In fact he absolutely hated his home of Clouds Dale. All of the clouds perfectly formed over years under-hoof. The walls all the same dull white and the ever present smell of rainbows.
Almond always thought it was strange to describe a smell as "rainbows".
He also thought it was strange that packing bags was near impossible without the aid of magic. Since two thirds of the population couldn't properly do this task, it would stand to reason that sompony would of invented an easier method of packing. His hooves fumbled as he tried to squeeze text books and food rations alike into the bulging saddle bag. On each side of the saddle bag there was a Hoofmark and an emboldened "A", both in bright white to contrast the brown of the leather.
"Waste not, want not" Almond chuckled to himself.
He piled in the last book, "Origins of Celestial age Medicine", right next to a particularly mouth watering can of wheat grass. Almond wans't looking forward to the upcoming weeks of nothing but canned wheat grass. Perhaps while in Ever-Free, scouting group "A" might find a few berries.
Wheat grass as an abstract concept wasn't overly bad. But as you chew it, you realize why it goes on sale frequently.
"Celeste it" Almond said under breath. The satchel buckle snapped out of his hooves. The can of wheat grass fell out of the open bag and disappeared through the cloud floor.
"Stupid ManeHatten made food. Never has the right enchantments." he muttered
He clasped the buckle again and closed the bag. He then bent his head down, and slipped the strap over his shoulder, gently pulling it to one side. He was standing next to his bed, (In his tiny one room apartment) and since it would still be a few minutes before the rest of "A" picked him up, he collapsed onto the bed. His body sank a few inches into the puffy clouds and he stretched his legs out, reaching for the ceiling. He had long wondered why the top floors of buildings in Clouds Dale had ceilings. It never rained in Clouds Dale, No one flew high enough to be able to see above your walls, and you wouldn't need to pay monthly bills for magical lighting.
Almond often thought about the sheer arbitrarity of Clouds Dale. Why did we have roofs if it never rained? Why do we have doors, can't we just fly through the walls? Why do we have fountains of rainbows, literally some of the most valuable substance in Equestria? Why doesn't it ever rain? Don't some ponies like rain? Why doesn't it ever rain if we have roofs?
He fell into this loop of thought a lot while in Clouds Dale. Maybe that is why his hooves yearned for the touch of ground.
The simple and non-complex needs a town may have when placed on the ground gives both the citizens and the infrastructure an undeniable purpose.
And just like his Equestrian Major, Much of Clouds Dale was purposeless.
He grunted and jumped off his bed
Maybe he had read one too many philosophy tomes.
Out of the side of his eye, he saw a blue hoof push through his door. It stayed there for about a second, as its owner tried to understand what had happened, before sliding back though the door. Almond walked to the cloud door and pulled it open. Behind it were three unicorns. Two of which obviously had the cloud walker enchantment. The third had a pair of silk wings behind her as she hovered a foot off of the cloud floor. She was also the same blue as the hoof which had penetrated Almond's home a few seconds ago.
Almond wasn't overly opposed to the Gossamer spell, but it tended to help unicorns forget about the numerous other cloud-colliding spells.
It also made them annoyingly pretentious.
"Are you ready to leave?" The winged unicorn asked.
"Yes" he said dryly. The unicorn hovered and stared at Almond for just a second before turning and flying off of his balcony.
She called back to the three of them "Our meeting point is just south of Ponyville, and we have to be there by noon."
She then dropped out of the sky and disappeared through the cloud street below.
Almond caught a glimpse of the other ponies beside him rolling their eyes, before they too jumped off of the balcony. He peered over the side just in time to see them shine in the green light of a cancel spell before they too fell through the clouds.
He groaned and instead elected to take the stairs down.
Perhaps it was because he knew the pains of dealing with air traffic.
That or it was an attempt to spite that Gossamer spell using Celest of a unicorn.
