//------------------------------//
// Icarus 
// Story: Rebirth of Magic: Law and Order 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Back in the human world, there was a painting I recall seeing many times both in media and briefly the real thing when I was visiting an art gallery in the United States. The image depicted technology developed by humanity making its way across a desolate and empty landscape. Trains, wagon trains, that sort of thing. Humanity had used these things to expand across the North American content.

Above that was a spirit floating above the landscape like a Maretime Bay Day balloon, representing progress. The symbolism is, I believe, obvious; human progress is bringing civilisation to a completely empty land (setting aside for a moment that people already lived in the West).

Why am I telling you this, I imagine you're wondering. Well, it felt like I was walking through a version of it, only for all of the peaceful elements to be stripped out and replaced in their entirety by militarised one. As I made my way further north, based on all the signage, I spotted that there was huge amounts of military equipment pooled near the border. Tanks and othered armoured vehicles sat ready for deployment, and other equipment was placed nearby. Troops were on guard or drilling nearby, which increased the chances of me being spotted by the enemy. I ducked into a ditch to evade a patrol that marched past, fully counting that I had been unbelievably lucky to this point. I had to be careful, though. The world was a dangerous place, and I had to move carefully.

I looked above to spot another potential threat. The familiar beat of chopper blades started as a set of choppers flew overhead, presumably on patrol for intruders. "How big is their military budget?" I asked myself, before moving on.

I made it about five feet before ducking into cover again to avoid a set of light recon vehicles rolling over me. Obviously they didn't or else I wouldn't be telling you this story. I hid once more underneath something else as more soldiers moved past. I hadn't seen anywhere near this much equipment on the earth pony side. Maybe the bulk of the earth pony military strength was in places I hadn't gone or was largely focused against the unicorns.

A sign informed me that, after another few hours of travel, I still had 50 miles to go to Zephyr Heights. I had evaded the heavily fortified border, but there were the civilians to deal with, and that bit was going to be the tough part. I knew my luck wouldn't hold out forever, and eventually somepony would find me. My objective was simply to extend that time as much as I could before I was found.

I walked into a small town called Marionsburg, which was not long after I saw the 50 mile sign. The sun was setting now, and there was no chance of me making the trip to Zephyr Heights today, and I knew that I had to stop and ensure I was well rested for what would probably be a difficult journey.

I needed to turn my attention to my appearance. I currently stood out like a sore thumb. Seeing actual pegasi for the first time drove home how distinctive they looked. Their wings were a lot bigger than I had imagined, and covered almost the entirely of their sides from the joints that held the wings on to their flanks, covering over the cutie mark. There were also some slight differences in facial physiology, but otherwise it was clear to anypony observing that earth ponies and pegasi had a common genetic ancestor.

I guess it's clear now how similar we truly are. But I had little time to reflect on that. I needed to find some supplies to produce a disguise that would fool the pegasi and allow me to continue on my journey to save Sunny from whatever she was doing and her own self destructive behaviour.

Luck had been on my side so far, and I soon found it in the form of some supplies lying about. It seemed somepony had recently received a package from the pegasus equivalent of Amazon based on the amount of cardboard lying about on the ground, as well as a pair of scissors. I suspected I was nowhere as good at using scissors as Izzy, and I'm not sure how ponies would manipulate them with a pair of hooves rather than hands.

But still, I got to work, calmly cutting the cardboard up into different shapes to form the various fake appendages I'd be attaching to myself. It took quite a bit of work that day, but eventually things that somewhat resembled a pair of wings took shape on the ground before me. A bit of blue glue and some tubing to strengthen them and they looked and felt surprisingly convincing.

The only problem was they looked like cardboard. I'd noticed that wings were the same colour as the fur, so I had to rectify that quickly. I grabbed some leftover markers and other useful colour generating materials to add some orange colour to the wing components, which soon looked pretty good if I do say so myself. I had attached them into place using a pair of guide chords which firmly held the objects in place with a sufficient degree of strength, yet allowed them to bounce up and down realistically.

My face needed some work, so I found a moustache and stuck it on my face. It was a different colour to the rest of my face, but in the circumstances I doubted anypony would notice. It's more common than you might think for facial hair to be a different colour than the rest of the fur. Weird, huh?

Anyway, my disguise was ready for use, and I stepped back into the streets of the town and made my way to the local tavern, which the sign told me was called The Dragon's Head. Of course, this is before Sparky was born, so there are no dragons right now.

The interior was pretty nice. Upon entering, one saw a small noticeboard of local things that were going on. Tables were set to one side near the windows, and further back was the bar. A pair of ponies, presumably working as mixers and bartenders, were at work sliding pints and similar beverages up and down the counter top. I sat back and found a table, with a rather large pegasus stallion sitting there. As I did, I glanced in the display for the jukebox. The tracks were all southern rock classics; Suspicious Minds by Elvis Parsley, Sweet Home Froggy Bottom by Fretlock and the Thunderizers, and a rendition of Free Bird recorded by somepony called Ruby Sparkle, to name three. I relaxed in my chair and glanced up at the ceiling fans roaring round and round.

"You new in town, boy?" the stallion asked. I glanced up to him to see him looking intently at me.

"Yes, just passing through," I replied.

The stallion smiled. "Nice place, isn't it? A good place to settle down after a life like mine." He paused. "After years of fighting on the frontlines and makin' money on the side, it's nice to have a place to retire to and just live out my days on my old bones."

That was another thing I noticed about this world. Ponies were a lot less reserved than I was expecting, which made collecting information easier.

Just then, a newsflash came across the screen, with two news reporters sitting behind a desk. "And fresh news just in!" said one, a male based on his voice. "Next week marks the beginning of the final stage of the Royal Celebration with the Party at the Palace. And still no news on the status of the prisoners who were revealed on the media a few hours ago. Care to take up the story Dazzle?"

"Right you are Skye," said his colleague, presumably Dazzle. "Panic ran through the streets when we learned an earth pony and a unicorn were in our fair city. Luckily, our city security are keeping a tight eye and good focus trained on them."

An image from their news flashed up on the screen, showing Sunny and Izzy. So they were in Zephyr Heights! I was very close to rescuing them now. I had to move fast.

"Crazy times, eh?" said the stallion, as he took to the tablet and ordered a drink before passing it to me. I punched in an order for some food and a drink, before putting it back. I'd already noticed how much more heavily tech dependant pegasus space was. It really was a quantum leap compared to earth pony lands.

"Sure are. Earth ponies and unicorns in the capital? Whatever next?"

The stallion nodded. "You remind me of somepony I knew a long time ago. Same sort of idealistic smile and eager look behind the eyes. You'll do well here, Mr... I don't believe you told me your name."

I had to think of something fast. "Brent Macklin."

Another song came on, and the pony leaned in. "Say, Brent. What's an 'Alabama'?"

I shrugged. "No clue."