Shattered hurried across the small street lined with rickety and unstable houses to a small tavern on the corner of a row of houses. A decrepit sign above the door reading The Strong Stallion Inn, the paint forming the sign was peeling, small flecks of it even crumbling off as the sign swayed peacefully in the breeze, the sound of it's long neglected chain creaking as the sign moved being the only noise that filled the lifeless street.
As Shattered pushed the door open he saw his comrades who would be following him to the Rally most prominent of all was his brother Steel Defiance sat proudly at the head of the table his arms crossed as an empty ale tankard sat in front of him, a Picket Sign much like his brothers resting against his shoulder. His brothers Vermillion coat and Red and yellow mane was burning brighter than the candles lighting the run-down tavern.
"Where the Hay have you been, Brother?" Defiance questioned a little too aggressively to Shattered Dawn's liking.
"Just making the rounds Brother," Lied Dawn, in reality he had actually got his hoof caught in a gutter whilst cleaning his roof yet he was far too prideful to ever admit that especially to his elder brother, "Regardless are you all ready to move out?"
"Very well I've got a friend with a cart who will take us to the rally location, let's go."
After they had all clambered into the cramped cart they set off. The journey was fairly uneventful aside from when the cart in front of them was seized at the second checkpoint they passed on their way into the City Centre. Eventually after what had felt like an eternity of the carts wheels creaking endlessly on poorly maintained cobble roads they arrived at their destination. Almost tearing his way out of the cramped and enclosed cart just to be able to move around Shattered accidentally pushed a large stallion named Emerald Impact out of the car. Crashing face first into a puddle the ponies still in the cart burst into laughter guffawing at the once Viridian pony as now his coat was stained with lines of brown.
Acting on instinct the hulking Emerald Stallion grabbed Dawn by the collars until Defiance sprang out of the cart seizing the initiative in the confusion and instantly forming a wedge between The massive Green Pony and his much smaller albeit still strong brother.
"Both of you calm down, right NOW!" Screamed Defiance as he tried however much in vain to prevent any semblance of conflict within the protesters .
"Sorry boss, but this Bucking Idiot pushed me," Mumbled Emerald as he tried to look as convincing and innocent as possible.
"Is this true Shattered?"
"Brother I swear it was an accident I-" but before Shattered could go on one of his much famed tangents he was interrupted by a surge in activity by the protesters as each one began to force their way towards the newly erected barricade outside of the city center in order to keep the ponies of the proletariat out. As the tension heightened Emerald Impact barged his way back into the cart in an astonishing display of Irony and Defiance leapt into the cart in one graceful move however as he thrust out his hoof to hoist his younger sibling into the cart, Shattered was pushed away by a seething tide of Protesters being forced ever closer to the wire mesh barricade, which stood at roughly the height of three ponies and was topped off with barbed wire coiling itself down the entirety of the fence in order to prevent any pony from trying to climb the fence.
However this wasn't as effective a deterrent as the Equestrian soldiers thought it would be as many of the demonstrators attacked the fences with an almost animalistic desire to see them be brought down however as Shattered was pushed ever closer to the fence he got a better view of the defenders. There were rows upon rows of Equestrian troops each one fully clad in their ornate white and gold uniforms with massive peaked caps adorning their brows, however behind them stood the more numerous and ubiquitous Crystal Empire auxiliaries, regiments formed of primarily crystal ponies looking for a way to further their social status by military service they stood clad in Olive Drab uniforms with little ornamentation save for a badge with Shining Armour's crest-a purple shield inlaid with a pink star and topped with three smaller stars.
But soon an all too familiar sound ripped through the protest like a tsunami wave, and as Shattered looked up he saw a young foal barely old enough to be able to hold one of the picket signs crumple to the floor blood oozing from a wound left in his flank. As Shattered recoiled in horror at the young foal lying in the mud bleeding out more shots rang out, and soon that foal wouldn't be the only casualty of the day...