The most (in)famous court battle in Equestrian History... sort of
When it comes to the creatures that work at the Canterlot Courthouse, their job was not too difficult at times. As they were notified of upcoming trials, it was their job to help lawyers select a jury for a case and make sure that it was a fair process. Nopony on the jury was to have heard about either the defendant or the one accusing them to avoid bias and make sure that they were qualified to participate on a jury. A pretty simple process that usually takes a hoof-ful of hours in order to get everything done correctly, depending on how long the trial goes on for.
However, when the courthouse learned that they were going to hold the trial between two former villains, Discord and Grogar… that was when things became a lot harder for them. A process that usually took a few hours now had to take days to even find creatures who not only did not know either of them, but were also equestrian citizens and did not have any biases that could influence the trial whatsoever. Not only that, but considering who was involved in this case, a few extra safety precautions had to be put in place on the off chance that either side tried anything malicious to influence the jury.
Nevertheless, once everything was accounted for and a judge was appointed to preside over the case, the trial of Grogar vs. Discord could begin as the gavel hit the stand and those who were in attendance were silenced, “Ahem. If every creature here is accounted for, then we can proceed. Court will now convene for the trial of Mr. Discord Apophis.”
“The prosecution is ready, your honor.” The lawyer that stood next to Grogar spoke. He appeared to be a unicorn in his mid thirties, who clearly looked to have a lot of legal experience under their belt if their demeanor and red suit were anything to go by.
“Is the defense ready-” The judge asked, before he turned his head to see that Discord was just standing by himself, “Mr. Apophis, do you have an attorney? If not, the court can provide you one-”
“How kind, but I will not need one. I’m defending myself.”
Every creature in the room, including the prosecution and the judge, practically did a double take. “I… beg your pardon?”
“That’s right, I’m defending myself,” Discord repeated, “With myself.”
At that same moment, what looked almost like a complete copy of the draconequus stood right next to them. Only that this one had a nice blue suit and had straightened their mane to the point that it looked like the end of it resembled spikes, “The defense is ready, your honor.”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Grogar said from the other side of the courtroom, “Clearly, that’s breaking some kind of law right there. Aren’t you stretching it a bit?”
“Well, the only creature that knows me better than anypony else is myself,” the spirit of chaos replied, “Plus, there isn’t any law that prevents me otherwise.”
A few murmurs went throughout the room, but went silent as the judge began to speak again, “Well… as I was just informed, there is no such law preventing this. So, as long as the defense is able to do their job and only that, then the court will allow it. Are we clear?”
“Yes, your honor,” Lawyer-cord nodded.
“In that case, may the prosecution provide their opening statement?”
“Certainly, your honor,” the prosecution spoke as they levitated a piece of paper and began to read, “Today, the prosecution will make the case that the defendant repeatedly and willingly stole the identity of Mr. Grogar as well as portrayed him in such a negative light for their own personal gain. The evidence that we have is sufficient proof of this.”
When Discord peeked over at the goat on the other side of the room, he seemed… content with what was said. While it looked like he had a lot more to say, Grogar looked a bit disappointed when the opening remarks were kept short.
“Hmm. I see. Very well, then. Does the prosecution have anyone that they wish to call to the stand?”
“Only one… That being the defendant himself.”
“Hold it!” Lawyer-cord shouted as a cartoonish looking speech bubble randomly manifested above his head briefly, “Isn’t it too soon to have my client come forth and speak on the stand? Wouldn’t you have witnesses come forth first?”
“That’s the thing with this case,” the unicorn replied, “Every creature by now already knows what was done. However what is unknown, and what we’re here to try and determine today, is why. Your client did not have any conspirators who knew what he was doing and if everything we have is to be believed, no creature knew about his schemes until after The Battle of the Bell took place. So by definition, Mr. Apophis is the only witness.”
That had Discord flinch a bit. While Grogar had slightly warned him about his lawyers, he honestly thought that the former father of monsters was just bragging to try and get under his skin. Now though, this pony that he didn’t even know the name of had caught him off guard in the opening moments of the trial.
“Mr. Edge, do not be so quick to try and get a conviction,” the judge warned, “We hear testimonies from both sides in this courthouse. We will be hearing from both Mr. Apophis and your client as well before a verdict is reached.”
“I’m well aware,” the unicorn replied, “The prosecution would still call upon Mr. Apophis to the stand.”
With there looking to be no way out of this, Discord just went with it and walked over to the center of the court as he faced the judge. After having to swear to tell the truth and only the truth to the judge and the rest of the court, the unicorn named Mr. Edge began to speak.
“Mr. Apophis. You know what you stand on trial for and the severity of the charges against you, correct?”
Discord nodded his head as the prosecution lifted up a page, “While it says here that you changed your villainous ways for the better, that alone did not stop you from committing the actions that lead to these present charges. Yet, there’s one thing that’s missing.”
While in most situations, a defense lawyer would have their client remain silent on the stand, Lawyer-cord was not like most attorneys. If anything, he didn’t do anything to prevent Discord from what he said next, “Let me guess? My ‘reason’ for doing all of this?”
“Yes,” the unicorn replied, “For your first testimony, let us hear your ‘reasons’ for this.”
Discord took a quick glance over at his attorney, before looking back at the prosecution, “Do you mean the scheme itself, or why I chose to impersonate Groggy? Because, in all honesty, that wasn’t my first plan.”
At that point, the judge was even surprised, “It… wasn’t?”
“My client speaks the truth on this,” Lawyer-cord added, before holding up what looked like an envelope, “And we wish to present this to the court.”
“And what’s… this?”
“Attempted correspondence and documents associated with it,” the defense continued, “Before my client actually went through with his actions, he attempted to correspond with Grogar and try to coerce him into participating in an act of collaboration. My client's original plan was to bring on the plaintiff as a partner to work with and he would take on a more passive role. However, any attempts to try and reach the well-known father of monsters were either ignored completely or sent back.”
“As for the other documents, they include my reasons for why I went forward with it. If the prosecution and the plaintiff wish to see it for themselves, then by all means. When it comes to this, I have nothing to hide.”
The fact that the former ‘lord of chaos’ claimed that he had nothing to hide filled quite a few creatures in the room with doubt. Yet, if you were to take a look at the documents, his reasons for his actions were crystal clear. In the papers, it stated that two weeks prior to Celestia and Luna sharing their plans to retire to Princess Twilight and her friends, Discord overheard them discussing how they were going to break the news. Believing that Princess Twilight at the time would feel rather unprepared to immediately inherit the responsibility of an entire kingdom on her shoulders, Discord believed that if Twilight could overcome one final test against a creature that was unlike anything she had faced before, she would prove that she was capable for the positions and the responsibilities that came with it.
However, when attempts to try and contact Grogar failed and the amount of time he had before the princesses were to meet with Twilight and her friends became shorter, he was forced to do what was labeled as ‘the cover band approach’. That would be to appear similar to Grogar and act like Grogar… even though he wasn’t actually Grogar.
“Objection, your honor,” The Prosecution replied. “This looks more like an admission of guilt from Mr. Apophis of the charges against him. They're just stalling-”
“Oh, you would think that… but check near the back. I made sure to include something else,” the draconequus insisted.
The unicorn did, alongside the Plaintiff… before looking confused at what it said, “Fair use copyright… what in-?”
“As it turns out, your name had been immortalized through the original story of you and Gusty, Groggy.” Discord replied, “That little thing allows for me to use limited copyright of specific material without having to ask permission from the holder of it. Of course, they’re also good friends of mine.”
At this point, Grogar’s face was a burning hot red as he glared at Discord, “And just WHO would dare register MY name as part of this!?”
Outside the courthouse, everything was peaceful and quiet through the streets of Canterlot. Ponies were going about their daily lives as Twilight watched from the tower Luna once resided to watch the stars. It took a lot of work to get to this point, but to her, seeing her newfound subjects being happy and enjoying life was worth it.
Then, a furious war cry raged forth from the courthouse. “WHO THE BUCK IS HASBRO!?!”
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the word you're looking for is content
11352565
No, he used the correct word. Read the paragraph again.
Lol how meta
Prosecution = criminal trial
Civil suit = plaintiff
Yes, in the USA you can defend yourself. Criminal cases, the courts have a lawyer sit "second chair" to provide legal advice & prevent an apeal for incompetent council. IDK about civil suits. Small Claims Court, no they don't.
peeked
11352701
I did.
You can either seem content, or seem to feel contempt. You cannot seem contempt. Something needs fixing, and changing it to content ascribes the fewest mistakes to the author.
11427168
Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out
Discord invoked law from beyond the 4th wall. Sorry, Grogar, I don't think you can beat that.