The Battle Begins

12 PM, Ponyville District Court. Three figures enter Courtroom 3, and walk up the gallery. One opens a swinging door leading into the well, and another leads the second figure to a table on the left. The three sit down at the table, as another group of 4 enters the courtroom, and takes position at the table to the left of the swinging door. This is followed by a few more official looking figures taking seats in the front right row of the gallery, and finally, the general public are allowed to enter. A fairly large group takes seats behind the left table, with a mare, her daughter, and what look to be her parents sitting in the front. Sitting at the left table, in front of the gallery, are Betty, her partner, and Erron Guard, a union representative for Stallmart's Ponyville Production Plant. Erron sits in the middle of the table, flanked by Betty, and her partner. Though he tries his best, Erron can't stop his leg from shaking as his nerves begin to set in. This is one of the most important moments of his life, and the nerves were starting to get to him. He'd been fine in the lobby, but now that he was actually in the courtroom, his heart was racing. After a few seconds, Erron feels a hand gently placed on his leg, helping him stop it from shaking. He looks to his right, and smiles at Betty. "Thank you. I'm just a little nervous." To this, Betty nods. "I understand. You don't need to worry. You let us do the work, and we'll make sure you can rest easy after it's all over." Sitting at the right table appeared to be 4 members of the Stallmart legal team. It seemed the owner of the plant was too busy to make an effort to attend the trial. Granted, he wasn't required too by law, but it certainly didn't help his case. Once the gallery has been filled, a quiet murmur falls over the courtroom. This is quickly stopped as the bailiff calls out from the bench. "All rise. The Honorable Judge Whitclaw now presiding." This cause attention to be drawn to the bench. A fairly tall, older gryphon enters from a door to the left of the bench, and promptly takes a seat behind it. He appears to be missing an eye, as evidenced by a scar running down the left side of his face. If it weren't for his robes, you would have thought the judge was actually some sort of grizzled general. Well, that's because he was. Betty has known Judge Whitclaw ever since he started working at the Ponyville District Courthouse. Apparently, he'd fought some wars against bugbears for many decades before he retired. Afterwards, he took an interest in civil law, and eventually became a judge. He was a very polite, and kind individual outside of the court, but he had this sort of 'character' he played when he was on the judge's bench. It was like he was a general once again, commanding his courtroom as he would a barracks. Once Judge Whitclaw is seated, his deep, grizzled voice fills the courtroom. "You may be seated." After everyone sits back down, Judge Whitclaw places a monocle on his good eye, and picks up a folder sitting on his bench. "Today begins the case of Employees vs Stallmart Ponyville Production Center. Ponyville Case Number 15243." He then places the folder back on the bench, and looks to the two tables in front of him. "You've all been through trials like this before, so I trust this will go smoothly." And with that, the legal battle finally begins.