"Your Imperial Majesty, I must protest against this," Celestia said as we stood before the Empress. The expression on her face was a grave one, and one that indicated ages of experience in diplomacy. However, I saw the hidden anger within her. "The charges you've brought upon my subject cannot possibly be true."

"We must concur with our sister," Luna exclaimed, a hint of anger in her own voice. "We know our subject well enough to know he would never assault a foreign leader in such a manner."

The three of us stood in the throne room once again, only the room was now full of Lycans. Most were armored and flanking us on either side. A few Lycans stood on either side of Amber,

The charged that had been brought against me had been pretty simple. The story had gone that I'd been summoned to Princess Amethyst's chambers late that night as she was well known to have an interest in foreign nations and species, but that in talks, I'd insulted and touched the Princess inappropriately. After I'd apparently knocked her unconscious, I'd left the room as if nothing had happened. She'd come to only fifteen minutes ago and had ordered my arrest. Her words had been backed up by the servant boy, although I suspected that Amethyst had threatened him to lie.

"Are you calling my own flesh and blood a liar, your Highnesses?" the Empress spat out. Beside her, a 'scared' looking Amethyst sat. She was wearing the same clothes I'd seen her in last night, but with the added bonus of the clothes being torn in certain revealing places. "I have a witness, too!"

Celestia shook her head. "I simply cannot believe that Jethro here would attack the daughter of the ruler of a country. It isn't in his nature."

"How would you know the nature of a predator?" Amber practically spat out angrily. "You cannot change our nature so easily, Celestia!"

"Jethro is no predator!" Luna bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Luna, please calm down," Celestia said, although from the tone in her voice and look on her face, it was clear she was barely holding in her anger.

"We will not have such accusations brought against one of our subjects, sister!" Luna shouted, thankfully not in the Royal Voice anymore.

"Doctor," Amber said, beckoning to an older Lycan woman, "find my daughter's scent on the prisoner."

"At once," she said, approaching me. "Stand still," she commanded as she began sniffing all over me. When she reached my hand, she stopped. Grabbing it, she lifted it to her nose and inhaled deeply. "I found it, my Empress."

I could have sworn I saw a smirk on Amethyst's face, but it was gone before I could be sure. Amber, however, was not amused. She stood, glaring down at me. "Normally, the crime of assaulting royalty is instant death. However, in the interest of continued good relations with our Equestrian neighbors, I believe I should give your little pet colttoy a fighting chance. And I do mean a fighting chance."

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"There is an ancient tradition in our land, one that goes back to before your interference in our battle," Amber replied. "We call it Trial by Combat."

What is this, Game of Thrones? I frowned. I was no fighter. I might be as strong as an Earth Pony, have the flight of a Pegasus and magic of a Unicorn, but I was still a novice at all three.

Luna's eyes were wide with rage. "You would subject someone with no fighting experience to your barbarity?"

"Ponies would never understand the ancient traditions of our race!" Amber shouted. "It is not barbarity, as you so call it! It is custom!"

"I remember that tradition," Celestia said. "The accused can fight for his life against the champion of the wronged party or the wronged party themselves if they so choose."

"Correct," Amber replied.

"Is this truly necessary?" Celestia asked. "We haven't asked Jethro about what happened."

"You believe he'd tell the truth after what he did to my daughter?" Amber said in a hostile tone as she gestured to the trembling princess. "But very well. Prisoner! Tell us what happened." And so I did. I told them the entire truth about the events as they happened. Amber's face grew angrier as I spoke. When I was done, she scoffed. "Who would believe that my daughter would throw myself at any male, especially a non-Lycan from another far distant land?"

Celestia and Luna turned to me in shock. This revelation caused a murmur to go through the other Lycans gathered in the room. "Thou told her?" Luna hissed, obviously upset.

"Did you expect me to lie?" I whispered back angrily. "She asked me point blank about myself."

Celestia sighed, then turned back to Amber. "And just when will this trial by combat take place?"

The grin on Amber's face was malevolent. "Tomorrow at midday in the arena. As another sign of good faith, the prisoner will be allowed stay in that same room, but he cannot leave. Is that understood?"

"Completely," Celestia said, slowly turning to me. The expression on her face was neutral, but her eyes burned with anger.

Welp, I'm boned.

"How could you have told the princess about your world!?" Celestia was fuming as she paced back and forth in her room. "She clearly wanted information she could use against us! And now that she won't get that, she'll settle for taking that information from us!"

I sat in the same chair as before, watching her pace. I felt like I was an employee being shaken down by his boss. But I wouldn't take it lying down. "I didn't tell her about me being from another world. Only that I'm from a far-off land. Celestia, I'm only a bank manager. Dealing with angry customers and employees is all I've got recent experience in. You expect me to know how to deal with royal politicking?"

She stopped pacing and sighed, her mane somehow slowing down. "Please don't misunderstand, I'm not upset at you," she sighed. "I'm upset at the situation." She ran her hoof over her face. "I just…honestly, I don't want to lose you, and not just as a citizen or a fellow Alicorn, but as a friend."

"We feel the same way," Luna added. She was standing off to the side, watching the conversation. "Jethro, our sister and I are fond of thee. We do not wish to lose one of the first friends we've made since our return."

"I feel the same way, but what other choice is there?" I asked. "I might not know much about royal politicking, but I do know this: if we make too big of a deal about this, it could lead to war. Do you honestly think you've got the stomach for that? You're Ponies, for Christ's sake!"

"So you wish death?" Luna asked.

"Of course I don't! I'm no fool! I want to live just as much as the next guy. I'm gonna fight to win!"

"Even if that means the death of somewolf?" Celestia asked pointedly.

I froze. She was right. If this was indeed a fight to the death, and if I did win, I would be forced to kill whoever I fought. I'd never killed anyone in my life, and I never anticipated that I would have to. I sat back in my chair, looking down at the floor. My emotions were everywhere at that moment. The prospect of killing someone had only been some abstract idea, but now it was a distinct possibility. My breath began to quicken. "Fuck…" was all I could say.

The two winced at my choice of words, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, Celestia moved closer and put a comforting wing around me. "We have a day before this duel begins. I've already asked Twilight to look into ancient Lycan laws of this Trial by Combat to see if there is anything we missed that could help you."

"We can also look as well," Luna said. "We hope that Empress Amber will allow us to look."

"Thank you very much," I said, truly grateful for their offers. "I'm not sure I'd be able to kill anyone. I feel like I'd lose something of myself."

"Once you head down that path, recovery is extremely hard," Celestia said. "Then again, it might be different for humans."

"Well, while we are an apex predator species, many of us are cursed with a conscience," I said dryly. "I'm one of those unfortunate souls. Even thinking about the possibility that I might have to end a life if I succeed is freaking me out."

"Jethro, why don't you rest?" Celestia said, her horn glowing and the sheets on the main bed moving away.

"But, that's your bed," I said.

"We've seen thy chambers," Luna said, "and thou deserve more comfort right now."

Knowing better than to argue, I got out of the chair and shuffled over to the large bed. I practically fell on the bed, tiredly reaching out to grab the blankets, but found them being moved around me. "Thanks," I managed to mumble out before I fell asleep.

Knock knock knock!

I stirred to the sound of someone at the door. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but the knocking came again. Unlike before, this one sounded timid. I sat up and looked around. The room was empty, so I slid out of bed and made my way to the door. I opened it a crack and looked out. "Yes?"

The Lycan manservant from the day before and the same one from Amethyst's chambers stood there holding a tray of steaming soup, dark brown bread, and a glass of water. "Um…excuse me, but I was told to bring this to you. It's the midday meal."

I've been asleep for only a few hours, then. I opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Come in," I said. Of course they'd send him. Just rub salt in the wound, why don't you, Amethyst?!

The servant walked in, giving me a wide berth as he set the tray on the small table in the corner of the room that doubled as a desk. He avoided my gaze as he set up the dishes. The soup had a meaty smell in it, and the bred was steaming as if freshly baked. As he set it up, I saw him glancing at me occasionally through a nearby mirror. "Something on your mind, young man?" I asked gently. Despite him being the 'witness', I couldn't really be mad at him. Being a male in a society like this couldn't be easy. Fear ruled, after all. He jumped nervously, but didn't say anything. A few seconds passed, and I continued. "I don't mind answering your questions if you have any."

He shook his head quickly. "I-It's nothing important. And I shouldn't even be talking to you. You're the Empress' prisoner. You assaulted her daughter."

"So she claims," I said. "but I didn't. You and I both know that. I would never be stupid enough to touch royalty." I leaned forward. "What did she threaten you with?"

The boy shook his head fervently. "N-No, she didn't threaten me. All males are violent and dangerous and should be under the care of their betters."

"That's not you talking," I said, "that's the Empress and Princess speaking through you."

"It's the truth," the boy repeated.

"Have I ever raised my hand to strike anyone in your presence?" I asked curiously. "And tell me the truth."

The boy looked down at the table. "I…I just…"

I could have denied it, but it was possible that the young Lycan would report my words to the Empress and she might use whatever I said as fuel for her male-hating rage. I decided to end the conversation there. "Actually, never mind. At any rate, thank you for the meal, young man," I said sincerely. "I don't want to keep you from serving your Empress any longer than I should."

He backed away as I walked up to the table and sat down to eat. The soup had large chunks of meat in it, and the broth also had a meaty taste. The bread was warm and tasted like rye. The water, while somewhat lukewarm, was clean and refreshing. As I ate, I became cognizant of someone watching me. I swallowed a piece of the meat and turned. The young Lycan teen was still there, staring at me with a bewildered expression on his face. I took a sip of water and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"It…nowolf has ever thanked me before," he said softly, as if in disbelief. "And you've thanked me multiple times."

"It's just common courtesy," I replied. "You brought me food, so I'm thanking you."

His eyes widened briefly. "I…I see." He backed away towards the door. "J-Just leave the empty dishes with the guard outside when you're finished."

"Understood, thanks for telling me," I said with a small smile.

The Lycan stiffened a bit before he moved to leave a bit faster than he'd entered. I turned back and continued eating. My own dwindling meat supply notwithstanding, I was thoroughly enjoying meat native to this world. It was chicken, that much was clear, and from what I knew of Equestrian animals, chickens weren't sapient. I ate my chicken soup in silence until the door opened again.

Turning, I saw an exhausted Celestia and Luna trotting in, dragging their hooves on the floor. Luna collapsed onto the bed while Celestia sitting in the armchair. I finished the last of my meal before focusing on them. "Where'd you two go?"

"We went to the Canisia Library," Celestia said. "The Empress gave us permission to look up ancient customs."

"We don't understand how your student does this for fun," Luna moaned into a pillow. "Our mind feels like it's been wrung out multiple times."

"Ah, the joys of late-night studying," I snarked as I began cleaning up my place. "I remember long sleepless nights when I was getting my degree." Standing, I walked over to the door and knocked on it. A guard answered and glared at me as I held up the dishes. She grabbed them and walked off. Closing the door, I walked to the bed and sat on it. "I take it you didn't find anything?"

"On the contrary, we found too much," Luna said, her voice muffled further as she covered her head with another pillow.

"If Twilight saw the library, she'd go into shock," Celestia sighed. "We're taking a break before going back. And don't ask us to ease up. No matter what the Empress might think, we aren't trying to save you just because of your access to another world's knowledge."

"That was never in doubt," I said back, frowning. "You forget, Cadance has told me a lot about you, and I trust her."

She looked down. "You're right. I was just nervous you might take her words to heart."

"She believed her daughter about me falsely trying to rape the princess with flimsy evidence at best! You honestly think her words mean shit to me?" I replied, perhaps a bit more harshly than I meant. Taking a deep breath, I sighed. "You both have done much more for me than she could ever hope to match, and you didn't even have to. For that, my loyalty is to the Kingdom of Equestria and its rulers."

Celestia smiled at that, and from the bed Luna turned and smiled as well. "So…we can get some knowledge from your world?" Celestia said, her smile turning into a smirk.

That did it. The three of us all burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. Celestia was a troll if I ever saw one. I was grateful for the brief distraction. And it was brief. Once the laughter died down, I exhaled deeply. "I definitely needed that."

Celestia put a wing on my back and stood, gently leading me to bed. "Come, you should probably get some more rest. Or at least try."

Luna got out of bed and used her magic to move the covers away once more. I climbed in and lay on my stomach, looking over at the two. "I'll do my best. Not like there's much else to do."

"My sister and I will keep up our search," Celestia said. "We'll find something."

Nodding, I closed my eyes. "Thank you…" After casting the dreamless sleep spell on myself, I was out in minutes.

I woke in darkness next. I was still lying in bed, but there was a warm presence curled up next to me. As my eyes adjusted, I looked around and saw an exhausted looking alabaster Alicorn lying next to me, her light rainbow hair still flowing in whatever ethereal wind it blew in. I looked around the room only to come face to face with two dark cyan orbs. "Wha-?"

"Shhh," Luna whispered. "Our sister is exhausted. Please don't wake her."

"I won't," I replied quietly, looking back down at the sleeping princess. I held up a finger which was surrounded by a soft white glow, illuminating her face which was full of worry.

"We've never seen her look this worried before," Luna sighed softly, placing a hoof on her sister's back tenderly. "We had to cast a spell to put her to sleep."

"I can't imagine what she's feeling," I said, reaching down to stroke her mane gently. Her face relaxed slightly at my touch and she sighed in her sleep. Turning back to Luna, I said, "I take it you didn't find anything?"

Luna shook her head sadly. "But we didn't get to everything relevant."

"Well…if I do win this fight tomorrow, I might have to become…a killer."

Luna's ears flattened at that. "We don't want that for thee. Taking a life is not an easy thing."

"I know, believe me," I replied. "I don't want that on my conscience. Even if it's in self-defense, I know it'll haunt me."

Above Celestia, something began to form in a greenish glow. In a burst of green flames, a scroll appeared. I caught it before it hit Celestia in the face. In the dim glow of my magic, I saw it had two seals, one with a blazing sun and one with a crescent moon on it. Quietly, I handed it to Luna, who took it in her magic and opened it. Creating a magical glow with her horn, she scanned the pages and her eyes widened. "What is that foolish mare thinking…?"

"What's going on?" I asked.

Luna floated the scroll over to me. It was a letter from Twilight.

Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,

Please forgive me, but my friends and I have been unable to find anything relevant to the situation in either my home library or the ones in Canterlot. All we found that might help in the long run was the Lycan tradition of Last Visitations, which allows for those close to the accused to come and say their final farewells. In that vein, my friends and I, plus Zecora, have boarded the midnight train to Canisia. We should arrive there early tomorrow morning. It is my hope that I can find something within the Canisia Library that might help.

You faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

I frowned and put the scroll down. "What is that foolish mare thinking?" Despite everything, it made me glad that they were coming to see me, especially Zecora. However, I also didn't want them getting in any trouble by coming unannounced. "Luna, do you think you can get them into the city without being arrested?"

"We're not sure," she said. "Our sister and I read about this tradition earlier today. It involves the accused asking their accuser for these rights. It falls on thee to make such a request, I believe."

I nodded and slowly slipped out of bed. As I did so, Celestia stirred and reached over to where I had been, as if she was trying to find the warmth that was no longer there. I put my hand on her forehead again and she relaxed. After gently stroking her mane a few times, I stood and walked to the door. Knocking on it, a female guard, different than the one I'd seen earlier opened it. "What is it, prisoner?" she snarled.

"I wish to inform her Imperial Majesty that I am invoking the Last Visitations right," I replied respectfully. "My closest comrades are arriving tomorrow morning, and I wish them to be unmolested upon arrival."

The guard scowled at me, but said nothing for a time. Eventually, she nodded. "I'll inform my Empress of this request." And with that, she closed the door rather rudely in my face.

I returned to the bed and slipped back under the covers. Celestia, still fast asleep, reached out with one hoof to me. I smiled and took it in my hands. How her fur coat was still so silky soft and smooth while wearing those gold-plated shoes was a mystery to me. I looked back up at Luna. "Are you going to sleep soon?"

She shook her head. "We are now the warden of the night, remember? We make sure our subjects are safe in their sleep from nightmares." She turned back to me. "Please sleep. If anywolf comes to see thee, we shall talk to them for thee."

I lay down and closed my eyes. "Thank you, Luna."

I felt a slight tingling around my body, and exhaustion caught up with me again. Darkness embraced me.

I woke to the smell of food and the sound of a roaring fire. I opened one eye and saw that Celestia had already gotten up. I sat up and stretched. The room was empty, but a steaming plate of what looked like sunny side up eggs, buttered toast and bacon sat on the table. I almost snorted when I realized that the food had to have come from my house. Zecora. It had to be.

After I took care of some of my other morning business in the neighboring washroom, I came out and began chowing down. I hadn't eaten since lunch the day prior, and I was starved. The bacon itself was juicy and tender, way better than if I'd put it in the microwave back home. The toast was buttered to perfection and the eggs weren't too soggy or too hard, either.

Once I was finished, I went back to the washroom and cleaned my face. While I was doing that, the door to my room opened. I heard a gasp, then a shaky voice calling out my name. I recognized that voice immediately, so I dried up fast and ran out.

When I saw my visitor, I felt simultaneously glad to see her and heartbroken to see how she looked. Zecora had bags under her bloodshot eyes. Her mane, which she normally spiked up, was fallen by her side. When she saw me, I saw tears in her eyes. She ran towards me faster than I'd ever seen her run and launched herself towards me. I barely had time to catch her and wrap my arms around the trembling Zebra. "Jethro!" she called out again, her tone now one of anguish and grief.

Behind her, I saw my other friends rushing in, followed by the two princesses as the door closed behind them. They all looked haggard as well. I looked at each of them in turn. "I…don't know what to say right now," I admitted as Zecora's grip around me tightened.

"We couldn't very well abandon you when we heard about what was happening," Rainbow Dash said. Her eyes flashed with indignation. "I swear, I wish I could beat that Princess so she couldn't walk again-"

"No you don't," I said sternly. "Because if you did, you'd be next to be involved in a fight to the death. And no offense to you, but flight aside, these are Lycans. They are warriors. Can you say the same? Are you willing to take a life?"

That brought the mood of all the Ponies, and Spike, down considerably. Rainbow Dash landed and looked down, pawing at the ground with her hoof. "It's not fair…she's lying…" she muttered.

"Ah know that, and you know that," Applejack said, "but unfortunately, Jethro's right. We can't go losin' our heads over this."

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, coming over gently, a look of fear and worry on her face.

"No. No I'm not okay," I replied. Zecora hugged me tighter at this. "I was always taught Thou Shalt Not Murder. It's one of the ten most basic commandments of the religion I was raised with, but now I'm in a situation where, on the off chance that I win, I'll be taking a life. And if I lose, my life will be taken. I don't want either of that to happen, but I can't see a way out of it."

"I'm not giving up yet!" Twilight said. She looked the most frazzled, but had a determined expression on her face. "The library is big, but I'm so close to finding something. I can just feel it!"

Pinkie Pie walked up. To my surprise, her mane and tail were completely straight again, and some color seemed to have drained from her fur. "Do…do you really have to do this?" she asked with a trembling voice. "Didn't you have that dream magic stuff? You could just escape-"

"And then Equestria would be in a state of war," I interrupted. "The Lycan Empress is just looking for an excuse to hurt your Princesses, and what better way than by starting a war? Equestria isn't equipped for a war of any kind."

I didn't think it was possible, but the pink Earth Pony's ears flattened even more. "I…I don't know much about stuff like this. All I know is that if you die, I'll lose a one of the best friends I've made in a long time."

I wanted to reach out, stroke her mane, tell her that I wouldn't give up that easily, but a hiccup from Zecora redirected my focus to the trembling mare clinging to me with all four legs. I looked down and was staring deep into the cyan eyes of my first true friend in this world, and the first true one since my beloved Trixie. Wanting to see her smile, even if for a bit, I reached up and brushed my hand through her mane. "I like this look. You look good with your mane down."

I was rewarded by a slight smile, but it didn't last long. "Jethro, I do not want to lose you here. You are a friend that I hold truly dear." Her voice cracked and sounded somewhat hoarse. Like she'd been crying loudly.

Despite the situation, my heart soared at that. "That means the world to me," I replied, pulling her closer.

"We all feel the same way, darling," Rarity said, approaching me hesitantly. "Also, I wanted to apologize. It's my fault you're in this situation."

"No, it isn't," I quickly replied. "I'm the one who reported your kidnapping. I couldn't let it go unpunished."

Celestia walked forward, just then. "It's nopony's fault that this is happening," she said in her best reassuring tone. "We'll figure something out."

"Come, sister," Luna said, "we only have a few hours left. We should go back to the library."

"If it's okay, here might I stay? In private I have something to say," Zecora asked, turning to the others.

"Of course," Celestia said. "Come on, everypony. Let's go back and find something we might be able to use."

The others all said tender goodbyes to me as they left, most hugging me with the exception of Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both of whom gave me a fistbump, or hoofbump in the Ponies case. Eventually, I was alone with Zecora. The two of us held one another for what felt like hours, but in reality couldn't have been more than ten or so minutes. It broke my heart seeing her so distraught over me. I made a silent vow that I would not go down without a fight.

"Jethro," she finally said in Farasi, "I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."

"I know, but I don't want a war breaking out because of me," I replied. "Equestria isn't equipped for war, like I said."

"Do you want to die?!" she shouted at me, her face a mixture of anger and fear. Fear for me, not for her.

"No, I don't, but can you think of a way out of this for me other than me having to take a life!?" I shouted back at her. I immediately regretted my tone as she looked away from me, renewed tears forming in her eyes. "Zecora, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."

"I forgive you," she whispered, leaning her forehead against my chest. We stayed like that for a little while longer. Zecora eventually looked up at me again, only this time with a look of determination on her face. "Jethro, I want you to make me a promise."

"What promise?" I asked.

"Promise me…promise me that you'll survive. Promise me you'll make it out of this alive."

I hesitated. I wanted to promise that, I really did, but I hated lying. "Zecora, I can't promise anything except that I'll try."

She nodded. "I know…but just in case…I want to tell you something. Something I've been holding in for longer than I should."

"What is it? You can tell me anything," I said as gently and kindly as I could.

Zecora's eyes bore deep into my soul, and she reached up with one hoof and wrapped it around my neck. The next thing I knew, the Zebra was kissing me. My eyes widened at the unexpected contact, and shock kept me from retreating for the brief but desperate lip locking. She pulled away as quickly as she'd kissed me. "Jethro Bethridge…I'm in love with you."