A freshly changed Anon, wearing brown cargo pants, hiking boots, and a moss-green safari shirt made his way through the castle. Beside him, Javelin- wearing only his saddlebags and a belt around his barrel and wither- walked beside Dusk, and Echo. Both bat ponies wore thin, brown cloth armor under their saddlebags and a pair of blacked-out goggles around their necks. They all approached the castle dining room doors with a slight edge in all of their steps. As much as they knew that they hopelessly outnumbered the mare on the other side of the door, all four of them felt a distinct wariness knowing that she would be unchained for the immediate future.

"Even with all of us watching her all hours of the day, I still don't think she should be unshackled. I've heard some pretty terrifying stories of this mare." Echo muttered, adjusting his saddlebags with his wingtip.

"She's no more dangerous than any other unicorn out there. Actually much less so since she doesn't have a working horn to begin with, and a mana blocker ring on what little bit of horn she does have." Javelin replied.

"She won't be a problem. She knows that if she does try anything, there's almost no chance of it going in her favor. Besides, even if she manages to escape from us, where's she gonna go ? Two of us can fly and one has the current record for longest shot with a mana bolt in Canterlot history." Dusk added, shaking his head.

"Still impressed by that shot, myself. Eleven hundred hooves is a long ways away. I could barely see the target." Javelin chuckled.

"Thorax get back to you, Anon?" Echo questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Sure did. I wrote him back and he's gonna meet us at Tampa Neigh. It's our third stop. We've got a bit of a train ride to the Hayseed Swamps, and then a bit of a trek to Hoof City. We'll take a carriage ride to Tampa Neigh from there. Once we get there, we've got a boat ride for a couple days to Zebrica, and then it'll be on Tempest to lead us to the Fillypenes and the Peaks of Peril," Anon explained, before letting out a heavy sigh, "Man, the puns are just piling up..."

"Well let's not delay then. The sooner we're out of the country, the sooner we find this place, get your elixir, and get back." Javelin nodded, as they reached the door.

Said door was opened by the guard standing outside, already waiting for them. As they all entered the room, their eyes fell on Tempest as she sat at the head, her hindlegs kicked up on the table while she leaned back in her chair. She immediately noticed the arrival of Anon and the group, and quickly glanced over in their direction.

"There you are. I was beginning to get bored." She greeted, taking her hooves off the table and hopping out of her chair.

Rolling his eyes at her comment, Anon nodded toward the doorway they'd just entered from, "Time to go, Tempest. Let's get moving." He ordered.

"Of course. We've got quite a bit of traveling ahead of us. By my estimation, the train ride to the Hayseed Swamps should take about three hours, then we'll have to wade through the swamp for at least a day or two to get to the only town close to that Tartarus-hole: Hoof City. From there, the carriage ride to Tampa Neigh will be another hour or two. Two or three days at sea to get to Zebrica and then at least three days of hiking before we even get to the Fillypenes and then the journey finally starts." She recounted, leaving the entire group speechless.

"Wha-what? H-how do you know the route we're taking? You've been isolated this whole time!" Javelin exclaimed.

Tempest rolled her eyes, "Oh please. It's the only logical route you could take. Airships are out of the question since you're still worried about the rest of the Storm King's fleet, especially after destroying his vanguard fleet. Anything else and you'd either make this trip take five times as long, or run straight into Abyssinia and they're at war with the Diamond Dogs. Last I checked, you're not exactly looking to run into a warzone on a trip like this." She replied, nonchalantly.

Dusk and Echo shared a look, before the former glanced up to Anon, "She's good. I'll give her that." He admitted.

"Alright, so you know the route. Big deal. Let's go." Anon ordered, turning tail to leave.

Tempest trotted up behind him, Dusk, Echo, and Javelin instantly forming a perimeter around her as she did. Their proximity was only matched by their wariness of the mare between them. Javelin subtlety channeled magic into his horn, preparing all the stages of conjuring a mana bolt, shy of actually manifesting one, in case she tried anything. Dusk and Echo also tenses their wings, the blades affixed to their claws just barely remaining hidden from Tempest's view.

If she noticed or felt any strong feelings about the three stallions preparing to strike her down at a moment's notice, Tempest certainly didn't show it. She kept her gaze focused on Anon's backside as he led the way through the winding corridors of the castle to the front foyer. When they arrived there, they found nearly a dozen guards all standing by, waiting for their arrival. Five Earth ponies, armed with a double sided cleaver, held by a bit in their mouths, formed a line on one side, while three pegasi and two unicorns, armed with crossbows, mage staffs, and wingblades, formed the line opposite of them.

At the head of the group, stood Captain Valorant, "Prince Anon. We're here to escort you and the prisoner to the train station." She addressed, giving a slight bow to Anon.

"Val? I wasn't expecting you to be coming with us." Anon noted, surprise evident in his voice.

"Originally, I had intended to take a lunch break right now. Then I found out you dragged this traitor out of the dungeon and planned on taking her half way across the world." Valorant replied, professionally.

"I take it you don't approve." Anon nodded, slowly.

"How I feel is irrelevant. She's your prisoner. If you believe you can handle her on this journey, then I have the utmost confidence and faith in you. That said, I'd like to escort you to the train station at the very least. You can never be too sure with this one." Valorant explained, leveling a glare at Tempest.

Tempest merely scoffed at Valorant's glare while Anon chuckled at the scene, "Alright, if you wanna come with us to the station, you're more than welcome to. Let's get going though. Any more delays at this rate and we'll miss the train." He relented, walking forward.

Like a well-oiled machine, the guards fanned out and formed a second defensive perimeter around Tempest. The group of man and ponies finally exited the castle and walked into the sunlight beaming down on them from above. Tempest had to squint and cover her eye with a foreleg as the bright light was overpowering to her sensitive eyes after so long underground. Despite Valorant's huff of annoyance, Anon stopped and allowed the broken unicorn to adjust before continuing on again.

Though it was subtle, almost inaudible, a soft 'thanks' escaped Tempest's lips, heard by naught anyone but Dusk and Echo. Each thestral spared the other a quick glance before shrugging it off and continuing onward.

The crowds of ponies out and about on the city of Canterlot regarded the group with a mixed bag of curiosity and intrigue. While some were confused as to the reason for their prince to be out and about on the town with such a heavily armed entourage, others were quick to rush over and greet him. Before long, a small crowd had formed around them, all singing Anon's praises and thanking him for his past deeds.

"You saved our princesses from Tirek! We love you Prince Anon!"

"You even reformed Chrysalis! She's so hot now!"

"Can I have your foals next!?"

"We've been over this! You can't have foals, you haven't got a womb!"

"We love you!"

The voices shouted and blended over one another, and though they were all positive, there was little Anon could say as it was nearly impossible to even get a word in.

From her position behind him, Tempest found both her eyebrows raising slightly at just how popular Anon was among the ponies of Canterlot. Fortunately for all of them, the trip to the train station was rather short, and though the crowd was sizable, they didn't follow too far into the train station. Several ponies stopped and waved from the entrance as the group made their way to the conductor. Said conductor had a brown coat and black hair. He wore a monocle over one of his deep blue eyes, just above his thick, black mustache.

"Prince Anon, I understand you're all heading to the Hayseed Swamps. I'm sure you already know, but just in case it needs to be said, the train tracks abruptly end that far East. Word is that the workers were attacked and couldn't continue any further. Unfortunately, I can't take you through the actual swamp itself." The conductor greeted, professionally.

Anon nodded, "We know. Still gotta head that way, regardless. Thanks for the heads up, though." He replied.

"Very well then. The train is ready to go. Board whenever you're ready and I'll get us underway." The conductor replied.

With that, the stallion boarded the train, leaving Anon and his group to part ways with Valorant and the rest of her guards. However, while Anon's attention was focused on the conductor, he failed to notice Valorant and Tempest having a stare down just behind him. The rest of the guards around her were also staring at Tempest, waiting for her to give them an excuse to attack her, though she gave them no such opening. Instead, she simply kept her glare leveled straight back at the guard captain.

"Uh, guys?" Anon asked, worriedly.

"Just don't cause any trouble for our prince while you're out there and I won't kick your flank again." Valorant stated, never once dropping her glare with Tempest.

"Again? Last I checked, I had you on the floor." Tempest smirked.

"Right where I wanted you. Look who's got a mana ring for her h-oh that's right, what horn?" Valorant scorned.

Suddenly, any pretense of amusement left Tempest's eyes and a deep scowl formed on her muzzle, "Take this ring off and we'll see who's the stronger unicorn." She dared, darkly.

"Woah, woah, woah. There's not gonna be any fighting. We're going. Val, stand down. Tempest, relax." Anon cut in, physically placing himself between the two mares before the could actually start fighting.

"Anon's right. We don't need a fight breaking out between the two of you. Let's get on the train." Dusk diplomatically added.

Valorant's gaze bore straight through Anon as if she could still see Tempest for a few moments before she finally turned away. She glanced over her wither to Anon as she stepped away, a frown still visible on her face.

"Keep an eye on her, Anon. She can't be trusted. If you hadn't proven yourself with Chrysalis, I'd be forcing you to take an entire platoon, just to be safe."

Anon let out a small sigh of relief, "Thanks, Val. Don't worry, we've got this."

Valorant nodded to Anon but glanced over to Tempest one more time, "Let me make one thing clear. If any of these stallions are hurt or don't make it back because of you... there is no place on Eques you can run that I won't find you... and I won't be taking you alive." She threatened.

Contrary to what Anon expected, Tempest said nothing in return, opting to simply continue staring straight through him as if he weren't there. With that, Valorant and her detachment of guards made their exit, leaving just the five of them on the train platform by themselves.

"Alright... well that got more intense than I expected." Javelin let out a sigh.

"Let's just get on the train." Echo replied, nodding toward the aforementioned train.

As they all broke from their impromptu group formation to exit, Anon had to stop as Tempest was still staring ahead, her expression unreadable. The rest of them quickly turned and moved to grab her, but Anon made them pause by holding up his hand. He walked back to Tempest's side and gently tapped her wither. It was almost imperceptible, but she jumped ever so slightly at the contact, quickly glancing over to the point of contact between them, and the brass, mechanical digits of Anon's prosthetic hand.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. Though he hadn't meant to show it, a bit of concern bled into his voice.

Tempest quickly shrugged his hand off and let out a quiet whinny, "I'm fine. Let's go." She muttered, stepping past the rest of the stallions and onto the train. As Dusk and Echo watched her board, Anon and Javelin shared a quick glance.

"Man... she is really sensitive about her horn, isn't she?" Anon asked.

"I don't really blame her. For a unicorn, losing your horn is like losing your purpose. I can't imagine what happened to her to break her horn off like that but damn... she dropped her whole smug badflank mare attitude real quick when Valorant brought it up." Javelin replied, shaking his head.

"Probably best if we don't bring it up again. Last thing I want to deal with is a moody traitor." Dusk shrugged, climbing the steps to board the train.

"Agreed." Echo nodded, following after him.

Anon and Javelin similarly boarded the train in quick fashion. Just a few minutes later, the train horn sounded and the engine cranked to life. A jolt shifted the entire train, and after a few moments to build up speed, they were chugging along on their route, the Hayseed Swamps growing closer by the second.

The beginning of the train ride passed in tense silence. Being royalty, Anon had the entire royal suite train cart reserved for just their merry group. As such, there were ample places to sit for all of them, though they quickly found themselves sitting in their own little groups. Anon and Javelin took the seats facing each other with a table between them, while Dusk and Echo sat on the couch across from them, their eyes locked on the last occupant of the train. Tempest, clearly still in a foul mood after her chat with Valorant, chose to sit at the far side of the train cart, her back turned to the rest of the occupants.

The royal cart had all the amenities that bits could buy, from a fireplace in the corner, to hardwood floors, to even having a private pantry stashed with all the snacks that Celestia and Luna were known to like, as well as some new treats Anon had requested. The windows were large and allowed much light to spill into the room, making the included interior lighting completely unnecessary during the day, as opposed to the normal train carts behind them. Both the dining booth and the couch were comprised of cloud-stuffed fabric that made them extra comfortable, yet over in her corner, Tempest sat on the floor, just before the fireplace with her back turned to the rest of them.

With only the sound of the chugging train engine, and occasional screech of metal wheels grinding against steel train tracks, Anon quickly found that he couldn't focus on anything other than the plum coated unicorn across the room from him.

"Uh... should we go say something to her?" Anon asked, just loud enough for Javelin to hear him.

"What would you even say? 'Sorry Valorant said those mean things to you, I'm sure if you didn't try to lead an invasion against your own species, she'd be much more forgiving?'" Javelin replied, sarcastically.

Anon leveled a deadpan glare at the stallion, "I think I can phrase it a little bit better than that, at the very least."

Javelin shrugged, "Why do you care? After what she said to you? You should be taking some satisfaction in seeing her taken down a peg."

Anon raised an eyebrow, "How do you know what she said to me?

"Chrysalis told me. Well, not really that she told me directly, but rather she was venting to Celestia and Luna and I happened to overhear." Javelin admitted.

Anon let out a heavy sigh, "Ugh... we've got to get better at not complaining so loud that everyone in the castle can hear us."

"If you did that, how would drama spread through the rank and file? You know there's a rumor going around that you're looking to add another mare to your herd? Lotta guards are fighting to get put onto shifts where they can guard you and get in your line of sight, so to speak." Javelin smirked.

Anon facepalmed, "How in the Hell is that a rumor now? I haven't even entertained the thought since Chryssi joined the herd."

"Eh, guards overhear something, some of it gets lost in translation, repeat, repeat, repeat, and soon enough you have a fresh guard out of hoofcamp that thinks Prince Anon is hunting for a new mare to be his fourth when all you really said is 'that mare is pretty cute'." Javelin explained, stifling a chuckle.

Anon let out a heavy sigh before slouching in his chair. For a few moments, he stared up at the ceiling, but as the seconds ticked by and the sound of the train chugging along filled the air with rhythmic bumps and squeals, he suddenly sat upright and pushed himself to his feet. Javelin raised an eyebrow at the action but simply followed with his eyes as Anon walked over toward Tempest.

As he approached, Anon noticed one of Tempest's ears flick back toward him, indicating that she knew he was coming long before he reached her. As he closed the last of the distance between them, he stood behind her for a moment, awkwardly waiting for her to react or turn to face him. When it became apparent that she was intent on ignoring him, he walked around to her side, noting how her turquoise eye was on him the moment he entered her peripheral.

"Uh... hey, Tempest." Anon weakly greeted, giving her an awkward wave.

Tempest held his gaze for a few moments in silence. Dusk, Echo, and Javelin were all on the edge of their seats, all ready to react, should she try anything.

"What is it, Prince Anon." Tempest replied, finally.

Anon let out a small breath, "Uh, nothing, nothing. Just wanted to check on you. Are... you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine. What does it matter to you anyway?" Tempest curtly responded.

Anon pursed his lips in thought for a moment. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was concerned over her well being. She'd been nothing but hostile or manipulative since he'd met her. However loathe he was to admit it, the answer was actually quite simple. She was a pony, and ponies were cute, no matter how sinister or mean they tried to be. He struggled to find the right words convey his feelings on the matter, but turning thoughts into words wasn't always an easy affair.

"Uh... cause you're a pony... and I like ponies, so... I just want all of you guys to be happy." Anon explained, weakly.

While the three stallions in the group gave him raised eyebrows at the answer, Tempest rolled her eyes and snorted in amusement.

"That's your reason? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Just go back to your booth. I'll be fine and it's going to be a long trip without you making it awkward the whole way." Tempest rebutted, turning away from him.

Hurtful as the words were, Anon couldn't deny that all he wanted to do was reclaim his seat next to Javelin at that moment, so he quickly nodded and turned around.

"Alright, good talk. Guess we'll talk more when we get there." He announced, before quickly making his way back over to Javelin and taking his seat.

Upon sitting down, Anon refused to meet Javelin's gaze for a few minutes, opting instead to glance out the window and whistle a little tune to himself while he watched the scenery of the Equestrian countryside pass by. Though he tried his best, it didn't take long for Javelin's staring eyes to wear down Anon's defense and the feeling of being watched eventually made him look over to the unicorn sitting across from him.

"Well that was awkward." Javelin teased.

"Shut up." Anon replied, quickly.

"That was more awkward than a filly asking her crush out to prom for the first time. Like... how did you manage to get Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis with game like that?" Javelin continued, shaking his head in awe.

"You know I can throw you out this window. You're small and light enough and I am very embarrassed right now." Anon replied, refusing to make eye contact with Javelin.

Dusk and Echo shared similar sentiments of snickering at Anon's expense, though they were much more subdued in their amusement. Soon enough, quietness returned the cabin, leaving them all to entertain themselves in their own way. The three hours of the train ride passed rather sluggishly, but before too long, the tall cypress and tupelo trees of the swamp came into view. As Anon was facing the front of the train, he was the first to notice the quickly approaching swamp off in the distance, though before he could say anything, the conductor's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Prince Anon, we're arriving at the Hayseed Swamps. Should just be a few minutes now, if you'd all like to get your things ready." He announced.

Anon and the rest of the group quickly got out of their seats and set about packing their belongings. Dusk, Echo, and Javelin re-adorned their saddlebags while Anon picked up his rucksack. As they arrived at their destination, he grabbed the extra pair of saddlebags he'd had prepared for Tempest and handed them over to her. She accepted them without a word and walked over to the exit while the conductor applied the breaks and the wheels screeched.

Less than a minute later, the train came to a halt at the entrance of the swamp and the doors opened with a hiss. Tempest jumped out first, followed immediately by Javelin, Anon, then Dusk and Echo. The small group walked past the front of the train, Anon waving goodbye to the conductor and receiving a wave in return, before the engine chugged to life once more and the train backed away. As the train departed, they found themselves at the end of the tracks where a painted red train-stop marked the end of the line.

Beyond the tracks just in front of them, they saw swamp as far as the eye could see. Mossy water and trees that were taller than most buildings loomed over them in the distance. The humidity felt noticeably more intense than in Canterlot, and the sun seemed to bare down on them with a greater intensity than back home. Before they even made it into the swamp, Anon had to swat a mosquito that landed on his flesh arm.

All three stallions and Tempest found themselves similarly swatting bugs away with their tails as they moved off of the raised section of land that the train tracks resided on, and into the actual swamp. The ground was muddy, and almost immediately, Javelin's off-white fur was smudged with brown as he followed behind Tempest.

As they stepped into the swamp, the water was deeper than any of them hoped, and all of the ponies found themselves soaked up to their barrels as they waded into the high water. Even Anon found himself wading in knee-deep water that instantly soaked his feet. Before even five minutes of wading into the swamp, he felt beads of sweat forming at his brow while another mosquito buzzed right next to his ear.

It was going to be a long few days.

Author's Note

Woohoo! We did it! We got on the road! And it only took 40 thousand words to do it! Hope you guys liked this one. Tempest is going to get considerable development in the coming chapters, don't you worry.