The following morning saw the group slowly rising with the sun. Anon rose with a yawn and stretch that was accompanied by the sound of several vertebrae popping. Just few feet from him, Javelin rose as well, rolling his neck to stretch out any kinks that developed overnight with no pillows for them to rest their weary heads on. While Dusk and Echo were much easier to rise, Anon found his attention pulled to Tempest as she slipped out of her sleeping bag.

Her mane, usually done up in a mohawk that was as intimidating as it was impressive, was naught but a mess of bedhead that stuck out at odd angles and covered the majority of her neck and face. She took a step forward before stretching out her hindlegs behind her one at a time. Once those were good, she arced her back and bowed deeply, stretching out her back and earning several pops in the process. Once she was done, she glanced over to Anon, finding that he'd been watching her the entire time. As her teal eyes fell on him, and the strands of loose mane spilled out and framed her face, a realization hit him like a truck.

Yep, she's adorable. He found himself admitting, nonverbally, of course.

Anon quickly got out of his sleeping bag and packed his things for the day. After giving his boots the night to dry out, they were sufficiently arid enough for him to walk in without worry of getting trenchfoot, though he found himself dreading the long walk they had ahead of themselves today.

"Alright, we've got about another six hours of walking through this crap, and then we should finally be at the coast and from there, it's a straight and notably un-swampy walk straight to Hoof City. We've just gotta head South." Javelin announced, glancing through his map.

"Sounds good. Let's just hit the road and get out of this swamp already. Tired of sweating my flank off in here." Echo added, already packing his gear.

"Tempest, you good to go?" Anon asked, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She replied.

"Well, you're uh..." Anon trailed off, gesturing to her mane.

Tempest glanced up, her cheeks tinging with red as she quickly, and adorably, brushed her mane back up into its signature style. She made incredibly short work of the hairdo, and returned her gaze back to Anon with the same look of disinterest she usually wore on her face around them. Though he tried to hide it, Anon couldn't quite keep the snicker out of his mouth at her antics.

"Okay, let's go." Dusk ordered.

With that, the group finished packing and headed out of their makeshift campsite. Just as it had been the previous two days, the travel through the swamp was long and arduous, taking hours just to move a few miles through the harsh terrain. Mercifully, the day turned overcast rather quickly, allowing them some reprieve from the sun's rays.

"Remind me which weather team is responsible for this area. I'm going to slap them for not making it overcast sooner." Javelin muttered, quietly.

"Looks like rain." Tempest observed, quietly.

"Rain? Sounds nice." Anon noted, nodding along behind her.

"Not if it's the kind of rain that I expect to see here. We... may have to worry about flooding." Tempest informed him.

Anon bit his lip and looked over to Dusk, "Think we've got rain on the way?" He asked.

Before Dusk could even respond, a thick drop of moisture landed right on top of his head, answering Anon's question for him. Said raindrop was quickly joined by another, and another until a steady stream of rain poured down on all of them. The splashing of their limbs wading through the water was soon drowned out by the cacophony of rain pouring down all around them.

"I take it back, I'm strangling whoever is responsible for weather over here." Javelin muttered, his face a frown as his mane spilled all over his face and neck.

"On the bright side, it's quite cool now." Echo offered with a shrug.

"On the brighter side, we've only got a few more hours to go before we reach the coast." Anon also offered.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. There's a natural barrier of trees at the coast and a water reservoir that feeds the Tenneighsee river just North of here. This place can still flood." Tempest cautioned, already taking note of the slightly higher water level.

"Well then let's get out of here before we have to worry about that." Anon instructed, stepping over a root from a large tree beside him.

They proceeded onward, the rain only increasing in intensity until there was a veritable downpour coming down right on top of them. Hours passed and they trudged along, the water level rising slowly until soon enough it was at Tempest and Javelin's haunches. The ever rising water level was cause for concern enough, but soon enough they heard the sound of rushing water off in the distance.

"That better not be what I think it is." Javelin muttered.

"I think its the waves crashing against the coast line. It's really hard to tell with all this noise." Dusk admitted, flying just a bit higher to try to see through the thinner parts parts of the trees.

However unfortunately, the coast did not come into view right away, and the sound of rushing water only grew louder. Now with the prospect starting to wear at the nerves of the entire group, they all found themselves pushing a bit faster to escape the swamp before the water level could rise too high. Despite their efforts, it didn't take long for the water level to reach Javelin's neck, and the poor stallion had to swim over some of the branches as the pits between them were too deep.

Even Anon had water up to his waistline, much to his chagrin. He glanced back the way they'd came from, his brow knitting in concern before turning back to the group ahead, "We've gotta be close by now. Dusk, go on ahead and find the coast. Once you're there, relay it to Echo and then we'll just follow him." He instructed, glancing over to the pair of thestrals.

With a quick salute, Dusk took off ahead, leaving them to wade through the ever rising swamp. It didn't take long at all for Echo's ears to perk up in response to the high frequency pitch Dusk called to him in, and the batpony quickly turned to Anon, a smile on his face.

"It's only about another two hundred hooves ahead! Let's get out of this swamp." Echo called, flapping his wings to lead the pack.

The trio hurried through the ever rising waters, Anon having to run high-knee through the water while Javelin and Tempest struggled beside him. Suddenly, the water level rose sharply, lifting both Javelin and Tempest from the ground for a moment before their gear dragged them both back down underwater. As Anon saw their heads disappear under the surface, he struggled to stay upright, himself. The sudden rush of water threw him off balance, but luckily the water level was still low enough for him to keep his head above the waterline.

As Anon rushed to his companions, Tempest's head broke the water, her mane now slicked down over her face and cheeks as she gasped for breath before being dragged under once more. Anon quickly waded over to her and grabbed a hold of her barrel, heaving her up and out of the water just enough for her head to break the surface. She quickly caught her breath as Javelin came out of the water just a second later, his forelegs desperately paddling to get some buoyancy with all his gear weighing him down.

"Echo!" Anon shouted, struggling to make his way to Javelin.

If there was one thing Anon was grateful for, it was how mercifully light ponies were compared to humans. Though Tempest was wearing all her gear and was larger than any normal unicorn, she was still light enough for Anon to carry with one arm under her barrel while she paddled along with him. The two of them swiftly reached Javelin, where Anon grabbed him in much the same way, keeping the stallion's head above water while he gasped for breath.

Before any of them could express their gratitude, a wave of water washed through the swamp, knocking Anon off of his feet and plunging them all into the water once more. Anon struggled to right himself, the act just that much more difficult with two flailing ponies in his arms, but much to his surprise, he suddenly felt himself being pulled to the surface. As Anon, Tempest, and Javelin's heads broke the water once more, they saw the two thestrals flapping their wings while desperately tugging on Anon's rucksack.

"Give us your gear! Use the trees for balance and keep going! We're almost at the coast!" Dusk barked.

The three of them quickly nodded and ditched their gear, allowing both thestrals to take it. Between their own saddlebags, and the addition of over a hundred pounds more, Dusk and Echo struggled to stay airborne, but managed to fly off ahead, allowing Anon, Javelin, and Tempest to swim in the deep water. They hugged the trees around them for stability while the rushing water cascaded around them, threatening to sweep them away.

The going was hard and foreboding, but thankfully short. Within minutes, they found themselves at the natural wall of trees that normally acted as a tsunami wall for the swamp. Now acting as a dam to keep the water level high with fresh water, it took all of the group's strength to fight the swirling water as it crashed against the wall.

"Come on! Over here!" Echo called, landing on the edge of the wall.

As Dusk landed beside him, both thestrals doffed their saddlebags and dumped everyone else's gear, allowing them to shave as much weight as possible. They took back to the sky just as Anon, Tempest, and Javelin reached the wall beneath them. They both glided down to help Anon, but just as they tried to assist him in climbing up, he shoo'd them away.

"Get these two up there. I can climb this." Anon ordered.

"Anon, now's not the time to put yourself in any more danger! We need to get you out of here first!" Dusk shot back.

"I have hands. I can climb this. Get them up there, now!" Anon barked, leaving no room for debate.

Though it was clear he didn't like it, Dusk relented and moved over to Tempest while Echo grabbed Javelin. Both thestrals wrapped their forelegs around their respective unicorn and took to the air. The struggle to lift a full grown pony was even more than lifting their saddlebags, but as they slowly ascended, both bat ponies and cargo found their eyes locked on Anon as he started climbing.

The wall stood nearly three times Anon's height, though he seemed hardly fazed as he used the spindly roots to climb higher and higher. In fact, he was able to scale the wall so quickly and efficiently, that he reached the top before either thestral could. Anon laid down beside his rucksack, limbs sprawled in all directions as he caught his breath, only glancing over as Dusk and Echo set Javelin and Tempest on the roots beside him. With the danger now passed, the quintet all found themselves laying on the ground, panting for breath.

"Anon?" Javelin asked, between heavy breaths.

"Yeah, bud?" Anon replied.

"You're never picking the route again." Javelin responded.

Both Dusk and Echo voiced their agreement. Even Tempest nodded along as Anon rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, fair enough. I'll give you that one." He relented.

For a few minutes longer, the five of them laid on their backs, all gazing up at the rainclouds overhead while they were pelted with moisture. Not that they felt it much, as all of them were completely soaked through regardless. Soon enough, however, Anon sat upright, letting out a groan as he did.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys, but I don't really wanna have to sit out here in the rain all night. Let's get to Hoof City and take a hot shower." Anon announced.

"Here here." Echo agreed, rolling over and getting to his hooves.

"That sounds quite nice right about now." Tempest admitted, getting to her hooves as well.

Quick enough, the five of them were adorned in all of their sopping wet gear once more. They walked along the tree-line, using its natural formation to avoid the waist-deep waters to their left, and the ten foot deep waters to their right. Unlike any of their previous progress, there was a distinct ease to the travel, and soon enough they found themselves reaching the end of the swamp. The dense, overgrown foliage of the swamp soon gave way to open plains and soft grass that only reached up to Anon's knee.

With a sigh of relief the group walked through the grass, quickly finding themselves walking along the coastline. The grass gave way to a sandy beach that stretched as far as the eye could see, but much more importantly than the grass, they saw Hoof City come into view. The weary group pushed forward with a spike of motivation from the sight of their goal, and after just a couple more hours of walking alongside an admittedly pretty coastline, the arrived at the city entrance.

The initial reaction upon seeing their prince was one of disbelief, but as it became all too apparent that it was indeed Anon entering their city, the ponies of Hoof City quickly swarmed. Another wave of excited ponies all rushing to meet and greet their prince hit the wall that was Javelin, Dusk, and Echo, all but forcing them all against a wall.

"Prince Anon! I can't believe you're here!" A mare cried out.

"We love you!" Another shouted.

"Put a foal in me! I wanna be royalty too!" A third exclaimed.

"Guys, guys, I appreciate the welcome, really I do-" Anon tried to announce, his voice barely registering in the sea of boisterous voice all cheering and chanting his name, "-but me and the guys here have been through a lot the past couple of days and we kinda just want to take a break at our hotel."

With that, Anon continued onward, Dusk, Echo, and Javelin having to hold back the crowd while Tempest moseyed alongside Anon as if she were royalty as well. Though the arrangement clearly annoyed the three stallions, they said nothing as they were too preoccupied to even begin to converse about it. Though, that didn't last too long as the ponies around them began to notice the mulberry unicorn with a broken horn as well.

"Who is that!?"

"That's a mare! A unicorn mare!"

"Alright, that's enough. All of you please disperse. The prince has requested peace and quiet as he retires to his hotel for the evening. Please go back to your homes, now!" Javelin announced.

"Is she his newest mare!? Her!? I'm so much prettier than her!"

"Does she have a mohawk? Ew..."

"Surely he can do better than a unicorn with a broken horn?"

Though she said nothing, Tempest winced ever so slightly at the mares words. Javelin, Dusk, and Echo were too preoccupied with the crowd to see, but standing just beside her, Anon noticed it immediately.

"Hey!" Anon shouted, his voice so loud and startling that the entire crowd was stunned into silence.

"I don't know who just said that, but that's fucked up. Don't say shit like that to her again." Anon sternly announced, casting a disapproving glare over the crowd.

As he was finding in most cases with ponies, just a disappointed tone from someone they respected, was enough to turn nearly all of them into the saddest, most pitifully adorable creatures he'd ever seen. All of their ears splayed back and nearly all of them held their heads low as dozens of hushed apologies were uttered. Nodding at their response, Anon turned and headed forward, a stunned Tempest struggling to move after him. After a polite nudge from Dusk, she hurried along, and soon enough they all found themselves at the hotel.

The Mareiott hotel entrance was beautifully maintained with polished marble floors and clear class doors that allowed a litany of light to brighten the foyer. Ponies trotted back and forth, all dressed in some measure of high class formal wear as they headed out for dinner or to some kind of party for the night. So it was with muted shock that they all observed Anon and his group enter the establishment, all of them dripping from the rain and swamp and covered in a measure of muck.

Anon walked up to the front desk, finding the unicorn stallion sitting there to be utterly bewildered by the sight before him. He wore a professional maroon suit and had a neatly trimmed mustache on his golden face. He wore a small black bellhop hat atop his head that covered his deep brown mane, just above two blood-orange eyes. From his stature, he was clearly partly saddle arabian.

"G-good evening, Prince Anon. Welcome to the Mareiot! I-I will have your belongings brought up to your suite right away!" The stallion hastily greeted, summoning his golden magic to bring out a cart for them all.

"Thanks. It's been... a long couple of days." Anon admitted with a chuckle.

One by one, Anon and his group threw their gear onto the cart, before allowing the stallion to hurriedly pass out room cards to each of them and roll their luggage over to the elevator. They all filed into an elevator of their own, and soon reached their floor. As they reached the suite, all five of them let out small sighs of relief as the prospect of a hot shower and comfy beds awaited them.

Somehow, possessing the speed and grace that only a Bellhop could, their greeter already had their luggage deposited in the center of the room as Anon unlocked the door and entered. The rest of the group trailed after him, a series of sighs escaping them as they found the relaxing and comfortable suite to be even grander than expected.

At two stories tall, the suite was more like a small house, having several rooms for the group to stay in for the night. The master bedroom was on the second floor, and from what little Anon could see as he entered, it looked extravagant. The living room was furnished with a large, plush couch that sat on a large Yakyakistan fur carpet. The floor itself was made of the same polished white marble that the entrance way was and reflected the bright white lights hanging from the chandelier to make the gold accents all over the room stand out just that much more.

Javelin let out a low whistle, "You know, I think this place is even fancier than the castle."

Anon nodded, "Celly told me it's good to keep the castle fancy but not too fancy. Makes it feel like when we go away somewhere that's even fancier, it actually feels like a vacation or upgrade." He explained, making his way to his rucksack.

"Well, can't argue with her there. She would know, after all." Dusk shrugged.

"After a thousand years of being a princess? Yeah, she should know." Anon chuckled.

"What are the room arrangements for tonight?" Tempest asked, making all of the males in the room glance over to her.

"Don't think-" Javelin began.

"There's four guest bedrooms here aside from the master bedroom. So each of you gets your own room for the night." Anon explained, hefting his rucksack onto his back.

Tempest gave a curt but grateful nod as she grabbed her saddlebags, "If that's the case, then I'll be in my room." She announced, before heading to one of the large bedroom doors just past the large entertainment area.

As Anon moved to make his way upstairs, Javelin quickly trotted over to his side and halted him with a hoof against his thigh, "Anon, are you sure serious? We can't just leave her in her own room unwatched." He protested, quietly.

Anon shook his head, "Well as much as I'd like to just sleep through the night, that's why we're still doing guard shifts tonight. She's not leaving the room without any of us noticing cause one of us will be up at all times." He explained.

Javelin bit his lip but released his hold on Anon's pantleg, "What if she tries to escape through one of the windows?"

Anon raised an eyebrow, "And goes where? We're on the thirty seventh floor, bud."

Javelin shrugged, "I don't know, dude... but I still don't trust her. She's been pretty accommodating so far but who knows how far that goes. She can still stab us in the back at any moment. I'm just worried you might be getting a bit too comfortable with her already." He cautioned.

"Too comfortable? Jav, dude we haven't even made it out of Equestria yet. If she somehow escapes, we've got the authority to shut down the border and start a manhunt that could find Amelia Earhart." Anon shot back, one brow raising in confusion.

All three stallions tilted their heads to the side, "Who?" They asked in unison.

Anon sighed, "Never mind, never mind. Human reference. Point is, we'll be fine. All of you go shower and get some rest. Jav, since you're so concerned, you can take the first shift and keep an eye on her."

Javelin rolled his eyes, "I'm just looking out for you, Anon. Don't forget who she is and what she was going to do to your family."

Anon patted Javelin's head, "I know, and I appreciate it, bud. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." He replied, before turning away and ascending the staircase.

As Anon entered his bedroom, he found himself standing before a massive, king sized mattress that was covered in silken sheets as well as a thick, fluffy comforter that could only be made of the same Yakyanisatan fur the rug downstairs was comprised of. More importantly than that, however, was the sight of the bathroom, and the large, inviting shower inside. Closing the door behind him, Anon let out a heavy sigh and set about dumping everything out of his rucksack. He made sure to lay everything out on the ground in such a way that it would all have time to dry come the morning.

The process took the better part of an hour, as literally everything inside was waterlogged and soppy with swamp water. More than a few leeches or rotting pieces of greenery found their way into the crevices of Anon's pack, making the process of removing them all and flushing them down the toilet just that much more arduous. Mercifully, the work was completed in a relatively simple and quick fashion. Once Anon's clothing was all laid out to dry, he stripped from what he was still wearing and headed into the shower.

A quick turn of the knob made enchanted rainwater spill from the literal cloud connected to his ceiling over the shower, and hot water washed down upon him in seconds. The longer Anon stayed in Equestria, the more he found himself loving clouds and all their uses.

The hot water washed away the previous couple day's fatigue and stress, leaving him with just the sleepiness of having traveled dozens of miles in such short time. Though his physical stress was cleansed by the warm rainwater, the mental stress lingered, and Anon couldn't help but find himself worrying over Javelin's words as he showered.

Maybe I am being a bit too lenient with her... after all, she was going to turn my wives into stone..

Author's Note

There we go, people. We made it to Hoof City! Now we just need to get out of Equestria... who'd have thought that part would take so damn long?