Dearest Anonymous, Let Me Be

Chapter 22: ARC 1 - The Lost Princess

In the middle of a forest, a tiny winged pony is galloping with its hooves along the narrow path and towards the east. When it saw the mountainous terrain ahead, it started to flap its white wings, the same color of its mane and flew above the mountains.

The sun was about to peek on the horizon, its rays were starting to eradicate both the darkness and the cold that the night brought, encouraging and pleasing anyone who laid their eyes upon the sun's grand entry into the world, signaling another start for a new day.

The tiny horse, while flying in a rush, saw another one of its mates below. A huge white ostrich with two heads was noticeably trekking the mountains while carrying a basket of freshly picked fruits in its both beaks, its body size the same as that of an average cow. Similar to the tiny winged pony, the huge ostrich was also in a race towards the east.

However, the winged pony was faster as it had wings that help it fly quicker along with the wind. When it passed the mountains, it saw an enormous clearing. What once stood an entire kingdom, the East Kingdom, is now a land full of green grasses and rows of a kind of strange flower that only showed itself after the fires.

What was once a ruined kingdom full of phantom knights and beasts lurking in every street, now has become a garland of white blooms that sparkled under the daylight.

The white flower, the first of its kind, has five round white petals and its red nectar even looks sweet. Each one of them is a delicate work of art. Its sweet fragrance strangely puts anyone who breathes it in into a good mood. However, what makes it the more stranger is that during the night, the color on its center travels through the petals, painting its entirety with the color of glowing red. These rows of glowing red flowers, together, create an illusion and fills the night sky with a red light as if the ground was on fire.

The winged pony made a sound as it circled the clearing for a while to admire the fantastic scenery before going straight into its destination, which is a cave on one side of the mountain that faced the direction of the fallen kingdom.

The cave was enormous but it was hidden under layers of inconspicuous vines. It flew past the vines and into the cave, through the tunnels, and towards the other end.

When it was about to reach the opening, it closed its eyes shut for a while to adjust to the light, and as soon as it opened its eyes once again, it saw a huge city underground.

The light from the sun didn't reach the ground under the lands of the east but the lights scattered around it made it look as if numerous stars were gathered here to illuminate the darkness under.

Human settlements can be seen everywhere that stretched as far as its eyes can see, with a few beasts in every corner, and several white creatures that were scattered amongst the humans, living together in harmony and peace. What was once a group of people who were oppressed and turned into slaves has become people who sing songs of hope, full of vigor and vitality. What was once enemies, people and beasts that didn't come together before, has now lived in unity as if they grew together.

The winged pony was pleased to hear the laughter and singing of the beings under the ground. He looked back to the opening and it saw the ostrich that just arrived. The ostrich went directly to its human companion and gave the basket so the pony didn't bother to greet its mate. Besides, it had better things to do.

White tents filled the underground city as temporary settlements. The pony saw the humans working together, either to cook food, wash their dirty laundry, heal the wounds of others, and greet those who just arrived.

The underground city is filled with tents that had expanded as years went on. It wasn't just a simple city, it was a community.

The pony then looked ahead and saw a different looking tent at the farthest corner from the opening. Unlike the white tents, the tent ahead was black in color. That is where its destination.