//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Joyful Woods and Gloomy Halls 
// Story: A New Wheel 
// by Northern Desert 
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	While the idea of diving head first into the unknown world was a fascinating, it may have been wise if the Yveltal had not taken a map, maybe wait for the storm to end. Oh...and maybe not grab the now furious Xerneas who looked ready to Moonblast the ever living crap out of him. It was a rash move, and it may have been best to let the alicorn sisters exposition more so they could learn who they might have to deal with and where they might be heading, but at the same time it would truly rob away the sense of unexpected danger that had currently filled the avian of death with so much adrenaline. 

“Philip, let me go you featherbrained twat!” The ever clean mouthed and pure Xerneas yelled against the gales that nearly deafened her words. She struggled a bit, her legs kicking in frustration as her ‘partner’ carried her across the ocean of trees.

        “Oh come now, my dear deer,” Philip replied with smugness dripping from his voice. He may have been enjoying the certain state of affairs too much, certainly too much for his own health anyways. “This is, by far, the fastest form of travel. There is no way we could cover this ground without me!” He bragged, set on displaying his usefulness already.

        Xerneas was not impressed, not one bit. “But now we are way off course!” She groaned, facehoofing and her tail twitched a bit. “Okay...we need to be looking out for small towns, that is where most will go to hide” She said, scanning the forest below. “Give Celestia as much credit as you want, she can’t afford to station troops all over this place, that was what the changelings were for.”

        He seemed to join in the search, looking for small pockets of populated towns. While it was hard to believe that there were any Celestia had no knowledge of, it was understandable why she couldn’t afford to keep guards so spread out. Various key aspects such as constantly supplying the guards, keeping track of their progress, and especially paying them to be somewhere away from their homes and family were...difficult.

        This didn’t stop the Yveltal from sighing in frustration and impatience, not sure whether he should admit he was wrong and give the deer Pokemon the satisfaction or keep up the rather calm act he had going on. “Okay...so I may have been a bit too hot-headed--” he had started to admit his flaws before Xerneas let out a small bark of anger.

        “A bit?” She asked with an incredulous look, glaring at in. “Take us to the ground, now.” Her voice was stern, cold, commanding. As much as the Yveltal wanted to act unphased by her rather commanding demeanor, natural instinct kicked in...and let’s face it, she was thousand of years old and was far more skilled in her abilities and body the Philip was.

        “Al--right!” squawked in surprise, slowly lowering her to the ground and touching down himself, giving her a slightly nervous look. Shuffling a bit as his wings rested against his side firmly. 

        Xerneas extended a hoof, her expression was hard to read as she simply stood there in front of him. “Map, now.” She demanded, her voice a mixture of emotions. This only worried the avian even more as he handed her the map. She grabbed it with her Psychic and looked over it, humming thoughtfully for a moment. “It seems that while we were heading in the wrong direction--” Gives Philip a rather disappointed glare, causing him to in turn to back away a bit, “--You did manage to lead us on a path that will let us be able to reach the towns much quicker than expected.” With a motion of her foreleg, she told him to look at the map.

        Stretching his neck, he leaned over to eye the map. He could see her pointing to a mountain range that was in between their current location and that of an outskirt town in Equestria. Letting out a sigh of relief, he gave her a big smirk and straightened himself, posing a bit.

        “I think someone owes me an apology,” The avain of death chirped smugly, his tail wagging a bit in triumph. This, of course, earned a snort from Xerneas who instead turned around and walked off to their current destination “...You know, this lack of love and encouragement is damaging to my growth..” He grumbled, following her with a slightly down expression.

        Xerneas rolled her eyes to that statement, obviously not moved by her hinderment to the avian’s usually good mood. With a sigh, they trek onwards and walked down a dirt road that winded down the forest path. Every time Yveltal’s foot touched the ground and caused even the smallest of decay, her own aura restored it. A look of worry came across her face, though with her back to the other legendary he himself could not see it. It was a troubling fact and slight guilt stabbed at her heart. 

        Philip had no desire of retiring from his peaceful island and he had many plans for the place he came to love the most. The Yveltal sadly had to in order to go through training and now help her with this most recent screw up. Xerneas had no idea why she felt bad for him, maybe it was because he was growing less and less cheerful as they treaded down the road. With a sudden glint in her eyes, she turned around and smiled at him.

        “...Yeah?” The avian seemed awfully confused by the look she gave him. It was a rare oddity for him thus far, his wings flapping in agitation. She continued to beam at him, making him shuffle with a puzzled look. It didn’t creep him out, obviously, nor did it worry him. While he wouldn’t say that he never imagined her smiling...he didn’t ever expect it to really occur around him.

        “Oh, well…” Xerneas’ eyes trail to see him try and gather a bouquet of flowers. Unfortunately for him, they would wilt before he could really get to feel and smell the flowers. “...You like flowers?” She asked out of the blue, catching the avian off guard.

        “Y--eah,” Philip nodded his head in slight embarrassment. His powers had become more...sporadic once he encountered the Elements. It constantly made him fearful of what would happen to ponies given time. “I do actually...but everything I touch just...wilts away…” The Deer of Life shook her head to that and smiled warmly, now realizing they had something in common. 

        “Well then,” Xerneas hummed, stopping and looking over at a river bank. At it was a bountiful and beautiful grove of flowers and animals dwelled. “Here...let me get you a welcoming gift.” She said, remembering that out of everyone she was the only one who wasn’t very active at his welcoming party. 

        The Yveltal seemed awfully puzzled now, unsure on what to say. Of course he had experienced kindness, brought him back to his time with all his friend back at his kingdom. However, he never expected this level of care from Xerneas. She had made it pretty clear that she was not his greatest fan.

        “Um...gift, for me?” The avian seemed startled by this, not sure what to say. His wings flapped anxiously and Philip gave her a thoughtful look. “What do you have in mind?” It had grasped his curiosity, that was for sure.

The deer smirked, cockily if one might add, and walked over to the grove. She seemed to glow a faint light, the rainbowish color leaving her antlers and circling the grove and infusing the wildlife with a powerful and stunning aura. It overpowered any chill or bleakness Yveltal could muster and in doing so, he became awed by the ability. Walking over, she picked one of the flowers. It was a white rose, snowy white, pure and innocent. Taking the flower over to Yveltal, smirking still, she presented it to him.
“Try this, Yveltal,” She said with confidence, smiling at him. This caused the avian to hesitate, unsure on what to do. With great confusion, he leaned his head down for her to reach.

“You do know this will just...die, right?” Philip asked her with worry. The flowers was beautiful, alluring. It was something he so desperately didn’t want to kill. To rob Xerneas of her hard work. His wings flapped nervously and he seemed hesitant.

Xerneas shook her head disapprovingly, “Really, Yveltal--” she said with a raised eyebrow, “--I would hope you didn’t see me as inept.” Puts the rose in his feathery ruff. Instead of dying, it seemed to glow and illuminate with life. 

        Staring at it, Philip had no words. Which was probably Xerneas’ intention, as she walked off as soon as he looked down with a dumbfounded look. Soon smiling, however, he chirps cheerfully and follows the deer and looking around to see the usual decay no longer present. The flower seemed to counter his deathly aura, causing immense delight for the avian.

“...Thanks Xerneas,” The Yveltal catches up alongside her with a thankful look. For the first time in a bit, he didn’t feel afraid of himself or for others. Everything just...boiled down to the moment he was currently in. The future and the past blown away into the wind.

        With a shake of her head, Xerneas chuckled softly and looked at Philip for the first time as one would a friend. Maybe it wouldn’t last, it was unsure...but all that mattered was the current moment. For the time being, the two could happily walk alongside each other as allies and friends. “Don’t thank me, Bird Brain…” She snickered softly, picking up her pace. Leaving behind two rows of glowing flowers and plant life.





        The torches blazed with fire, lighting the room faintly. Within the dim halls was a line of chairs made of stone. Shadowy figures sat down, silent and brooding as the hissing from the torches made up for their own silence. As the unsettling atmosphere continued, a slow howl seemed to come from outside the great hall and a trail of smoke seemed to snake into the room.

“Reeeeeeeport,” One of the seated beings ordered. His voice was deep, gargled, animalistic. Three white eyes glowed in the dark, staring down at the dark cloud before them. In return, the blob of black seemed to twist and turn for a moment.

“Tartarus has been breached and the selected candidates have been released,” The smoke hissed, its voice cut into the air like glass shards did a person. There was little care or compassion as it spoke. “The Guardians of the World Below have made their trek to the first candidate...the test will begin shortly…”

        Another long pause of silence followed. The cloud felt unsettled by this and twisted and churned violently. However, another being soon hissed with anger that was directed at the cloud. A chill took the room and all kept silent at the noise.

“Do not allow the candidates to survive,” Her voice was cold, unfeeling at the command. “They either die in battle, or die along and in the dark.” Others seemed to growl in agreement. The cloud saw no reason in arguing against this, it felt slight fear to even begin to question any order from her or the others.

“It shall be done…” the trail of smoke looked ready to leave, but paused in a sudden epiphany. With a mixture of hesitation and worry, it speaks up once more. “What about the Guardians of the World Below?” The cloud asked the golden question, everyone staying silent.

“If they prove to be more trouble than they are worth...eliminate them,” The icy voice answered firmly. It was a clear, undisputable command. Something that caused a rather dark chuckle to come from the bodiless cloud. It was something that valued a challenge, it thrived on excitement. And now...well, now it was being given something it fed off of.


And damn did it feel exhilarating!