The whole cavern went silent. This one single human ended up transforming into some kind of strange creature of his own, and it looked physically capable. One of the warriors ran towards it, ready to swing down some kind of axe upon the canine's head, only to be enveloped by a beam of freezing cold slush and snow. The warrior was trapped and encased in ice, and the canine lifted the frozen warrior up above its head.

"I'm feelin' real frosty right now, and you all need to chill!" The beast threw the frozen warrior back at them, knocking several of them back as the ice shattered to pieces. The canine howled again and lunged towards Xa'Vine, claws ready to strike. "Hope you were prepared for another ice age!"

The beast was about to strike Xa'Vine with its claws, only for the soldiers to get in the way, tanking the hits as best as they could. They were impenetrable, but this beast was on some other level. Their defenses were at their best, but the beast was chipping away at them, cutting through their armor as if it were wet clay. The beast's ears perked up, hearing something being drawn, and instinctively leapt into the air, only to hear the soldiers he was trying to get through had been stuck in their guts with arrows.

The beast whipped around and fired out another powerful beam of ice towards where the arrows could've originated, hearing numerous faint, but still clear indications of panic as several archers fled their posts. A fierce and aggressive scream rang out, and before the beast could react, Xa'Vine had jumped towards the beast, with a huge hammer in hand, only it was ignited in a blistering flame.

"Now this's what I call turning up the heat, but let's see you match the fires of Tartarus!!" Xa'Vine roared out, slamming the fiery weapon down onto the canine, sending it careening down through the wooden platform, causing the remaining warriors to fall helplessly to the bottom. The beast growled, and began to dig his claws into the rocky wall, stopping his descent, and fired numerous large spheres of slush, snow and ice towards the ground, encompassing everything in a cold, but cushiony blanket for the falling warriors to land upon. "You saved my people, but that doesn't mean I'll let you off easy!"

"Funny, I forgot the part where that's my problem!" The beast roared as it began to scale the walls and leap towards Xa'Vine, tackling her to the stone platforms along the wall. "You're not bad, but like you said, I gotta earn my right to leave. Something tells me it's gotta be Mano-a-Mano!"

"I prefer these odds, it just means I can have the pleasure of making an example out of you, all to myself!" Xa'Vine reaches underneath one of per pelts, pulling out a dagger, the blade was jagged and red, and she thrust it forward, trying to stab the creature in the side, only for the sound of snapping metal to be heard. The dagger's blade had snapped in half, rendering it useless. "My favorite dagger!"

Xa'Vine managed to find a way to overpower the beast and sat up, kicking it in the head as it skid across the rock, lying right on the edge below the cold cushion he created. Xa'Vine got up and grabbed her hammer, the flames re-igniting as she walked forward.

"You put up quite the fight, little man, you even managed to get me to use my finest weapon on you, I can respect that," Xa'Vine raised the hammer above her head, ready to make the final blow. "But, like all things in life that are good, they eventually have an end. I gave you your last request, but do you have any last words?"

"Just four..." The beast's eyes snapped open, glowing red as the ice on its back shifted and formed into a thin needle of ice. Before Xa'Vine can react, the needle rises up at blistering speed, puncturing her shoulder as she begins to fall unconscious, and trapped within a pillar of ice. The beast gets up and smirks, "Beast defeats Princess... Checkmate."

With what little consciousness Xa'Vine has, she scowls, but immediately smiles before becoming fully trapped in ice, in a state of unconsciousness. The beast picks up the frozen Xa'Vine and looks over at the array of tunnels, as well as that Za'rr individual, who seemed to be standing in front of a room, trying to seem intimidating to the beast.

'Well, better leave, but not before putting her in the right hands,' The beast thought, knowing he can't just lug some frozen princess warrior all over the place. The beast walks over to Za'rr, who has a slightly broken spear in-hand, ready to fight. The beast sets the frozen Xa'Vine down in front of Za'rr, and backs away slowly. "I believe she's better off with you, probably." The beast states.

Before Za'rr could say anything, the device began to flash red in rapid succession, before enveloping the canine creature in a red light. In the beast's place, was Leon, who seemed rather overwhelmed by what just occurred. Za'rr looked back at the frozen Xa'Vine, then back at the human. Za'rr raised his hand up and Leon thought he was gonna get hit and braced himself, only to feel a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Leon Derrickson." Za'rr stated, taking a knee before the human, who was more confused now than he was earlier. "Allow me to give you some context, if I may be allowed to."

"I feel like I'm in dire need of a lot of context, so yeah, let me have it," Leon looked back, seeing several of the warriors looking towards him, kneeling. "What in the hell are they doing?"

"It's tradition. Those who defeat the strongest, or the leader amongst our tribe in combat, the victor of the fight is dubbed as the strongest, our Champion." Za'rr begins, "It all predates back to the darkest age of our people, The Age of Impure Purity. It started when our former leader, now retired and under constant watch and care of several of our strongest mages and doctors, former King Xa'Phurr the Second."

Leon sat down on a rock and continued to listen to Za'rr's explanation.

"There was a devastating disease, only able to affect our kind, the Ōkugoburajinn... We dubbed it, 'The Infliction from Tartarus'. It affected mainly our species, as all other species seemed very unaffected by our illness. So many of our ancestors were affected by this illness, that the illness itself has become ingrained into our very beings as the generations went on, and we soon became unable to produce pure Ōkugoburajinn offspring," Za'rr moved aside one of his armored shoulderguards, revealing some kind of disfiguration in his green-ish brown skin, showing it to be more wrinkled, scabbed over, and gray, not even to mention cold to the touch. "I was one of the very few of my kind to be born pure, and not perish to the disease, but it soon became clear that we would not be so lucky next time."

"That's horrible!" Leon stated, visibly mortified by such a tale. "How did such a disease even come to exist!? You'd have to be a prodigy level Virologist to make something as awful and as vile as that!"

"We never found out, and we still don't know how it originated, or where it's creation started, but it's why some of us have been gathering folk, much of them just travelers, like you, to assist us in our cause, to keep our kind from dying out too soon," Za'rr gestured to Xa'Vine. "Princess Xa'Vine was the first and only successful cross-bred Ōkugoburajinn offspring to be born into our tribe. As such, she inherited many traits from us, but also inherited strength and experience from the brood mother she was born from."

"That's incredible, and very terrifying now that I think about it," Leon let the information sink in, realizing that it may be a bit more complicated to just find directions back home, but to also try and stay alive. "So, that's why numerous other walks of life are here? They aren't slaves, their willing participants?"

"Of course, but the number of willing participants has dwindled in recent years, due to how much more aggressive, ferocious and demanding the princess was becoming. We suspected it was because of her other half, and it pushed us down a road of having to be more intimidating," Za'rr seemed to sound disappointed by such a thing happening in the first place, and Leon felt just as bad for them. He initially thought they were just gonna be aggressive and intimidating, but that was just Xa'Vine. Guess it makes sense now, as to how that first Ōkugoburajinn reacted to her words in his presence. "She only got colder, craftier, and crueler by the passing hour."

"Once we explain to the king that his daughter has gone rogue, but was stopped and defeated in combat, I'm sure he will realize that there is much to be done, in the ways of spreading our message across the Farlands of Equestria," Leon kept that last word in mind. So that's where he was, Equestria. Now if only he knew where such a place actually was on a map. "Forgive me, I was just letting everything sink in. Finally free from the princess's cruel reign, I never thought I'd see such a day arise, and all because of you, Leon Derrickson."

"Maybe save your praise for someone who deserves it, sir," Za'rr looked at the human, seeming rather surprised by his rejection of praise and thanks. "I'm just trying to find a way back home, and your aggressive princess was being a serious inconvenience. One moment I'm in my storm shelter, my home is being torn to pieces by said storm I'm hiding from, then I wake up in a small wooded area, near a cliff face, and get kidnapped by your princess. I'm still trying to comprehend what exactly happened to me, I was a werewolf. A Werewolf, for god sakes. With ice powers, no less!"

"Yes, though it seemed like you were quite experienced with becoming such a creature," Za'rr stated. "To think that this was your first time using such a power with such grace, and tactical precision, such ferocity, yet you showed some care for a bunch of warriors who were trying to kill you. Sure, some were injured, but you still made an attempt to save them from plummeting to the ground."

"I'm a monster... no, I'm something worse than a monster! What am I?! How did I even end up in a place called Equestria?! Is there any way I can even get back home!?" Leon exclaimed, his panicking becoming apparent.

"Fear not, human freer of tyranny! I believe we may have some supplies for you, something to help keep you going if you do intend to leave. I believe the nearest city is to the right, when you get back to the surface. The moment you get out of the cave, and stand at the entrance, you need to go right. Once you see a city full of dapper westerneers, you'll know you finally reached the city of Appleloosa," Za'rr walked over to a chest and fished out a dusty brown rucksack, dusting it off as he handed it to him, as well as packing a few fruits, glass bottles filled with water, and handing Leon a light and rusty, but still pretty efficient broadsword. He was also handed another book, one that had numerous routes marked along the paths. "Hopefully you won't get lost along the way."

Judging by the distance of this cavern and Appleloosa, which was about four pages long, Leon was in for a hell of a trek. "Oh, speaking of not getting lost, I have an old friend in Appleloosa by the name of Crisp Core, you should be able to find them easily at the Salt Lick Platoon. He can assist you in finding out more about your sudden transformation, and how that watch on your wrist may be connected to it." Za'rr added.

Leon was truly flabbergasted. He took a moment to look over everything. He was given food, water, a means of navigation, something to hold the items he'd probably need later, a weapon to defend himself. Surely there was a catch to all of this.

"I don't have any money, and I don't think if I did, the money I had wouldn't be enough to cover for all of this." Leon stated, genuinely surprised by how much he was given. "I can't take this."

"Of course you can, after all, no one can survive out there without the proper tools. We don't have those said tools, but this'll help you get to where you should be going to obtain those tools, it's the least we can do, you did defeat our tyrannical and aggressive leader, after all, and with little to no experience under your belt, too!" Za'rr took a knee once more. "Leon Derrickson, from lands unknown, you've freed us, showed us the path we were strayed from and defeated the princess, now that we can venture back on that path we were led off of so long ago, we, the entirety of the Ōkugoburajinn tribe, are forever in your debt."

"I appreciate the gesture, but it's really no trouble at all, I'm glad that I could help, even if I had no clue about your situation until now. I'll at least be thankful for what you've given me." Leon took a knee, as a way of showing his gratitude for the supplies given to him. "I guess I better get going. Feel free to give your king my best wishes, and my condolences."

Leon quickly walked away, clutching the sword in his hand as the various inhabitants cheered for their strange heroic savior. Leon never liked feeling praise, let alone receiving any praise, but he was at least glad to help out, no matter how unorthodox and unexpected his plan and the results that came from it were. He waved back and said his farewells to Un'Drr Village, and began to make the trek back up to the surface.

[Un'Drr Village Cavern Entryway; XXXX; 10:42 PM]

After a few long hours of walking up a few spiraling rocky ramps, Leon finally made his way back to the surface, standing in the entryway as he looked up at the night sky, a crescent moon that glowed a fluorescent lime-green color. For a moment, Leon could feel as if his physical stamina was back to peak strength, and almost felt endless.

"Okay, Za'rr said I have to go right to get to Appleloosa, and Appleloosa is in some kind of rocky desert place, according to the map, and considering the path to Appleloosa is four pages long," Leon took a minute to do some kind of math in his head, and eventually came to a conclusion. "I'm in for a devastatingly long journey... maybe on the way, I can try getting used to this watch, maybe see what other things I can turn into. I'll have to write some stuff down though, and that's why I have the other journal... that manifested out of nowhere, as did this watch."

Leon decided to question the origins of the book filled with black pages and the origins of the watch another day, preferably tomorrow afternoon, and proceeded to start walking. He twisted the dial on the device, noticing that its cyan color had been replaced by a neon red color, all while letting out low tone beeping noises.

"Must be out of juice. Whoever or whatever made this thing, it is advanced," Leon marveled at the device, noticing that it was bulky in design, but felt like it fit him perfectly. He also noticed that he was getting more used to the weight of the device, to the point where it's beginning to feel lighter upon moving. "I wonder if this thing needs like some kind of special charger, or something."

Leon kept on examining the device, feeling the smooth, yet durable material it was crafted with. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen, it was incredible, in its own ways. He took a minute to look around, noticing that it was getting a bit harder to look around. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to set up camp for the night." Leon stated.

He fished out a bottle of water and one of the apples from his rucksack and sat down against one of the birch trees, slowly snacking away as he got some nutrients and energy back into his body, and prepared to sleep till morning. At least, if it wasn't for the sound of something running towards him. Leon jumped up and grabbed the sword from his sack, readying it as he braced himself for whatever monster was about to jump out at him.

What he wasn't ready for, however, was that biped man-goat creature he saw hours ago, roaring out as it crashed through the trees, slamming its horns into the rocky wall in front of it. Upon further inspection of the creature, it had one singular giant eye as it looked around. Leon immediately tucked the sword back into the sack, as well as abandoning what was left of his apple, but he did save the bottle. He hid behind one of the trees, witnessing the beast slam its head against the rocks with incredible force, roaring out as it let out monstrous goat sounds mixed with guttural roars.

'Ok, I'm in trouble, and a sword ain't gonna get me out of it... I don't think I can even outrun this monster, not unless this watch wants to decide to throw me a bone this time,' Leon thought, looking back and forth from the monster and the watch on his wrist. Eventually, the red glow was replaced by a cyan color, indicating that things were back in working order. 'Yes! Just what I needed, now to just--'

There was a shrill scream out of nowhere, one that attracted the attention of the monster, causing it to run down the path. At first, Leon was fine with the beast being distracted, but he didn't feel good knowing that someone else could end up in some serious trouble if the beast finds them.

"Out of one dangerous fight, and into the next..." Leon sighed, running down the path as he heard the screams echo out more. Leon called out as loud as he could, hoping to get the screaming person's attention, "Hang on, help's on the way!!"

Author's Note

Figured I'd make this Equestria more expansive, wild, untamed, brimming with life other than the lifeforms that have been seen within the canonicity of the show, and its comics.