The Problem with Portals, The Second Arc

by Albedo - 917

After a worthwile period of Albedo calmly researching the portal and taveling from world to world, trouble seems to pop up even beyond the corrupt Plumbers. A team of misfits in the middle of the merging of worlds.

4. A rather Equine conundrum

Alrighty, I feel I should clarify that I my absence was caused because I have started university. Whilst I was adjusting and getting a feel of things, I did not have much time to write. As such updates may become scarce but in my free time, I am still working on chapters so no worries there. Speaking of which, we are about to delve into the main part of the second Arc, which should be a lot longer than the prologue (Arc I) was, at least that is the plan anyway. All the current players are now set and in motion, all that is left for us to do is just to start it all. As such, without further ado:

P.S.: Jeff's favorite pastime is swearing.

Chapter 4: A rather Equine conundrum

Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.

A week has already passed by since Albedo, Ben, Rex and Charmcaster returned from a rather unforgiving wasteland... Or so Albedo thought at least since with time being at a standstill, it was getting significantly harder and harder to tell how much time was actually passing by. It was always the 30th of June. Perpetually. Nevertheless, even despite the circumstances, the alien was painstakingly tinkering away at the desk inside his room, only a desk lamp to accompany his progress, which provided a surprising amount of light.

'My word, this little thing is a lot more complex than I first thought.' he thought, scratching his head, a small smile on his face 'Though if I mean to toot my own horn it was made by an alternate version of me.' he added musingly as he tinkered away at the small cylindrical pencil like device in his hand. 'Or perhaps we just overcomplicate things as usual. Certainly would not surprise me.'

Indeed, the alien was hard at work on replicating the cloaking device his counterpart had showed him so generously not so long ago. Whilst his world was currently rather free from frequent otherworldly encounters besides the occasional portals that had opened up in their base curiously, the device itself would help them out tremendously in other realities should the situation arise. He had already experienced what it was like to be a human in a world that has never even heard the term not to mention seeing a live specimen, and suffice to say he did not want a repeat of it anytime soon. As he was lost in his thoughts however there was a rather forced knock on the door, progressively getting louder and rasher, almost playing on a rhythm. The door however wouldn't open to anyone right now, since a lock order was placed on it by its owner. Still Albedo could tell that if the door was not made from the strange metal found all over the base it would have broken off by now.

"Yo! You in there, you hermit?"

It was Jeff. His tone sounding rather irritated, the young man angrily paced around in front of the door, one hand in his pocket, visibly holding himself back from actually trying to bash the door down even with the knowledge that it would prove to be futile. Even with the eternal smile etched onto his face one could easily tell he was quite peeved, veins almost visible on his forehead but the reason for it was anyone's guess. It was Jeff after all.

"My, you are quite lively this morning." Albedo chuckled as he opened the door to come face to face with the eerie smile along with the unimpressed eyes glaring a hole through him.

"Dude, it's two in the afternoon." Jeff deadpanned, letting his hands fall as his left eye twitched in anger, at the statement causing Albedo's eyes to widen.

"My... Is it really?" Albedo awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "Seems I lost track of time whilst inside here."

Jeff looked past him and scoffed at the dimly lit room, "No shit. This room hasn't seen sunlight in ages man." he sighed as if he was scolding a child, a somewhat surprising reaction coming from him, "Are you still working on that little whatchamacallit thingy?"

"Indeed, but I am mostly applying the finishing touches now."

Jeff's eyes seemed to visibly light up, "You mean you will finally get out of the room in this decade?"

"You seem quite adamant on getting me out of here." Albedo mused with a light chuckle.

"Well, duh, whenever you are up and moving about that portal thing always appears!" Jeff stated matter-of-factly, which was soon followed by a laugh which also ended rather abruptly, "I. NEED. ADVENTURE." he punctuated each word by getting progressively closer to Albedo's face, and with him being a tad bit taller than the alien he was practically pushing him into the ground.

"I really want to refute that but it seems to be strangely accurate." Albedo sighed dejectedly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head whilst also gently pushing Jeff off of him.

"It's just something that literally pokes your eye out after a while." Jeff shrugged, "Most of the openings have been somehow related to you even before me from what I've heard. So, in a nutshell you're just super danger prone." he let out a short sigh, "Plus last time all of you left me here! Again!"

"To be fair to you, I sincerely doubt you would have liked to deal with Sandworms again Jeffery." Albedo declared with a small grin.

Jeff however immediately went silent, and after a couple of seconds gulped loudly, "O-on second thought, home was nice."

"Haha, figured as such." the alien smiled warmly.

"Anyways, if it means you'll finish faster, I won't keep ya." Jeff composed himself as he turned to leave.

"I shall try to be quick then. It should be ready by today."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we need to go somewhere by today then. That seems like a flag if I've ever seen one." Jeff added with a smirk as he walked away. "Just try to go without me." he added as he turned the corner.

"I would not dream of it." Albedo smiled as the door closed behind him.

'Aren't you... afraid?' a meek voice asked in his head as he was walking away. One Jeff was all too familiar with. 'At all?'

Jeff grinned warmly, "Hell no kid, that's your job." he silently added. "I'm not afraid of everything, which as it turns out is quite the detriment. I'm the dumbass that would get himself killed first chance if he could. You're here to keep me rational, remember?"

'Y-yeah, okay.' the voice of his younger self responded with a little more force, as if pumping himself up 'I'll try.'

"You won't have to try." Jeff reassured him, "You're a natural. Trust me. You've done great so far."

The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.

Jeff entered the Lounge, his hands in his pockets and his face grumpy, making his way slowly over to one of the couches. He practically jumped on the thing and put both legs onto the glass table in front of him as he let out a long sigh with a scoff. Letting his head hang back over the back of the couch, he looked up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

"So, what is it this time?" Ben chuckled knowingly as he walked up from behind him, causing the young man to look up at him with a raised eyebrow as if asking 'Seriously?'. "Hey, I think I told you he should come out when he's done. I also said 'I hope' for reassurance." he added with a cocky grin, emphasizing his quote with his hands. "Don't blame me."

"Yeah, yeah, you did." Jeff waved dismissively, but nodded nonetheless "But I still wanted to check. I'm dying of boredom over here." a grin worked its way onto his face, further emphasized by the one that was part of his face, "Still, he said he should be done any time now... Which only means we'll finally go somewhere!" the smile disappeared soon after, "Nevermind what I'm happy about, how's your gramps?"

Ben was initially taken aback by the sudden interest but he responded with what seemed to be a relieved smile, "His breathing is stabilizing more and more as time goes by, and he seems to need less and less of the medication according to the equipment... He's still really thin compared to before though... I sure hope he'll wake up soon." his hands clenched into fists, trembling in apparent anger and frustration "We... I really need him now."

"Do you really?" Jeff questioned nonchalantly, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Huh?"

"It really isn't my place to say this, but I mean, you seem to be doing quite well to me." he shrugged, "Mentally I mean. Even after all the shit that happened here, you stepped up to the role you were given, and are effectively the big dude's second in command." he complimented, "Everyone here looks up to you and ever since I got here you never once faltered in anything, not that I've seen anyway. So give yourself some credit. If anything, your gramps is the one who needs you, not the other way around. Now probably more than ever." he shrugged, "But hey, what do I know? I made people go to sleep for a living. I'm really far from all of this."

"Huh, you really think that?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, somewhat touched though thoroughly ignoring the last part.

"Sure I do! You were my childhood hero, I looked up to you even with all the shit that was happening in my life, you gave me hope more times than I could count... And you were just fictional to me then." Jeff smiled, fully turning towards the hero behind him, lightly punching him on the shoulder, "Seeing you up close and personal, being able to meet you? I would practically be all over you! I would... But none of our circumstances allow for that do they? This version of your world is turning to shit, and me? Well... I couldn't be farther from what little Jeffy wanted to be as a grown up." he closed his eyes with a shrug, "But the admiration is still there, believe me."

Ben walked over and sat down next to the white skinned man, holding his head in both hands, "I really don't know what to do with all of you." he chuckled silently, "All of you just keep pushing me forward and forward. Where is my input in all of this?"

"Hey dude, we can't let you wallowing in self-pity all the time!" Jeff laughed, putting his arm around Ben's shoulders pulling him a bit closer and looking him in the eyes "Whether you like it or not, this whole mess made us friends... family, something that cannot be taken away. I'm the newest here but you've been together with everyone for months now, you're as close to a family as any. And if we need to be cliché, you know what you need to do when your family is in danger, don't you?"

"When do I not?" Ben asked sarcastically, "Thanks, I think I really needed that."

"Dr. Woods, local psychiatrist, at your service." Jeff said in a formal tone, extending a hand in greeting. "Though probably I'm the one who needs a psychiatrist." he added hastily.

"I won't deny that." Ben shrugged.

"Oi! You're not supposed to agree with me!" Jeff mock pouted, which soon resulted in both of them erupting into laughter.

"Someone's lively." a voice soon came from behind them, catching both of their attention. The groggy, tired but still recognizable voice of Rex spoke up as he rounded the corner, his shirt put on inside out and one of his boots missing. "Anybody seen my boot?"

"Woah. What's with you Rex?" Ben asked, shaken up "You look messed up."

"Didn't exactly get too much sleep y'know?" he emphasized his point by a rather long yawn, "Dunno why really."

"Somethin' on your mind?" Jeff chipped in with his own question.

"I'm... I've been thinking about home." he revealed, "Questioning, time and time again if that conversation we had even happened... On one hand, if it did that's great, cause then Holiday and the others know where I am, but on the other hand if it did not and it was all part of the simulation based on my memories..."

Ben's eyes widened, Jeff's soon to follow, "You don't think..?"

"That we lead the 'Plumbers' towards your Earth do you..?"

"I... I want to say no, but I really, really don't know..." Rex sighed, "Providence is nothing to mess with I get that, but still this Clyde dude's got the numbers on his side, if they were to go through, I dunno what could happen."

"I'm sure your world can handle itself against some make-believe Plumbers." Ben declared, the utmost confidence resonating in his voice. Rex looked at him dumbfoundedly, but then smiled.

"Heh, you may be right." he sighed again, "I may be overthinking it."

"Let's not set up anymore flags here alright? We have enough of 'em as it is." Jeff chipped in, "Also, dude, I can't believe I'm saying this but do something with your shirt okay?"

"Huh?" Rex asked confusedly as he looked down at said piece of clothing, realizing it was in fact inside out. "Oh boy, I really didn't sleep good."

At that moment, a white bundle of fur ran past his legs making its way straight towards the glass table. Leo, the little winged lion companion that Albedo and Ace had picked up a while back was cheerily holding something in his mouth. Only as he came to a stop on top of the table itself did everyone realize that what he was so dearly holding was in fact Rex's missing boot. He sat down, and in a doglike fashion started wagging his tail, almost smiling as he held the clothing item.

"Leo!" Ben chuckled, "That's not a toy!" The cub however just cocked his head to the left in confusion, Ben cringed, thinking the animal had misunderstood him "Of course..."

"You little troublemaker!" Rex chuckled, his mood lifting, pointing towards his left foot, "Do you think you could return that to me?"

As if realization had hit the little cub he ran over to Rex and gently put the piece of clothing down in front of him, then with a strong flap of his wings flew up to be at eye level with Rex, and following his feline nature rubbed his face against his causing the boy to laugh.

"Haha. Okay, okay!" he smiled, "All forgiven." he gently pat the head of the cub, "Speaking of which, you can understand what we say?" the cub nodded rather humanely in response. "Huh, fancy that. I guess only Albedo can actually speak with you though?" the lion nodded again.

"So, you realized what you were holding was a boot when I said so?" Ben asked for confirmation, causing the cub to nod again. "Oh, nice."

"This is the first time I actually caught a glimpse of you." Jeff commented to the cub, "So you're Leo then?"

The cub flew over to Jeff and Ben on the couch and sat down in Jeff's lap, facing him, putting a paw on his body, as some form of greeting. Jeff gently took the paw and shook it comedically.

"I'm Jeff." he grinned, "You are quite adorable."

The three were sure that at that moment if lions could purr the little one in front of them would be doing just that. It almost seemed like little Leo was smiling at Jeff as if trying to imitate his large smile. 'Perhaps whatever world he's from, winged lions are smarter than normal big cats?' Ben mused, 'Then again, this is actual sapience we're talking about her not just usual animal behavior.' he mused further.

"So what's his story?" the white skinned man asked, turning towards Ben.

"According to Albedo, he was running away from poachers when he stumbled through the portal. Wherever this little guy is from his species is hunted for its wings."

Jeff suddenly fell silent, which was so abrupt that the other two and even Leo looked at him in apparent concern. The little lion put both his front paws on Jeff's chest to support himself as he worriedly looked at the young man's face... which was soon decorated by a creepy smile, that sent a clear sense of dread down the lion's spine.

"Say... Do we know how to get to that dimension..?" he asked slowly, his tone dreadfully calm. "Asking for a friend."

"No, we don't." Ben answered with a sigh of relief upon realizing the cause behind his sudden change. He had to admit, that even if this Jeff was a far cry from the basic internet story he was based off of, he could quite easily be the unhinged murderer he was supposed to be, whenever he wanted. "But I share the sentiment."

Jeff let out a lengthy sigh as he rubbed the cub behind its ears, "Anyhow, where is everyone? I'm not exactly an early bird."

"Ace and Krys took up target practice in the training room since the early morning, Charmcaster is still in her room apparently working on a spell which she didn't want to tell me about." Ben explained, counting on his fingers and then twitched a bit, "Slenderman is behind you, and you know where Albedo is."

Jeff willfully ignored the last bit of details Ben has shared with him, "I'm surprised we still have food." he declared, "I mean I know Gwen gave us some, but still, ours is a large group as well, right? Although, compared to that colony or whatever... I guess they have enough for everyone huh?"

"Gwen was more than likely sure to make a list and sort everything, believe me. We won't have a food shortage as long as Albedo or Slenderman can teleport and there are crops growing." Ben explained, "The problem will be the variety down the line I suppose." he added, a tinge of sadness to his voice.

Jeff looked at Ben dumbfoundedly, "Now, hold on a second." he raised a finger and pinched his nose with the other as Ben intently looked at him, "Call me out if this sounds stupid or if I'm wrong but... Don't crops... require a long ass time to grow?!" he snapped audibly, gesturing with his hands for added effect, looking at the hero who just calmly maintained eye contact. "How exactly is that 'infinite'?" he asked, making air quotation marks around the last word.

"Yeah, about that..." Ben awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "It normally wouldn't be, I agree. But you know how we deduced a while ago that time is apparently stopped?"

"Yup." Jeff nodded, "I was there."

"Apparently, to what Gwen and the others have observed since then it is actually a full reset." Ben declared; his expression serious.

"...You wanna run that by me again?" Jeff asked hastily, raising an eyebrow.

"After midnight the world completely resets to how it was back on June 30th." Ben revealed, pausing for a bit letting the others catch up, "Meaning no matter what you do with the world itself, everything will return in the morning to how it was before. Say you harvest the vegetables and make food and all, by morning it will be like you haven't eaten the last day... Except of course that we living creatures don't go back..."

"Alright, whilst that is good and all about the whole food situation... And whilst I feel like I should be freaking out currently..." Jeff nodded, folding his arms, "That also means we can't plant anything else. Correct?"

"Yup." Rex nodded, "No matter what we would try, the new crops would just vanish. So, I guess we'll have to make do with what we have."

"That's not gonna get old fast." Ben nodded sarcastically.

"It makes one wonder how exactly did Clyde fuck up this much, huh?"

"I think this is more than a 'fuck up' dude." Rex groaned, "Our traitorous amigo doesn't really strike me as a guy who knows what he's doing. Which is all the more terrifying."

"Oh yeah, that too." Jeff sighed, once again leaning his head over the back of the couch, looking up at the ceiling, "What made this world change so much in the first place?" he pondered, "Clyde wasn't even a character mentioned in passing in the show, meaning he's probably unique to this world. I would guess anyway. Just like Albedo's little crush from a while back."

"Oh believe me, I would like to know that as well." Ben nodded in agreement to his earlier question, "But if Clyde and Rednus weren't even existing people in your show... Maybe this really is a special world. According to Paradox, Rednus does not exist anywhere else either, well not up until last week she didn't. I don't know whether to feel happy or freaked out about that." he let out a lengthy sigh himself.

"Happily freaked out?" Jeff shrugged awkwardly as his voice died up towards the end, gaining a glare from Ben, before all four of them started laughing. Was it from worry, or just to lighten their own mood, none of them knew at the moment.

"I guess we'll just have to live with it for now. Not much else to do. All in all, I'm just happy that everyone I care about is okay."

"Yeah." Jeff smiled, "Your gramps is a tough cookie, he's gonna be kicking ass again before you know it."

That statement prompted a small laugh from Ben, "Ha, I hope you're right. I really do."

"You know I am." Jeff winked confidently.

'It is always nice to hear you lot chatting happily.' Slenderman declared, his face forming his equivalent of a smile, after calmly listening to their conversation, silently nodding along at crucial points, 'I must say, all this positivity is rather contagious.' he let out a short chuckle. 'Or perhaps I am just getting old.'

"You better get used to it hermano, this seems to be the norm around here." Rex laughed, "These two have their effect on people." he said, referring to Ben and Albedo.

'Oh yes. It is certainly a lot better than being stuck in a dingy, murderous sapient forest.' he 'sighed'. 'Even coming from me, that sentence has a different vibe to it.'

"In a way the dude saved all of us from somethin' huh?" Jeff chuckled, "That's one hell of a 180."

"Yeah from what you two told me, and comparing it to how I got to know the guy, it's still really hard to believe you weren't on the same side from the start." Rex nodded.

"I guess grief does blind people." Ben let out a lengthy sigh, remembering his own episodes from their trip, "Besides it was partially my fault as well, he came on strong ever since our first encounter but I never actually tried to talk with him." he lamented.

"You are only human Benjamin." Albedo's voice came from behind them, a gentle smiled etched onto his face as he rounded the corner. He leaned against the wall as he asked, "Talking about me, are we?" a raised eyebrow and a small grin followed his question.

"Sorry." Jeff hung his head in regret. "I didn't me-"

Albedo let out a small chuckle, cutting Jeff off, "Do not be." he reassured him, walking over to them, "I am happy you think so highly of me if anything, even despite all that has happened in life."

"You think too low of yourself amigo." Rex shrugged.

"Touché."

"On that note, does that mean you're done?" Ben asked, curiously looking at Albedo's hands, the cylindrical device visible in his right hand.

"Oh, why yes of course!" he proudly presented, "This little device is more than finished. My other self threw together quite the number of interesting ideas to create this, I am surprised I even managed to replicate it."

"Aren't you two technically the same person?" Jeff asked with confusion resonating in his voice.

"Well, in broad terms yes. But if we break our worlds down into details, it seems I am vastly more powerful, whilst she is a lot more creative with her ideas. I overpowered her in a sparring match, yet she came up with a lot of splendid ideas for devices even in critical situations. We both have our flaws and virtues when compared to the other."

"Oh." Jeff nodded, then looked at the device himself "Show me?"

"Of course." Albedo nodded with a small smile, pressing a couple buttons on the side of the device, then pointing it at himself and pressing the large button at the opposite end of it. What resulted was Albedo soon turning into a large bipedal fox in front of them, easily towering over everyone but Slenderman. He was gray in color, with his signature red eyes, wearing his usual clothes, "I have taken the liberty of scanning Ms. Krystal's DNA when the chance arose, this is supposedly a male of her species. Quite handy is it not?" he asked, turning back with another push of the button.

"That's so cool!" Ben excitedly shouted, the others looking at him soon after causing him to awkwardly pretend to cough before continuing, "It's like the ID masks the DNAliens used to use."

"Yes, that appeared to be the base of this little device, but this is a vastly superior one to it." Albedo nodded, "It quite literally makes you part of the race in all aspects until the button is pressed again. Feelings, sensations and the like all get replicated. If perchance you disguise yourself as a sapient creature who for example's sake do not possess fingers or similar appendages, you shall be able to replicate what the original creatures do to hold items."

"Oh, so it really will be like we were born like that creature, huh?" Rex asked with a grin.

"Precisely!" Albedo excitedly nodded, "It is virtually untraceable."

"It requires DNA though?" Jeff asked, holding the device in his hands, Albedo having given it to him moments before, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Well to anything out of this world, it does." Albedo nodded in confirmation, "Obviously since our extended knowledge of the species' found in this world, the device works with just your thoughts. However, each time one disguises themselves with it, the form seems to change, unless the lock option is enabled for the selected race." he added, pointing out said button on the device.

"How much can you store in it?" Rex asked, looking at the device himself. "Assuming it can store DNA."

"Roughly the same as the Omnitrix." he revealed, "However since the transformations are 'permanent' should the device run out of power one will be stuck in the selected form for an indefinite amount of time."

"Oh it needs power?" Ben asked, not even slightly worried about the side effect mentioned.

"Why of course, I cannot exactly throw together an Omnitrix by my lonesome now can I?" he chuckled, "Still, any power source should be capable of powering it, so it is not completely negative." the alien added, "As well as clothing and other such articles adapt to one's new form, and thus none of the powers would be lost, only our race would change." he pondered soon after, "Normal usage time should be roughly 62 hours, I would wager."

'Intriguing.' Slenderman mused, 'And you have built this exceptional device... in but a week? By yourself?'

"Well yes, I did try to speed the process up a little, but more or less a week."

"Well, you are a Galvan after all." Ben chipped in before his eyes went wide in realization, gaining a gentle punch to the shoulder from Albedo.

"Ex-Galvan." he corrected, "I have no more relation to that planet."

"Sorry. You're right, my bad."

"No, no, do not worry about that. These are issues of my own." Albedo answered dismissively.

"Now then... Where is it?" Jeff suddenly asked, his tone sounding impatient, throwing everybody around him for a loop.

"Where is what?" Rex asked.

"The portal, what else?!"

"Why would it-" Ben was about to ask before Jeff interrupted him.

"Well, duh! We have a cloaking device finished, which can make us completely concealed! Perfect opportunity for that sucker to show up."

"Whilst I would normally refute that, that does seem to be the pattern does it not?"

"Now that you mention it..." Ben mused.

A couple minutes of silence passed by after Ben's last sentence. A couple minutes of agonizing silence if someone were to ask Jeff. But then it happened, and like a puppy that just got to see its owner after a long time, Jeff stood up from the couch and darted towards the noise.

"FINALLY!" he shouted, "TOLD YOU IT WOULD HAPPEN!"

"Ask and ye shall receive I suppose." Albedo chuckled, the others following suite. His expression gentle, he turned towards Ben, "I shall be going now I suppose, if nothing else then to just keep an eye on our resident portal chaser. If any of you would like, the training room is open to improve yourselves. Since I do not know how long we shall be away anymore, I would also like to ask you to keep monitoring whatever is happening in Bellwood, and with the 'Plumbers'. Unless of course you would like to come us well?"

"Nah, I think I'll pass this time." Ben shook his head, "Sandworm memories are still lingering."

"Ah, I see. I understand." Albedo nodded with a warm smile, "Then just keep an eye on things for me please."

"Got it boss." Rex said, mock saluting, a wide grin plastered onto his face.

"Do not call me that."

"Got it boss!" Ben added, a grin forming on his face as well as he made to leave before Albedo put a hand on his shoulder.

"Benjamin before both of us leave if you could spare a moment."

"Hm? Sure."

The alien leaned in close to whisper in the boy's ear, "Ms. Green is currently staying at the outpost your cousin is at." he declared silently as Ben immediately turned towards him, flustered, not liking where this was going, considering the alien had a cheeky smile, "I believe Gwendolyn should contact you sometime today for our usual chats, and in my absence I nominate you to be my replacement... As such, feel free to talk to the young lady." he added with a wink, pat Ben's shoulders twice and left in the direction of the noise, leaving a beet red Ben standing dumbfounded next to the sofas.

"You..." he muttered somewhat angrily under his breath. Though as Albedo rounded the corner and disappeared a small smile appeared on his face, "Look out for yourself a little bit more you idiot." he added silently as he turned to leave towards the training room with a small sigh.

Hallway B, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.

There it was at the end of the lengthy corridor, as it usually appeared. The swirling mass of blue energy, connecting two worlds at their borders together, floating at the end of the hallway all the while completely blocking entrance into the kitchen. As it floated it also illuminated the walls in a gentle blue, completely betraying its prior actions and the worlds it once connected to. A completely strange phenomena that cut the border between separate worlds with the ease of a knife slicing through butter. A phenomena Albedo still could not completely understand, even when it was right in front of him. He let out a small sigh as a small smile forced its way onto his face.

Jeff on the other hand was practically jumping around the portal like a playful puppy, as if waiting for someone to come with him. He looked at it from every angle at least twice by the time Albedo arrived at the end of the hallway, which was the only moment when he truly stopped. To look at his would-be partner.

"Took ya long enough." he mock pouted.

"What made you think I would even come?" Albedo smiled teasingly.

"Oh come on, prime research opportunity! You never give that up." Jeff grinned knowingly.

"True." Albedo nodded in defeat. "I never seem to."

"Any clue on where it leads?"

"None whatsoever. I believe we best find that out ourselves by stepping through would you not say?" he shrugged, "Besides, I would say it certainly is more fun that way."

"Oh yeeeah~!" Jeff excitedly pumped his fists into the air, put on his bandana and pulled his hood over his head, "Let's go adventu- Is Hope not coming?" he asked suddenly, not breaking the flow of his sentence once, turning only his head around as both his left fist and right leg were still in the air, making the alien wonder how he did not lose balance.

"I would rather not like to bother her right now. According to Benjamin she is hard at work on a new kind of spell, and whilst I do not know much about spell craft and wizardry I can tell how cranky I would be when someone interrupts my work." he said with an unnervingly calm smile, causing Jeff to gulp and turn back towards the portal, feeling it be a hint towards himself.

"Y-yeah! Then we better just go." Jeff gulped again as he turned back towards the portal.

"Of course." Albedo nodded, "Lead the way friend."

"Right-o!"

Meanwhile, on the other side

Same Time

The TARDIS, Time Vortex

Three figures stood in calm silence in the middle of a large control room, two watching the third one fiddle with the controls. Three figures who just won a long-lasting war, three figures in complete and utter silence after parting ways with yet another comrade. Three horses... no, three ponies were the only occupants of the relatively large space. The two observers, staying by the side, one lavender coated unicorn and one grey coated pegasus watched with worried gazes as the third, a chestnut coated stallion, calmly worked on the multitude of levers and switches on the hexagonal panels in front of him. In fact, the cause of their worry was that their friend was staying eerily calm.

"Are you okay, Doctor?" the unicorn with the lavender coat asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Of course, I'm fine!" the Doctor replied hastily, turning to see the other two looking at him with raised eyebrows, more than likely not believing his statement, "What do you want me to say? That I'm sad to say goodbye to her again?"

"As long as it's the truth." the pegasus replied with a sigh.

The stallion nodded in response, "Yeah... Even if the parting is on good terms, it never gets any easier." he smiled at the two mares, a sad but genuine smile, "Anyway, let's get back to Ponyville. We've got a lot of work to do."

Suddenly the entire TARDIS shook rather violently, knocking the two mares to the ground as the Doctor himself held onto the control panels for stability as the ship leaned at an angle. However, it soon corrected itself, thanks in part to the Doctor himself pressing a couple buttons, even so it still continued to shake. At the same time a rather strange noise began to emanate from one of the nearby corridors. Yet it was quiet, all things considered, and thus not easily audible, the shaking of the ship not really helping the matter either.

"Come on!" the unicorn groaned, "What's happening now?!"

The ship soon stopped shaking just as fast as it began surprisingly, allowing everyone to regain their footing, though slowly. The Doctor took several deep breaths soon after, "Don't worry. Everything's under-" he then stopped suddenly, looking at the other two for confirmation. Upon gaining confused looks, his equine ears started searching for the source of the sound.

"Doctor?" the unicorn asked.

"Do you two hear that?" the stallion asked in turn of the two as their ears also started searching for the source of whatever the Doctor might have been hearing.

It didn't take long after the Doctor had pointed it out for the two to notice the rather monotone almost buzzing sound emanating from one of the nearby corridors. The stallion took the initiative and began to explore, the other two following close behind on their own accord.

"Is the TARDIS making that noise?" the pegasus asked curiously.

"I don't believe so Derpy, no I do not." the Doctor shook his head in denial, "She just repaired herself, nothing should be making an extra noise... Which only means-"

"Someone's on the ship." the unicorn finished, before sighing in her tiredness, "Great."

"Exactly, Twilight." the Doctor nodded in concern, "Though I truly wonder who it could be. Especially considering we are still inside the Time Vortex."

He stopped soon after as soon as he heard speech from a side corridor once they were nearing the supposed source. With a raised right hoof he wordlessly told the other two to stop as they started to listen in on what seemed to be quite a heated conversation.

"Where the flying hell are we?!" a rather irritated voice snapped.

"You are the one who wanted adventure are you not?" a calmer voice spoke up, "This is it. Adventure." he added sarcastically.

"Don't you get sassy with me!" the first voice snapped back, "This is just a long-ass corridor. That goes two ways."

"It could also be a space ship." the three could practically feel the owner of the voice shrug, "You never know with these things Jeffrey."

"Ah, fuck it! Let's go explore!" 'Jeffrey' declared nonchalantly.

"If you keep that behavior up, one of these days you are going to get arrested." the second voice sighed, "Or die." the Doctor could feel the worry in his voice, even if he has not seen them yet.

"I can't die remember?" 'Jeffrey' replied with his own share of sass, though his response caused the three to raise their eyebrows in a mix of surprise and confusion, "Neither can you, so what's there to lose exactly?"

The second voice's owner sighed, much to the surprise of the trio "I suppose. Go on then. Have at it."

This little conversation was enough for the Doctor to take a peek around the corner, his curiosity was at its peak now. These two 'intruders' were talking so indifferently about death, when to the three of them it was a pretty serious matter they have had plenty a part of just recently. The Doctor felt somewhat furious, but at the same time curious, he was at an impasse in his thoughts. All the while, the owners of the two voices seemed way to nonchalant for thieves or the like, so he concluded that however they got on the ship had to be an accident, however he could also feel the difference in the two's personality emanating from their conversation, which was yet another sign of incoordination. Plus, next to all of that, that one line was on repeat in his head for some reason, 'I can't die remember?'. Even so with all these worries as soon as he looked around the corner his eyes went wide. They were humans, abnormal though they looked, they were humans. The calmer one had snow white hair and piercing crimson red eyes, dressed in similar colored clothes. A red jacket, black jeans and black and white sneakers... However, the other one, to the Doctor seemed to be lacking color. Black hair, pale white skin, a snow-white hoodie, black jeans, as if the printer had run out of colored ink. He could also make out a bandana adorning his face, even with his hood raised up. The two appeared to be the strangest duo the Gallifreyan Time Lord has seen in quite a while, even thinking of his recent endeavors.

"Oi!" the irritated voice of the black haired man snapped towards his direction, greatly surprising him and sending a chill running down his spine, "Ya plan on staring at us the whole time or are you gonna come and say something? Eh?"

"Come now, Jeffrey, would it hurt you to be nice to people?" the white-haired man chided his companion with a gentle smile.

'They noticed me?! How?!' the Doctor snapped in his thoughts, they were a good couple meters away, as the corridor was one of the inexplicably longer ones and he was also practically hidden. 'How?' he repeated in his thoughts.

"Though, yes I do believe it is rude to stare at people." the white haired man said with a playful tone, turning towards him reinforcing his fears, "How about all three of you introduce yourself so we can get go-" he suddenly stopped, confusing the Doctor even further, "Oh, where are my manners? We are the intruders here! Apologies for that. My name is Albedo." he said. "You must excuse me, it is just that old habits die hard you know?"

"I'm Jeff, if it wasn't already obvious." Jeff added surprisingly calmly with a wide armed shrug.

The Doctor took a deep breath and stepped out from his hiding place, the two mares behind him still somewhat shaken that the white-haired man, Albedo, knew from the start that they were there. As he did however, both their 'visitors'' eyes went wide before looking at him intently. This somehow made the Doctor uncomfortable.

"Hello there!" he cheerily said, masking his own doubts about the situation, "I'm the Doctor. Might I ask what you two are doing on my ship?"

"See? I told you it could be a ship!" Albedo elbowed Jeff whilst chuckling, only to realize that his companion was frozen. "Jeffrey?"

The pale white skinned man stood dumbfounded next to Albedo, his blue eyes locking onto the Doctor. No matter what Albedo had tried to do he would not move or react, he just kept looking at the Doctor. Granted this was under the span of a couple minutes only, the Doctor himself was beginning to grow worried, despite the situation they were in.

"Is... Is your friend okay?"

"You know, Doctor, I would like to know that as well." the one called Albedo admitted, whilst rubbing his head awkwardly, "This is a first for me as well."

"Shut up." Jeff grumbled, almost inaudibly.

"Pardon?" Albedo asked.

"I said, shut up!" Jeff snapped at him, "Do you know who that is?!"

"No, but I suppose you do?" Albedo answered honestly, his eyebrows raised high as he passed a glance at the horse... no rather pony in front of them for a second.

"Of course I do!" Jeff seemed to be grinning behind his bandana, this time decorated with the lower jaw of a skull on it, "That right there is The Doctor!"

"Yes, I do believe he already introduced himself?" Albedo continued on, obliviously to whatever Jeff was trying to get at. The scene alone confused the Doctor himself even more than before.

'One of them seems to know me, whilst the other has never even heard of me? What's going on here?'

"No you idiot." Jeff shook his head calmly, "I told you about him."

"Hmm?" Albedo seemed to ponder for a couple seconds before raising an index finger high, "Ah, yes! That television series!"

"Television series?" the Doctor's eyebrows rose, "You know of me through fiction as well?" his interests seemed to be growing.

"Oh, right. Forgot this isn't normal for peo- 'as well'?" Jeff asked, doing a double take, once again not breaking the flow of his sentence.

"Long story." the Doctor sighed, "No really, it would be quite lengthy."

"Considering who you are, I bet it is." Jeff nodded, "Then again we have all the time in the world with you, don't we?"

"I suppose." the Doctor mused, "That is an accurate statement."

"Now hold on, what are you two talking about?" Albedo asked in intrigue.

"The ship, dude." Jeff replied, "It's a time machine!"

"Amongst other things." the Doctor sighed, somewhat disheartened that one of his favorite questions would probably not be asked this time around.

"Oh! Now that is certainly intriguing!" Albedo seemed elated, much to the Doctor's further confusion.

'Not quite the reaction I normally expected, but I'll take it.' he inwardly shrugged.

"So then I would assume the ship has a name?"

"Oh yes." the Doctor nodded somewhat enthusiastically, "Her name is the TARDIS."

"And I suppose that name is an acronym?"

"...Y-yes, it is." the Doctor slowly nodded.

"I suppose it would be something akin to... 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'?"

"How did y-" the Doctor was about to ask before Albedo continued.

"Just a lucky guess." Albedo shrugged, "Before you ask, no Jeffery only told me about the premise of the show, not the crucial details."

'You totally read his mind.' Jeff thought.

'Of course, but he does not need to know that.' Albedo chuckled in his thoughts.

"Now then, where were we?"

"Introductions, I suppose." the Doctor shrugged after a brief sigh, "Though after all this display I do not really know."

"You've become quite chatty, considering you have been spying on us a couple minutes ago." Jeff chipped in.

"I apologize for that, truly, but would you not have done the same had someone suddenly shown up in your home?"

"Of course I would have." Albedo nodded, "And I do not blame you for it."

"After all, let's be honest, if you wanted to hurt me you would have done so already." the Doctor shrugged, though mentally he was still wary of the both of them, for obvious reasons.

"Fair point." Jeff nodded again, "Sooo~. Is the whole 'you being a pony' thing a long story as well? Because then I don't care." he put a finger to his chin musingly, "Wait, are you before or after 'I don't wanna go.'?"

"Af...ter?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow, if he had to say he was quite freaked out by now.

"Ah, then some sort of dimensional mishap perhaps?" Albedo asked, "Is that what you are getting at?"

"Yeah, you see, the Doctor over there is also an alien like you, and whenever they get fatally damaged or similar their body will regenerate itself, but that eventually results in a new face and messy memories."

"Ah, yes, yes! I remember now. Albeit, you telling it to me at four in the morning on a candy world certainly had its... 'charm' to make me remember it. Even so, how intriguing! Considering you know of him; I assume the TV show is with people. Thus, this 'regeneration' of him could have resulted in the form we see now, is what you're saying, correct?"

"It's a theory at least if nothing else."

"Quite the correct one." the Doctor admitted, decently amazed. "That is more or less what happened." he let out a sigh, "This is a rather... weird conversation. You two appear to know about me from the start of it, yet I know next to nothing about you... Admittedly, not the first time that has happened recently. Says a lot about my life."

"A lot of weird things are happening nowadays Doctor." Albedo sighed, "As it seems, it is also not just back home."

"Back home?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm, seeing as how you are a time traveler, exactly how much of a surprise would it be right now if I told you we are from a different world?" Albedo asked, putting a finger to his chin.

"If you have met me a year ago, I would have called you crazy... But after everything that has happened recently around here? Honestly, I'd say I'm quite likely to believe anything."

"That bad huh?" Jeff sighed. "Though, I guess you never really had it easy."

"I'll give you that." the Doctor let out a lengthy sigh.

"Now then, how about we move this conversation to somewhere we can speak face to face?" Albedo chipped in, "It is rather uncomfortable knowing two others are listening without me being able to see them."

"I concur." the Doctor nodded, he was ready to go back to Ponyville and help as soon as possible... but this? This was something quite unprecedented.

Control Room, The TARDIS, Time Vortex

The Doctor

Three ponies and two humans sat around a makeshift table on one corner of the room. On one side, the Doctor and his two current companions, Twilight and Derpy looking at their new arrivals with intrigue, whilst on the other end Albedo was calmly locking eyes with the Doctor... Jeff's mind on the other hand seemed to be wandering.

"So, mind if I start with a question?" Twilight asked suddenly, after a brief moment of silence.

"Oh no, be my guest." Albedo smiled, urging the unicorn on.

"What's with the mask?"

"Huh?" Jeff asked, being brought back. "Oh, this little thing? Well, it's a sorta... precaution y'know?"

"Precaution for what, exactly?" Derpy asked.

Jeff briefly glanced at Albedo, who just gave a small approving nod, causing him to shrug but nevertheless reach for his bandana and hood simultaneously, pulling them down and back respectively, "For this." he chuckled once all three of them looked shocked on the sight of him, "Smile!"

"That's..." Twilight started, trembling.

"Hey, don't just start shaking on the sight of me." Jeff mocked being offended, "That's really rude."

"We just..."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, before grinning himself, reinforcing the permanent smile on his face, "Hm, lemme guess, you met me already? And perhaps he tried to kill you once or twice?" everyone suddenly got silent and stopped trembling, "Right on the money."

"Hmm, interesting." Albedo finally spoke up again.

"What is?" Twilight asked, the Doctor seemingly processing the newfound information.

"That you have managed to run into an alternate version of Jeffrey."

"Alternate... version?" Derpy repeated.

"That can't... No, I suppose that does make sense." the Doctor nodded.

"It does?"

"Remember way back when we ran into that murderous version of Ms. Dash?" the Doctor asked, the other two nodding in response, "That was also another dimension, no? From what Clockwork and the others have told us, this 'Jeff' character they have ran into seemed, rather unhinged to say the least... Compared to that howeve-"

"I'm right as rain!" Jeff chuckled, "Yeah, you could say that. According to this guy," he started, pointing at Albedo, "I seem to be one of the few versions of me out there that are relatively normal."

"Emphasis on relatively." Albedo said under his breath.

"Hey!" Jeff elbowed him in response.

The Doctor sighed, "Alright, I have reason enough to believe you on that... But, I believe I can ask you some questions as well?"

"Sure, shoot."

"How exactly did you two end up here?"

"Ah right, I suppose you have not seen it by the time you have found us." Albedo pondered, "You see, where we come from... we are in a bit of a, how do you say it, pickle."

"Pickle how?" Twilight asked.

"Well, back in his world a random ass dimensional portal opened up around four months ago and left him in an alternate world... Problem is, it didn't really stop." Jeff explained, "I'm from a different world as well, compared to his that is. Along with a few others, though I left mine by choice, unlike some of our friends." he pondered for a couple seconds, "There was also that world with George Washington and a dinosaur."

"I'm sorry, what?" the Doctor went wide eyed.

"Who's George Washington?" Twilight asked, only for the Doctor to hush her for now with a silent 'Later', followed by a forced cough.

"So you mean to tell me that a dimensional anomaly has been appearing in your world... for the past four months?"

"Yes, that seems to be rather accurate." Albedo nodded.

"What have you done to it so far?"

"Study and research mainly." Albedo pondered, "Of course, I was forced to enter more than a handful of times, not all of those a friendly visit mind you, but nonetheless I still have no idea for a possible cause."

"And if he doesn't really most people won't." Jeff chipped in with a shrug.

"Why, is he some sort of great mind or something?" Derpy asked, causing Jeff to look at her wide eyed for a couple seconds before facepalming.

"Oh right! So, in a nutshell, this guy belongs to the smartest race in the galaxy. Of his world I mean."

"He what?!" Twilight snapped, as the Doctor himself raised an eyebrow at the bold claim.

"There is one other race that is on par, but my dear people refuse to accept it as the truth. But yes, that is quite true." Albedo admitted, "Though, I really do not like using that as an argument, bragging is one thing but that claim is ludicrous under normal circumstances."

"Understatement of the century dude." Jeff added under his breath.

"Alright, putting all the bold claims aside, you say you have not found any reason why it could have started?" the Doctor asked again for confirmation, "Interesting. Or potentially terrifying, considering you ended up on the TARDIS whilst we were still inside the Time Vortex."

"Inside the flow of time?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, "So that is why I feel so off."

"Off how?" Jeff asked.

"I do not know how to explain it. It feels unusual in the strangest sense." he coughed briefly before turning back towards the Doctor, "By the look you are giving me you have more questions?"

"Isn't it your turn now?" Twilight asked.

"Thank you Miss, but I really don't have any... Hmm, perchance besides your names, maybe?"

"Oh right!" Twilight chuckled nervously, "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Derpy Hooves." the grey coated pegasus added, Albedo raised an eyebrow but did not comment further.

"This is the strangest combination ever." Jeff suddenly blurted out.

"Pardon?" Albedo raised an eyebrow, "You do not mean to tell me you know of them through some form of media as well do you?"

"Oh but I do!" Jeff grinned, "Liu loved that show!" he declared proudly, "I didn't really care much at first but he got me to watch it with him. It was our way of escaping everything for the brief moments it was airing." a small tear drop fled from his eyes, "He liked it so, so much."

Albedo smiled gently, putting a hand on Jeff's back to help him calm down, "So, I guess you are excited about this meeting then?"

"Oh boy, am I?" Jeff nodded, "It's one of those what if situations... until it actually happens to you."

"I take it this Liu is your brother?" the Doctor asked slowly, somewhat feeling he was threading on dangerous territory.

"Yeah, I won't bore you with all the details, but he's not around anymore. He's not dead or anything, we just got... separated. I thought it was for the better all this time, but a certain someone back home convinced me to seek him out whenever I get the chance again... Back on topic however, it was his favorite show. He always seemed so happy when he was talking about it, what I would give to have him here too now."

"I... see." the Doctor nodded solemnly.

"Sorry," he quickly added wiping some tears from his eyes, "I brought the mood down quite a bit." he raised an eyebrow once he looked at Twilight again however, "Though I guess your world will never turn out like the show would anyhow."

"W-what do you mean?" Twilight was hesitant to ask.

"Are you quite certain you should be telling her what you want to?" Albedo asked before the Doctor could.

"I think it's fine, it's not her future anymore."

"Go on then."

"It's nothing serious in that sense, but I think it's safe to say that dear old Twiley here will not have the same destiny... Seeing how you lack the wings and all."

"Wings? Why would I have-" however she suddenly quieted.

"Yup." Jeff nodded, finding the situation somewhat strange subconsciously, "After your bro's wedding, a couple months or so that is, you were supposed to become a princess. Amongst other things, a lot of terrible things would have also followed. But I guess since the Doctor got here, the course of this world shifted and you got stuck with a bunch of other problems."

"So this world, much like our own, seems to have changed its predetermined course due to some specific factor. Although, no, the Doctor seems to be the factor here." Albedo mused.

"Me? A Princess?" Twilight muttered to herself, as a shocked Derpy tried to comfort her and herself.

"You mean, I am the cause for all that has happened to us?" the Doctor asked, his eyes wide in horror.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jeff suddenly shouted, "Don't go blaming yourself all of the sudden! It was an accident. None of you knew it would happen."

"Precisely." Albedo nodded, "And if our world is anything to go by, the original course of events is currently running in a parallel world."

"Parallel world?" the Doctor asked, "But those should be-"

"Impossible?" Albedo asked knowingly, "Perhaps to you they might be, but back home they are more than real. A multitude of world lines, branching off from each other because of small or large, meaningless or quite meaningful choices, all running their course simultaneously. Ours on the other hand, as well as the one you three are from, shifted significantly from their original courses thus creating the events you now know as your past. It does not matter what your other self is doing currently, what matters is that you hold on to what you have right now and do what you can. No?" he asked with a shrug, "I mean, my original self apparently is still a petty criminal obsessed with revenge, whilst here I am, immortal and saving the world."

"That's a lot of information all of the sudden." Derpy held her head in confusion as her eyes inverted slightly.

"Haha, I am truly sorry, I tend to ramble when I get the chance." he chuckled, "Doctor, please do not let what I just said discourage you from anything. For all you know, us ending up on the TARDIS just now could have also made us branch off from what you were supposed to do here. Nothing is ever set in stone. It is truly up to us what we make of it."

"Damn dude, where's all this motivational speech coming from?" Jeff asked with widened eyes.

"I felt I had to do something, since all of the sudden they started looking even more depressed than before."

"I get you."

The Doctor let out a lengthy sigh, "Phew, this day could not get any weirder."

"Tell me about it dude." Jeff nodded.

"Mind if I ask you a question then?" Albedo asked.

"No, of course not."

"How did you end up in their world, what was it called?"

"Gaia." Jeff, Twilight and Derpy blurted out in strange unison causing them to look at each other in confusion then chuckle a little.

"Gaia, yes."

"As your friend has said I was in the middle of my regeneration. I can only guess that all the energy I was letting off messed with the TARDIS' systems and she somehow broke through the dimensional barriers, then I blanked out. Next thing I know, I have hooves and a Dalek is rampaging in Ponyville."

"Sheesh, that must've been a terrible morning." Jeff cringed, "How did the old trashcan end up over there anyhow?"

"Wish I knew." the Doctor admitted, causing Jeff and Albedo to share worried glances with each other, "What is it?"

"You don't suppose..?" Jeff asked, as the Doctor seemed to realize what they might have been getting at.

"That a portal of ours opened up and somehow connected both the TARDIS and this... 'Dalek' to our four-legged friends' world? I sadly do." Albedo sighed, "I have no proof of it, and probably never will, but this all sounds like what it usually does."

"Is it capable of that?" the Doctor asked, eyes wide in shock and awe.

"I am afraid it is capable of much more things that we still do not know of." Albedo admitted with a sigh, "Much more... destructive things."

Twilight and Derpy collectively gulped at the revelation whilst the Doctor fell silent. Upon realizing this, Albedo clapped his hands together garnering attention.

"Alright then, how about we move onto some more pleasant topics for now?"

The Doctor let out a lengthy sigh before he spoke up, "Fine then, but don't consider this topic dropped altogether."

"Of course." Albedo nodded with a small smile, expecting as such.

"Now then, you said you were from an alien race back in your world, correct?"

"Indeed." he nodded once more.

"Is your species similar to a human as well or-"

"Oh no, no. Far from it." the white haired boy shook his head in denial, "This is a rather strange side effect to a series of unfortunate events. Technically I am a human now though."

"I... see." the Doctor said, though he seemed confused.

"W-what about the whole 'immortal' part?" Derpy managed to ask, albeit hesitantly.

"Oh, well yes, that is true. I do not suppose you want me to demonstrate."

"Demonstrate?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Oh, to put it simply, I am the sort of immortal that can come back after dying." Albedo explained, "I do have some regenerative powers, but I can still perish. Nevertheless, without any interaction on my part I always revive after three days."

"Fascinating!" the Doctor admitted, "I have known an immortal man once, but he was quite different from what you have just described."

"Hmm, how interesting." Albedo smiled.

"You what?!" Twilight snapped towards the Doctor.

"That's kind of a crucial detail you forgot to mention there Doc." Jeff chipped in supporting the unicorn's outburst, guessing the reason behind it.

"The situation never really arose where I could just freely talk about it." the Doctor shrugged, "But I do apologize." he furrowed his brows soon after, "Hold on, you said without interaction on your part correct?"

"Indeed." Albedo nodded.

"But how could you..?"

"Well, my mind is still conscious through all of it." the white haired alien explained, "So technically I never truly die, but even if it is conscious I can barely do anything so it is as good as dying. Plus, I have a bit of a companion of sorts."

"Companion?"

"Brace yourselves." Jeff instructed with a smile as Albedo's eyes turned pitch black, eliciting a surprised reaction from the other three, less so from the Doctor though.

"Greetings!" a cheery, yet ethereal and deep voice rang out from Albedo's mouth, even if his eyes seemingly showed no emotion.

"Woah!" Derpy yelped in surprise, "W-what is that?"

"Me? I have no knowledge if your world has any version of me, but the Doctor might know." he said, "I am what the humans back home call the Grim Reaper."

"Grim..."

"Reaper?" Twilight and Derpy asked respectively, finishing the question together. The Doctor however almost let his jaw drop.

"Are you telling me that whatever world you come from, mythological figures also exist?"

"I shall take that as a yes." the Grim Reaper chuckled, "Well, cryptids and the like existed for a long while, so did me and my brethren, the Horsemen. However, I do not know much about other mythological beings. Other than Charon of course."

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. However, we really had no reason to start any apocalypse." the entity shrugged with a small chuckle, "All things considered."

"Apocalypse?" Twilight whispered in confusion as Jeff sat down next to her.

"I'll tell you later. It's a bit of a doozie." he chuckled silently, as to not interrupt the two elderly aliens' talk. He however felt that the unicorn was still quite vary of her. "Look, I dunno what kind of me your friend ran into, really, and I really can't promise I'm any different, but if it counts for anything, I am constantly trying to change... Ever since that guy showed up in my life, I felt happier and happier. I dunno what it is about him, he just helps you feel at ease... I don't have nearly any of the same feelings I had when I left my world." he let out a small laugh, "Plus, if I did anything to you Liu would kill me."

"You must really love your brother." Twilight said with a small smile, somewhat letting her guard down, at the same time memories of her own brother popping into her mind.

"More than anything." Jeff nodded, "This is more than likely a very selfish request but..."

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, "Go on, I'll listen."

"If we ever get the chance... Could you meet him? Even if it's for a short time."

The unicorn was dumbfounded, but after a couple seconds she smiled warmly again, "Of course, it would be my pleasure."

"Thank you. Really." Jeff smiled, enforced by his face.

Meanwhile, the Horseman, Galvan and the Time Lord were quite lost in their own conversation, as the entity shared a lot of historical information with the Doctor, finding that whilst most of it matched up, there were quite a few differences. Like the fact that George Washington met and fought someone called Vilgax, who the Doctor came to know was an intergalactic warlord whose name alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone, and subsequently founded an organization protecting, at the time, Earth from alien threats. An organization named 'the Plumbers'.

"Plumbers..?" the Doctor felt the need to repeat the name to get confirmation.

"Indeed, I believe it was Benjamin's grandfather who came up with the saying: 'To clean up the filth of the universe.' or something along those lines."

"My, your world is quite interesting."

"You are one to speak." Albedo chuckled, "These 'Daleks' sound a lot more terrifying now that I know what they are capable of. Haha, it seems our worlds are not too different."

"Perhaps." the Doctor chuckled as he nodded.

"What about Jeff?" Twilight sighed before asking, "You know, the whole immortality thing? Where we left off? You two said he too was..."

"Ah no, I just can't die no matter what happens." Jeff shrugged with a dismissive wave of his hands, "I mean I was eaten alive by a giant worm once." the girls collectively shuddered along with Albedo, much to the Doctor's surprise "I climbed out though."

"O-oh."

"What about you, any special powers I should be keeping track of?" Albedo asked, intrigue resonating in his eyes.

"Unicorns can use magic since birth." Twilight explained, showing off a small spell, "Not much else that's special that I can think of though."

"I see, so magic is a thing in your world as well."

"As well?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"One of our friends is a sorceress." Jeff clarified. "In his world it exists, mine didn't have any." he added, "Just a buncha supernatural stuff no one believed but were apparently true."

"Supernatural?" the Gallifreyan asked.

"Are you familiar with Slenderman?" Jeff asked, "Does the legend exist in your world too Doc?"

"I believe I have heard the name in passing before. Tall creature, faceless, in a suit?"

"That's the one." Jeff nodded, "Well, you see in my world apparently he was real. And now he's back home."

"Just how many worlds have you visited before?" the Time Lord couldn't help but ask.

"Too many to count at this point." Albedo shrugged then turned towards Derpy, expecting her to continue.

"Well, I can fly, which was probably obvious." Derpy shrugged, pointing at her wings.

"Quite. How about you Doctor? I suppose an alien like yourself could have a couple tricks up his sleeve?" Albedo continued his questions. "What with all your involvement in human history?"

"Not much else to say really." the stallion shrugged, "I have two hearts... And a Sonic Screwdriver."

"A Sonic whatnow?"

"Screwdriver." Jeff repeated, "Though it really is as close to a screwdriver as I am to Elvis Presley."

"It opens stuff." Derpy added.

"Amongst other things." the Doctor nodded, before eyeing Albedo again, "I apologize for my suspicions, but perhaps you still did not tell me everything?" he asked, "Mr. 'Smartest being in your universe'?"

"I really do not hold that title my friend. That belongs to someone else." Albedo explained, "However, the universe's greatest weapon is one of our inventions though."

'A weapon? Why is it alwa-' the Doctor thought, remembering some unpleasant memories from just a day ago, but his thoughts were rapidly interrupted.

"Though I say it is a weapon, it is more a complex use device."

"Excuse me?"

"It is called the 'Omnitrix'." Albedo declared, "It is a device in the shape of a simple watch, capable of transforming its wielder into any form desired. Any alien form that is."

"You created something like that?"

"Of course not! I was merely a part of the project." the alien smiled, "It now is in the most capable hands one could hope for. I mentioned Benjamin did I not?"

"This device is in the hands of a child?" the Doctor questioned.

"Anyone who hears it reacts like that at first, believe me. That is of course until they meet him. I would trust Benjamin with my life if I needed to. The boy's got talent. I was just too blind to see it for the longest time."

"I'll take your word for it." the Doctor nodded, "Perhaps we will meet sometime."

"Maybe so." Albedo nodded before continuing his little anecdote, "However you could guess that there are a multitude of different beings out there who would use it as a weapon." he chuckled, "Conveniently, my friend uses it to beat up criminals."

"I see, though why exactly would you tell us about this device?"

"Well, I thought it would serve as an introduction to my last major 'power' that you have asked about."

"Which is?"

"Through an unforeseen accident about a year or so ago, I have gained the ability to..." in a small flash of red light the boy before the Doctor disappeared much to everyone but Jeff's surprise, "...transform myself." a new voice said as a small creature jumped up onto the table.

"Woah, what is that?" Twilight asked, though she was more intrigued than surprised.

"This, is a Galvan. Also, my original species."

"You are so small!" Derpy commented.

"Yes, I suppose their size is a detriment in any other situation, but nonetheless Galvans are famous for their brains not their brawn."

"But wait, if these transformations were originally intended to be used with a device, won't that be a problem for you?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, nice catch." Albedo smiled as he turned back, "Of course, I can stay transformed as long as I like, but it is all according to my willpower and concentration, so after a while I would get a headache and worse down the line."

"Nothing is ever without its drawbacks." the Doctor commented.

"Ain't that the truth." Jeff nodded in agreement.

"Nonetheless, I believe this is every-" his Galvan eyes turned completely black which was quite a sight to behold, "Not quite." his eyes turned back soon after those two words. "Oh... Right, I can never get used to that."

"Get used to what?" Derpy asked.

Albedo got back on the makeshift chair and turned back to human form with ease, "The fact that my last power is anything but normal. Or that I even have it."

"Come on now. Don't keep up the suspense." the Doctor urged.

"So I said I can die right?" everyone nodded in response, "Well, it appears that who- or whatever ends me... I copy some characteristics from when I revive, although it seems it is not absolute."

"Huh?" the Doctor's eyes widened, "How can that be possible?"

"I wish I knew, honestly." Albedo admitted, "We discovered it by accident but ever since then it became more and more prominent whenever it happened." he emphasized his point by suddenly appearing behind the time traveling stallion much to his shock. "This is the teleportation ability of Slenderman. Do not ask how that happened please."

"So in theory you can get infinitely more powerful?" Twilight asked.

"Oh my, I have not thought about it that way." Albedo gasped, "That is a terrifying thought... What exactly has my life become."

"I believe we can all keep asking that question day and day again." the Doctor responded with a shrug. "Now, I don't suppose you two currently have a way home, correct?"

"I suppose not. We are at the mercy of the portal." Albedo responded as he got up from the chair.

"Why don't you come with us then?" the Time Lord asked, "I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but we could really use some help back home."

"Oh of course! I am happy to be of assistance."

"Sure."

"Though I feel like I should warn you, we have just been through a rough patch... Things are not too pretty back home."

The Doctor after this proceeded to tell the other two about what exactly was happening in their world the past couple of days. His evil self taking control with an army, destroying everything and everyone in sight almost gaining control and throwing the world in chaos, but eventually failing due to the interference of him and his companions, some of who they have lost along the way.

"I myself am no stranger to loss." Albedo admitted, "You have my most sincere condolences... But I take it things turned out fine in the end?"

"Somehow." the Doctor nodded, "Somehow."

"Nevermind that! Let's go! You said we needed to fix stuff, so let's get on it!" Jeff chipped in, way too enthusiastically.

"Oh before we go, let me just do one more thing." Albedo added as he pulled out a small cylindrical device from one of his pockets, held it towards the Doctor for a couple seconds, then towards him and Jeff, pressed the button on the end of it... and the two almost instantaneously turned into their own equine forms.

"W-what?" Twilight seemed quite surprised, Derpy following her reaction only in silence.

Albedo's coat was light gray, his eyes and hair much the same as his normal form. He still had his jacket on but now he appeared to have wings... However, they were a lot more similar to that of a bat's than a bird's. Jeff on the other hand had a pale white coat, his hair and eyes also the same, a hoodie covering most of his body... that and a horn protruded from his forehead. None of them had a Cutie Mark however.

"This feels weird." Jeff suddenly said, catching a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a nearby wall panel, "At least the smile's still there."

"Well it is still an experimental device Jeffrey, there are some kinks I shall have to work out, but for the most part it seems to have worked... So much for not standing out though. I am going to go out on a wild guess here and say bat wings are not a normal feature of pegasi in your world."

"Y-yeah." Twilight nodded.

"Figures."

"Impressive technology!" the Doctor admitted, "Did you make it yourself?"

"Technically yes."

"Technically?"

"His other self came up with the idea, he just built it after her blueprints."

"Her?"

"Ah yes, about a week ago we had a run in with a version of our world where everybody had the opposite gender." Albedo shrugged, "Not the most normal sentence I have ever said but I shall take it." he clapped his forelegs together, "Now, we were about to depart?"

The Doctor, Twilight and Derpy couldn't even question any further, this day was just getting weirder and weirder now that the two of them were here, especially for the Doctor. Nonetheless he flipped some switches and levers on the control panel and the TARDIS sprang to life again as they once again moved forward in time.

Survivor Camp, Outside Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.

Albedo

The time machine and spaceship known as the TARDIS appeared adjacent to a larger tent in the middle of a rather large camp. Surprisingly, no one yet reacted to what Albedo thought was a signature noise the ship made. Still as soon as he and his newfound friends stepped out from it, he was greeted by a devastating sight. Ponies, and to his surprise, some humans all lying outside and supposedly inside tents, with various injuries all of them looking as depressed as they come.

'A war, huh..?' he thought. As one who was never a part of any wars, seeing its effects in front of his eyes caused him great discomfort. "This... is quite depressing."

"Woo boy." Jeff's response was simple, but his face, covered by his bandana and hood, even with his snout, conveyed his own sense of discomfort.

"Indeed." the Doctor nodded as he stepped out from behind them, "This is what remains."

"The one who did all this, your other self... Is he-"

"He's gone." the Doctor quickly answered, "Due to the sacrifice of one of our friends... He's gone now."

"I see." Albedo solemnly nodded.

"How about we go meet the others?" Jeff asked, "All this snow and blood is making me depressed."

"Right, let's go." Twilight nodded.

The little group of five moved through the tents in the camp before eventually arriving at a moderate sized one. The tent did not stand out whatsoever but according to Twilight this was where her friends were recuperating. As they opened the entrance to the tent, the somewhat cheery voices of its occupants could be heard. A pink pony with a really puffy mane, some balloons decorating her flank, a pegasus with a blue coat and hair in every color of the rainbow, a white coated unicorn on a stretcher, a leg in a cast, a pale yellow coated pegasus with one wing in a cast and another orange pony with bandages all over her torso... and a blonde human. As if that wasn't surprising enough next to one of the pegasi was a small purple dragon, Albedo presumed.

"Hey everypony... We're back." Twilight announced their presence.

'Everypony?' Albedo thought, 'Alright then.'

"Twilight!" the blue coated pegasus immediately reacted to her friend's voice and rushed over to them with insane speed, giving her a small hug, "You really came back fast."

"Hey! I promised." the Doctor pouted.

"Last time you promised, didn't exactly turn out great did it?" the pegasus raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, point taken."

However, then her eyes fell upon him and Jeff, which soon after narrowed. "And who are these two exactly?"

"That is... a rather long story Miss..?" Albedo started.

"It's Rainbow Dash." she responded, much to Albedo's relief.

"Ah, Ms. Dash, you see that is a rather lengthy story to tell. Perhaps the Doctor could enlighten you?"

"Oi, don't push this on me!"

"Well as opposed to a complete stranger like me, they seem to trust you greatly." Albedo shrugged.

"He's got a point Doctor." Twilight nodded.

"Alright, alright!" the Doctor sighed, "These two are from a different world who somehow ended up on the TARDIS."

"That's it?" Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh I dunno, something that gives them more details."

"Stop arguing you two." Albedo sighed.

"Just what we needed... More dimensional problems." Rainbow Dash let out a lengthy sigh, "As if we didn't have enough already." that statement caused Albedo to chuckle, "Something funny?"

"Oh well, it is just that I did not think I would hear that from someone in a different world, it feels strangely calming."

"Huh?"

"Long story Dash." Jeff shrugged. "Maybe later."

"Now, do any of you know how far the damage has spread?" Albedo asked, immediately starting to assess the situation.

"I'm pretty sure it's all across Equestria by now." Derpy sighed.

"I see... So it is quite widespread from my understanding." Albedo nodded, "Now I do not suppose there is someone among you who has been all around Equestria?"

"Rarity has." Twilight answered looking at the white coated unicorn, surprising her friends greatly, "She has a fashion business of sorts, she has been to most places around here."

"Perfect!" Albedo smiled, clapping his forehooves together, "Now, I hope you do not mind if I-" however as he was about to take a couple steps closer to the unicorn on the stretcher, Rainbow suddenly got up in his face.

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" she asked, her expression serious.

"Why, help with the reconstruction of course." Albedo explained much to the shock of everyone but Jeff, "I figure it would be faster to do it all at once, no?"

"Can you do that?" the Doctor asked, gaining but disregarding a glare from the blue coated pegasus, but then his eyes went wide, immediately recalling the memory of Albedo suddenly appearing behind him.

"As long as I have a clear picture of the affected cities and locations, it should be possible yes."

"Let him go Ms. Dash." the Doctor instructed.

"But-"

"Just do it."

"F-fine." she reluctantly stood down upon seeing the look the Doctor was giving her.

"Now, I assure you this will not hurt a bit." Albedo declared as he walked over to the unicorn named Rarity, placing a hoof on the side of her head.

"It better not." Rarity said, though she closed her eyes. "Whatever it is you are doing."

Albedo closed his eyes for a couple seconds then released the unicorn's head, "Alright, that should be all of them."

"What?" the pink pony asked, "That's it?"

"That is it." Albedo nodded reassuringly.

"What is it exactly?" Twilight asked for confirmation.

"I read her mind, looking back onto the memories of the places where I should more than likely go." Albedo explained, "It is a neat trick I picked up a little while ago."

"But what is your plan?" the Doctor asked, his curiosity at its peak. To him Albedo seemed so confident that it was making his head spin.

"I advise those of you that can move to step out of this tent, I think what you are about to see will be quite the spectacle."

Somewhat reluctantly thought, but all of them safe for Rarity followed the confident pegasus outside the tent, the large gathering of creatures somewhat attracting attention. Albedo however was grinning all the while.

"Now if you would step back a little." Albedo asked, his grin never fading. Rainbow however was beginning to get annoyed.

"C'mon, just do it already if you're so sure of-" however her words got stuck in her throat. What she was seeing completely breaking her common sense.

Albedo assumed a runner's stance and in a matter of seconds was enveloped in a brief flash of red light. Soon after the light had died down, in the place of the rather cocky pegasus stood a bipedal creature, to the Doctor resembling a velociraptor, with small balls on his feet. The creature was a good deal taller than any of them, its body slim with a pale blue and black striped tail. His head was shaped like a helmet with a visor currently sliding up from his face, his pale blue arms ended in claws and his elbows bore spikes. His chest was a crimson red and in the middle of it was a circular protrusion, a red hourglass symbol in the middle of it. It was a Kineceleran, a form Benjamin often referred to as XLR8. He looked back at the others behind him with a grin.

"Now before all of you freak out, I shall continue and get on my way." he said rapidly.

His claws closed and he lowered his head a bit. His body was changing again. His feet morphed, now bearing large wheel like constructs extending towards the outside of the feet instead of the balls they had before. His body remained slim, but gained more musculature, mostly around the legs. His arms became a little longer, ending in claws made of four individual parts instead of the three from before, also a second smaller pair of spikes protruded from under the ones on the elbow. His tail seemed as flexible as ever however the end of it appeared almost mechanical, a small opening on it revealing it to be similar to an exhaust of sorts. His face changed the least but the change was still visible. The mask that comprised his head now covered his mouth as well, leaving the visor to only cover the eyes. Upon further look, his back had a long protrusion running down it resembling a spike, but a closer glance would reveal it to be a foldable dorsal fin of sorts. The outside of his thighs, arms and lower legs also seemed covered in some sort of red armor in small stripes. The hourglass symbol now had four spikes in an 'x' formation merging with his skin. His transformation had finished. An evolved Kineceleran, one neither Ben nor Albedo had used before.

"Ooooh!" Jeff was ecstatic, "You evolved XLR8!"

"Indeed." Albedo once again said rapidly, "It feels exhilarating."

"Oh I think I know what you are planning on doing now." Jeff grinned, "Go for it."

"What is this cr-" the Doctor was about to ask however he was soon cut off.

"What is this commotion?" a feminine voice came from their left. A woman with long blue flowing hair was approaching them but stopped as soon as she laid eyes on the evolved alien. "What manner of creature is that?!" she snapped as she reached for what appeared to be a wand, not noticing for a split second the Doctor and the others... Albedo however just grinned, though it was not visible, and lowered his visor.

"Look alive everyone!" he speedily said as he lowered his upper body and put his left leg back, preparing for a takeoff, "Equestria will be back to normal in ten seconds!"

Before anybody could even ask what sort of outrageous claim that was, the alien took off. The only thing marking that he was ever there where the small burn marks his wheels left in the dirt. All it took was for them to blink and the creature was nowhere anymore.

Jeff whistled in impressed joy, "Alright, that's speed right there."

As he declared, as soon as ten seconds were up the velociraptor like alien stood before them with a satisfied grin... Or at least the Doctor assumed he was grinning with his hands on his hips as he stood before them. However, as soon as he took his gaze away from the strange creature in front of his eyes, they went as wide as they could. Ponyville... the same Ponyville that was in ruins a mere ten seconds ago was in pristine condition, without any damages... even the snow was gone.

"Now, is this acceptable as 'helping in repairs'?" Albedo asked rapidly.

"This is..." the Doctor was at a loss of words.

"My word." the human woman from before spoke up in awe.

"Y-you... did this for us?" the broken winged pegasus asked, though she seemed rather shy.

"Of course!" Albedo nodded several times in a second, "A promise is a promise. Plus, I could not just bear the sight of this place. So, I fixed up everything."

"You... That's why you asked about someone who knows Equestria, just as I thought." the Doctor chuckled.

"Doctor!" the blue haired woman caught the Time Lord's attention, "What manner of a creature is this?"

"Nice to meet you Miss, my name is Albedo." Albedo introduced himself, "I am a creature not from this world, so it would be hard to describe in detail."

"I... see." the woman nodded, "In that case I'm Luna."

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Luna." Albedo nodded, "Now then." he clapped his clawed hands together and in a matter of seconds turned back... to his human form, "Well, this is certainly a kink I shall have to work on." he declared awkwardly as he garnered stares from around him save for those who already knew.

"You're a human?!" Rainbow snapped.

"Technically, though that is not important right now, we need to tend to the injured."

"Are you planning on doing that too?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

"Of course, I started it I might as well finish it." Albedo shrugged as he once more was enveloped in a red flash. Seconds later in his place stood a large humanoid plant like creature. It was tall and muscular, pale green in color with pale yellow claws on black hands the knuckles each spiked. His face a mix between pale yellow, red and orange which his crimson red eyes contrasted greatly. His arms right up to his shoulders had three pale red spots with pale yellow spots in them. He had a green horn on each foot, knee, and elbow. His neck had a collar around it which was the same pale yellow on the inside. "A Methanosian should do the job nicely." he put a finger to his chin, "Or perhaps, if I want to get done quicker..." he closed his eyes and once again began changing forms even further.

His body became larger, now appearing like a humanoid tree, the 'bark' a very pale brown color. His head or more specifically his face was contained in a large pale blue gooey shell, his shoulders containing similar formations. The shape of these shells made it seem like a tree was on fire. his hands contained three smaller shells which almost looked like detachable projectiles. His large wooden hands ended in four pale blue claws whilst his large feet resembled roots. The hourglass symbol moved from his stomach to his chest with the same four spikes, however this time they seemed much tamer. Piercing red eyes looked on from the large gooey shell at the top of the body. He proceeded to 'crack' his knuckles as he raised his large bulky hands in the air. "Now then." in a deep voice he said as small blue spores began pouring out from his palms, similar in color to what contained his head.

The spores just kept pouring and pouring nonstop eventually enveloping the sky above them, faintly visible, to form a makeshift blanket. Then Albedo brought his arms down and all the spores descended slowly, gently without a fuss. Each of them slowly made their way over to the wounded soldiers, civilians, victims, anyone who was even the slightest bit injured was getting spores flocking them. As soon as they made contact small vines began to sprout from them on the skins of those affected, but if one had to guess from their facial expression, rather than it being a painful sensation, they appeared to feel relieved after this. However even with the relief one would be a fool not to question vines suddenly growing out of their body, as such as all seemed to be done, Albedo once more transformed, this time into a small white humanoid creature with what appeared to be earphones around its head and Albedo's red eyes, a Sonorosian, a form known by Ben as Echo Echo. Without wasting a minute Albedo cloned himself and spread out, some clones teleporting away in an instant. As soon as one clone appeared at a vantage point it took a great breath and began: "Attention all citizens! The spores and vines are to tend all your injuries! They are as safe as they come and shall wither and disappear once your injuries have been fully healed! Those with broken bones however do try to keep your limb in place! I hope this will ease your suffering, even if only a little."

After his little speech, Albedo appeared in front of the group again, all clones gathering back and merging with the original soon before he turned back to his human form. He then sat down on a nearby chair and let out a lengthy sigh. "That took a lot out of me, I overused my transformations."

"Dude are you okay?" Jeff immediately ran over to Albedo, his voice sounding worried, even in his equine state.

"I shall be alright with a bit of rest." Albedo reassured his companion.

"What are you?" the woman known as Luna asked, her face showing a mix of relief, shock, horror and awe.

"Took the words right outta my mouth." Rainbow commented, having sat down in awe, not even sure what to say anymore. The Doctor himself looked on in total shock, if anything he did not expect this.

"Just a good samaritan from another world... Though I do not suppose you will take that and be happy." Albedo said with a shrug. "The Doctor knows most of the information, if you do not mind I would rather... sleep..." he finished with a yawn as his head drooped and he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

"Oi, don't sleep on me!" Jeff snapped, "I'm still a goddamn pony!" he used his horn to get the device out of Albedo's pockets and forcibly turn himself back into human form, "That's better." he said as he cracked his neck. "Can someone help me get him on a bed or something?"

"Sure, okay, yeah." Twilight nodded three times, more than likely still processing what has actually happened.

The Doctor

"That just happened." Rainbow suddenly declared.

"It sure did." Applejack nodded in response, just as confused as now instead of bandages she had vines around her torso.

"What kind of person did you guys meet anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked, confusion evident in her voice. "Who even is capable of all of... this?" she asked again as she looked at the completely repaired Ponyville again in awe.

"I do not yet know Pinkie Pie." the Doctor admitted, a small smile creeping on his face, "But I hope to find out."

Alright, no excuse here other than what I said at the top, I had a busy time adjusting to everything, but I think we'll get somewhat back on track in a little time.
On the other hand, yes, this is what I consider the actual start of Problem with Portals, this one encounter. If you are wondering why it seems like it just cuts into what the Doctor and his companions are doing, that's because that was intentional. This encounter is in its entirety based on the world and story established by The 1597 Faceless Writer, another creator on this site, more specifically the very last current chapter of their story. I had gotten permission from them a long, long time ago to use their story's characters and elements but I had never thought it was good enough, part of the reason why this story started from scratch again. You can consider this as a sort of canon to mine, non-canon to their story, as with timelines and different worlds everything is possible.

Now, onto the designs. Ultimate Swampfire's design, and my best attempt at describing it since I can do that greatly, is by a user called Insane-Mane on deviantArt. I found their art by chance and instantly fell in love, please check them out and the amazing designs he has whipped up amongst other things.

On the other hand, Ultimate XLR8's design is something of an own creation. As much as I dislike the reboot, since I never even watched it and all, I found the design of 'Omni-Enhanced' XLR8 on the Ben 10 wiki, and liked the idea of the wheels, so I upgraded it and incorporated it as best as I could. The dorsal fin came about since some fish use it greatly in mobility, so why not have a creature that can easily go twice the speed of sound have something that helps in their movement. The exhaust on the other hand came about because of Ultimate Humungousaur's mechanical design, 'Why not give him a booster?' is the idea I went with, so imagine fire coming out from the end of the tail of a velociraptor, you're welcome.

As per Albedo custom, all the creatures have their colors a lot paler compared to Ben, which I think is a lot better than just changing the symbol of the Omnitrix, considering even in human form Albedo has a lot paler complexion than Ben does. (Plus, some aliens used by Albedo had the paler color scheme whilst others were made inexplicably redder. I am quite confused on that one but hey.)

Why Albedo did not use Clockwork? XLR8's process he deemed faster, and he rebuilt it all from scratch, or what remained instead of simply rewinding time, as such the buildings should be a lot more durable amongst other things, but then again you can do a lot of things when the world to you seems frozen.

Now, things should get more interesting from around here, with Albedo and Jeff 'stuck' in a world not their own for a lot longer period of time than before. What sort of adventure could await them? Who knows? No seriously, if someone knows please tell me.

Sorry for the long end note, you can go now.