The sterile hum of the Tulpars' bridge filled the air as co-pilot Jimmy completed the tedious system diagnostics, his face illuminated by the console's ghostly glow. Exhaustion weighed heavily on him, a familiar burden of long hours and routine tasks. He glanced towards the Captain's chair, anticipating the usual stoic presence of Captain Curly. Instead, he was met with an impossible sight: a shimmer. Captain Curly stood before him, yet not fully. His form flickered, a disturbing glitch in reality, existing as both solid and spectral against the moonlit windows. This ethereal state radiated an alien coldness that sent shivers down Jimmy's spine. For a fleeting moment, the spectral form softened, allowing Curly's human features to resurface. A translucent spectral hand reached out, then abruptly retracted. "You did well," the Captain murmured, his voice a low rasp, a ghostly echo barely audible. The moment shattered, the tenderness gone, replaced by the Captain's original, hard features and ice-cold gaze. Jimmy flinched, questioning his sanity - had he imagined the empathy, the spectral hand, the tone? "Report to your next station," the Captain barked, his voice sharp, devoid of warmth. Jimmy obeyed, that chilling memory a phantom sensation. He knew he’d witnessed something profoundly wrong, something that was irrevocably changing their Captain.

(The pony Express company tested a 'venom' on certain members of the tulpar crew that awoke dormant parts of their personalities previously unknown and possibly some powers)