Nightmare's Dream

by shirotora

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Sex, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Romance, Original Character, Trixie
Length: 15450

Twilight and her new fiance Curt descover that humans adepts have begun apearing across the galaxy. Now, the two former soldiers must seek them out so they can learn to control their new powers.

Don't forget to check out the other part of the collab, Grey Hat

It has been one year since the invasion of Avol failed and the subsequent surrender of the dratali. Since then, the galaxy has seen peace like that which many had never seen. The races of Avol have been in negotiation with the races of the Alliance of Sapient Races. Now, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and a few others are leaving their homeworld. While the others leave to forge a path in the stars for their fellow pony, Twilight returns to Earth with her boyfriend, Curt, to begin a project of her own; a guide to help ponies better adapt to very different culture.

Not long after their arrival on Earth, though, her plans take a dramatic turn. Between Curt's proposal to the discovery that humans have been developing magical abilities, the nightmare pony has her hooves full. No matter what, though, she was determined to come out on top, publish her book, teach a new race magic, marry the man of her dreams, and prove that even a nightmare's dreams can come true.

Cover art by PhiliChez

Published 2015-02-14 21:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-25 23:54:41 UTC

Prelude: Back in the Black

Prelude: Back in the Black

She ran.

It was all she could do. The sound of her pursuer was close behind, always the same distance, as if it was toying with her. She ran through the burning remains of the children she failed on Placid Harbor, past the mangled corpse of her teacher, Has-Ka, past every human, korg, aviva, and pony she failed to save, the sound of her hunter trailing behind her every step.

Finally, she left the field of dead behind, sighing in relief... relief that didn't last long.

She skidded to a halt as another group of bodies spread out before her.

Her eyes wandered from Applejack's decapitated form to Aden, her tech-savvy former squad mate, impaled on a steel spike. Only the pink mane and yellow feathers hinted at the identity at the one being devoured by timberwolves. It was as if some mad scientist thought to see if Rainbow Dash's and Debby's similarities in personality and flight skill would make it possible to fuse their bodies together in a horrendous abomination.

Each and every person she cared about, pony or otherwise, was here, dead in some twisted form of torture, littered the ground. All but one.

Hanging from his arms was the most important person in her life, his pained cries calling out to her. Cuts and gashes adorned his body as his life bleed away. Curtis Dupree, her love, the first human she met after being flung through space just over two years ago. The fun loving, intelligent – even if he didn't show it all the time – special forces soldier was her first friend when she needed one most. He made her laugh when she was down, and offered shoulder to cry on when she needed one. He saved her life and she saved his.

“Do you see what you did?” The silky, venomous voice startled her, causing her to jump and turn toward the voice.

“Who's there!?” she called back.

“Look at all the beautiful pain you caused.”

“Wh-what!? I... I didn't do it, I swear!” she defended.

“Oh?” the voice said as its owner moved into the light. Lavender, draconic eyes peered back at her from the dark purple face. Its shadowy mane billowed in an ethereal wind, the pink and purple stripes being the only things bright on her. “But you did...”

Twilight woke with a start. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign that the nightmare was real. To her relief, she was still in the room she and Curt shared aboard the Turnatu, an avivan spaceliner, said human still draping an arm over her.

It was funny how much could change in two years. From being a naïve bookworm, and caretaker of Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville for eight great years, she was thrown far from her home world of Avol by a traitorous unicorn named Xander.

There she found the galaxy at war with a race of misguided zealots, the Dratali, reptilian magic users that believed life was a disease killing the galaxy. After witnessing their brutality firsthand, she joined the Alliance, a union of several independent sovereign empires formed to encourage peace between the spacefaring races, in their fight.

She was commissioned as an officer and assigned to the Griffin Squad, the special forces unit that included Curt and Seth, the other human with Curt when she found them. It was there, after fighting and bleeding together, that she started to develop feelings for him. Of course, Twilight's self-doubt kept her from saying anything.

She and her brothers and sister in arms, Seth, the leader, Curt, the sniper, Raak, the combat specialist, Debby, the pilot, and Aden, the tech guy, then went on to follow the cryptic leads of James, the human-like disguise of Mayhem, one of twenty three chaos lords... or as they were called on Avol, draconequi.

They learned a great deal about the history of both humans, and ponies. The first was that Avol was created by the chaos lords from Avalon, the legendary kingdom of King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. The chaotic demigods decided that humans were too young of a race to possess both their incredible drive and ambition as well as possess powerful magic. So it was decided that humans would keep their ambition, but their magic would be given to the people of Avalon, who in turn surrendered their ambition as their bodies were transformed for reasons that were not specified. If Mayhem and Discord were the standard among them, though, it was probably just for the hell of it.

Twilight and her friends also learned that King Solaris, Celestia and Luna's father, was King Arthur himself, while Starswirl was Merlin, and Twilight and Curt's distant ancestor of several dozen generations. Though the strangest was learning that Mayhem left the Order of Chaos because he fell in love with a simple earth pony mare. He had been living as an earth pony rock farmer named Clyde with his wife and three daughters, Inkie, Blinkie, and Pinkie. Twilight wasn't as surprised by that last bit as she would have thought. At least she knew where her hyper friend got it from.

“Mmm,” came a pleasant groan from behind her. “Morning... You've been sweating. Did you have another nightmare?”

Twilight rolled around and put her hooves around him, “It's fine. It was just a dream.”

Curt smiled and kissed her gently before saying, “If you're fine then...”

“I am,” Twilight assured him. “I'm going to go get cleaned up.”

With that, she twisted back around and dropped to the floor, stretching before trotting toward the bathroom. The lights flicked on automatically and she stepped up to the mirror. She had changed a lot, physically, in two years. Not even two hours after her exile she took a grazing bullet to the face, leaving a long scar under her right eye. That was the first, but far from the most noticeable. Her mane was next up on the list. Its short, kind of spiky look was a far cry from her old, ruler straight cut before.

After she turned the hot water on, she revealed the next major change. With a twist, the shiny, lavender metal detached from the stump of her right foreleg. She once again thanked Technia, silently. The unicorn technophile had repaired the prosthetic after it was destroyed, improving it to accept mana-flow like a natural leg. She examined the scarred stump, the silver strands of metal that linked her leg to her nervous system. The day that mech self-destructed and took her leg was still one of the worst days of her life, but she adapted well.

Twilight took a deep breath, readying herself to examine the most radical change, the one she hated most. Focusing on her back muscles, she flexed the most recently acquired ones. Great lavender wings extended to either side, though, these weren't the majestic wings of an alicorn. No, these were the leathery wings of a Nightmare.

The worst day of her life. She was on a mission to rescue Curt from a Dratali prison. Her combat magic teacher, Has-Ka, had showed up to help. He was a Dratali Archon, an elite mage, that defected to the Alliance. He wasn't the first to try leaving the religious ranks, but he was the only to succeed. He taught Twilight the more deadly side of magic, and the two became close friends. Unfortunately, he met his end while leaving the prison.

Twilight had bottled up so much fear, sorrow, and anger from the past months. From the loss of her home and loved ones, to seeing the murder of those children that had been so happy just minutes before, to all the other atrocities had built up until finally, the loss of her teacher topped it off. All the negative emotion, fed by a massive mana font sparked the creation of the most feared being on Avol, a Nightmare.

Twilight went mad as her body was taken over by the demonic emotional manifestation. She left a trail of blood and gore in her rampage. She slaughtered everything she encountered without remorse, even medics and engineers, non-combatants. Ironically, it was Xander who saved her from herself, though not in a way one would really call 'saving'. He severed her horn, and nearly drained her of every drop of her magic, almost killing her in the process. The lack of magic to fuel the parasite, it became dormant... that was until she used the alicorn amulet.

After going back in time with a spell cast by Princess Celestia to seek the help of Starswirl, the only pony in history to have more than a basic understanding of Nightmares, he crafted the alicorn amulet out of her own severed horn. It was supposed to absorb her Nightmare and contain it within, but part of its space was used when Trixie, having a developing Jealousy Nightmare of her own, used the amulet. As a result, the amulet malfunctioned and tried to pull out more than it could hold. The result was a partial relapse that left her with only enough control to not kill her friends.

When Xander destroyed the amulet, it destroyed the part of the Nightmare that was absorbed, but the backlash from the part that couldn't be taken was permanently fused to her very soul. Like it or not, it was a part of her and likely always would be.

Granted, the only physical signs of her change were the wings, though functional, she has yet to do more that glide short distances, and her left eye. Her senses were slightly augmented, but not very much, as was her mana font. Her temper was a bit worse, but not too much. Over all, she didn't change that much, but in her own eyes, she had become a monster.

With a sigh, she stepped into the shower and, using her magic, turned on the steaming hot water. As the cleansing liquid cascaded down her fur, her thoughts continued getting darker. She thought of all those who lost their lives when the Dratali found Avol and invaded. Even with Alliance ships in orbit keeping the majority of the invaders out, a few managed to slip by. Even though the Equestrian army that gathered out numbered the aliens ten to one, the battle was more of a massacre. Well over half of the ponies that fought died that day.

Her darkening thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand brush along her back.

“Mind if I join you?” Curt asked.

A seductive smile formed on the purple pony. “Go ahead. Can you wash my back?”

“Sure,” he replied.

And just like that, her dark thoughts did a u-turn. The silver lining made itself known, as she remembered some good came of it. After all, she had found love. The man scrubbing her back was the very first human she had ever met. Sure, he was a bit of an idiot sometimes, and rarely took things seriously, but he had been by her side since they met. He helped take care of her after she was nearly killed by Xander. She remembered how helpless she was. Being a magical being, if Xander would have taken all her magic she would have died. She didn’t even have enough magic for her horn to regrow without outside help. Curt fed her, washed her, and even changed her diapers until she regained control of her bodily functions.

She wasn’t the only one to receive something from this, either. Avol was now a part of the Alliance. She and her friends were chosen, along with several others, to be the first to venture out and start to share their culture with their new friends. She was going to Earth to teach scholars there about the culture, biology, and magic of her home world, as well as write a sort of guide for Avolians that want to take that journey into space.

A new day in pony history was dawning, and she was the one to usher it in. The thought sent shivers down her spine at the thought of foals a thousand years from now learning about her and what she did. Of course, the kisses being peppered down her neck may have been a part of that feeling.

“We still have a few hours before we dock at Anderson Station,” Curt said huskily, “You wanna fool around?”

Twilight's smile grew.

Oh yeah. The future looks bright indeed.

Twilight levitated the last of their luggage into Curt’s ship. His mom had it brought up for them earlier in the day, seeing as they wouldn’t be arriving until after midnight.

“So,” Curt began, “What’s first on the schedule?”

Twilight thought for a moment before answering, “Well, I have a couple days before my first lecture, so how about something educational? Something that is important to human culture?”

Curt got a mischievous grin, “I might know something.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him, “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to do something stupid?”

“Because I usually do.”

Twilight sighed, resigning herself to it as she and Curt made their way through the ship and into the cockpit. Despite the worry of what her lover was planning, she couldn’t keep her excitement away.

Finally, I can actually study the cultures of the Alliance without interruption.

Twilight really needed to learn to stop tempting fate.

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

Author's Note

Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday. I've been kinda sick.

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

Chapter 1: Welcome Back

“Curt, I'm going to kick your ass!” Twilight said from her precarious position.

“You're the one that wants to experience human culture,” the human defended.

After a five day flight from the newly built Harmony Station above the pony homeworld of Avol, they had finally arrived at his family’s villa in Ireland. The last time Twilight was there, she didn’t get to enjoy most of what Terra had to offer on account of the near fatal injuries she was recovering from.

The memories of the terrible beating she received from Xander still haunted her. In fact, everything about that rescue mission did. Losing her mentor and friend, Has-Ka, falling to her own Nightmare as she held his limp form, slaughtering countless Dratali in her rage, and finally, having almost every drop of magic drained from her still gave her nightmares.

It was her rage that hurt the most. It was as if she was watching everything someone else was doing through a haze. She had no control of her body, but she could still feel her horn piercing Dratali, tearing them open. She could remember the sheer ecstasy of projecting a shield within their bodies and rapidly expanding it. The blood and gore that she left in her wake covered the floors, walls, and ceilings of the corridors.

Then was Xander’s assault. It was brutal. His undead form was impervious to harm it seemed. She could sever limbs, rip him to pieces, or even incinerat his head, and he merely shrugged it off. The memory of her own severed horn piercing her chest sent shivers down her spine whenever she would think about it.

After she passed out, she was rushed to the hospital where she managed to recover. After she was well enough, she was released to Curt’s care who took her to his parent’s place on Terra, better known to its inhabitants as Earth. Those months without magic as her horn regrew and her magic replenished were some of the worst in her life. She had thought it was bad when she lost her right foreleg, but that was easily fixed with a high-tech cybernetic prosthetic. This was so much worse. Without her magic, she couldn’t even regrow her horn without Curt channeling his into the stump.

She only ever left the villa twice in that time, both times were to visit the hospital. There was so much she wanted to do, and this time she and her bipedal lover and former squadmate were going to do it all... she just wasn’t expecting this.

“Yeah, well, there's something fundamentally wrong about a pony trying to ride a horse,” the unicorn said as Buttercup trotted along, ignorant of the discomfort displayed by the pony in the saddle. She held onto the reigns with her hooves and used her leathery wings for balance. She still couldn’t use them for much. Even a year after the Alicorn Amulet fused a small portion of her Nightmare to her soul, she still could do nothing but glide short distances and use them for balance. Any and all attempts to fly ended in pain and sometimes a concussion. Still, she was grateful for them. They were the only things keeping her from falling off.

When Curt recommended showing her one of the most important pieces of human history, and offered to teach her the secrets, she didn't expect to be riding the Earth equivalent of her own kind. Awkward didn't even begin to describe it, but a part of her was curious as to the role of equines in human history.

“Horses are a vital part of human society. They’ve served us for thousands of years, performing various tasks. This was how we traveled up until a little over a thousand years ago. Without horses, we wouldn’t have made it out of the bronze age. Follow me. Just move the reigns like this.” Curt pulled to the right and the horse followed.

Twilight copied her boyfriend's instructions and was filled with a sense of accomplishment when Buttercup followed her instructions. She was slowly starting to get the hang of it, but it still felt weird. Twilight's horse riding lessons lasted another hour before Curt decided it was enough. They guided the large equines back to the stable and dismounted, Twilight with a little help.

“Thanks for letting us borrow the horses, Amy.” Curt waved to the animals' caretaker as he led Twilight away.

“Anything for my favorite cousin,” she replied. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Twilight.”

“Likewise.” The unicorn returned the offered smile. “Okay, Curt, what's next?”

“Dinner,” Curt replied. “Mom's making her chicken parmesan with fettuccine alfredo.”

“Mmm, I love that stuff.” Twilight's mouth began watering at the memory of the dish. One of Twilight’s favorite perks of the Alliance was the abundance of meat. On Avol, it was difficult to raise livestock without attracting predators and monsters that would just as likely eat a pony. Instead, they used magically altered flowers to provide the protein needed, saving meat for special occasions.

“Your mom knows about my... changes, right?” They had arrived late the night before and Mrs. Dupree had already gone out by the time they woke up late that morning. While the only real changes were the wings and her left eye having a cat-like pupil, Twilight was rather self-conscious about it.

“She knows, but she might still be a little bit shocked,” Curt answered truthfully. “Hearing about something like that and seeing it are two different things, after all.”

“I hope it doesn't freak her out.”

“Nah, mom's not the type to care about things like that. She'll probably be worried about how it might be affecting you, but that's it.”

Curt waved his hand over the door to his car, the locking mechanism reading his handprint, and the door slid open. A flash of light came from behind moments before a similar flash filled the car.

Curt sat in the driver seat and looked at Twilight in the passenger seat, “Show off.”

“Slacker. Practice more.”

Curt was one of only three humans and two part-humans capable of using magic, though they have only had the ability for about a year and a half. It was the result of a mission to recover an artifact of unknown power and origin. Under the direction of James, the draconequus Mayhem in his human form, Twilight and her squadmates sought out this object. Upon arrival, the chaotic being told them of how he and his brethren created Avol from Avalon, the nation ruled by King Arthur Pendragon, and transformed the citizens into the equines that called the artificial world home. The artifact they sought was meant to unlock the long dormant power within human’s. It was by this that the first human mages in two thousand years were born.

He gripped the wheel and the vehicle's magdrive kicked on, propelling the car upward a dozen feet. The vehicle sped off at one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour toward the villa, the beautiful Irish countryside speeding by. Twilight watched from the window as the miraculous machine flew through the air at speeds she wouldn’t have thought possible without magic two years ago. The science behind the magnetic propulsion system that shot it at the amazing speeds, and the ionic air displacement that separated the atmosphere as it passed fascinated her to no end. It took less than ten minutes for them to land in the carport of the large home.

“Welcome home, you two,” said the cheery voice of Patricia.

“Hey, mom,” Curt greeted as he stepped out.

“So,” the older woman crossed her arms expectantly. “Well, come on out, dear. I don't care what you look like.”

Twilight slowly stepped out of the vehicle and came into full view.

“Really, Curtis?” she deadpanned at her son, “The way you made it sound I expected scales or fangs, or-” Twilight flared her wings. “Oh... that's neat. Do they work?”

Twilight chuckled, relieved her new appearance was accepted, “They do, but I'm not very good with them.”

“Can you control weather like the pegasi from your world?” she asked.

“No, nor can I naturally walk on clouds, but I know a spell for that one.”

“That's too bad,” Patricia grinned, “My daisies need watering.”

Curt rolled his eyes.

Patricia continued, “I had Erica move your things to the guest house. That way you two can do what couples do and I don't have to hear it.”

“Mom, come on! Do you have to word it like that?”

“What? Do you think I don't know what couples do? How do you think you were born? Besides, I read about it in Twilight's friend's book.”

“You got a copy of that?” Curt raised an eyebrow.

“Twilight sent me a copy. I still can't believe you fought a seventy foot tall super mech after it tore off your leg! You're quite the little warrior.” Patricia shot the mare a knowing smirk.

“Yeah, she might have exaggerated things a bit,” the unicorn said with a chuckle.

Twilight and Curt finished unpacking the things they were going to be needing during their stay on Earth and put the rest in his personal transport. The guest house was modest with two bedroom, a large bathroom, a living room, and a small kitchen.

After a quick 'bed test' and shower, they headed to the main house for dinner. The smell when they walked in was the first thing Twilight noticed. It the same smell as the night before she left this place over a year ago. She had a feeling Patricia made this particular meal because it was her favorite. They made their way to the kitchen and were greeted with a pleasant surprise.

“Evenin', Twilight,” said the deep, Irish accented voice of Curt's father, Jason. “Glad to see you visit in good health.”

“Dad!” Curt walked up to the older gentleman and threw his arms around him. “I wasn't expecting you home.”

“We finished with the designs early,” Jason explained. “What about you? How are things with the two of you?”

“It's great,” Curt answered. “Twilight's the love of my life.”

“Aww,” Twilight cooed, “That's so sweet.”

“So, Twilight,” Jason began, “You do magic. Is there some magical way for you two to have kids one day?”

“Dad!”

Twilight giggled at Curt's embarrassment, “Yes, actually. We can even decide if our child is a pony or human. In fact, Curt already-owch, what!” Twilight looked over at him in irritation, rubbing her hind-hoof where the annoying human’s foot struck her.

Curt leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Let's not tell them about that just yet.”

“Oh, right...”

“You two aren't having a baby already are you?” Patricia asked worriedly. “You aren’t even married yet.”

“No, no,” Twilight replied. “I was saying that Curt and I already decided that we would both like to have a baby after we get married.”

“That's good,” Patricia said as she started serving dinner. “To be honest, I was kind of sad because I thought I wouldn't get grandchildren. I'm glad I still have a chance. Now dig in.”

After a few moments for everyone to get a few bites of their food, Patricia struck up a conversation, “So, what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Well,” Twilight took another bite of the chicken before continuing, “First we're going to get settled, then Curt's taking me to see some sights. Thursday, I'm going to Winston University to help in the documentation of the biology of the races of my world. That way, if someone from my world gets injured, they have a reference for treatment. I'm also going to see what material I can get on the Alliance and its history.”

“Sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing your lecture, but I have too much to do tomorrow myself.” Patricia smiled regretfully. “Can you record it for me, Curt?”

“Of course. I was planning on it anyway.”

“Are you ever going to teach me how to make this chicken parmesan?” Twilight asked with pleading eyes.

“If I did that, you wouldn't have to come visit to get it anymore.”

“Whatever, mom.” Curt rolled his eyes, “You're just going to hold over her head until you need something.”

“You don't get a house like this by giving away potentially valuable resources,” the woman defended.

“She's got us there,” Twilight chuckled.

Twilight and Curt sat on the beach watching the sunset. The sun seemed to set the water ablaze as it fell beyond the horizon. It was a sight more beautiful than any sunset she had ever seen on Avol. Something about a natural sun seemed so much more beautiful. Twilight let out a content sigh and rested her head on Curt's shoulder. He smiled and began scratching the side of her neck, just how she loved, occasionally rubbing her back along the light blue fabric of her casual dress.

“Earth is so beautiful,” Twilight said dreamily.

“That's the same thing I said about Avol, but anywhere is beautiful when you're there.”

“Oh, goddess. That was so corny, I'll be picking it out of my teeth for weeks.”

“You like my corn and you know it.”

“Yes I do,” Twilight admitted and leaned up for a kiss.

The winged unicorn looked back at the ocean and sighed again, “This is one of those moments that just couldn't get any better.”

Curt smiled and said, “You know, before we left, I went to talk to your parents. I had this crazy idea and wanted to see what they thought of it. They actually said it was a great idea, even your brother agreed.”

“Oh, and what's this crazy idea?” Twilight asked.

Curt brought his hand, the one not scratching Twilight, and held something out. It was a bracelet of gold and silver intertwining bands with a pink diamond in the shape of a six pointed star. Twilight's eyes went wide in shock as she realized what it was. She looked at Curt for confirmation and saw the hopeful smile he offered.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he began, “Will you marry me?”

Suddenly, Twilight found herself unable to think. The polished glint of the bracelet and the man holding it were the only things in existence. Slowly, a smile started to grow, and then, all at once, every emotion exploded at once. She leaped into the air, shouting her joy as loud as she could. The joyous unicorn tackled her man to the ground and planted the most passionate kiss she could on his lips.

“Of course I will!” Twilight said through the kiss.

Curt broke the kiss and took her left hoof, placing the symbolic ring around her fetlock. The moment it was secure, Twilight resumed the kiss, pushing him to his back.

“This is the best night ever!”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Avolian's Guide to the Galaxy
By: Twilight Sparkle

Introduction

The Milky Way Galaxy, a place full of wonderful and amazing opportunities, but also potentially dangerous. Like anything dangerous, though, having a deeper understanding of it reduces the threat. You'll find that the most of the galaxy isn't much more dangerous than Avol. Hopefully, you've acquired this guide before setting off, and still have time to prepare some things that may be difficult to acquire away from our home world.

In this guide, we will cover the legal and cultural differences you will encounter as well as etiquette. After all, you don't want to insult a korg's honor or forget one of the many nuances of human table manners. We will also cover several interesting facts and the history about the different races that comprise the Alliance. Finally, I will be giving options for different fun and entertaining places and activities that you can enjoy on your adventure in the stars.

Good luck, and stay informed.

Chapter 2: A Romantic Evening

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3: The Amazing Alexander

Chapter 3: The Amazing Alexander

Curt and Twilight waited by the dressing room for The Amazing Alexander to finish. He agreed to their request to meet with him, and could hopefully answer a few questions.

“Any theories?” Curt asked the unicorn.

“Not a damn one,” Twilight replied. “That's what I hate the most. I've been trying to think of how this is even possible, but I just can't figure it out. It's like the Pinkie Sense all over again!”

“So...” Curt raised an eyebrow. “You think his dad is a Chaos Lord?”

Twilight groaned, “Don't remind me. It's just like Pinkie to take everything I know and utterly destroy it. Granted, her half-draconequus form fits her, it just creeps me out.”

Curt was about to say something when the door opened and the performer stepped outside. He gave the two of them a curious glance, wondering what this particular pony would want with him, before motioning with his head to come inside. The couple entered the room, finding it to be rather spartan in its furnishings. A small green couch sat against one wall, a wardrobe and coat rack by another and a vanity adorned the third. Other than that there wasn't much of anything other than an old, worn chest that was most likely Alex's.

“So,” Alex began, “You wanted to speak with me?”

Curt glanced at Twilight before beginning, “That was an interesting show. I definitely enjoyed it. You know, I've always found it fun to try and see if I can figure out how you guys do your tricks.”

Alex looked at the ex-soldier suspiciously. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

“That's okay,” Twilight replied. “I already saw how you did your tricks.”

Alex tense noticeably. “Oh? Was one of my wires visible?”

Twilight smirked. “To a unicorn, yes. You see, unicorns have a kind of sixth sense. We can sense magic very similarly to the way one's eyes sense the world, and not just the auras others can see but the actual energy threads. It's like a second sight... and what I saw during your show raised a lot of questions. Curt, pop quiz. What kind of energy was that?”

“Mostly raw magical energy, but he also used a bit of rough transmutation energy. Likely all self taught which is impressive. He has talent, but needs a teacher.”

“Uh... I... don't know what you're talking about?” Alex tried.

Curt just smirked and in a flash of light, appeared to the showman’s side, draping his arm around his shoulder. “Did you think you were the only one?”

Twilight giggled at the magician's dumbfounded expression. “I think I smell burning brain cells. Curt here, along with a handful of others developed magical abilities about a year and a half ago. My first question to you; Where and when did you first develop your abilities?”

Alex finally shook the cobweb from his brain and looked at the unicorn, “About a year and a half ago. I was on a spaceliner on my way here when this redhead chick stood up and yelled out something like 'happy heart warmers' or something and snapped her fingers. There was this flash of light and we were suddenly over some weird old ruins on some planet. Then this wave of... energy slammed into us, knocking everyone out. We I came to, we were back on course. I thought I just dreamed it until someone tried mugging me. I turned the guy into a ficus.”

Curt laughed, “So your first major magic was turning someone into a plant? Sounds familiar, wouldn't you say, Twi?”

“Don't make me hurt you, Curtis,” Twilight said casually, “So, a redhead woman, huh. Excuse me for a second.”

As her fiance and Alex sat on the couch, talking quietly to each other, Twilight lifted her right leg, extending her computer and shuffling through her contacts. Finding the one she needed, she dialed.

“PINK Inc., this is the CEO, Pinkie Pie. How can I help you?” came the cheery voice.

“PINK Inc.?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Parties, Invitations, Novelties, and Kraziness incorporated. I started a company!” replied the hyper mare.

“Well... uh, good luck,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “Hey, is your dad around?”

“Hold on.” Pinkie turned away and raised her voice, “Daddy, phone!”

Before long, a brown earth pony stallion with porkchop sideburns and what he always called an “Amish hat” trotted into view, and gave a big smile. “Twilight. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“A human adept.”

“Oh, I heard about the engagement. Congratulations,” Clyde said.

“Not Curt. In fact it's none of Griffon Squad. He's a magician that claims a redheaded woman transported the ship to the ruins just as the artifact activated.”

The wardrobe door swung open and a tall man in a black trench coat with half and half black and white hair and a goatee walked out.

“Where is he?”

“What's going on, Clyde?” Twilight asked.

“Clyde's an earth pony,” the man said critically.

Twilight gave him a bemused glare, “Fine, James. What the hell is going on?”

He walked up to the magician who just stared at the strange man in confusion. He tried to bury himself in the couch when the man got in his face, sniffing him.

“Eeyup, he's got Turmoil's magic on him alright,” James stated.

“You could tell that from his smell?” Curt asked.

“I could tell the moment I saw him,” James said seriously, “I just wanted to creep him out.”

“Who the hell is this guy and why was he in the Wardrobe?” Alex asked.

“He's not a guy, he's a draconequus, a demi-god-like being of chaos,” Twilight answered. “This one in particular is my friend's father.” She turned back to James, asking, “So, Turmoil... your sister?”

“That's right, Lady Dusk. Her human form is usually that of a petite redhead. Apparently, her agenda goes farther than what she had me doing. Dammit, I wish they'd let me in on it. Whatever it is, Turmoil meant for you to find out about them, she's too meticulous for this to be an accident.”

Silence reigned as everyone contemplated exactly what this meant. Curt was rather excited about the possibility of humans regaining their long lost gift of magic, while Alex pondered his new found role as pawn. Twilight however, thought about the possible implications of a draconequus doing something this big.

Eventually, Twilight spoke up, “I'm calling the Admiral Gibson. If Turmoil did this, it's for a reason, and the Alliance needs to know.”

“I agree,” James said.

Turning once again to her leg computer, she sent a priority call to her old CO. The wise old sailor answered with a hint of worry.

“Miss Sparkle, what seems to be the problem?”

After Twilight gave him a brief run down on the situation, and some time to contemplate, the Admiral spoke, “I'll look into which flight that could have been and see if I can track down some of the other passengers. In the mean time, call Celestia and see ask her about the possibility of training any other human adepts that we locate.”

“And Alex?” Twilight inquired.

“That depends on him.” The admiral turned his attention to the untrained mage. “What are you going to do, Mr. Alex? We won't force you to leave your career, but I believe you could be of assistance to Ms. Sparkle and Mr. Dupree. If they agree, I’d like you to accompany them. In exchange, you'll be paid as an Alliance operative and receive training in the magical arts. Knowing Twilight, she'd love the idea of teaching you magic.”

Twilight had a grin that would bring a tear of pride and joy to Pinkie's eye, “Please say yes!”

“Uh...” Alex looked at Twilight with a touch of discomfort. She was way too excited, but then again, training would improve his shows. The truth of the matter was, all this was way outside his comfort zone. One moment he was just doing a show, and then, not a half hour later, he’s in the middle of some plot cooked up by god-like beings. He wasn’t really sure he could trust these... people, but what choice did he have? If they were to be believed, he could go down in history. “Alright. I guess I'll do it.”

“Excellent,” Gibson said. “I'll get to work on my end. Send Princess Celestia my regards. Gibson out.” With that, the screen went dark.

Without missing a beat, Twilight brought up her mentor's number and sent a priority call, just as she did with the Admiral. After a few seconds longer than Twilight expected, the image of the Equestrian ruler appeared.

“Hello, Twilight,” the solar diarch greeted warmly, “How are you?”

Once again, Twilight explained what she and Curt discovered, as well as the Admiral's offer. Twilight's lip curled in a slight smile at the twinkle is the princess' eye. That love of knowledge, both learning and teaching, was something they both shared and the reason behind their closeness.

“Well, this is excellent news, especially from a diplomatic standpoint,” Celestia said. “If ponies teach humans magic, it will help bolster our relationship. Do you think Aden would be willing to become a teacher? I would ask Seth, but I already know he has enough on his plate. Did you hear about his new position as CO of a scout frigate?”

“Yes, I did. He deserves it, after everything he's done,” Twilight said with a smile. “So, back on subject, we can direct any human adepts we find to your school?”

“Yes, though we'll have to change the name,” Celestia mused, “After all, more than unicorns will be attending now.”

“How about 'Celestia's School for the Magical Arts'?” Twilight offered.

“That sounds lovely, and I can even open a new wing specifically for humans.” Celestia got that mischievous look in her eye. “I'll call it the... 'Twilight Sparkle Wing'.”

Twilight's jaw dropped as her brain just shut down, “Uh-bud-dow-whu... Wh-what?” After the critical failure worked itself out, the implications of what was said finally sank in.

“You really mean it?” she asked in stunned awe.

“And why not?” Celestia giggled at her students flabbergasted expression. “You are the first to teach humans magic, you've developed over thirty spells, and you've refined and improved more than fifty, including seven of Starswirl's.”

“Congrat's Twi,” Curt said as he walked over and gave the mare a quick one-armed hug

“I... I don't know what to say,” Twilight said with a tear forming in her eye.

“How about when I can expect my first bipedal student,” Celestia offered. “I look forward to teaching Mr. Alexander.”

“Oh, him?” Twilight snapped out of her daze, “He's not going to be going just yet. He's going to be helping us find the other like him.”

Celestia wore a practiced look of fake hurt, “So you get yet another student and I have to wait?” And then came the equally practiced and faked indignation, “Perhaps I should name the new wing after Trixie.”

Twilight, though, had seen both looks enough to be able to recognize them, “Oh, stop being a baby. You'll be getting plenty of students soon.”

Celestia giggled, “You know, two years ago you would have never spoken to me like that. I'm glad that you can finally speak to me as a friend.”

Twilight gave the ancient mare a warm smile. “I'll talk to you later. Good bye, Princess.”

“Good bye, Twilight.”

Twilight looked back up, seeing Curt trying to show Alex how to create fire, but no sign of the draconequus, she spoke up, “Alright, let's go back to the villa to wait for the Admiral's call. I'll start your lessons with mana control and transformation.”

With that, the three left the restaurant and headed toward the car.

Across the street from the fancy restaurant, a massive shadow watched as three figures sped away.

Interesting, he thought to himself, still listening in to the conversation going on between the pony and humans thanks to the bug planted in one of the buttons on the unicorn’s dress. More Human adepts.

Jack will want to hear about this.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Alliance of Sapient Races (ASR)

The Alliance of Sapient Races – simply called 'the Alliance' – is, as the name suggests, an alliance between several sovereign empires across the galaxy. It was founded by Terran and Avivan governments shortly after first contact in 2278. The original purpose was to coordinate exploration efforts and any other possible first contact situation.

After the Korg joined in 2351, it was decided that closer relations and civilian travel between human, avivan, and korg space would greatly benefit each race. Thus, the Alliance became a means to pass and regulate galactic law. Since then, over half a dozen races have joined the Alliance.

Chapter 4: Reflections

Chapter 4: Reflections

It had been three days since Twilight and Curt discovered the existence of Alex and the other human adepts. Twilight was pleasantly surprised to discover how much Alex had learned on his own. Though she wouldn't call him a prodigy like Curt or herself, he learned noticeably faster than most unicorns.

She had led Curt and Alex to a clearing in on the property to start their lessons. Curt was helping a little with Alex's training, but soon enough went off to his own lesson, leaving Twilight to focus on Alex. They had finished with the Arcane School basics, levitation he already knew, and he took to arcane bolts in about an hour and a half so it was easy. With that done to par, they had moved on to the Elemental School.

“Okay, first, unlike the Arcane School, you have to transform your mana into the proper type of energy, elemental energy. For that, you channel your magic through your diaphragm, pouring passion into it. Remember, emotion is key for advanced magic schools. If you try casting magic with the wrong emotion it'll fail, often with very bad results. Try thinking about something that you're passionate about.”

“Right.” Alex nodded as he raised his right hand and focused. His mind wandered to thoughts about crowds of people, cheering and praising his amazing performances. With that feeling, he channeled his magic through his heart, feeling it become wild, like fire, yet still in his grasp.

To non-adepts, his magic aura looked the same as ever, but to any unicorn or human adept, it looked as if he held liquid fire.

“Whoa! I did it on my first try!” Alex cheered.

“Don't get cocky,” Twilight said, “Almost everyone does. Energy transformation is easy, and with practice will become second nature. Elemental energy is fluid in nature and you will find it's easily controlled.”

“Thanks for bursting my bubble.” Alex chuckled as he looked to his fellow human adept. The aura that surrounded his hand was like a breath of fog, slowly churning and rolling. “What kind of magic is he doing?”

Twilight glanced at her lover and stated casually, “Necromancy.”

Alex's eyes widened, “Y-you mean like... raising the dead?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Necromancy is mastery over death, whether to cause or prevent it. It can be used to temporarily breath life into dead flesh, for instance to access the last memories of a murder victim, or, yes, reanimate the dead. Although reanimation is heavily regulated, there are a few scientific applications. There are even programs where ponies can sell the rights to their bodies to be used as labor for harvesting herbs in Death Marsh. The air there is so toxic that it will kill you in seconds, but there are plants that grow there that can cure dozens of illnesses including the only known cure for horn rot, red lung, and OTS. They tried using constructs, but something about them kills the plant. Necromancy's primary use, though is in the medical field. Its control over vitality can be used to keep patients alive, even with injuries that should kill them.”

“I wouldn't mind learning that,” Alex stated.

Twilight chuckled, happy he was showing such enthusiasm. “It's rather advanced, so you won't be touching it for a couple years. Curt's kind of a prodigy, so he's learning it sooner that most others would. Don't worry though, at the rate you're learning, you'll be on Nature Magic within two weeks.”

“Nature magic?”

“Similar to Elemental Magic in a lot of ways, but instead of dealing with the four base natural elements, it's focus is on living things and a subject’s material composition. Transmutation, plant manipulation, and most simple medical magic falls under this school. But we'll worry about that when we get to it. Right now, let's focus on the most basic Elemental spell, fire.”

“Mmm, what is that smell?” Alex asked as the three mages walked into the dining room.

“It's a new recipe Twilight gave me,” woman of the house said, “It's spaghetti with dandelion and white sauce.”

Alex froze for a moment. “Did... did you say, 'dandelion'?”

“Avolian dandelion,” Twilight clarified. “Because there is a severe lack of non-sapient life on Avol, there isn't enough meat to support the population, so we developed 'meat-flowers'. They provide all the nutrients one finds in meat and are healthier. Don't worry, though, they taste nothing like flowers. Dandelions have a kind of garlic-buttery flavor that goes good with pasta.”

“So...” Alex began, trying to wrap his head around the 'meat-flower', “They're flowers, but they aren't? Why use flowers, though? Wouldn't it make more sense to just add it to things you already eat?”

Twilight was happy to explain, “Because other fruits and vegetables we tried ended up tasting like old socks. Flowers, hay, and grasses took to the magic far better and somehow ended up tasting good.”

Curt decided to give a human opinion, “They're good. Ham, lily, and cheese sandwiches are one of my favorite snacks now.”

The magician shrugged, “Hell, if I can try Dratali food, I can try this.”

“Dratali food? Where did you try that?” asked Curt.

“A former Dratali soldier pledged himself to a friend of mine,” Alex replied.

“Pledged himself?” Twilight gave the performer a quizzical look.

“You haven't heard about that?” Alex replied. “A few months ago, a large number of former Dratali soldiers began 'pledging' themselves. They basically offer themselves as slaves to various people, usually friends or family of civilians that were killed. It's supposed to be a part of their repentance. It's a religious thing.”

“That... sounds wrong,” Twilight said, though without much conviction. “I mean... Is it? Slavery is wrong, no doubt, but...”

“I feel ya, Twi,” Curt said, “I don't know what to think about that. If they're trying to make things right, and they offer themselves...”

“It's weird. Several of them turn up dead, too,” Alex continued. “How have you not heard about this?”

“We've been on Avol for the past year,” Curt explained. “They're still in the middle of integration.”

“Okay, enough talk about moral ambiguity,” said Patricia as she presented four plates of the pasta, “Food's ready.”

Twilight and Curt levitated their meals over with practiced ease, while Alex had to focus a little more, but still managed.

Patricia watched as the three plates floated away, “I'm never going to get used to that, am I?”

Curt chuckled and said, “Oh, sure you will, mom. After all, the wedding is going to be on Avol, so you'll see plenty of magic at work. Who knows, if we find out how that orb worked, you might be able to get magic of your own.”

“I'll pass,” Patricia said nonchalantly. “I'm not that lazy.”

“Hey!” Twilight said, “Magic is my special talent, and I'm the Element of Magic. But I'm not lazy at all.”

“Good!” the older woman smiled warmly, “Then you can wash dishes.”

Twilight just groaned while Curt and Alex laughed. “I walked right into that.”

“Twi, you're smart,” Curt gave his fiance a pat on the withers, “But never underestimate mom. She's ruthless.”

Twilight was jolted from her dreams of chocolate cupcakes, sexy stallions, and for some reason, Pinkie Pie, tambourine in her raccoon paw, chimes dangling from her moose antler, and her beaver tail beating a drum. Ever since Mayhem told everyone that he was Clyde, Pinkie's rock farming 'earth pony' father, Pinkie didn't have to hide her nature anymore and had become even more random. It made her wonder if the hyper pink half-draconequus was actually in her dream.

It didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was finding out who was going to get cussed out. Twilight levitated her ringing prosthetic from where she had put it the night before, something she was supposed to do every night, but often forgot. She reattached the false limb as Curt let her know he was up by placing a few light kisses on her withers. She brought up her computer and put on her best “If this isn't important, I'm going to incinerate you” scowl.

“That's really not a good look for you, Twilight.”

Twilight's scowl shifted quickly into a smile, “Good morning, Admiral.”

Admiral Gibson, Twilight's former CO, returned the smile, “I trust you're keeping that lazy bum you call a boy friend in line.”

“That's fiance, now,” Twilight corrected.

“Oh, my condolences, Sparkle.”

“I heard that,” Curt looked over Twilight's shoulder.

“I wasn't hiding it. Anyway, as much as I enjoy chatting, this is a business call. We've identified another passenger that was on the same flight as your friend.”

They would already have had all the passengers, but for some reason the records of that flight vanished right after the flight arrived at the Sunset Station above Earth.

“Her name is Tanya Swanson. I'm sending you the details now.” the old soldier gave the pony a knowing smirk. “I think you and she will get along just great. Gibson out.” And with that, the screen went out.

“Huh...What did he mean by that?” Twilight pondered. “Oh well, let's see what we've got.” Twilight opened the file she received and read intently. Curt watched as a smile crossed his lover's face.

“What?” he asked warily.

Twilight replied, excitement heavy in her voice, “She's a scientist.”

Twilight couldn't keep still in her excitement. Their first adept was a scientist, and a quantum physicist at that! Curt on the other hand was tired. He had to fly from Ireland to Old Union, what was once the eastern coast of the United States, and traffic was a bitch that early in the morning.

As Twilight started down yet another tangent about godards, the door to Dr. Swanson's lab opened.

“Ah, Ms. Sparkle,” a woman with long, black hair, bangs cut razor straight, walked out. Her pale skin was that of a person that rarely saw the sun, and her simple skirt and blouse were more for function over form. “I'm so glad you came.” The excitement was obvious in her voice. “I've been wanting to speak with you since I first heard about you on the net. Why don't you come inside?”

Twilight and Curt followed the scientist into her office. Twilight was immediately aware of something she had only seen under glass cases in antique stores and museums... Books. Lots and lots of books. Nothing else mattered about the room, not the desk and chairs, the few pictures that dotted the walls, or the plants in the corners beside the door.

“Oh, I see you've noticed my collection,” Tanya said. “There's something about paper books that make them so much better than their digital versions.”

“I agree, Dr. Swanson,” Twilight replied, “Do you, by any chance know why we're-”

“Hold that thought!” the woman interrupted. She ran to her desk and grabbed her datapad. She flipped through a few folders, mumbling to herself as she opened one folder after another, “Lists... Questionnaires... Possible meetings.... Twilight Sparkle. Alright, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Uh...” Twilight gave a confused look to Curt, “Can it wait? We're here for a very important reason.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Dr. Swanson said with a wave of her hand. “I've already figured most of it out.” To prove her point, she raised her hand and, with a lavender glow, a ficus in the corner turned into a small purple iguana looking lizard. “Spines here volunteered to let me test a spell on her. I've figured out that mana is dependent on not only emotion, but also which of the pools you draw from. I've identifies five different forms of mana, and have documented thirteen different spells.”

“Twi...” Curt whispered into the unicorn's ear as he watched the scientist in fascination, “Am I the only one seeing this?”

Twilight looked around the room as she spoke, “Lists, obvious OCD, spends most of her time inside with her experiments and books, and has a natural talent for magic?”

“Don't forget the purple lizard,” Curt added.

“Eeyup... I think we just found my Debby.” Twilight listened as the human woman went into details about the discovery of her talent.

This is going to be eye opening.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Human (Homo Sapien)

Home world; Terra, Sol

Humans are the most diverse race in the galaxy, having many nations and governments on their home world alone. Nearly every world and colony within Terran Federation space falls under the jurisdiction of one of five major factions, each consisting of an alliance of nations that fund the colony or world, though most are allowed there own laws.

Humans first reached the stars in Terran year 1961, a little over one thousand years ago. They, along with the Aviva, founded the Alliance of Sapient Races. The Terran Federation is the largest of the races in terms of occupied worlds. Humans are also the most widespread, being found throughout the galaxy.

An interesting detail is how closely their culture resembles ours. Not only is English and Equuish virtually the same language, but unicorns, pegasi, griffins, dragons, and many other Avolian races are found in Human myth. Does this mean our worlds have interacted in the past? Considering evidence that humans, at one time, had magic themselves, this is a possibility.

Personally, I would recommend most Avolians to begin their travels in Terran space, as it is the most similar to our own. It also has the widest diversity of other Alliance races, allowing one to begin learning their cultures in a setting that is more familiar.

Chapter 5: Stakeout

Chapter 5: Stakeout

Curt was a smart guy. Sure, he didn't always show it, but he was, in fact, quite the intelligent guy. It was one thing that made him and Twilight such a good match. That being said, his brain was seconds from complete, catastrophic meltdown. All he could gather from the conversation between his fiance and her apparent human clone was that magic had something to do with neutrinos. At least he was pretty sure; the rest of those words were obviously just a pony thing. No real word needed eight syllables to pronounce.

Given Professor Tanya’s degrees on the wall, Curt’s first impression as he entered the door was she’d be as much of a pathological neat-freak as Twilight. It looked like a paper printer had vomited all over half the floor and the disassembled terminal looked like it was—why was it smoking!?

“Oh, wow,” Twilight said, finally turning uber-brain mode off. “Celestia will be so excited to hear about this; an actual scientific explanation for magic!”

“I suppose I could give her a full lecture when I arrive,” Tanya replied.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean 'arrive'?”

“That's why you're here, correct?” Tanya asked rhetorically. “I traced the origin of my sudden ability to use magic to the incident on the spaceliner I took a year and a half ago. If that's the case, other humans on board have likely begun displaying a magical aptitude as well. It's only natural that our newest allies, being magic users, would seek to train the first human mages in over two thousand years to gain trust among the other races.”

“That's a very astute observation, Professor,” Twilight said, mirthfully. “You are correct. I believe you have your magic sufficiently under control, so you can remain here until we leave. We still have more adepts to find, so I'm not sure when that will be.”

“I have a few things to finish up, anyway,” Tanya said. “If you still have others to find by then, I can meet you somewhere. Perhaps I can even help you find them.”

“I would appreciate that,” Twilight replied with a smile.

The next two days went by at an agonizingly slow pace. All their efforts to track down the other passengers were met with failure. All attempts to get the passenger list from the travel company that owned the space liner were denied, as they expected, and what rumors they heard led them to simple con artists and street magicians.

As Twilight, Curt, and Alex, who decided he wanted to meet some of these wackos, left the office of 'Madam Milda', Twilight grumbled, “Who does she think she's dealing with? Calling me, a magical fucking unicorn, a fraud that doesn't know what magic is? I damn near am magic! And what the hell are you laughing at?”

Alex, seemingly unfazed by the death glare trying to ignite his soul, managed to get out, “She – haha – she actually tried – hahaha – Oh my god, who would buy that crap?!”

The angry mare couldn't really stay angry – it was a pretty ridiculous con – and joined in with Alex, chuckling a bit. “Yeah, it was pretty poorly thought out.”

“Hey, guys,” Curt said, looking up from the datapad he had his nose buried. Twilight gave him her attention, though Alex was still laughing. “I just got a message from some guy. I think... Here, take a look.”

Twilight took the offered pad in her magic and read:

What you seek is being held at 3484 Lancaster Way, East Warehouse District, New London. Be prepared for violence.

“Who sent it?” Twilight asked, brows furrowed in thought.

“According to this... I sent it to myself.”

Alex was finally able to get himself under control enough to join the conversation. “You think a hacker's taken an interest?”

Curt took his data pad back and pocketed it before answering, “I'm not sure, but if one is... I'm not sure if I like it.”

“Why?” Twilight asked, confused as to their extremely serious expressions. “Wouldn't having more people helping us be a good thing?”

“Hackers are some of the most dangerous people in the galaxy,” Curt explained. “A skilled hacker can turn a saint into a wanted criminal, send a droid air strike to your home, or rob you blind. Really good ones can even hack cybernetic implants and make a man strangle himself.”

Twilight's left foreleg shot to her right, her eyes wide and fearful.

Curt caught her reaction and assured her, “Yours was made by a crazy pony using magic in place of programming, so I doubt they could do anything to you.”

“Wh-what about my lung, or optic nerve, or other parts?” Twilight asked, nervously. “Could they just... Turn me off?”

“Yours is a magic construct, not a piece of machinery, Twi. You’d need another magic user to tamper with it. You're safe.” Curt pulled his mare into a comforting hug.

Twilight looked up, into Curt's eyes, and calmed down.

“Okay, I trust you,” she said, before getting back to the original topic. “So... How are we going to save this adept?”

Curt shared a confused look with Alex before asking, “Who said we need to save anyone?”

“'What you seek is being held,'” Twilight quoted. “What we seek are human adepts. Therefore, an adept is being held.”

“Held, as in prisoner?” Curt asked, rhetorically. “We should have considered this a possibility, an adept using their gift, or a criminal element manipulating one for illicit purposes.”

“We didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare,” Twilight reminded him. “Anyway, let's go. I want to see what we're dealing with. Tomorrow, we'll gather some intel on what we're up against.”

Alex raised his hand, “Uh, excuse me... I'm not exactly a fighter.”

“Don't worry,” Curt assured him. “It'll take time to gather the intel we need. We'll find something for you by then.”

“In the mean time,” Twilight added. “If you want to help us, I can start you on the basics of combat spells. Of course, if you don't want to, you don't have to.”

“And miss out on being a hero? Hell no!”

Curt and Twilight took turns watching the warehouse they were directed to. They were parked at an old scenic lookout, as to not look suspicious, while using a Far Sight spell to watch for their target. Of course, it wasn’t so scenic anymore. The old road had been there for centuries, and was rarely used by any other than the occasional camper. Conveniently, the warehouse district they were watching rested exactly where the forest the lookout was made for used to be.

When not watching, they would retreat back into the tent they set up to help Alex learn a few offensive spells from the elemental school of magic. He had learned the matrix for the 'Dragon's Tongue' rather well, but would need to actually practice using it later. Instead, he moved on to 'Water Whip'.

“Now, where fire magic is fueled by love, passion, and anger, water magic is feed by joy and hate. For offensive spells, like this, hate is what you want to focus on.”

“Heh... I didn't realize you ponies knew how to hate,” Alex quipped.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “It doesn't have to be extreme hatred, like one would feel towards someone who... I dunno, murdered their family. It can be your hatred of a certain food, or sound. In fact, the best ones to use are the more minor hates of yours, 'dislikes' if you will. If the hate is too strong, it can cause the spell to get out of hand. Also, when hatred becomes that strong, it has a tendency of becoming passion and you'll get fire or even steam.”

“This is getting complicated,” Alex stated, rubbing his forehead.

“Only the theory. The practice is much easier than it sounds.” Twilight looked down to the datapad in her metal leg, noting the time. “In fact, it's late enough we should be able to practice this without being seen. Let's go.”

As they stepped outside, Alex asked, “So, why 'hate'? In fact, other than fire, the elements don't really use any emotion I'd think they would.”

“That's a debate that's been going on since before the princesses were born,” Twilight said with a mirthful snort. “Most think it has to do with mindset. Fire feeds on emotions that make you feel hot – anger, joy, love, embarrassment. Water feeds on emotions that make you feel cool or cold. I'm not sure how joy fits into that, though.”

“Maybe because joy is relaxing,” Curt said from his place overlooking the warehouse. “How's training?”

Twilight smiled at her human. “That's actually why we're out here. I figured it's dark enough that we won't be seen.”

“Take it in the trees, regardless,” the former sniper said. “No need to take any unnecessary risks.”

As Twilight lead her student to a more visually secluded spot, Curt called out, “Don't destroy the whole forest!”

“No promises!” Alex called back.

Curt opened the door to their hotel room. They considered flying back to the villa, but Ireland was a good two hour flight away. The hotel they found was nice enough make them seem like tourists, but not too much to break their bank accounts. Though, having a full year's worth of untouched officer's pay, Twilight could have sprung for something a bit nicer if she wanted.

Not ten minutes after kicking off their shoes and getting comfortable, Curt's pocket jingled a short, catchy tune. He pulled out his datapad, and flicked it on.

“Hello, mom. Did you get my message?” he greeted the older woman As the other two moved to a position they could see, Twilight cuddled up to Curt's side and Alex over his other shoulder.

“I did,” she replied. “I'm sending you the floor plan of warehouse 114. They all have the same layout, but this one's on the other side of the district so it shouldn't draw any attention.”

“I'm impressed,” Alex chimed in.

Ruth laughed, “Oh, please. This is child's play.”

“Mom used to work for TI as a handler for their field agents,” Curt explained.

Alex whistled. “Your mom just got even sexier.”

Ruth giggled, “Thank you, Alex. Anyway, the warehouse your VIP is being held in is owned by one Lenard Conrad.” An image of a middle aged man with graying brown hair, wearing sunglasses and a gray suit came over the screen. “He's not exactly big-time, but he's no little guy, either. What makes him dangerous is his connections. He's affiliated with several very dangerous people, including the Karlan family so local police aren't going to do you any good.”

“Great,” Twilight sighed. “So how do we get our guy?”

“I managed to get a satellite to take images of the warehouse and was able to get images of of the interior.” Another picture popped up, showing translucent blue figures. “If you notice, this room,” a single blue figure in what appeared to be a room the the very center of the structure, “seems to be the only one with a bed, toilet, and sink. I'm guessing this figure is your package. My advice; blitz 'em. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast. Don't leave them any time to recover and get their bearings. Rush through, secure your VIP and get out. No frills, nothing fancy.”

“Woah, woah,” Alex interrupted. “Why can’t we just sneak in? I mean, isn’t that what you special forces guys do anyway?”

Curt explained, “Normally, yes, but this is a bit different. This is a warehouse with little cover spread too thin. Worse, the guys inside seem to just be hanging out, which means there’s no pattern we can exploit. While they won’t be actively searching for anyone, they’ll still notice movement.”

“And by the looks of these images,” Twilight continued, pointing out red marks on the figures, “They’re all armed with at least pistols. We’d be spotted in seconds and still have a firefight. It’s best to start the shooting on our terms than theirs. We should be able to take out the watch on the outside stealthily, but that’s it.”

“So, rush in, catch’em off guard, and hope the surprise gives us the edge.” Alex confirmed.

“That’s right,” Twilight replied.

Curt and Twilight studied the images for a moment before Curt spoke. “Alright, we can work with that. Anything else you can tell us?”

“Only what I'm sure you've already observed,” Ruth replied. “They're well trained for thugs, and outfitted with impressive gear. The only reason a blitz will work is because they're too used to being in charge; the cops are paid for and they’re too small for the military to take interest. Their shock won't last long, though, so make sure you have a good exfil strategy.”

Twilight explained, “Curt and I will be teleporting Alex and the VIP to a waiting car. I'll then alter our appearance with a simple illusion and we'll drive right out.”

“That could work for exfil, but they'll still recognize you during your assault, dear. You are a celebrity, after all,” Ruth pointed out.

Alex added, “Not to mention the only other pony on Earth right now is Princess Celestia's representative. Considering that guy’s a guest of the Terran Federation, they're keeping tabs on him.”

“So... What? We kill everyone?” Twilight scoffed.

There was a long silence as neither Curt, nor his mother wanted to look her in the eye.

“You can't be serious,” Twilight said, shocked at such an idea. “I mean, I get that we might need to neutralize some of them, but to just kill everyone...”

“I don't like it either,” Curt assured, “but it is a viable option. Let's just file that away as a last resort. Hopefully another solution will present itself.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Avivan (Avl'an Taali)

Homeworld: Vivilus, Yona

The Aviva are an bird-like race that hail from the second planet of the Yona system. They are covered from head to upper abdomen in thick, downy feathers. These feathers are mostly white or light gray with the feathers forming the head crest typically being red, brown, orange, or yellow. Despite their predatory eyes, usually a shade of yellow or orange with red being the rarest, and clawed hands and feet, they have a more fruit and vegetable heavy diet with meat typically being a side dish.

The Aviva come from a mountainous world with treacherous terrain. Landslides and earthquakes make life on the land difficult. For this reason, the Aviva have evolved to take to the skies. Contrary to what one may believe, Aviva are very poor fliers in an Avol like environment. Their wings evolved for the strong winds and updrafts of their homeworld. Although, they can still use their wings to glide well enough.

On Vivilus, the Aviva live in massive floating cities. These comprised of individual, interconnected 'structure ships'. Each of these ships can disconnect from the rest of the city and towed if need be. In ancient times, their cities were built on the backs of the massive Limana, gigantic, docile creatures with a solid carapace that stay afloat via hydrogen filled sacks in their bodies. Many smaller communities still live in this traditional way.

Culturally, the Aviva tend to put a lot of emphasis on honor. While they don't expect newcomers to know what is or isn't a slight, they do expect those who stay for extended periods to make an effort. If you do insult one accidentally, however, don't worry, you won't have to fight some duel to the death like in movies and novels. Chances are a heart-felt apology coupled with a public display of some kind will suffice. Only the most grievous of insults would result in things getting physical, but if you go that far you likely deserve a buck in the teeth.

Chapter 6: Snatch n' Grab

Chapter 6: Snatch n' Grab

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Curt asked Alex as he held out a loaded rifle to the entertainer.

“Nope,” Alex replied, taking the weapon. “But I'm doing it. Let's go.”

Twilight and Curt shared a knowing look. They knew he was scared, but not not cripplingly. That was good. People that were too afraid, or weren't afraid enough were the ones that died first. Twilight recalled Raak's words to her so long ago;

“Fear's good. It tells you to keep your head down and not charge like a madman into the fray. That's the Dratali's greatest weakness; they have no fear. That's why they attack hard and fast but in prolonged battles, they almost always lose. Fear makes you smart. Just don't let it cripple you.”

Alex let out a mirthless laugh, seeing their expressions, “Look, I’m no stranger to gunfights and bullets flying over my head, alright. I... wasn’t always such a law abiding citizen, ya’know. I just never thought I’d be jumping into a gunfight.”

Curt scrutinized the man for a moment before continuing. “When we get in there, it's going to be chaos. Stay with us, and keep your head down. Have you been practicing that shield spell Twilight taught you?”

“Yeah. I'm not sure I'll be able to hold it all the way to the cell, but I should be able to get us at least halfway,” Alex replied.

“That's good enough,” Curt assured. “Twilight and I could take it from there and still have the mana to teleport you and the VIP.”

Alex nodded and took a deep breath, letting out a laugh. “You know, It's weird. A few day ago, I was just doing my shows like always, and now look at me. You know, I still don't know why I came with you two. I mean, who in their right mind would just drop everything and go with a couple of random guys that just waltz in and start pulling people out of closets?”

“Do you regret it?” Curt asked.

Alex sighed. “Ask me again when we get back.”

”... And yes, that is her natural hair color.”

“At least we know where her name came from. What about the rather intimidating looking fellow beside her? Am I correct in assuming that is Spike, her... husband?”

“That's right. That is a real, live dragon, straight from the story books. According to sources on Avol, he was the giant dragon from the war-vids that literally punched a Dratali biomech so hard it broke orbit. Apparently, he's the adoptive brother-”

“Can you believe this shit?” Derek huffed and chucked an empty beer can at the holoscreen. “Fucking horses are even invading racing.”

“Dude, shut the hell up,” replied Adam. “Why not be a little grateful they saved our asses. You know how many of them died ending our war?”

Derek crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. “I don't trust anything that can use that witchcraft. They should be wiped out.”

“Like the kid?” Adam deadpanned.

“You think if we didn't have a tight leash on him he wouldn't explode us all over the walls?”

“Hell no. He's too soft.”

“Or he's just trying to make you think that.”

“Adam,” called Joe as he approached the TV area. “Go relieve Johan.”

“Oh, come on! My shift ain't for another four hours,” Adam protested. “I was gonna kick Lim’s ass in Blood Tide.”

“Yeah, but Johan’s girl's having his baby as we speak,” said Joe.

“For real?” Adam jumped up and ran toward the ladder to the roof, around the billiards tables and through the arcade, just in time to see Johan running for the exit.

“Hey, get pictures!” Adam shouted at the retreating man.

He was never happier to take watch early. His friend had been so happy ever since his girlfriend for the past three years said she was pregnant. Of course, that meant he was going straight and getting a legit job.

Adam couldn't do that. He liked his job. Not only was the pay good, but he got respect. People didn't mess with him, knowing who his boss is. That being said, the one part he hated was having to stand watch on the damn roof. It was the most boring post one could have.

“The shit I do for money,” Adam said as he pushed open the hatch and crawled onto the roof. “Yo, Lenny, Carl, how's the weather?!”

He waited for the other two guys that should still be there to answer, but got nothing.

“Hey, where are you guys?!” he called again.

His only answer was a flash of lavender light.

“Roof guards are taken care of,” Twilight whispered into her headset as she finished binding the last unconscious man.

“Copy. Set a mark,” replied Curt over the comm.

Twilight trotted silently to an open section and leaned her head down, casting a quick tracking spell. Seconds afterward, a blue flash brought Curt and Alex onto the roof.

“You good?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. That wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be,” Curt replied, as he tossed Twilight a rifle.

Twilight took a deep breath. “I just hope my enchantments work.”

“If they don't, we can't stop,” Curt asserted.

“I know.”

“Alright you guys,” came Mrs. Dupree's voice from over the comm. “I've rerouted their security systems to send any and all alerts to Lima IV.”

“That should give us four hours, thirteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds before any contacts can alert them to the intrusion,” Twilight informed.

Alex gave the mare a confused look. “That's awfully exact.”

“It's how long it would take for a message to get to Lima IV and back,” the purple one replied.

“How do you do that?” the magician asked, exasperatedly.

“She's smart,” Curt said dismissively. “Get yourselves ready. Twilight.”

The pony followed the ex-soldier to the edge of the roof, just above the front door. Curt held out three fingers on his left hand, as he extended his right toward one of the guards below. Twilight followed suit, targeting the other guard. Curt lowered one finger, then a second. When the last finger dropped, the two guards were yanked up so fast they couldn't even scream.

The pair were quickly rendered unconscious, and the three attackers leaped from the roof. Their magically slowed fall landed them just in front of the door. Curt and Twilight drew their weapons as Twilight's horn and Alex's hands lit up. A massive blast hurtled from the unicorn's horn as the performer erected his shield.

The door was torn from its hinges, taking a chunk of the wall with it. As they rushed in, Alex's shield spell forming around them, Twilight raised her pistol towards the first thug she saw, sitting on an old, worn couch watching a pool game in progress. Before he could even turn toward the sudden disturbance, the unicorn pulled the trigger. The crystal attached to the magazine well glowed as the ferrous pellet was charged with both magnetic and magical energy. The enchanted pellet accelerated to ten times the speed of sound as it left the weapon's barrel. The spell took hold almost immediately, morphing the pellet into an ethereal non-mass. It impacted the man on the chest, on his right side. As if flipping a light switch, the man slumped in a magically induced coma.

In less than half a second into the breach, the first casualty was counted. In the next two, a total of seven threats were neutralized before the gangsters could even react.

Then, all hell broke loose.

The remaining thugs jumped behind the nearest cover. Over a dozen pistols and around a half dozen rifles opened fire on the trio as they rushed through the building. Every ping of a charged pellet on the shield reverberated in Alex's mind, causing a slight headache.

Six seconds into the blitz, another five fell with more taking their place. The attackers were making progress, nearly halfway there. A blast from Curt's left hand cleared two couches and a vid center out of their way. With nothing stopping them, they plowed through, taking shots at anyone that peaked out of cover.

Ten seconds. Twilight's horn glowed with arcane energy just before a lance of energy blasted the handle on the door to the center room, flinging the door open. Luckily, their target had heard the commotion and retreated to the far side of the room.

Twilight barged into the room just ahead of the others. The moment she stepped in, however, she felt a strange tingling and her pistol fell to the ground with a thud. This was followed by the popping of the shield spell failing.

“The hell?!” came Alex's voice behind her.

“Get in!” Curt yanked the performer inside and slammed the door shut. “Get cover!”

Twilight quickly tipped over a thick steel table that rested in the center of the room and pulled the kid cowering in the corner behind it with her. Alex and Curt jumped behind just as the door was kicked back open. Two more fell dead to Curt as they tried to rush them, the nonlethal enchantments also failing.

“What the hell happened?!” Curt hissed.

“I don't know!” Twilight replied, panicking a little. “I can't get my magic to hold form.”

Before they could ask him to elaborate, a loud voice bellowed out, “You're trapped! There's nowhere to go and you can't use your magic in there! The floors are made of maudarium! Come on out and we can talk. Depending on your answers, we might even let you go.”

“How the hell do they know about maudarium?” growled Twilight.

“Mom, we're in trouble,” Curt said into his comm.

“I'm looking for a solution, now. Try to stall, if you can,” came the reply.

“How about you come in here!” Twilight yelled back.

The voice just laughed. “You aren't in a position to negotiate. Sure, we can't come in without getting shot, but you can't come out with us out here. All we have to do is wait a few days for you to grow tired, hungry, and thirsty, and then we'll just move in and execute you. Those’re your options, come out and possibly live, or stay and die. Go ahead, talk it over.”

“This is just great,” Twilight seethed.

It was then that Alex finally took note of the terrified young man among them.

“Heh,” he scoffed. “Some rescue attempt.”

“R-rescue?” the kid stammered.

The kid jumped as Curt fired a couple warning shots at a thug that tried peeking sneaking up on them.

“Get the hell back, you retards!” the boss shouted at his thugs.

“Yeah,” Alex replied, bringing the kid's attention back. “You aren't the only human that can use magic. Everyone in this room can.”

“You're doing this just for me?” the kid's eyes shifted from one face to the next, taking in his would-be heroes. “Why?

“Because you're the one of the first humans to be given this gift in over two thousand years,” Twilight replied. “So, as the newest members of the Alliance, Avol is opening the doors of our most prestigious magic school to all of you.”

Another gunshot preceded a thud as a body hit the floor. “I said stay back!” shouted the gruff voice of the gang's leader.

Twilight peaked over the cover, looking out the door. She could see several thugs, all with rifles now. They were all behind cover, just waiting for them to come out. That wasn't what scared her, though. From the hole they made when they busted in, she saw a truly massive figure approaching carrying what looked like a massive auto-cannon.

“Oh, shit,” she uttered.

“What?” Alex asked, worriedly.

“I suggest you get down” crackled a voice over their comm.

“Who the hell are you?!” came the gruff voice just before the whir of a turbine kicked in. “Kill hi-”

He was interrupted by roar of one thousand rounds a minute ripping him to shreds. Curt and Alex both hit the ground as Twilight brought the kid down with her. Bits of wall and shrapnel fell around them as the powerful weapon tore through everything it touched. Twilight had to press her ears back as the kid beside her screamed in terror.

The entire ordeal lasted no more than ten seconds before everything went quiet as the grave. Then, came the sound of heavy footsteps crunching over debris.

“The way is clear,” called a deep, monotone voice. “I am an ally, Twilight Sparkle.”

Slowly, Twilight inched up and peaked through one of the holes the enormous gun punched through the table. The giant of a man must have stood nearly eight feet tall and was clad from head to toe in thick olive-gray armor. By his side was the auto-cannon, obviously custom as those were intended for gunships. The fact that this titan wielded it as if it were an assault rifle was terrifying.

“Why should we trust you?!” shouted Alex.

“Because you are still alive,” the behemoth answered plainly.

“He's right,” Curt confirmed. “That's a Viper 21 auto-cannon. This table might as well be tissue paper against something like that.”

“If he wanted us dead, we would be,” Twilight added before yelling out to the big man. “Who are you, and why did you help us?!”

“I am an operative in the employ of a man who has been hired to ensure the success of your mission,” the man's baritone voice boomed back. “My apologies, but names must wait until we are in a secure location.”

“What do you think?” Curt asked Twilight.

“I think we can trust him, for now,” Curt's mother replied over the comm. “Like Twilight said said; if he wanted you dead, you would be. Just, don't trust him, completely.”

A whimper made Twilight jumped a little. She twisted around, ready to strike, but relaxed when she saw who it was. With everything happening so fast, and with how quiet he had been, she had almost forgot the kid was there

Now, though, he was shivering and crying in fright. The kid couldn't have been more than fourteen, and yet he was kept caged like an animal and forced to do who-knows-what with what should have been a wonderful gift.

“Shh, everything's going to be fine,” she whispered in his ear, softly, trying to calm him down. He flinched as she started rubbing his back, gently. “You're safe now. We won't let anything bad happen to you.” It didn't stop the tears, but at least his shivering eased a little.

“Alright, we're coming out!” Curt shouted.

Curt stood first, followed by Alex and then Twilight, the mare keeping the kid behind them.

“I have a truck just on the other side of that warehouse,” the giant said, pointing the the building across from the one they were currently in. He turned back and held out a small rod. “Here is the key. I have one more thing I must do here. I would appreciate it if you would bring the truck around and pick me up.”

Hesitantly, Curt approached. “Yeah... okay, but as soon as we're clear, I want answers.”

“Very well,” replied their savior as he handed the key over.

All four watched the mostly metal man as the passed, making their way toward the vehicle. The kid clung to Twilight's side, still shaking slightly.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Alex asked, “Are we gonna trust him?”

“Yes,” Curt answered, plainly. “Why do you think he gave us the keys to his truck? It was a show of good faith. He gave us a way to escape if we think he's a threat.”

“Or there's a bomb in the truck,” Alex stated.

Twilight laughed at that. “You watched too many movies. If he wanted us dead, he would have just shot us. That cannon he was holding as if it were a toy is meant to be mounted on aircraft and assault vehicles. Did you see how easily it tore through the table?”

“He doesn't want us dead,” Curt restated as they rounded the corner of the building, “but that doesn't mean he's friendly. We give him a chance to explain himself, but keep your guard up. He might just be trying to lure us into a false sense of security.”

The truck was as big as one would expect from a giant. It was a land vehicle with wheels as tall as Twilight, horn included. It was painted an unassuming brown with a large, four-seater cab. At least, it used to be a four-seater. As Curt discovered when he opened the door, the driver seat was removed, likely so the behemoth could sit on the back seat when driving. Thankfully, the steering wheel and pedals could be transferred to the passenger seat.

Twilight got in the back seat as Alex and the kid climbed in the bed. With everyone situated, Curt started the engine and hit the gas. Their new acquaintance was waiting in front when they swung around.

When they stopped, the man placed his weapon in a toolbox on the driver side of the bed and opened the door.

“I thank you for trusting me,” he said as he climbed in.

As Curt sped away, fast, but not so fast as to draw too much attention, Twilight demanded, “Alright, now start explaining.”

“My name is Oscar,” he said in his plain, baritone voice. “And apparently some very powerful people want you to succeed in your task.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Korg

Homeworld: Dok'lat, Fatr

Physically, the Korg can best be described as feline primates. They possess the prehensile tail and arboreal grace found in primates, but with very feline facial features as well as retractable claws on their hands and feet. They are covered almost entirely in fur with the exception of their face, hands and feet. This fur comes in 'metalic' colors, such as gold, silver, and bronze, while the skin beneath is typically a shade of red, orange, brown, or blue, with rare colors of purple and yellow.

The Korg are the only other race of the Alliance that is considered quadrupedal, though they are equally capable of walking in a bipedal manner and typically do when they are accompanying other bipeds. They are also one of the few that do not share the nudity taboo common among the Alliance races and as such, Korg worlds do not have laws prohibiting nudity.

Korg culture is steeped in tradition and spiritualism. Even the Korg homeworld of Dok'lat reflects this, as only a single city can be found on the surface simply because it is considered a slight against the spirits to cut down the massive Laktia, or Mother Trees.

Korg spiritualism isn't a religion, however. Though many do follow one religion or another, their belief in ancestor spirits is not associated with any of them. This belief is simply that the spirit is eternal, and continues on after the death of the physical body. Because of this, their version of marriage, Omi'tor, or 'Spirit bonding' is eternal, even transcending death, as it is the union of the spirit, not the body.

Author's Note

So, yeah... Sorry for the wait. Journeyman was delayed and I didn't want to shoot ahead of him in the story's timeline. Anyway, I'm really not too thrilled about how this chapter came out, especially the shootout. I tried to fix it, but everything I did just made it worse. A few things have been improved, but it's still not where I wanted it. Sorry if it's not as good as you were hoping.