• Published 22nd Aug 2020
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The Odd One - theOwtcast



Made a friend? Check. Gotten permission to move in with the ponies? Check. Lived happily ever after? Well, uh...

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Bright Future

“Wouldn’t it be easier to get a pitcher or a watering can for that?” Shining asked me one morning as he returned from night patrol and saw me hauling the flowerpot with my buttercup sapling across the hall to the bathroom.

“Uh…”

“I mean, if you want to keep doing it like that, it’s fine, it’s just that it’d be easier the other way. A pitcher could hold enough water to last for several days and you wouldn’t have to go fetch it as often as you’re carrying this thing all over the place. Same for the watering can. Ask any florist or gardener!”

I glanced at the flowerpot on my back. “Makes sense. Are those things expensive?”

“I’ve never bought one myself but they probably aren’t. Why? Do you need extra money?”

“Well… I didn’t want to say anything, but Sunburst’s been lending me his old saddlebag for a while now and it’s getting awkward and I was thinking of getting a saddlebag of my own, but any of the ones I’ve seen at the market would kind of eat up my entire savings-”

“You need a pitcher?” a pony passing by suddenly asked.

“Um… yes, why?”

“There’s an old one in the kitchen that we barely use for anything anymore because it’s, well, old and hardly presentable. Berry and I were thinking of throwing it out since we can’t bring it to the guests or anything, but it’s good enough for watering the potted plants if you ask me. That is, if you don’t mind it being old and worn and the paint falling off and such.”

“I don’t see why that would be a problem. Unless it leaks?”

“It didn’t the last time we used it. Tell you what: I’ll check the thing, and if it’s intact, I’ll ask the rest of the kitchen staff if it’s okay to give it to you. How’s that?”

“Sure, thanks!” I looked at Shining. “Do I need permission?”

“Why would you need permission to repurpose an old pitcher?”

“...nevermind.” I wasn’t in the mood for turning this into a discussion on probably everything that had the potential of raising some unpleasant topics. At least his question had sounded like he genuinely didn’t care what happened to the pitcher!

“Um… I’ll just… water this… the usual way…” I stammered out and disappeared into the bathroom. I could almost feel his puzzled glare on the back of my head, but at least he didn’t press the matter further, and by the time I finished watering the flower, he was gone.

The mare was back not long after, carrying the blue-and-white pitcher in her mouth.

“Ere’f ve fing,” she said. “Mwere fhav I ffuf if?”

“Um, wherever you want,” I said.

She trotted to the window and placed the pitcher on the floor next to the flowerpot. “I filled it for you on the way here. Like I said, no leaks!”

“Thank you! Uh, I don’t think I got your name…”

“Funnel Cake.”

“Well, thanks then, Funnel Cake! I’ll be sure to repay the favor!”

“I think you already did by relieving us of this, but now that you’re living here, I’m sure something will come up. Look, I’d love to stay and chat, but the breakfast table isn’t going to clean itself up. See you later!”

“Bye!” I waved to her and she waved back from the hallway.

I went to examine the pitcher. Okay, it was worn and chipped in more than a few places and the paint looked like it had faded over time, but it was full of water, and Like Funnel Cake had said, not a drop had leaked anywhere. It was big enough to hold probably ten days’ worth of water for my flower, and didn’t even seem very heavy! I picked it up and tilted it over the flowerpot to pour a little bit of water out, and that went fine too: I didn’t spill anything where it wasn’t meant to go, and not a drop more than intended left the pitcher! This was going to be perfect!

“So how soon are you replanting that?” Cadance’s voice from the doorway startled me into nearly dropping the pitcher and spilling everything onto the floor, but thankfully, I managed to catch it just in time.

“Huh?”

“When you started growing it,” she continued, “I had the impression you were going to place it in one of the streets. Aren’t you going to do that?”

Good question. Where did I intend to ultimately put the flower? I must have intended it for the streets somewhere near the castle if Cadance thought so, but I’d somehow forgotten about that at some point, and the flower was still here. And it was almost blooming already, even though it wasn’t exceptionally large!

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I must have gotten so used to it being here that I forgot it was intended for somewhere else.” I looked at it wistfully. “I’m going to miss it…”

“Then why don’t you plant one more?”

“Another?! That’s…” I deflated a little. “I… I promised the flower that I wouldn’t take any more of its leaves unless absolutely unavoidable. How can I let it down now?”

“But you’re going to miss its brother. I think the flower will see it as a good enough reason to part with one more leaf to help you miss it less.”

“You do? But Emerald Leaf said not to take too many leaves or the plant would suffer…”

“He meant too many leaves at once, and you only took one leaf, and that must have been a month ago! Plants can survive much worse!”

I said nothing. I still wasn’t sure this was a good idea!

“Don’t get me wrong, Thorax. I admire your principles and I’d hate to push you into doing something you don’t want to. But don’t you think one of your two flowers could spare a leaf? The first one is certainly big enough to hardly notice, and this one is growing nicely too and will probably be the same size as the other one soon. It already looks strong enough to survive a storm like the one we had recently! There’s really nothing to worry about!”

“Okay… okay, I’ll think about it,” I relented. “Suppose I decide to grow one more flower. Where should I put this one?”

“That’s up to you, and I’m open to suggestions. I can think of a few places where it would fit nicely, but in the end, it’ll be your decision.”

I looked at the window. The streets spread beneath the castle in all directions; the homes and public buildings glistened in the morning sun, the trees and flowerbeds in parks and backyards whispered promises of rest for the soul, the ponies mingled, and in the midst of it all, the statue of Spike the Brave and Glorious stood tall and proud, holding a heart-shaped piece of crystal in its claw, the symbol of everything this city held dear.

Yes, there were plenty of spots down there for my flower to fit in, but as I looked on them all, my heart whispered one where it would fit better than anywhere else, and I knew right away it was right.

It was more than right, I realized. The flower wouldn’t fit there; it belonged there!

“I know where I want to put it,” I stated, picking up the flowerpot and placing it on my back again.

Cadence smiled. “And I reserved a street planter for it. It’s in the Municipal Service supply depot, full of gardening soil and ready for you.”

“How did you know I was going to need it?”

“Let’s just say I had a hunch,” she winked. “Can you go there by yourself? I have a meeting pretty soon.”

“Uh, sure… where is the depot?”

“In Beryl Street, a little past the intersection with Turquoise. The Municipal Service office building is upfront and the supply depot is in the back.”

I went there, wondering how they would react to me and how I should explain what I was there for. Surely this would be an unusual request! Would they believe me? Then again, a changeling with a potted plant on his back wasn’t exactly an everyday sight, either. So, either it would help me convince them, or they’d think I was pulling a prank.

The depot attendant was reading a newspaper when I got there, but he pushed it aside as soon as he heard the door open.

“Morning!” he said. “You’re here for the planter, aren’t you?”

“Uh…”

“Oh don’t be so shy! We don’t bite!” He winced at his own words. “Sorry, that came out wrong. It’s an expression… I didn’t mean-”

“It’s alright,” I assured him. “How did you know what I need?”

“It isn’t every day that the princess comes here with a request, pal, especially one on behalf of a changeling. Us crystal ponies weren’t around when that thing in Canterlot happened but we heard all about it afterwards. Then we heard every rumor imaginable about you. I’m afraid I believed the worst of them myself at first but I don’t see a reason to anymore, and if Princess Cadance trusts you, I guess I do too.” He turned to the back of the depot. “Spotless Road!”

A crystal head poked from behind some shelves. “Yes, boss?”

“Bring that planter Cadance reserved!”

“On it!”

The cart with the planter was wheeled to me shortly.

“There you go,” Spotless said. “Need help taking it to where it needs to be?”

I didn’t want to impose, but now that he’d asked, the planter did look heavy… My gaze moved from one stallion to the other.

“Uh…”

“Pfft!” the boss snorted. “Go with him. You aren’t doing anything useful anyway!”

“Aww, boss…” Spotless protested, only to be waved off. “...fine.”

“Sorry about that,” I said when we were in the street. “I hope I didn’t get you in trouble?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. We always act like that. He’s actually a good guy and there really isn’t anything to do in that depot at the moment.”

“If you say so…”

“So where are we taking this?”

“Emerald Street.”

“Okay!”

We pushed the cart in silence for a while.

“So…” he started eventually. “Been in jail again after that time?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember me? I was in one of the cells across from yours. Sapphire Tower was directly across from you and Lush Meadow and I were in the cells on either side of Sapphire’s.”

“Well, I do remember a blue pony sleeping in one cell and a green one craning his neck to get a better look at me… but I don’t think I noticed you…”

“No problem, you had bigger things to worry about!”

“Yeah… and no, that was thankfully the only time.”

He nodded. “Good.”

“So what did you do?” I asked after a moment. “If you’re willing to talk about it…”

“Sure, why not? It’s not exactly a secret… My pals and I were hanging out at a bar and had a little too much cider. You ever tried cider?”

“No.”

“If you do, be careful with it. Don’t drink too much or it’ll mess with your head. That’s what happened to us. It was good cider and we had too much of it. Couldn’t stop! None of us remember what we did after a certain point, and we all woke up in jail the next day, and a bill for new chairs was waiting for us when we got out.”

“Ouch…”

“Yeah. Ouch. Chairs aren’t the most expensive thing you’ll ever see, but they aren’t cheap either, and that bill ate up half our paychecks. And if that wasn’t enough, I got yelled at at work - really yelled at by the guys further up the chain of command, I mean, not like that thing you just saw - and Lush got fired and Sapphire’s marefriend left him.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. We brought it upon ourselves, and I think we all learned our lesson.”

“Did anypony ever tell you what you did?”

“Honestly, we were ashamed to ask and glad to only have to replace the chairs we broke. We could have ended up in prison for a long while!”

And I was lucky that I hadn’t ended up in prison for the rest of my life, I thought. I’d narrowly slipped such a fate on several occasions!

“Okay, Emerald Street,” he announced. “Where exactly?”

“Right here.”

“Yeah, okay, you said so, but-” His gaze fell on the statue in front of him and he grinned sheepishly. “Oh. Right. Heh, makes sense.”

“Let’s get it off the cart.”

It took some effort, but we did it eventually.

“Well, that’s that,” Spotless said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “I’d better return this cart to the depot. See ya around, pal!”

“Yeah, see you!”

I pushed the planter around a little until I was satisfied with its exact position, then reached for the flowerpot I’d deposited on the ground earlier, dug the sapling out of its soil carefully, and placed it into the soil in the planter. Then I moved away a few steps to get a better look.

The sapling already looked great next to the feet of Spike’s statue, and I imagined it would look even better when it grew bigger! This was the perfect spot for it!

And the flowerpot and its soil needed a new plant now. But I had to get it first, and I wasn’t feeling so bad about it anymore.

I put the flowerpot in the corner of my room to wait its turn to be needed again, grabbed Funnel’s pitcher to water the flower in its new soil, then returned the pitcher and went out again. This time, I was headed in the opposite direction, into the outskirts of the city.

“Hello, buttercup,” I whispered to it once I got there. “Your brother is growing nicely and I found the most honorable spot for it I could think of. I wish you could see it there! But I have one more thing to ask of you, one more sacrifice. You see, I’d like to borrow one more leaf so I can grow another sapling, this one for my room. I know I promised not to hurt you anymore, but would you mind terribly if I made this one little exception? I promise to take good care of it, and I won’t forget you just because I have two other flowers now!”

The flower swayed in the breeze, silent as always, but my heart told me it wouldn’t refuse my plea if it could talk back. I hoped that it was indeed so.

“Well, um… okay, this might hurt a little but hopefully not too much…” I grabbed one of the leaves in my mouth and bit into its stalk until it broke away. “Sorry again… I’ll take good care of your leaf, I promise!”


I hadn’t asked myself how feasible it would be to water the flower next to Spike’s statue on a regular basis on top of my other responsibilities, but a few days had passed since putting it there and problems were yet to arise. Even foalsitting Flurry hadn’t interfered; I’d only had to make sure not to get distracted with something, and the whole process would be done well before the royal family was be done with their breakfast. By ‘distractions’ I’d meant mostly things that would catch my attention as a possible motif for one of the next paintings, but in the end, my first distraction turned out to be of a completely different nature.

“Excuse me,” a mare said pretty close to me as I was pouring water onto the soil around the buttercup sapling.

Thinking she saw talking to someone else, I ignored her. She waited a few moments, then repeated herself, and eventually cleared her throat and poked me.

“Oh! Sorry, were you talking to me? I didn’t realize-”

“No, okay, it’s fine! I mean, yes, I was talking to you, but I get it, you were busy and I should have waited-”

“It’s alright,” I said, setting the pitcher down next to the planter and turning to face her fully. “How can I help you?”

“Actually, I wanted to apologize.”

“Why?”

“Remember a while ago when you were walking down Turquoise Street in disguise and my sister and I were just leaving home and we didn’t realize you were a changeling until that guard told us?”

“Oh.” I’d thought she looked familiar! “And then you dashed back inside and locked yourselves in. What about it?”

“Do you have to ask? We acted like first-class bigots! I yelled at you for no reason and it’s a good thing sis pulled me into the house or Celestia knows what I would have said to you!”

“Well, I did startle you…”

“And we acted on an impulse! Everypony said you were an evil monster and we believed them for the longest time and avoided you like the plague, but realized over time that there wasn’t really that much to support the claims of you being… you know. I’m afraid that realization fully struck us only a few days ago, and we’ve been paying closer attention to you since, and… well… Painting? Watering a flower? I can’t imagine anyone truly evil doing such things… so yeah… we’re sorry.”

“It’s alright, I didn’t blame you. You were hardly the only ones who felt that way!”

“But that doesn’t make it right! Look, we get it that you probably weren’t expecting an apology after all this time, but we think we owe it to you, even if coming to you now is awkward as heck.”

I chuckled. “You’re talking to the guy who does awkward things all the time!”

“Heh, some people are like that… Look, I gotta go now or I’ll be late for work. I’d love to stay and chat otherwise… so, see you later?”

“Sure, have fun at work!”

She was already galloping away but managed a smile and wave in my direction.

I picked up the pitcher and returned it to my room, and since I wasn’t due to foalsit today, I went to visit my first flower on the city outskirts again.

No matter how many times I came there, the beauty and serenity of that hill and the flower growing on its peak always struck me deeply and washed over me; I could never remain gloomy here for very long! Not that I was gloomy at all today, but there had been a time when this flower was one of the few things that could help me forget all my troubles and difficulties and shed some light and hope onto my uncertain future. Was it because I’d received it at a turning point in my life? Because, though danger had lurked at me from everywhere, I could feel better days coming? Because I’d earned it by helping a pony - probably having been the first changeling to have willingly done such a thing - and because of the love imbued in it, love unstolen for possibly the first time in history? I didn’t know, but whatever the reason, it had been worth it then and it was still worth it! Life had gotten better and my future brighter, and I didn’t have to rely on this flower to get me through the days anymore, but I wouldn’t be here today without it and I never wanted to forget that! The flower had once been my lifeline, but it had become something more by now: now that my life was finally getting to where I’d always wanted it to be, the flower was a monument to all the tears and hard work it had taken to get here.

And just like me, it wasn’t alone anymore. There was another one, two hopefully in the near future, that shared the same blessing of love and hope.

I enjoyed the presence of the flower a little longer, then checked if the site of the second cut-off leaf was doing alright, and satisfied with its state, I bid the flower farewell for now and flew back to the city.

I was just over the intersection of Sapphire and Turquoise Streets when I heard somepony shout “Hey!”, and instinctively turned to the source of the sound. I didn’t think it had anything to do with me, but a mare stood in the nearly-empty street, looking at me and waving.

“Hey, you!” she shouted again.

“Me?” I looked around myself. Nopony was in the sky in the immediate area, so that answered my own question.

“Yes, you! Thorax, is it? Come down here, will you?”

I did. Now that I was looking at her up close, I thought I recognized her too, though her mane was different this time.

“Did Diamond find you?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Diamond Lily? My sister?” She facehoofed. “Ugh, she forgot to introduce herself again, didn’t she?”

I’d thought so. This was the sister of the mare I’d talked to earlier today!

“Uh, no, but she was kind of in a hurry…”

“Doubt it. Yes, it’s her workday, but she left home a good twenty minutes earlier than normal and I can’t imagine what she’d have been doing that could explain her being late anywhere.”

“Maybe she couldn’t find me or wasn’t fully comfortable around me…”

“I thought we sorted it out! I knew I should have gone with her!” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Anyway, I’m Opal Blossom and I think you remember our first encounter.”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly. “Diamond apologized for both of you-”

“Good, at least she did something right! We are sorry, you do understand that, don’t you?”

I nodded. “But it’s alright. As I told your sister already, I didn’t really take offense. I was only frustrated that nopony wanted to have anything to do with me, but that was to be expected. In hindsight, I might have actually gotten suspicious if everypony had been eager to befriend me right away!”

“I don’t get it. Isn’t befriending ponies the very reason why you’re here? I mean, that’s what Diamond and I heard.”

“You heard right. What don’t you get?”

“If that’s what you want, why would you get suspicious for seeing it happen?”

“Because it would be going too well in the context of my kind’s reputation. Sure, I would have been happy at first, but I’d probably have started worrying that it was some kind of elaborate trap or something. Friendship isn’t exactly a popular concept back in the hive, and I got in trouble all the time for advocating it.”

“And now you have friends here.”

“Yes, and I’ve never been happier!”

“So… any more changelings like you?”

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“Just wondering if we’ll be getting more of you guys anytime soon. You know, it won’t do if my sister and I start screaming at any more new neighbors again…”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that could go better. But I don’t think we should expect anyling else in the foreseeable future. “Unless Chrysalis were to find out about me…

“But you’re staying here at least, aren’t you?”

“I am. This is my home now.”

“Good to know! Sorry for not inviting you inside, but I haven’t been expecting any visitors and the house is a royal mess. How about you drop in for a chat some other time when you feel like it?”

“Sure! Do you need help cleaning up the mess?”

“Nah, I’ll do it. It isn’t the first time…”

I decided it was better not to press the matter further. “Okay, see you later, then!”

I left her to whatever she’d been doing and flew back to my room, then made a quick detour to the bathroom to refill the pitcher for tomorrow’s watering. It might not have been necessary right away, but I’d developed a habit of having the water ready at all times, so the action was almost automatic. Then I returned the pitcher to its place near the windowsill and checked the buttercup leaf and the cocoon around its stalk. It was still green, but I thought I could see tiny roots beginning to form; if I was right, I could open the cocoon a few days from now and plant the newest addition to my floral family into the flowerpot that had briefly belonged to its older brother, and then my room would be complete!

But would it be complete? I’d thought so a few times before but ended up finding things to add to it anyway; who was to say that I wouldn’t decide to add something more a year from now, or ten years, or fifty if my lifespan was to stretch that far? Chances were that I would need more things, but-

A sudden realization struck me hard. I’d called this place my new home before, and I’d arranged my corner of the castle to suit my needs, and I’d learned to fit in among the ones who had been here before me, but for some reason or other, the full implications of those actions hadn’t sunk in until now: this was my home, and barring any unforeseen developments, I would spend the rest of my life here! My flowers had taken root in the Crystal Empire soil, and unbeknownst to me until now, I’d followed their example and taken root in the Crystal Empire myself along with them! This… was home

And why not? I’d made friends here, I’d found duties to contribute to the society with, I’d found hobbies to brighten my days, and no less important, Chrysalis hadn’t found me yet! Whether she was unaware of the Crystal Empire’s existence, unable to send her troops here, or something else, I didn’t know, but if I’d been safe from her this long, chances were the trend would continue. Even if it didn’t, I was sure the ponies would come to my defense! They may or may not succeed in protecting me from her, but unlike ever before, they wouldn’t give me up without a fight, and for all the right reasons; I was sure of it! Though there were still some who disapproved of me, they were getting fewer in numbers, and all the love my friends had shared with me couldn’t have meant nothing; and even if I died by Chrysalis’ doing, I would live on in my friends’ hearts and memories as the first changeling to have sought friendship!

But was I the first? There were no historical records known to me, nor legends nor rumors, of any drones who had yearned the same things as me, but though it may have been wishful thinking on my part now that the idea had crossed my mind, my heart found it unlikely that not a single drone in the entire history of the changelings’ existence had even considered the benefits of friendship over hatred and of sharing love over stealing it! How many of them could there have been? Had they quenched their desire in the face of overwhelming disapproval of their peers and their Queen? Had fear and survival instinct forced them into silent suffering? Or had they spoken up bravely, attempted to fight for their cause, only to invariably pay the highest price for their act of rebellion? There was no way to know, but I could understand how easily their names would have been lost to history in each case: either they’d never shared their ideas with anyling, or Chrysalis and her loyal subordinates would have made sure to erase all knowledge of such drones lest it inspire further disobedience. Of course I couldn’t have known of such individuals; at least one of them would have had to coexist with me and be daring enough to speak up, and since I’d been actively searching for friends all my life, I was sure such a drone would have learned about me sooner or later and attempted to join forces, covertly at least if not openly!

No matter how many benevolent changelings might have existed in the past, I was in all likelihood the only one alive at this moment, and possibly the first one who had managed to reach out to non-changelings to satisfy the urge for friendship, and to succeed against all odds to gain that friendship! It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact, but there it was: I’d done something no other changeling had done before, something huge, something that had the potential to change the world!

I realized I was still sitting next to my window, staring at the buttercup leaf in my hooves, with clear sight of the buttercup sapling out there in the streets, next to the statue of the first individual to have ever called himself my friend.

The buttercups were a reminder of my struggle to get to where I was now, of the hardships I’d faced along the way and the trials I’d had to overcome to earn what I desired most. They’d been a gift, and a lifeline of hope, and a light to dispel the darkness of despair, and a soothing companion, and a source of inspiration. But today, more than anything, they were a symbol of friendship.

And just like I’d used the part of one buttercup to create more plants, I believed I could do the same with friendship: now that it had taken root in the hearts of ponies and grown strong, I could take my friendship to the changelings and plant it there and let it grow and spread…

No, that was an understatement, I realized. Still holding the leaf that would soon become the young buttercup plant, I vowed to it: I was determined to find a way to take my friendship to the other changelings and let it grow among them!

How I was going to do that, I had no idea at this time. They’d always ridiculed my ideas and dismissed them as impossible, even sacrilegious; I’d never succeeded in shaking their convictions that accepting friendship would bring about the downfall of our kind. But that had been before I’d made friends, while I’d still been weak and hungry! I may not have become significantly stronger physically, but I’d never cared to, and through sharing love, I’d sated my hunger long ago, so much that I barely even remembered the pain of empty love reserves and the overwhelming, desperate cry of instinct! Would that be proof enough to get the other drones to reconsider everything they’d ever known? A sated changeling was unheard of in the hive; no matter how much love any drone devoured, it was never enough to silence the pain of hunger, and it had always been so. Would they believe me that I’d found a way not only to end hunger, but to keep it at bay permanently and without having to fight for food all the time? Would they even care to listen to a wanted traitor, no matter how appealing his words may sound?

A few might, I hoped, if desperate enough. But would that be enough to sway more? Not likely; they’d be punished sooner than taken seriously! But maybe, over time, word would spread and more drones would be drawn to give it a try… but even then, I doubted there’d be a whole lot of them at once. The practice of sharing love would end up spreading sporadically and slowly, and unless I had an epiphany on how to get them to accept the idea en masse, it would take years at best until the results became obvious to the average drones and motivated them to abandon the old ways in favor of the new. This was the absolute best I could hope for; with my reputation and track record, I doubted it’d take less than decades to get anywhere, and I most likely wasn’t going to live to see any solid progress, but I was determined not to give up, now more than ever! I’d already done what had been thought impossible: I’d braved the uncharted territory and blazed the trail from hatred and despair to friendship and love, and I refused to let that trail fade into oblivion; I intended to invest every effort to keep that trail alive and, if possible, to pave it into a wide road!

Warmth of glorious proportions filled my heart as I made that decision, that oath to give everything I had into spreading light and love across the world. Was this how getting a cutie mark felt like to ponies? I knew I’d never develop an outward manifestation of my destiny similar to what a cutie mark was to ponies unless I consciously morphed it onto myself, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I’d just realized in my heart that friendship wasn’t a mere desire, nor was bringing friendship to my kind an empty fantasy; it was my destiny, and had been my destiny all along!

It would be a difficult destiny to fulfill, one that might even claim my life, but I didn’t care. Ensuring a bright future for my kind was a worthy task, and I couldn’t imagine a higher honor than being the one who would have made it possible!