O“My story begins in a small town near the northern border of the White Tail Woods,” said Roseluck after a while.

“It was a lovely place and my life there was much the same as my life here. My was the town's only florist and because of that my income was pretty secure.” Roseluck stopped talking for a moment, as if in deep thought. “Yes… Things were basically perfect.”

“Why aren't you there now? I mean it sounds like you had a charmed life,” asked Sugar.

Roseluck smiled. “I does, doesn't it? And I admit that it really did feel charmed.”

“Everything continued in much the same way for the next few years. But then something changed about three years ago,” sighed Roseluck.

“What happened?” Questioned Sugar.

“What always happened in stories like this. I met the love of my life.”

The earth pony looked out of a widow for a minute before talking again. “She just walked into town one day, a pegasus that to my eyes made the sun look dim in comparison.”

“She was in town about a week before I finally met her properly, she came by my store in order to buy some flowers for the cottage she would be staying in.” Roseluck sighed, “I really wish I could tell you that I gave some romantic pickup line and knocked her off her hooves.”

“What actually happened is I couldn't say a word, one look into her dark green eyes and I was stunned silent.”

“It was another month before I could talk to her properly, she came into my store and I managed to ask her name.” Roseluck smiled as she recalled the memory.

“She smiled at me and my heart raced, when she spoke I felt like my life had finally begun. Her name was Cherry Blitz and I swore to myself that I would never forget her name.”

“Hoho. I guess flowers and romance really do go hoof in hoof,” said Sugar, winking suggestively.

Roseluck laughed. “Believe me, I was the least romantic pony you might have ever met.”

“Well eventually I plucked up the courage to ask her on a date. I thought that there was next to no chance she'd accept though.”

“But she did. And for the next few months I felt like I was walking in a dream.”

“And then one day she told me that she had something to tell me. We were sitting in her living room and I could tell she was nervous, it was a big change from the perfect mare I'd known until then.”

“She told me that she hoped this wouldn't affect how I felt about her. I told her that I was certain that nothing could change how I felt.”

“You really loved her,” said the unicorn.

“More than anything… Even when right before my eyes, right in that very moment. When the mare I knew was gone and something I didn't recognise stood before me.”

“I admit that I was shocked and more than a little scared, the creature before me really could only be described as a monster. But when she spoke I recognised the mare I'd known for those blessed few months.”

“She told me that she was a being who fed on love, and that my feelings had immediately drawn her to me. That the time she spent with me had stirred emotions in her that she never expected. The love she felt was real but she wanted to make sure I would still love her not as a pony, but a changeling.”

“How could I not? She was still the pony I cared for. In that moment we promised each other that we would stay with each other and build a life that we could both share.”

Roseluck stopped and a great sadness seemed to wash over her. “What I wouldn't do to change what happened next, what I wouldn't do to turn back time.”

“I decided that I would visit the neighbouring towns to sell my flowers, hoping to draw more customers and make some extra bits for the two of us.”

“I was gone for around a week and I was quite happy with the trip, I was excited to see Cherry again and talk about her future plans.”

“I knew something was wrong as soon as I got back into town, nopony could look at me and the atmosphere felt strange. I visited Cherry’s home and found it empty, the same went for my own house.”
Tears were forming in the corners of Roseluck's eyes now, it took ten minutes before she could once again resume her story.

“I found out what happened when I asked a neighbour if she had seen my marefriend. The neighbour looked sad when she met my eyes. She told me that some sort of monster had replaced Cherry, that it had changed in the market one day.”

“I put together in my mind that Cherry must have not been able to feed in the time I was gone, that her magic had weakened and eventually failed.”

“My neighbour told me that the town had given chase, that they had lost her in the woods but they had contacted the local guard to put out a warning to the local area.”

Roseluck sniffed, tears falling freely. “For an entire month I searched the woods, everywhere I thought somepony might hide. I never found her… I think that she must have left to protect me, knowing that a connection between us might endanger me.”

“I'm so sorry,” said Sugar after a quiet moment. “Is that why you decided to help Gel?”

Roseluck nodded. “I noticed the signs. They're hard to spot unless you know what to look for.” Roseluck sighed. “Ponies who have a changeling feed on them have a certain look in their eyes, like a slight happy tiredness.”

“That still doesn't explain why you helped,” Said Sugar.

“I thought that helping this changeling might help redeem me for not helping Cherry, I admit that it has helped me feel a little better.”

Sugar nodded. “Do you mind if I start getting the jelly from you directly? Ponies might get curious if you keep delivering it to my house.”

Roseluck agreed to this proposition and waved goodbye to Sugar Spoon as she trotted back into Ponyville.

Sugar was happy to have solved the mystery of the jelly. She also realised properly for the first time the risk both she had Gel ran by living together. She hoped that she would be able to keep the secret from getting out.

Author's Note

All criticisms and corrections are appreciated!