“What does love taste like?”
“Hmm?” Ocellus glanced up from her book at the sudden and odd question. She and her friends were all gathered around a table in the school’s library, the six of them currently in the middle of a study session for Professor Applejack’s class when Silverstream had voiced the out of nowhere question. “What?”
“I mean, does it even have a taste?” Silverstream continued with her usual exuberance, seemingly unaware of the stares she was getting from everyone else at the table. “Is it spicy? Sour? Minty? Oooh, does it taste like strawberries? I love strawberries!”
“Uhh…” Ocellus just sat there with her mouth open, still taken aback by Silverstream’s abrupt line of questioning.
“You know…” Gallus suddenly interjected, happy to have any kind of reprieve from their study session. “... I’ve wondered the same thing too. So spill, Ocellus. What does love even taste like? Or does it not actually have a taste and is more of a ‘feeling’?”
“W-Well, it kinda… I mean…”
“Yona want to know too. Changelings eat love, so it must taste like something, correct?”
“It does, but–”
“I bet it takes like sugar and spice and all that stuff, doesn’t it? Especially love you get from ponies, eh, Sandbar?” Smolder said, adding her own two bits in as she nudged Sandbar.
“I’ll admit that I’ve wanted to ask you before, I just never found a good time to bring it up,” Sandbar said, tapping his hooves nervously on the table. “I mean, it’s not a weird thing to ask, is it?”
“No, it’s just…” Sighing, Ocellus closed her book and set it aside as she realized that their study session likely wouldn’t be able to go on until she’d answer her friend's questions. “It’s not really something I can give a short answer to.”
“Why not?” Gallus asked. “It’s a simple question; Does love have a taste? Yes or no?”
“But I wanted to know what it tastes like!” Silverstream remarked.
“Why? It’s not like you could even taste it, so why bother?” Gallus said with a wave of his talons.
“I was curious...” Silverstream replied, pouting slightly as she tapped her talon against the table and looked to Ocellus for an answer.
“The reason I can’t give a short answer to all this, Gallus,” Ocellus began, “is because it’s a bit more complicated than that.” Ocellus replied. “You see…”
“Oh no, here we go…” Gallus muttered as he sensed a lecture coming on.
“Gryphon be quiet!” Yona hissed at him as she leaned in closer. “Yona listening to what friend has to say.”
Indeed, everyone else around the table instinctively leaned in closer as they waited with bated breaths for whatever Ocellus had to say. Being made the center of attention like this was causing Ocellus to start feeling slightly self-conscious, but she pushed it aside as she told herself that her friends were just being curious and hadn’t meant any harm in asking. “To answer your question, Gallus, yes, love does have a taste, but that taste is vastly different depending on several factors.”
“Like what?” Gallus asked.
“What kind of love it is, for starters. After all, there’s the love shared between family, between friends, between lovers, to name just a few. There are many different kinds of love and each has its own distinct flavor to them. Some love can certainly be spicy if it’s a fiery love, but more subdued love can have an almost cooling flavor to it, kinda like mint chocolate. Plus, who the love comes from is also a factor in how it tastes. I can say for certain that no two creatures give off the exact same type of love. Different types of love can also enhance the kind of normal food we eat. Ever hear of the expression ‘Cooking with love’? To Changelings that’s often literal, as we can taste the love someone puts into their cooking.”
The table was silent again as everyone slowly digested what Ocellus had told them. Content that she had satisfied their curiosity, Ocellus reached for her book again…
“So what does my love taste like?” Silverstream asked.
Ocellus let out a squeak as she looked at her friends, all of whom were still looking at her with curious eyes. “W-what?” Ocellus stuttered, her cheeks turning bright pink.
“I mean, I just assumed that you’ve fed off of each of us at some point, so what does it taste like?”
The others all nodded in agreement, not a single look of judgment or anger amongst them.
“And… and you’re not mad?” Ocellus delicately asked. “About me feeding on you guys' love?”
“I just figured it was some unwritten rule about being friends with a Changeling,” Smoulder replied with a shrug.
“Yona know Ocellus not want to hurt friends, so Yona no mind.”
“Same,” Sandbar said, adding, “It’s cool, really.”
Gallus gave a thumbs up to show he was okay with it, while Silverstream just smiled and nodded.
Ocellus felt a warmth well up in her chest as she realized her friends trusted her enough to not care if she snacked on their love on occasion. “Thanks, you guys. I guess if you all really want to know, each of your love does have a certain flavor to it. Sandbar, your love is sweet, kind of like salt-water taffy.”
“Figured Sandbar would taste like something sweet,“ Gallus remarked, glancing over as Ocellus began to giggle. “What?”
“Well… it’s just that your love tastes just as sweet, kind of like cotton candy.”
“Wha… you’re joking.”
Ocellus just giggled even more. “I’m not, I swear!”
Smolder snickered as Gallus sat there with a flabbergasted look on his face. “So, fess up. What does my love taste like then, Ocellus?”
“Oooh, your love is super spicy, Smolder. Like biting into a hot pepper. The first time I tasted it, I was not expecting it to be so spicy. I actually had to go grab a glass of milk afterwords!”
“Nice!” Smolder said with a hint of pride in her voice.
“What Yona love taste like?”
Ocellus smiled at Yona. “You love is very homey, I can’t think of any other way to describe it. It’s like having a warm bowl of tomato soup on a chilly day.”
“That’s… good?” Yona asked, smiling when Ocellus nodded her head. "Yona like having warm love!”
“Ooooh, me next, me next!” Silverstream chirped excitedly. “What does my love taste like? Please tell me it tastes like strawberries!”
“Blueberries, actually. Blueberry muffins to be exact.”
“Oh…” Silverstream replied, appearing disappointed for a moment before perking right back up. “I like muffins though!”
With the topic now resolved, everyone went back to studying. Blissful silence reigned for several seconds before Silverstream thought to ask another question:
“So… what kind of love is it?”
Ocellus just groaned and buried her face in her book.
