With her mother and grandparents doing their best to keep Equus from falling apart, Cherish stood alone. She ached as years past without Ludustella nearby, but in her heart of hearts, she knew her sibling was still out there. Time had made Cherish regret ever being embarrassed by Ludustella, and decided that she couldn't continue without letting her sibling know she cared. So she left went to search for the draconequus.
Cherish was never a fan of being tricked by the changelings in their mischievous days, so avoided them in the past. Knowing that they might be the only clue she had to finding her sibling, she decided to put her preconceptions aside and seek them out, in case Ludustella was hiding among them.
Unfortunately, the first ones she found had been twisted by Phoboira. Sensing her love energy the changelings attacked her, sucking all the love they could get with an endless hunger. Not having a violent bone in her body, Cherish couldn't bring herself to fight back, wondering if she deserved it.
When Cherish started to wonder if she's going to loose her physical form when other changelings arrived. Weak with hunger- but still whole- the changelings that refused Phoboira attacked their corrupted brethren. The idea that these creatures would still help her gave Cherish more power, and her affection -not forcibly taken- gave them the power to drive the corrupted Changelings off.
Sadly, these Changelings had also been searching for Ludustella, and could not tell Cherish where she was either. They offered to help Cherish search for their creator, but the alicorn knew if they came with her they would be a target for draconequi. Some had already been drawn into the war- she didn't want Ludustella's "children" in harm's way.
But Cherish could tell that these changelings were struggling without love energy. Since she had to travel if there was any hope of finding her sibling, she decided to imprint her own abilities unto them. She gave them the power to absorb ambient energy around them. The appreciation of water from a thirsty animal. The enjoyment of the sun during a windy day. Where there was nature, there was love that was projected into it.
These changelings- who became the royals of this tribe- could redistribute this energy into the other changelings as love energy. But most importantly, as long as they kept loving each other they wouldn't go hungry. In the meantime, she encouraged them to stay hidden. The world was dangerous, and she knew Ludustella would be sad if they didn't survive. While they might not be safe without Ludustella's protection, Cherish promised she wouldn't stop searching.
In their gratitude, the changelings gave Cherish a large crystal shaped like a heart they found in their caves. Legend says that heart stayed with the alicorn for most of her search.