Rose released the magic. With a rush of heat and magic, her original form was restored. She let out a loud sigh of relief. Holding a disguise for an entire day, that was quite an effort. She was hungry. That pony, Noah, he had given her another little taste. It was such a curious little morsel. He had more to give, but he was like...

She frowned as her jagged horn glowed. She pulled out her prize. Noah's book would reveal how to get past that tough carapace she wasn't even sure he had any idea he had built. She would wriggle in around it and feast on that delicious meal that lurked beneath.

She smiled, fangs displayed as she flipped open the book.

She had to stop. The magazine. The ponies in the magazine. They were as naked as he was, of course, even more so. Many of them weren't even wearing clothes, to say nothing of a fur pelt to keep them warm. Despite that lack of heat, they certainly gave smoldering gazes at the 'camera'. Their teats were... huge.

Huge and full udders that could compete with most bovines she'd ever seen! Did they make milk like cows did, producing extra for sale to other clans? Were they all recently foaled perhaps? Maybe Noah had a fetish for recently foaled females.

Rose looked over the sleek chitin that made up her form. She was a streamlined and capable huntress. She had no udders. She wasn't sure she wanted any. It wasn't as if she'd ever foal. That was for queens, and they produced larvae, not foals. Such was the lot of changelings. She gave a little flick of her tongue, tasting his lingering traces of love.

One thing all the ponies in the magazine shared without exception, they all seemed as bipedal as Noah himself was. Even when they were posed on four legs, it was clear that it wasn't their natural gait. His clan was a two-legged clan. She wouldn't have a shred of hope with him if she kept to four legs. Yes. He seemed comfortable around 'Blood Rose', but he would be comfortable with her on two legs. She licked her lips as she scanned over the pages again.

She couldn't bring herself to do the udders.

Besides, some of the females in that magazine had smaller teats, and they seemed as well loved. Maybe he didn't pay them much mind? She hoped not. If need be, she could pretend to be foaled, but then her teats would be in the wrong place for all those pictures. No, if she went that far, if, she'd have to break the mold and put them up higher. That would be more work.

She hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She turned the page a bit too quickly. The sound of paper tearing filled the small room and her ear fins sank with horror. She had damaged his precious book! She had promised. "Damn it all!" She had sworn! He might hate her forever, and could she blame him for it? She was the one that had insisted on it against his protest. It was all her fault.

She didn't know a book mending spell, but there was one pony in the town that did. One... very dangerous pony.

It was her only option.

She let out a soft sigh as green flames washed over her, erasing the bug and returning Blood Rose to existence. She wouldn't lose that hard worked-for meal so easily. She carefully gathered up the magazine, torn as it was, and tucked it away. She trotted out, headed to the last place a changeling wanted to be.

The Castle of Friendship.

Spike sprinted towards the door. "Hello?" He pulled it open to reveal a unicorn. That was hardly a new thing at the castle. It wasn't Rarity, to his mild disappointment. "Yeah?"

The brown unicorn mare smiled. "Oh, um, hello... Spike."

"Have we met?"

She glanced off a moment. "Oh, who hasn't heard of Spike? The, uh."

"Brave and glorious?"

"That's it!" She smiled at him hopefully. "You're practically a celebrity."

The unicorn was clearly not of the crystal variety, but that didn't stop her from hearing about it from one. Spike nodded. "Well, you found me. How can I help?"

"Actually... I think I need Princess Twilight's help. Unless you know a book repair spell?"

Spike didn't. He pouted a tiny bit at being lessened in use, but quickly rebounded. "I'll get her!" That was how he could be useful. He dashed off, leaving Blood Rose there.

She took a timid step inside and closed the door behind herself. There she was, practically in the home of one of her people's greatest enemies and Equestria's most stalwart and able defenders. She had to not fudge it up.

"Hello there."

"I'm here for a spell!" she practically shouted before she got a grasp of herself and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I need a book repair spell."

Twilight blinked softly and tilted her head. "Certainly. That shouldn't be too much difficulty. Where's the book?"

That was when Rose realized the error of her plan. She'd have to show the book to Twilight. That book was not meant to be shared, especially among mares. Especially among strangers. Rose began to go red as she tried to think of a quick way out. "It's..."

Twilight extended a hoof. "I won't read it if it's secret, but I can't cast a spell on something that isn't here, now can I, miss...?"

"Rose. Blood Rose." She licked over her lips before she drew out the book, hovering in her magic shamefully. "I tore a page of my friend's book and--"

Twilight blinked with wide eyes. "Is that Noah's?" She took a half-step closer. "May I see? I never got him to let me look at anything of his."

Rose deflated with relief. Twilight was curious, not disgusted. Still, she had failed Noah once already. She wouldn't make it twice. "No. I promised I would protect it... Please. I messed up. Can you fix it?"

Twilight stuck out her tongue a little a moment. "I can do even better. Put it down." She thrust a hoof at the ground.

Rose hesitated, glancing around before she slowly set the magazine down. "Please be careful."

"Oh, I will, promise." Magic flared out of Twilight's horn, bathing the magazine in brilliant purple glows before it began to twinkle and sparkle, much like Twilight's namesake. With a bright flash, there were two books where there had been one. "There we are. Both freshened up like new and waiting to go. A little wear and tear, but only one actual rip. Shoulda seen this other poor book, blasted right through the center. Not mu-- Bye?"

Rose had snatched up the two books and fled without a word, galloping away from the castle.

Spike looked where he mare had gone, then back to Twilight. "So, two copies?"

Twilight grinned as another magazine floated into view. "Two copies."

Spike offered a fist and it was met with a hoof in a sign of solidarity. Twilight would not be denied her reading material that day.

Rose set down the two magazines. Two! "Thank you," she muttered to the darkness, smiling even as she became a changeling again. This was great! She could keep one and still have it right there to consult later. She carefully opened one of them and browsed. The little imperfections had been ironed out. It was as if the book was newly minted. She hoped he wouldn't mind that, but that was what she had promised. "Like new..." She owed Twilight gratitude. Pity she was in no hurry to give it to her...

Rose started. She had remembered that she had to bring a book to Noah. Something good. Something... She tapped her chin thoughtfully as she frowned.

She started leafing through that book again. The ponies in there had interests like hiking, water skiing, climbing walls, cooking, and traveling.

Traveling! She flashed a bright smile, fangs displayed. Noah may not know his fellow ponies, but even he would enjoy peeks at places. You didn't need to know a thing about dealing with people to admire the sights.

Noah opened his door to get to work. He had manes to cut and he didn't plan to be late for that. Work, that he knew how to do. He showed up on time, did his part, and went home when scheduled. No surprises, besides customers getting picky about how they wanted their manes handled. That was kind of funny, to him, considering most ponies didn't even have hands to work with manes. Most ponies in that industry were quite skilled with wielding clippers in their mouth or a wing. Unicorns were easy mode. Cheating unicorns.

Of course, that actually meant non-unicorns tended to be a lot more focused on their job. They had to be. Just because you happened to get an earth pony or pegasus barber didn't mean you were in for a bad time. They wouldn't drift off in the process. They were either focused, or the scissors dropped to the ground from disorganized lips or a wing. He'd seen it happen once or twice. That made the pony responsible go quite red and be ashamed for hours. They stopped doing it after a while.

Noah didn't get far from his house before Rose came sauntering up to him with an energetic cantering clopping. "Noah!" she called out. Two packages were hovering a bit over her head. "I have things for you!"

Noah crouched down to be on Rose's level. Hovering over ponies didn't... seem polite. "Hey, I'm on the way to work."

"You're a manecutter, right?" She tilted her head. "I still have to try that. Take these if you have to." She pushed the two packages with her magic into his hands.

He accepted them and peeked in one brown bag to see his magazine. There were no words. He was holding his dirty magazine in the middle of the road! "T-thanks!" He scrambled back upright and dashed quickly back to his house. Just as he worked the lock, he heard her clopping up behind him.

"Is everything alright?"

"N-nothing." He threw the door open, tossed both bags inside, and slammed the door shut on his shame. He let out a loud breath of relief.

"Did I mess up?"

She sounded sincerely apologetic. He turned back towards her. "Don't, um, worry about it. No harm done." He had gotten it away fast enough before any awkward questions could arise. "Uh, so, already done?"

"Thank you for lending it to me. Go ahead to work. I'll have a special surprise for you when you're done there, besides the book I got for you." She pointed past him into the house. "Be sure to look at that. You'll like it!"

He nodded stiffly. Part of him wondered what she meant, but he was going to be late. He was never late! He didn't plan to start. "I will, promise. Thanks!" He hurried past her, leaving her gazing at him with both bemusement and curiosity.

Once he was out of sight, she turned to his door, horn glowing. She'd have a surprise for him. Oh, she was quite certain of that. She couldn't help but laugh a little as she trotted into his house.

Author's Note

What's the surprise?! I bet they're typos.