It was three more shows, and a lot of acting and effort, but the month had finally ended. All of the changelings in the hive talked among themselves happily as they set to wrapping up their tents and putting away their personal belongings, readying to move out with the set.

Walking past most of them were the two shapes of Odyssia and Clopin, the latter of whom was holding onto several boxes in his branch-like arms, each filled with a variety of items that he was asked to carry for her. As they went on, talking to each other about when the blasted moving company would arrive to help perform the monumental task of moving the theater again, they both caught sight of a peculiar figure they were moving by.

It was Carol, dressed in her cloak of bells and helmet. She was simply pacing back-and-forth as she had been doing almost nonstop for the last two days. Her cape jingled behind her like wind chimes and her helmeted head shook side-to-side in an anxious way as she ambled around in a circle. She would occasionally stop, but only to look at something that caught her eye for but a second, before resuming her endless cycle.

"She's been like that for a while now, hasn't she?" Clopin inquired, as he used a free hand to fixate his hat.

"Yep. She's waiting for Longinus to get back," the young princess replied in a sigh. "Two days ago he told her he was going to Canterlot to do something, and then said that he would be back before we left. I guess... he just couldn't make it in time."

As she finished, a bright flash went out from just in front of them, causing the two to flinch. When the glow faded, it revealed, ironically enough, the shape of Longinus, cloak and all. He started toward Carol in a breathless way, as Clopin gave a wisecracking grin to the changeling princess next to him.

"You were saying?" the swagman chuckled to Odyssia, as the kelpie took notice of what went on behind her.

"Longinus!" Carol shouted, pulling her helmet off so she could see him better. He smiled and dusted himself off as she ran up to him.

"As I promised, here I am," he spoke.

"But we're leavin' suin. Ah won't be able tae see ye again..." Carol spoke in a melancholy voice. Though his expression at first was equally disheartened, Longinus's face lightened up as he remembered what he was about to do.

"Carol, before you leave, I just wanted to give you this," he said, before using his magic to pull a small box he had been hiding underneath his cloak. He levitated it up to the kelpie's face, and let it stay there before opening it up.

Inside was a pair of well-crafted, solid gold earrings, both in the shape of bells. Inscribed on each curve were the words "Semper Amare."

"I spent my time in Canterlot fashioning the pair at the castle's greatest forge," he went on. "It took me a while, but I managed to perfect them. Those words I engraved on the two mean "Always Love." It's how I want you to remember me, forever and always, even if that tricky mind of yours starts to forget the time we've spent together."

"Longinus, Ah... Ah dunnae kinn whit tae say... they look sae shiny," the kelpie sighed in awe, the glint the overhead sun left on the gold reflecting off of her face. As she put one of her hooves out, Longinus let the box slowly drop into it, and bowed his head.

The moment Carol felt the box touch her hoof, a glimmer streaked through her blue eyes, and it felt as though a switch had been flicked on in her head. Everything seemed so... clear for the first time in at least a hundred years. The shine on the bells, the detail on the box, the grass below... it all felt so vivid.

Huh. That's weird... she thought of the feeling with a cocked brow. Then it hit her.

She was thinking.

"Ah can... hink again...?" she spoke in a barely-audible whisper.

"Hmm?" Longinus hummed questioningly, lifting his head again. Carol, with a look of unfettered and unrivaled joy, stared back at him with a rapidly-expanding smile stretching across her face.

"Ye... thes gift... it broke th' curse," she spoke softly, before jumping into a more boisterous tone. "Ye broke th' curse! Ye broke th' curse! Hahaha! Ye broke th' curse, Longinus!"

"Wait, wha-?" he tried to say, until he was interrupted when he found Carol savagely pouncing on him, planting her lips on his, the box she was previously holding dropped on the ground and forgotten about. As Longinus's widened eyes reflected his current emotion, Carol's serpentine body, bursting out of her cape, coiled around his midsection and the surprised alicorn soon fell off-balance from the surplus weight, onto the ground. As the two rolled through the grass, Odyssia, Clopin, and the others watching the sight unfold, at first silent, couldn't help but burst out into laughing, cheering, and applause when they all realized what was happening.

The two soon rolled into a nearby tent, which collapsed on the two, covering them in its red, fabric roof. When they stopped their movement, Carol was on top of Longinus.

"What... do you... mean by... that?" the bewildered alicorn was finally able to ask, between the pauses of the rapid torrent of kisses she continued to leave on his lips.

"Ye broke th' curse!" she replied, stopping for a moment to catch her breath, looking down upon him. "Aam... aam sane again!"

"So, when I gave you those earrings, it was an... act of true love, wasn't it?" he asked again, as the kelpie allowed him to sit up. Carol, still keeping her smirk, only shrugged.

"Ah can hink, Ah can control mah actions, Ah dornt hear voices in mah heed anymair! ...Och, it feels sae guid!" she tried to explain in her ecstatic, excited, if not also slightly addled state. "Ah dunnae kinn whit else tae say tae ye, but... thenk ye Longinus! Thenk ye!"

"Do you... love me?" he decided to ask. After her eyes widened at the L-word, she grinned as her head tilted to the side.

"Ah loove ye!" she shouted fervently, just moments before her face curled into one of tragic realization. "But, wait... whit diz thes mean fur us? Whit dae we dae efter thes?"

"Well, I have friends here, and my house is too small for two to live in..." he responded sadly, but in a voice most would instantly compare with one a pony would use for teasing purposes. Carol gazed into his eyes desperately.

"Dornt ever lae me, Longinus," she pleaded. "Wa dornt ye... come wi' me! Yeah! We can... we can fin' a hoose! A bigger hoose! We can start a family together! Jist dornt lae me!"

Carol found herself being startled as the alicorn himself placed a small peck on her nose. "I won't leave you, Carol," he replied. "Never for as long as I live."

With an expression that could only be described as blissful, Carol threw her hooves over Longinus and hugged him, both laughing in glee all the while, as the tent cloth that still remained draped over them settled.

"Are you sure you want to say goodbye to your hive and coworkers by yourself?" Thoraxis asked Skia, as he, she, and Petra stopped walking in the middle of Ponyville's square together.

"I'm sure, Dad," she responded, turning to him with a cheery smile.

"You're not going to get lost? You know the way back home, right?" he asked, cautiously.

"I know the way back, Dad. I'll be fine," she grinned. After leaning in and giving him a small hug, she began to limp in the direction of the stage, before shouting back, "See you in an hour or two. Bye!" when she was several paces away.

Thoraxis and Petra both watched the young changeling leave, the former sighing in contentment. "I'm glad she's back," Thoraxis said to the wyvern for the eightieth time that month, looking up to her and the noon sun that shined from behind her tall, white form.

"She's like everything you told me about," Petra spoke. "Especially the part you told me about her feelings for books and writing."

"I'm just relieved that I don't have anything to worry about now," he smiled. "I've been getting better sleep, I don't have as many nightmares, the future looks bright for once... I'm just relieved. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment."

As he said that, Petra's expression changed to one of slight worry. "Eh... Thoraxis..." she started, as she began to nervously tap her index claws together. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while... It's something I've been meaning to tell you for six weeks now actually, but I still don't know if you're ready to hear what I have to say, though."

"What is it, dear? Whatever it is, I bet you I can handle it," he replied with a confident glare. Petra gave a wry look to her boyfriend, knowing exactly what kind of reaction he was about to give her when she said her next three words. Rolling her eyes and taking in the deepest breath of her life, Petra slowly exhaled, and then spoke.

"Thoraxis... I'm pregnant."

Author's Notes:

This is how the story ends. This is how one long, arduous journey of a changeling in a world of foes finally comes to a close. Do not fret over this surprising turn of events my friends, for a new beginning is coming into fruition. This "serendipitous" moment will not be the last. No, far from it actually...