Following the hive's metamorphosis, the desolate region once charted as 'the Badlands' on Equestrian maps has begun to flourish. Deserts now sprout with newfound life, and wastes of sun-baked rock crumble in the wake of sprouting vegetation.
But with all progress comes growing pains. Such a sudden abundance of life cannot flourish without water, and an awful lot of it, at that. For bug ponies with fragile gossamer wings, things couldn't be more inconvenient.
Caught in an acclimating climate, the changelings now face a series of torrential downpours that limit both their flight and activities. Luckily for them, their new leader is an expert at finding the coziest solution to every situation.
* Calor is (C) to me!
* Part of the Love Bug Continuity!
* Cover art by the multi-talented Racingwolf!
* A re-imagining of The Patter of Rain, which takes place between seasons six & seven.
I have a sinking feeling that a certain other story I’m reading is going to go very poorly for Thorax, and I think I’m going to need this one to buoy my spirits. I need comfy right now.
That was nice. Such a nice little story.
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It wouldn't happen to involve an alternate universe in which Spike and Thorax were banished from the Crystal Empire, would it?
On that note, was it written by a guy named Scyphi?
I'm always up for a good lovebug story. And that art at the end is perfection.
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No. It involves an alternate universe where Twilight’s personality is stuck at one moment in time, unable to change, Flurry Heart betrays her parents for the Crystal Empire’s throne (or betrays Cadance, anyway, Shining Armor having become a nonentity), and I have a sinking suspicion that all changelings save one are dead.
It’s called The Last Changeling. It’s part of a series. The first story, The Third Wheel, is good. The second story, Courtesans, ranks in my top 10 best fics on this site. But the next two fics, A Foreign Education and The Virgin Princess, don’t just drop the ball, they shine spike it down the Laurentian Abyss.
At this point I’m sticking around due to sunk cost fallacy and a vague hope that a 52 year timeskip between Virgin Princess and The Last Changeling will let the author recover from his screwups. But, well...look at the title.
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Oh. Ok. 'Cause I was about to be like "Run! Run now, before you're crippled emotionally!"
xD
As always, a perfect and oh so very snuggly story. I can never get enough of NavelColt's stuff.
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Oh, I think that story is set in an AU where Thorax doesn't exist.
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He’s been expressly mentioned in previous fics. From the second chapter of The Third Wheel:
He was also mentioned in A Foreign Education, when Cheval muses that Thorax made up the whole reformation thing from the start (although Flurry shot down that idea). Which...no, if that turns out to be the case. Just no. I can only stand by and watch so many characters be assassinated.
But then of course his existence makes it even harder to understand how Equestria and the Crystal Empire have been so inept in dealing with changelings...
Damn. This story is so good. I have no Idea why but it reminds me so much of Hollow Knight.
Changelings are now Equestria's Hallow Nest. Confirmed.
This was so cozy oh my god
10/10 I don't wanna go to work now
Okay, enough complaining about bad and depressing fics. Between this one and The Bug in the Basement’s latest update, I’m in a much better mood. I love your characterization of Thorax, and Pharynx showing up was great. Too bad Ocellus isn’t here, but maybe next time.
Oh, and I’m totes stealing how rain affects changelings for my own projects, by the way. I’ll reference back, don’t worry.
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OH also I really want to see Calor and Thorax kiss
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You're the first to mention their notice. Calor has a crush on Thorax, but Thorax, being adorably naive and a dork, is obtuse to realizing it. 
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No problem! Glad to be of inspiration, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Providing a haven from sad stories is a fringe benefit to being a fluff writer.
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Actually, to be honest, I think RainbowDoubleDash has already read "Grief." At least, I think I recall seeing comments from him on it...
Oh, ha ha.
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Actually, no, sorry, at least not beyond the first chapter. I might, though. I don't mind sad stories when I know going into them that they're going to be sad, and I don't mind bad things happening to characters or characters making bad decisions as long as, in context, those decisions make sense, you can see the logic train built into them or how the world forced those decisions.
Although I have, like I said, read the first chapter, and I don't understand how Spike could possibly have been exiled. Like...no, I don't buy it. But I can buy them kicking Thorax out and Spike exiling himself to go with him, so if I do get around to reading more I'll probably just imagine that that is what happened. Obviously Spike needs to be on the outs to get the entire fic started, else there would be no fic. I'll just write it off like the storm that strands Mark Watney on Mars in The Martian: it's impossible, it could never happen, but if it doesn't happen we don't have a story, so let's just pretend it happened.
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I must be thinking of someone else then...which now has me wondering who...hmm...
That's effectively what it boiled down to in the end. I'm working on some final edits to the fic in which this would be more clearly enforced than it currently is, among other things. So that said, I'd almost suggest you wait until those edits go live, except I have no time table on when that might be.
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Oh, uh, hi, Scyphi, uh...heh heh...I didn't expect to see you here...
derpicdn.net/img/view/2019/3/27/1996003.gif
You know...considering the definition of that term, that's a bit of an unfortunate name for anyone.
Humm will we ever see nymph Ocelleus in one of these stories? Also I'm sure the shift to family units will be a large cultural event. Would be interesting to see why they decided to do it and the initial difficulties in altering the rearing method for nymphs.
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She'll definitely appear in King of Love Bugs before it ends, though. 
I keep meaning to include Ocellus at some point in something I do but I never seem to remember to.
That was adorable.
oh dear... I'd better go see if my Thorax plushie has a confession to make
(if I'm not back in a while, I may have died of happiness)
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I should do the same thing, actually.
If either of ours are legit we'll have to share.
I finally got to read this, I was going to before but I got caught up with drawing.
I loved the part with the other changelings there to support Thorax. The thing with the pillows is cute. But what they also need is...plushies!
I like that Thorax helped everyone find a group; I know that if I was there, I'd be the one standing awkwardly alone.
And about Thorax being oblivious to Calor's crush...same, Thorax. Same. xD
I love this story!
THE MEME!!! ITS THE MEME!!!
Lamp.
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I liked Calor in this story. And seeing your changeling stories provided a lot of inspiration for me. It’ll take me a while to get used to this site, seeing that my first and only story hasn’t gotten much attention yet, but seeing friendly writers like you has already made me feel like I belong somehow. So, thanks for that.
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Writing is one of the more difficult crafts to get popular with, I think, due to the time commitment that comes with it. Keep writing and improving and you'll grow a fan base along the way.
Always delighted to be a source of inspiration, and I'm glad you like Calor.
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Thanks! I appreciate it!
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If only I can like a comment twice...
This great story reminds me of this song. Of course, changedlings in general (such as Ocellus) remind me of this song.
This was a nice story, and its good to see something like this among all the horror stories centered around the changelings. It's stories like this that remind me why Thorax is my favorite of the characters that we got after Season 5. I would've loved to have seen some more episodes kind of showcasing his struggles to fully reform the other changelings, and I think the way that this turned out would be a nice little ending to such an episode. Could start the episode with the problem, which is that they don't like being so close to each other all the time and keep on fighting each other, and it eventually ends with them all gathered around in a large chamber in the hive, holding out together as a family of sorts as they take shelter from the storm outside.
Looking back, its kind of unfortunate that Thorax just sort of disappeared after Season 7 Episode 17 where they reformed his brother. His only appearances since then have been in the Season 8 Premiere and in "Uprooted", and he hardly had a role in them at all. Its been more than two years since his last major appearance back in that Season 7 episode, and looking at the titles of the next few episodes I can't imagine that he'll have another starring role before the show ends.
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Thorax has been my favorite character since S6 as well, and is largely the reason I returned to the fandom after a two year hiatus. It's true, he never got another big role after Pharynx's introduction (an even bigger injustice for Pharynx, who only had one starring role), but that's all the more reason why I've been able to dig my hands into changeling lore and build to the scale that I have. This story is just one of six that I've written, all centered around Thorax's rule in the modern hive, and I have more lined up at some point. :)
As a fan, it's sad to see the show end, to realize your favorite characters won't receive more appearances. But as a writer, it's humbling and exciting to know that this entire fandom now looks to content creators to continue the story where the show left it.
Cute!
Now that's pretty smart! 💡
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He is the light in the dark that shepherds his bug ponies home.
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Yis, all hail King Thorax. The literal
lämpshining beacon leading his people to a brighter tomorrow!That was a pretty fun story to read. :3
They named a changeling girl "cloaca?" Now that's just cruel.
D'awwwww, Thorax is such a good Bug-Horse Dad!
LMAO. I'M DEAD. THAT IS FREAKIN ADORABLE AND I'M WHEEZING IN MY ATTEMPT TO KEEP QUIET WHILE AT WORK.
Another lovely installment in the series. Since I’ve read a lot of things out of order I didn’t know this was Calor’s debut story, but I love him all the same.