various underlings

finally going more in depth about Underlings, an illegally genetically modified variant of Changelings!

The Wasp in the picture is named Stinger (very creative), and the Moth in the picture is named One. I couldn't really fit their names into the picture, so... But the bottom one is unreformed Atlas, and then obviously reformed Atlas.

Underlings in General: 
Underlings have been around since after the Age of Beasts. Many Changeling Hives were purged, but higher ups and underground factions came together to perform tests on Changelings, how to harness their magic, and other various things since they were seen as lesser than ponies. In the beginning, there were many various types of Changelings all belonging to a particular Queen, but nowadays Chrysalis is the only known remaining Queen, and thus the only way to create pure born Changelings. Her colony resembles ants. Other colonies would resemble different bugs, but now that the Queens don't exist, they can only be made synthetically. The Queens' pheromones have been reproduced, though, and are used to control Underlings. 

Underlings are typically expendable and it's difficult for them to have their own will. But after Chrysalis came into power, many Underling rings and experiments started getting cracked down on. The following are some products of many years of testing, genetic manipulation, and so on. 

Wasp Type Underlings:
Wasp Underlings are obviously reminiscent of wasps, and thus are very protective, violent, and have an array of poisons. Every wasp has a different type of poison that's specially made for them to use. Some have sleeping poisons, others have fatal poisons. Some induce seizures, others cause hallucinations. Either way, Wasps are typically used to intimidate foes and for small scale attacks. They often feed off of negative emotions to survive, and are well known across the underground world as formidable foes. They do not have the ability to change like most Changelings do, but they do have the ability to heal quickly or spray their poison from their mouths. They have acute communicative abilities and are easy to control with pheromones.

Moth Type Underlings:
Moth Underlings are doomed to a hasty death. They're typically disposable, and easily replaced. The issue with Moth Underlings is that they have no way to feed, they have no mouths, no nothings. They don't--and can't--feed off of any types of emotions whatsoever. Instead, they have to transform in order to survive. If given even a single hair or solid piece of DNA of a client, they will be able to completely change into them, memories in tact and everything. They can completely copy their personality down to their mannerisms, but with a spray of moth-specific pheromones, would go back into obedience mode.

These Moth Types are often used in assassinations, faked deaths, or even leisurely things like being in two places at once. For example, if an assassin is taking out a target, they might have a Moth go and pretend to be the target while the deed is happening, and keep ponies distracted until the deed has been done and cleaned up with. Some ponies might hire a moth to take their place while they run off, and have them fake their own death...although the Moth typically doesn't know the death will be quite real and they will die in the process. They're used more by the higher-ups and elites, but Moth Types are usually disposed of after being used. Can't have certain secrets or knowledge that underhanded things are going on in the higher classes, after all.

The problem with a Moth's longevity is that their since their disguise is so on point and their magic goes solely into transforming and copying all of that data, they can only transform once or twice into a prime target. Then they must feed off of their DNA in order to keep up that form. So if the target is dead or gone, it's only a matter of time...so the ones dishing out the Moths typically just have the Moths make up an excuse, and they don't know they get killed at the end of it before their disguised timer runs up.

Mantis Type Underlings:
These are probably the most unstable and egregious of the Underlings. They don't feed off of feelings or their target's DNA to survive... they need blood and flesh, sometimes of other Changelings and Underlings. They're defensive tanks that can tear through metal like paper and make a body disappear in a blink of an eye. They often are the ones that dispose of Moths or disobedient Underlings...even disobedient ponies in gangs or otherwise. They're insatiable monsters that sometimes pheromones can't control, but are used as guard dogs and cleanup crew nonetheless. They can change forms, but typically only into inanimate objects as a standby mode. Though it's quite difficult to actually get a Mantis to listen to you.

Atlas used to be a Mantis Type, but through lots of effort and even magic at times, Wonderworks was able to break through to Atlas (who had been terrorizing some countryside and was due to be killed). This brings us to the reformation program for Underlings and how they're dealt with in Equestria.

Underling Reformation:
Ever since the crack down on Underlings, the higher ups have tried to keep it on the low down. Having a Changeling Queen in office and all, once she found out that this had been going on for some time, she was obviously not very happy about it. In the press, it was said that lost Changelings were being found and reformed to come back into society. But on the underbelly, a lot of the elites and underground still wanted to indulge... but people caught using Underlings were quickly reprimanded and jailed. Since so many ponies used them, there was only one route to go: burn it all. Many Underlings killed, destroyed, gotten rid of, released into the wild to fend for themselves.

Underlings that had only known being controlled by the scent of their synthetic Queens now opened their eyes into a world they had never known, and often ended up dying or being arrested because of it. A good handful did get into reformation camps, but for things like the Mantis types, they had to be killed since there was no feasible way to reform them. Any Moth types they got a hold of often died within weeks if they didn't transform, and ones that survived needed extensive training or surgery to help them feed in other ways that didn't mean becoming a complete clone of someone else. The press never covered these more brutal and not-feel-good details for fear the elite would be put under scrutiny for using such things to their leisure, and it would re-inspire a fear in Changelings. So quietly, the elite turned it all to ash...

But Atlas was hard proof that it was possible to bounce back. Wonderworks planned to show the world that one day.

More on Underlings, Atlas, Wonderworks:
   

Art (c) mylittlegami