Hi! I'm back! )) Btw, I tried to make the designs simpler and closer to the mlp art-style than mine. So, there's that if you were wondering why my art looks suspiciously different lol (honestly, it just looks like how I used to draw ponies before I left). Since they're “new” and not a pre-established mlp species, like the bat-ponies, I didn't want to over-convolute the style or design so y'all could understand it better.

Also, @Icey1517 (https://www.deviantart.com/icey1517) had asked the question in my Q&A, “are there any different species of changeling”? Yep! And here's one of them! The Arachnida Changelings!

Thanks for asking! ^{^} (And of course I will get to some of the other Changelings that are relevant to my au, as well, which will answer some more of your questions about Changelings, Icey)!

If y'all want to ask me some questions or make some suggestions, feel free to comment here: https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Q-and-A-Suggestions-for-Star-AU-MLP-1197007969

Yeah, umm, I didn't think it'd be this hard to come up with a new species (look, I'm not original, I've seen mlp spider/arachnid changelings headcanons before, but I never thought I'd do it, so I don't have the “credits” of the other HCs I saw…sooo…and I say “new” cuz I also mixed together the concept of drows from D&D and I've personally never seen that. Sooo 🤷🏾‍♀️). Also, it took me a while to post again, cuz I took a break. I was posting a few weeks ago like there was no tomorrow and I outworked myself into an art & writers block. 😭



FYI: Since this is a made up species with made up headcanons, and lore and such, I don't think I got everything I wanted to show or tell you all about this species yet. So, bear with me! If I ever make a drow unicorn/Arachnida Changeling character for my next-gen/au, I might go over some new details and lore about them. Right now, I'm just giving y'all a general idea and design of how I want them to look. So their designs (especially their “true form” designs) might change or be tweaked. All I know is that I wanted an “anti-unicorn” or sorts, and my brain thought, “if unicorns were human, I think they would be elves. Drows are practically anti-elves, so why not do that for unicorns?” Idk. It's been on my mind for a while now. Additionally, with that being said, I initially didn't intend these “drow unicorns” to be one of the types of changelings. But until I thought about it, especially after doing my research on Lolth, the Drow goddess, I thought, “mlp has bug ponies… if I made Lolth in mlp she would also be a bug pony…so why not I mix the two together and make them a type of changeling that doesn't have wings but only a horn and can only appear like edgy unicorns in their disguised forms” ??? And that's how this happened. Me, coming up with more to add about this species prolonged this post even longer. So, I stopped here for now so it wouldn't get out of hand.



Anyway, let's get into it! 



⚠️‼️LONG DESCRIPTION WARNING‼️⚠️



(For the most part I'm just rephrasing what's already presented in the illustration. But there are still some elaborated/extra details and stuff in here if you're interested).

《GENERAL INFORMATION》

☆ Drow unicorns or Arachnida Changelings originate from the deep and dark realm known as Hollow Equestria/Earth or The Underworld. Since I don't feel like repeating myself, here's an edited excerpt of what the “Underworld” is in my au from one of my previous post linked here: https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Star-AU-HC-Chiroptera-Equi-of-The-Underworld-1197874409

The Underworld is believed to literally be a world within a world; a world within Equestria. But, The Underworld is more of a new realm or another plane of existence, like Sacred Haven (or Chaosville as Discord calls it). Now, I don't know where exactly The Underworld is placed in the mlp universe, but it's not literally “within/below Equestria”. Also, I'm sure natives call it something else, like the Netherworld or something like that (hehe, Minecraft X]]). Also, the drow aren't the only creatures that live within The Underworld. Even other iconic creatures like the other changeling species, minotaurs, centaurs and such originated from this place. Plus, I may still have another made up species that came from here, which is “Wolf-pony/Wolf-equus” which are evil earth ponies lol (I will discuss them later)! Anyway, what's for certain is that this realm and the creatures were definitely created by Pater Cronus Cosmos (you can check him out here: https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Star-AU-HC-Draconequus-911294015 ), who is also the creator and god over “Sacred Haven/Chaosville”. Since balance is key in the nature of their universe, Pater Cronus created The Underworld as an anti-realm to the Overworld/normal Equestria. Like, you have anti-pegasus, which are the bat-ponies, anti-unicorns, which are the drow unicorns and anti-earth ponies, which are wolf-equus (wolf-pony). So, there's that.

Another thing about The Underworld is that it's accessible through caves, caverns or any underground geological structures. They call these “gateways”. These gates are guarded and protected by “Gatekeepers” from the natives of The Underworld, like Midnight, Luna's son. Some of Lolth's strongest offspring are gatekeepers too!

However, you have to travel far and deep into them. Also not ALL caves are gateways, but there are at least one or two in every region or continent/country and are typically near or within forested areas. You will know that there is a gate nearby, as the environment will be overrun by “chaos” magic and some rogue creatures that were able to enter the Overworld. Places like the Everfree Forest, Froggy Bottom Bog, Ghastly Gorge, Tenochtitlan Basin, Hayseed Swamp, Mt. Everhoof, etc, etc, are good examples of these types of areas.

Btw, since I didn't really do a good job at illustrating the Underworld the first time, I'm not ever going to do it again, lol, I'll just describe it with what I think it looks like. I think the Underworld looks like how it's depicted in most media, like in Disney's Hercules or in the Greek mythos. Just a dark, gloomy cavernous place devoid of light. But, the only light in the place comes from random pools of lava, fields of fire, bioluminescent flora and fauna and crystals. However, the place seems vast and almost infinite with kingdoms and civilizations and such.

Lastly, Tartarus is placed in The Underworld. One, because it makes sense, and two since The Underworld is “technically” another realm, whoever gets sent there can't come out without the magic or a key or something from a trusted gatekeeper (that trusted gatekeeper being Cerberus, lol X]]]).

Sidenote: Remember, this is a headcanon. So I know that the mane six, when they were in Tartarus, didn't have to “enter a realm” to get there. All they had to do was get past Cerberus. But for headcanon purposes, Cerberus has the key/magic to allow him and others to cross into the Underworld realm.

☆ Like every Arthropoda Equi, the drow unicorns were made by their Queen Lolth. Though a Queen, she's sometimes addressed as “Goddess” as she would also like to be deemed as “The Goddess of Evil,” (yeah, she's edgy). As you may notice, changelings are attracted to emotion and gain energy from it, and Queen Lolth and her Drow offspring are no exception. HOWEVER! Unlike most Arthropoda Equi, they aren't “reliant” on emotions, but more so of what they eat. They rely on fresh meat. Even the Queen herself can strictly eat meat (she's carnivorous) whereas her offspring are omnivores and can stomach fruits and vegetables (to help blend in with the normal ponies when they're in disguise), however they still crave meat, just as much as their Queen.

The Queen is a tyrant and a threat to the residents of the Underworld and has single-handedly brought multiple famine and drove other species (including her kind, that's why Chrysalis isn't there) out of that realm to seek a refugee elsewhere. She is constantly at war with every kind in the Underworld, especially the bat-ponies because they have the second largest population in the Underworld (with the first largest obviously being the Arthropoda Equi species combined). On that note, Queen Lolth has an acquired “taste” for bat-ponies that test her competence and patience…so if you were wondering how the original Queen and King of the bat-ponies died…she ate them…💀 The drow mostly stay “content” in the Underworld, all because Lolth rules most of it. However, her drow offspring love to travel the lands of the Overworld/Equestria for gifts or offerings to bring back that they don't have in the Underworld, like non-sentient livestock, spoils/stolen artifacts, and sometimes ponies…They only do this as the Queen won't care for you, ignore you, or threaten to eat you unless you give her something of worth.

Mentioning Queen Chrysalis, all the original Arthropoda Equi queens were “sisters”. Now, they don't have direct parents. I believe that Pater Cronus Cosmos created them according to their arthropoda order. However, Queen Lolth and some of the other changeling species were created later on, like Thorax and Melissa's species (Melissa is yet another oc of mine. She's responsible for the “Bee” Changelings). But, I'll get to the other two later. Anyway, the first Arthropoda Equi queens that were initially created were:

>> Chrysalis, the Queen of the Hexapoda Changelings (bees, beetles, butterflies, ants, etc…)

>> Serket, the Queen of the Chelicerates Changelings (spiders, scorpions, mites etc…)

>> Kiwa, the Queen of the Crustacean Changelings (lobsters, crabs, etc…)

>> Persophne, the Queen of the Myriapoda (millipedes, etc, etc etc…)

Sidenote: Y'all are gonna have to imagine what these Queens look like, (except for Chrysalis obviously), cuz I ain't drawing nor writing all of that (especially if they have NOTHING to do with my story…sorry), but, I'd thought I'd mention them. For the sake of my story and sanity, every queen, except for Chrysalis, died or are elsewhere outside of the Underworld and Equestria minding their business…Anyway, the other rulers, like Thorax, Melissa and Lolth, were offspring of one of these queens and were able to make their own precise classes of their order. For instance, Lolth is the daughter/descendant of Serket, and she's specifically the Queen over her Arachnida Changelings. Melissa and Thorax were descendants of Queen Chrysalis.

☆ All drow unicorns have white/silver/grey hair, their coats are always a shade of purple, and their horns, eyes, hooves and sclera (when they're using magic) are red. Their faux cutie marks also have red accents in them.

Hair thickness varies, but it never gets as strong as normal pony/horse hair. Their hair is always soft and silky.

Their coats are a tid-bit shaggy/fluffy.

☆ Like their Queen, they are naturally ill-tempered and violent. But of course, like Thorax, you rarely have some kind-hearted drows. Especially the ones that linger in Equestria for far too long as they probably grew fond of the place and preferred it over the Underworld. (Keep this in mind, as you notice I failed to mention what “half bloods/mixed-bloods” look like. So, stay tuned 👀👀👀).

☆ Their top canines are like the fangs of a spider. They have venom that is strong enough to liquify the innards of a plant, fruit or animal.

☆ Queen Lolth is the only one to have spinnerets and use webs/silk traditionally (like a real spider), unless she decides to create a potential female heir (none of the males will be heirs). But her offspring, with the powers of magic, can run pretty fast and crawl on walls.

☆ Drows are quite magical and are 10× more powerful than the common Equestrian unicorn. Their great magic equips them with the power to instantly transform their appearance, but also teleport, turn invisible, heal others or themselves through the process of “molting”, etc, etc. They are skilled in the dark arts, and practice necromancy and demon summoning for fun (draconequus are demons/angels in my au btw).

☆ They all have six eyes, giving incredible sight and multiple perspectives at once. They can see in the dark and use their powers to give them thermal vision too.

☆ Yes, they have spidey senses X]]. They are sensitive to vibrations. Earthquakes, even at the mildest level, bothers them greatly. So, if you were in a fight with them, find a way to make a strong vibration, like a bell or something to deter or distract them.

☆ The drow only has 6-legs, whereas the Queen has 8 + pedipalps at the front.

☆ Baby drow are known as “slings” (short for spiderlings)

They're born nearly white and gain pigment in their coats the older they get.

☆ The Queen incubates her slings in thick slick shape as an egg. However, her female offspring can just incubate their babies in their womb. They can also only have one at a time.

☆ I know most if not all male arachnids are “technically” always smaller than female arachnids. But, there's an exception here. Mainly because I drew the designs of the drows first as regular ole ponies with no consideration that they would also be bug ponies. Plus, I guess with the Queen being bigger, the males are still technically smaller than the main female arachnida changeling. Idk, lol 🤷🏾‍♀️

《TRUE FORM OF DROW》

☆ I will tweak their designs in the future because the 6-legs was an afterthought ngl. Cuz I know what y'all are probably thinking, “6-legs? But they're supposed to be arachnids!” I know, I know. I just didn't want the true form drow designs to be too busy if we pretended that they were in mlp. But, like I said, I might tweak their designs in the future to make their anatomy make more sense. Like, you can see that in my illustration that I tried to simplify their body being “segmented” like an arachnid, but it doesn't entirely make the most sense. Also, how would they run and stuff. All of this will be addressed sometime in the future. I just need to draw them more, y'know? (And study the anatomy of an arachnid better without just glancing at them cuz I'm scared of them 💀).

☆ They have markings that could form into something intelligible on their back/flank, like the Queen's fitting horse skull mark. So, like the zebra in mlp, these markings act as their version of a cutie mark.

☆They have 6 eyes, serrated horn, sharp teeth and long fangs like their Queen.

☆ In this form, they are the most violent and mean. They're so imprudent that they just hiss and growl more than they speak sometimes. They bite a lot when roughhousing.

☆ They don't “molt” in the typical sense (like how a real spider molts), but just grow like a normal mammal. However, if they get a leg torn from their socket, drows have the magic to “make” a molt for them to regenerate that body part. (They can only regenerate their limbs, nothing else).

《”DISGUISED” PONY FORM OF DROW》

☆ Their horns are still serrated, just not as drastically as they are in their true form. However, even though they are less serrated to lower suspicion about their appearance, forward serration on unicorn horns isn't normal. Unicorn horns are either straight with grooves, curved with grooves, or straight without grooves and curved without grooves. Now, there are a few exceptions if they're a kirin, bicorn or mixed with any other species with unique horn shapes. But forward serrated horns have never been consistently reoccurring like you see on a drow. I have a link to my headcanon on unicorns so you can see what I mean: https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Star-AU-HC-Types-of-Corn-876362372. So, if you see multiple “unicorns” with forward serrated horns, then they might not be what you think they are.

☆ Other aspects about their appearance to identify a disguised drow, is their dark and dole purple fluffy/shaggy coats, white colored hair, and their red features (eyes, horn and hooves). Their hooves are always cloven, their canines are visibly sharp, they have markings under (or around) their eyes, when their magic is activated their eyes glow red, and their cutie marks always have red in them.

☆ Speaking of cutie marks, they're like an illusion spell. They aren't like your typical cutie mark where they “earn” it. However, they still represent something, whether it's their name, like for the female drow, Spider Lily, presented in the illustration, or an occupation like for the male drow, Lance, in the illustration. It can represent a variety of other things too. But again, drows don't have to go through some trial or revelation to gain them. With that being said, they could always change the appearance of the cutie marks, but typically choose not too to keep the “illusion” going.

☆ You can tell that they don't have the greatest disguise compared to Chrysalis's changelings. In fact, they are the worst out of all of the Arthropoda Equi! But, they're only like this because they don't have too many reasons to be seen in Equestria. Therefore they had no need to adapt. Additionally, with Queen Chrysalis being one of the original queens, of course her swarm/offspring would have the incredible power to shape-shift into anything!

☆ Queen Lolth's offspring are known as “drow unicorns” for a reason, as they can't appear as pegasus or Earth ponies. Their horns are always present, no matter how much they try to change it (unless it was broken, but still).

☆ As I previously stated, they only use this form to venture off into the Overworld/Equestria mostly undetected to gather offerings/food/miscellaneous loot for their Queen and themselves. They would simply get weird stares and murmurs amongst skeptical ponies, but never really approached because they look “normal” enough. Now of course ponies would be quick to point out their sharp teeth or serrated horn, but they just claim they have a rare unnamed birth defect and that “it's rude to stare”.

☆ Since it takes a ton of magic to disguise themselves, they can't be in this form forever. So they will need time and a secluded place to rest. Usually after a long nap or sleep they are better. The spell can last up to two days.

☆ In this form is when they choose to eat fruits and vegetables. Also, they try to act a lot less aggressive and more passive-aggressive. They try to be as nice as possible to subvert ponies from their already odd looks. But of course, they're only being “sweet” to use you so they can steal/be given something that they want. Females especially act as “femme fatale” to get what they want, same thing applies with male drow. They act like casanovas/womanizers.

《EXTRA》

☆A certain purple pony with straight hair might have a little bit of drow mixed in her blood 👀👀👀👀. I may or may not have had this headcanon in mind for 4 years now. I may have mentioned it in this post: https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Headshots-because-why-not-898838125.

Stay tuned y'all >:]]]]

☆ I can imagine drow unicorns having deeper and huskier voices for both females and males, if y'all we're wondering. 🤷🏾‍♀️

☆ They’re names are based off of a list of drow names from D&D, weaponry, or anything that represents death/blood/poison/toxic/evil or anything along the lines of that. Names, like Spider Lily, Lance, Lolth, which are shown in the illustration are some good examples, but also names like Poppy, Hemlock, Arsenic, Morning Star, G'eld, Jan, Zar are some good examples of drow unicorn names.

Geez. That was quite a lot. Idk why I keep bombarding my headcanon post with a buttload of information! My bad! I'm just not good at summarizing. Again, I know this species still feels a bit “dry” or “boring” cuz there's not a lot of lore or culture I made for them. I might try to flesh it out in later submissions, but we'll see. But, if you have any questions about them, let me know!^^



I hope y'all liked them though! Thanks for the constant support as well! Thank you again, Icey for the question! I love y'all! Take care! And as always, bye for now! :333



《RELATED CONTENT》



☆ A Gallery Full of Headcanons:

https://www.deviationart.com/gallery 



☆ Mlp Star Au Timeline

https://www.deviantart.com/theartfox2468/art/Star-AU-The-Timeline-of-Equestria-PT-1-1194396215