Of Kings and Changelings is a webcomic based off of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (more specifically, the IDW comics, as it's a follow-up to the "Reflections" arc), written by Lionel23 and drawn by Gray—Day. The cover (with links to all the other pages) can be found here.
When Duchess Chrysalis, the patron of love, learns about the grim fate of King Sombra from the newly reformed Royal Sisters, she refuses to stand idly by as the beloved ruler of Equestria's mirror reality remains in the clutches of dark magic. But a challenging quest cannot be accomplished alone, so she enlists the aid of certain brave heroes. Can the dark forces that hold control over King Sombra be dispelled once and for all, or was his sacrifice truly ultimate?
This work provides examples of:
- Alternate Self: The comic expands upon several of the mirror world ponies introduced in the "Reflections" arc, and brings in some others:
- Mirror Chrysalis has more in common with prime Cadence, being Mirror Equestria's resident patron of love and an All-Loving Hero. Conversely, Mirror Cadence is a villain fueled by The Power of Hate.
- Mirror Derpy is a genius and strategic master, while her prime counterpart is The Ditz.
- Mirror Trixie seems to have taken Twilight's role as the resident magically-gifted alicorn. She also shares a bond with Chrysalis not unlike the one between prime Twilight and Cadence.
- Mirror Sunset apparently never went through the Face–Heel Turn she did in canon, remaining good from the start.
- Mirror Gilda, while a proud warrior, isn't a petty bully like Prime Gilda.
- Lastly, Mirror Maude Pie is a boisterous rock star, while her prime counterpart is The Stoic.
- Alternate Universe: The primary setting is the Mirror Universe from the "Reflections" arc, and several characters from that universe have their personalities expanded upon.
- Big Bad: Mirror Cadence; the plan to bring Sombra back involves battling her.
- Big Damn Kiss: Prime Celestia and Mirror Sombra share one in the end.
- Big Good: Mirror Celestia and Luna have become this in Sombra's stead.
- The Cameo: The mirror Mane Six make a few cameos throughout the comic.
- Containment Field: One of these is summoned to keep Cadence from fleeing the battlefield.
- Cool Big Sis: When Chrysalis and Trixie meet with each other, they do a variation of prime Twilight and Cadence's ladybug dance, suggesting that Chrysalis acts as one to Trixie.
- Crazy-Prepared: Starswirl the Bearded left the mirror universe a backup mirror in case the original was destroyed. Mirror Sombra uses this to visit the prime universe in the end.
- The Cutie: From her mannerisms to her appearance, Chrysalis is absolutely adorable.
- De-power: The Tree of Disharmony does this to Cadence, draining all the dark power she stole from Sombra and snapping her horn off so she can't perform magic.
- Determinator: Chrysalis will not stop until she brings Sombra back to the side of good.
- Divide and Conquer: What Derpy's plan boils down to; they'll pit Sombra and Cadence against each other, and when they're both weakened, they'll bring Sombra back to the side of good and apprehend Cadence. A few hiccups aside, it works.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The evil Sombra was containing has been safely drained from him, the biggest current threat to Mirror Equestria has been dealt with, and prime Celestia and Mirror Sombra get to continue their relationship without fear of merging their universes.
- Emotion Eater: Cadence can drain the hatred from her surroundings.
- Energy Absorption: Cadence's plan is to absorb all the evil energy from Sombra and use it to make herself unstoppable.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: After his power is drained by Cadence, Sombra starts shivering from cold.
- Fighting from the Inside: King Sombra is doing his best to fight back the evil within him, purposefully hiding away from his citizens so that he doesn't hurt them and acting Willfully Weak when he does have to fight.
- Ironic Name: Derpy shares her name with her prime counterpart, but is highly intelligent and lacks her signature wall eyes.
- The Leader: While Chrysalis is the one who wants to bring Sombra back, Derpy is the one who comes up with a plan to make it happen and commands the others.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Chrysalis was initially unaware of what happened during the events of "Reflections", as she was out of town at the time.
- Made of Evil: The Tree of Disharmony is this, containing all the evil taken from Sombra as well as much of Cadence's power.
- Mirror Universe: The story takes place in the one introduced in "Reflections".
- One-Winged Angel: After taking Sombra's power, Cadence takes on a form similar to that of Prime Chrysalis.
- Power Crystal: Sunset Shimmer seems to specialize in these. She uses one to alert the girls' allies that they should put up the barrier.
- The Power of Hate: Mirror Cadence is fueled by this.
- The Power of Love: As Mirror Equestria's patron of love, Chrysalis' magic runs off of this.
- The Rock Star: Maud Pie is this, pun intended.
- Say My Name: Chrysalis calls out to Sombra when Cadence initially defeats him, alerting the villainess that there are more people there.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The purpose of the Tree of Disharmony is to seal off all of the evil magic trapped in Sombra.
- Shout-Out: At one point, Chrysalis can be seen dancing along to "Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows".
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Derpy wears glasses and is the smartest member of Chrysalis' team.
- Willfully Weak: Even as a villain, Sombra holds back his true strength when battling Cadence.
