The two changelings continued looking at each other for several minutes after their simultaneous exclamation. It was the lighter-colored one who spoke first.
"...Am I that... thick... around the middle too?"
Chrysalis blushed brightly. "I'm pregnant, if you must know."
"Oh... sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's fine, but back to the bigger question. Who are you?"
The bespectacled mare raised an eyebrow. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "BESIDES an alternate version of me, I mean."
"Duchess Chrysalis, Patron of Love, Empress of Neighpon and the changelings, and ruler-in-stead of Equestria."
Now Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Duchess?"
"Just a formality I need to follow when I'm in Equestria. Surely they don't call you an Empress outside of Neighpon?"
"Queen, actually."
"Oh."
"Yes. Alright, first thing's first, we can't both go by Chrysalis here, that's just asking for confusion and chaos."
The Duchess nodded her head. "True. I suppose I can just go by my title. After all, this is your home dimension."
Chrysalis smiled. "Well, alright, Duchess. Now for the more immediate problem of getting you home."
Duchess looked at the shattered remains of the mirror. "That might be a problem. This was one of Starswirl's artifacts. Your Starswirl, I mean."
"So it's ancient, difficult to replicate, and is probably the only link to your home universe..."
"Pretty much."
Chrysalis sighed. "Alright. let's sweep up the shards and explain to Celestia what happened."
"Alright... I just hope my son can handle things while I'm away..."
~~~
[The Mirrorverse]
It was another typical day at Changeling Keep. The citizens of the walled city went about their daily lives, and Prince Staghorn wandered the corridors of the castle.
Like his mother, he wore glasses, but he also only had three legs due to an unfortunate run-in with a Cragadile a few decades ago.^
The words best describing the prince would be shy, unadventurous, and awkward. At 220 years of age, he was a fairly attractive stallion, but his meekness had prevented him from taking a wife, though he did have one mare in particular on his mind...
"My Lord?"
And there she was. The High-General of the Changeling guard. Stag nearly panicked.
"Oh, um, h-hello, Double. It's nice to see you."
The mare smiled. "The same to you, my lord. Sadly, the news isn't so nice... your mother's missing."
Stag's eyes widened. "What?"
"We just received the news from Canterlot," Double continued. "We don't suspect any foul play, and from what we can tell, she was in Canterlot during the time of her disappearance. Until then, you've been appointed ruler until her return."
"...So... King, then?"
"It would appear so, my lord."
"...Um... Double?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind... um... going on a personal patrol with me? To better survey everything and keep the citizens calm?"
She smiled. "I'd be honored, my lord."
"...Just Stag, please."